Project Hydration

Yes, I am still on my little emergency preparedness kick. Don't judge me. I think I am doing a good job so if you feel otherwise, don't burst my bubble! :) Today's project was WATER. I was recently told that 1 gallon/person/day is needed so I am trying to plan accordingly. Maceys had their 5 gallon buckets on sale for $5.99 which I am told is a great price. So, 8 were purchased, filled, and placed in various places throughout my house. The kids came home from school and helped empty all of our plastic juice bottles that haven't been emptied in 3 years. And yes, I do purchase water bottles every now and then. I LIKE water bottles. They are easy to grab, already treated, and easy to ration in case of an emergency...again, don't judge me! It didn't take long and my kiddos (at least two of them) were thrilled to help!  I will soon add another 55 gallon barrel to those already in my garage.  Our conference weekend project will be to empty the nasty water currently in them and refill them with nice clean water.  Sound fun!??

Next on the list...72 hour kits. We store ours in buckets though I am re-thinking how practical that really is but it will do for now. I purchased plastic containers that store all of the food. It keeps everything together and can be used to mix things in. Along with 3 days of food/snacks/water I included something different for each kid depending on their age...flashlight with extra batteries, emergency glow stick, diapers and wet wipes for the baby, hand sanitizer, plastic utensils, a treat I know they like, and sweatshirt and a pair of socks for each kid. I also included a hygiene kit that was given to us by my grandparents. In my bucket I included most of the same things with the addition of an emergency radio, a first aid kit and a little bit of cash. Again, I am sure that I am missing things but at least it is a start, right?

FYI for anyone interested, here are the food items that we included and a sample menu.

DAY ONE:
Breakfast - oatmeal (1/2 cup water), hot chocolate (1 cup water)
Lunch - beef jerky, granola bar, fruit leather
Dinner - tuna/crackers package, fruit snacks, peanut butter crackers

DAY TWO:
Breakfast - oatmeal (1/2 cup water), hot chocolate (1 cup water)
Lunch - soup (1 cup water), trail mix
Dinner - tuna/crackers package, granola bar, fruit leather

DAY THREE:
Breakfast - oatmeal (1/2 cup water) hot chocolate (1 cup water)
Lunch - beef jerky, granola bar, fruit leather
Dinner - soup (1 cup water), cheese/cracker package

I also added a few extras for certain picky children...a can of Spaghetti O's, applesauce, and more peanut butter crackers along with some gum and little candies of their liking.

Last but not least, this is the newest addition to our storage room and I am embarrassed to admit that I am giddy about having an extra freezer! I am SO excited to fill it with extra food. The electrician is coming this week to wire a plug to our storage room and then it will be in working order! Yeah!


How is your food storage coming along?

10 comments:

Mom, Mommy, Ma Ma Jo, Grandma, Grandma Jo said...

Wow!!!!! Way to go!

Niki Carter said...

I'm impressed. I need to call you! We need to get our act together. I am serious! Email me your number. tnicolecarter@yahoo.com

Mary said...

Wow, I am really inspired. I wondered if I dared taste our years old water. Thanks for posting what food you've got in your 72 hour kits. They sound way better than the MRE's we've got in ours right now!

Julie said...

We are going to work on our 72 hour kits in the next few weeks, the food is 3 years old and I don't think there are clothes that fit any of my kids. I guess now that I'm down to 3 kids at home it should be easier, right ?

Elizabeth said...

Way to go!! We have been working on our 72 hour kits since the RS activity a few weeks ago. It is coming along slowly, but surely...And I was giddy when we got our extra freezer too. It is so fun to open it and see so much food (I'm lame, I know -- but these are the kinds of things that make me happy!).

Heather said...

Yeah Renee! You are doing awesome - and I love that you are documenting it!!!

Sweet Tweets Boutique said...

Great job!! Don't be embarrassed!! I'm very proud of my food storage efforts, but too scared to put pictures up on my blog. When crap hits the fan, I don't want everyone knocking on my door begging for food! I guess that makes me not very spiritually prepared huh? Need to work on that so I feel god about sharing. Good job!!! I'm soooooo ready for conference! We live in super scary times!!

megship said...

You are doing awesome! I am also on a kick right now and I think it is a good motivator! Keep going!

Unknown said...

Wow, great job. You really don't need to change your old water, just shake it up to get oxygen back in to it.
I went to the DI and bought used pack pack to put my 72 hour kits in. Mine haven't been changed for about 4 years and some of the back packs were emptied out and not put back together. Seems to be that time of year. Love your new freezer.

Maria said...

LOVE it!!! Max thinks I am crazy with how obsessed I am with food storage! :) he doesn't think a big earthquake will do any damage here, I think otherwise! :) If you really want to get fire in your pants, you should check out becoming CERT certified- it is a blast! I just took the course last fall and loved every minute of it! We need to do dinner soon!