Note from Preparedness Pro: The article below is provided to us by Dennis Chalkus of DCSurvivalKits.com He addresses the wide use of social media amidst a disaster. I personally believe that social media can easily be a reliable protocol that you can set up with your family members to use Read more…
For the record, I absolutely loathe the term “food storage.” It’s no longer used in our household because I’m not a squirrel. As such I don’t purchase items which serve no other purpose than to be stuffed away into a corner, only to promise unpleasant eating later. If I don’t eat it or know how to use it, it doesn’t come into our home. And if it comes into our home, we use it and are very familiar with it.
Now, have said that, the question posed above is a common question in my line of work because others don’t necessarily share my point of view. That’s okey dokey. Regarding having “enough” there are certainly plenty of numbers 
thrown out there. I do have an opinion to add to that list of suggested amounts, of course, though I confess that my answers aren’t always well received—I have this nasty habit of sharing facts that may contradict what a person has relied upon for a long time. *wink* So, how much food do you really need in order to have a year’s supply for your family at any given time?
Friday’s aren’t usually a blog posting day for me so that I can get ready for the radio show I do on Saturday morning, but there’s a current event issue that I felt that really needed to be addressed. In the interest of time I’m not going to sugar coat it, but just come right out and share my thoughts on this matter.
So, you’re trying to get your friends and family on board with the whole concept of preparedness because you care about them and you have a firm conviction that preparedness is vital to everyone’s life. You have some semblance of an idea of the consequences that can be expected if one heads into their life everyday without a single thought for tomorrow, let alone being ready for it. As such, you share, and you share, and you plead and you reason with your friends and family in an effort to persuade them to be better prepared. Many grow weary of these efforts, feeling like they are fighting the entire British army singlehandedly and thus turn for help from a greater power. You petition God to help you convince those you love–perhaps in the form of a wake-up call, or a memorable moment of enlightenment? “Oh, if they could just get it”, you say to yourself.
by Kellene
Yup. You read that right. I hate emergency preparedness. I loathe the use of the phrase “emergency preparedness.” I suspect that some psychotic Anarchist came up with the phrase in an attempt to capitalize and commercialize fear. The word emergency is intended to quicken the heart beat, make the breathing more shallow, make one feel out of control and vulnerable and replace confidence and competence with debilitating anxiety. The very use of the word “emergency” sucks all of the peace out of the word preparedness. To me “emergency preparedness” is much of an oxymoron as is “stimulus bill.” It’s no wonder the words
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Over the last two days I’ve heard from friends and readers recount their stories of the last few days of confronting the snow storm in the east. Two of my friends attended a Christmas party at an upscale townhome in Annapolis, Maryland. They drove their SUV and felt that all would be well in spite of the windy snow storm. When the party was over and the guests were leaving, it was quickly apparent that no guests were leaving—not even the driver of the Hummer. All of the vehicles were literally snowed in. So what did the guests do?
Sanitation is one of the ten critical components of emergency preparedness. In my book, it is usually one of the top two that are most overlooked. A lot of us take emergency sanitation for granted until our toilet breaks down or the sewer backs up. Keep in mind, if there is a quarantine, who’s going to maintain the proper working order of the sewage services? If there’s a financial collapse, how will we even have the wherewithal to send our waste somewhere else? If you don’t take emergency sanitation seriously
Statistically, we all know that an emergency of one variation or another is coming our way. What we do not know is what emergency and when. If you take all emergencies that you may ever experience or expect in your area, anytime is as likely statistically as any other. An emergency occurring tomorrow is just as likely as one occurring ten years from now.
[caption id="attachment_3280" align="alignright" width="300" caption="Earthquake in Japan photo c/o japansociety.org"]
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Of course, geographically speaking, there are certain emergencies that are more probable than others. For example, in California, Japan or South America, it could be a major earthquake. On the east coast, it could be a hurricane. In the Midwest, it could be a tornado. In the state of Utah,
[caption id="attachment_1035" align="alignright" width="300" caption="Fuel photo c/o pgdb.co.nz"]
[/caption] One of the ten areas of emergency preparedness is fuel. Fuel brings us the much needed light that we will require not only to see, but also to feel good. It includes any fuel we’ll need for cooking, and the fuel we’ll need for keeping warm. Before you elect to get a years supply of fuel for these purposes, consider
(Fair Warning: I’m speaking my mind a bit here with very little censoring…ahem…) In my opinion, any person who claims to be knowledgeable on the topic of “emergency preparedness” but does NOT address the issue of firearms as a necessary component to that kind of preparedness, is either a coward for not wanting to discuss such a “delicate” yet vital issue, or still has a long way to go in their quest for knowledge on the topic. I have read and studied literally hundreds of books and “expert websites” on the topic of emergency preparedness, interviewed over 60 military, law enforcement and self-defense experts on the emergency preparedness and yet I have NEVER seen the need for firearms clearly addressed for any other purpose other than for “hunting” or the need to defend oneself against a roving pack of wild dogs. Can we please dispense with the niceties and the “politically correct” discussions that have been created based on fear and hate-mongering rhetoric and let’s talk in a very practical and common sense manner on the topic? I’m not talking about the “need” for a firearm so that you can kill someone who’s hungry; I’m talking about the very realistic need of protecting yourself everyday AND in the midst of a disaster scenario. I’m all about restraining one’s temper and only using fatal measures IF necessary, but there are many who won’t even allow themselves to consider the reality of such measures being necessary. So, let’s chat frankly for a moment, OK?