Emergency Preparedness and Provident Living Newsletter

                                                                      June 2025

The main focus this month is gardening for beginners.  This post also has information on adding edible plants to your landscape.

 #1 The BEST time to start a garden was years ago. The second-best time is right now. The cost of all of the supplies go up in price and as we age or our health declines, it gets harder to start a garden from scratch. By this I mean, to build or assemble raised beds and put in a sprinkler system. Also, if you wait until you or your spouse has lost a job, or the economy really tanks, you will still need money to get a garden going.  The best time to do this is now, when you have an income or you are not under a lot of stress from illness or other problems. “Make hay while the sun shines!”

Once you have your garden system in place...the day-to-day garden chores are quick and easy. I spend less than 1 hour a week doing garden chores most of the time. Design your garden to be easy to use as you age or for future health issues. A little more work now, will make it easier to have a garden in the future.

#2 I highly recommend using raised beds. These can be made from lumber such as Redwood or Cedar, cinderblocks or metal such as the Vego brand beds. Raised beds are great because you can fill them with GOOD soil that is easy to work with. A deep raised bed takes less bending and makes weeding and planting quick and easy. Deep beds also allow for good root growth. And with a raised bed, I never need to till. I simply stir the dirt with a shovel or pitchfork. Leave at least 3 feet in between each garden bed to allow for walking, planting and taking a wheelbarrow between the boxes. Through as needed. Keep each bed to no more than 4 feet across. You need to be able to reach the center of the bed from either side. You can make your garden beds as long as you want. 

#3 Fill your garden with good fertile soil. The soil that we all have in our yards has a lot of clay and it compacts down too much. My soil mix that I make is easy to do and is fairly inexpensive. I buy everything at the hardware store. My beds are 4x8 ft. this is how much I mix for that size bed: fill grow box half-full with topsoil after removing the rocks. To each bed I then add 1 full bag of peat moss. Then I add in 2-3 bags of composted steer manure, and a few pounds of play sand. Mix well with a shovel. As time goes on, I add other things to the grow boxes such as old potting soil, wood shavings, either new or after cleaning out the rabbit or guinea pig cage. Grass clippings, vegetable scraps and used bedding from your chickens. (Chicken poop is considered “hot” and needs to decompose for at least 6 months before putting in the grow boxes.) Rabbit poop is safe to put directly into the garden. Each Spring I usually add a couple more bags of manure to the garden beds before planting.

#4  Use all the space possible to grow edibles in your landscape. We have used t-posts and cattle panels for a trellis in each grow box. You can also use a netting for trellises, plant in pots or buckets or plant edibles in your landscape with shrubs and flowers. It makes more sense to grow edibles instead of just grass and shrubs. Be creative and have fun. Things that can grow on a trellis are, squashes, cucumbers, pole beans, peas, gourds. New Zealand spinach which grows on a vine, nasturtium flowers and indeterminate tomatoes. Grow fruit trees or shrubs like raspberries or blackberries. Check out your local nurseries for fruiting bushes. Common fruits that grow on canes or bushes are raspberries, blackberries, boysenberries, blueberries, gooseberries, currants, goji berries and honey berries. 

Many vegetables can be grown in buckets or tubs. Go to YouTube and watch videos on making a “self-wicking tub” by LDS Prepper and Gardening with Leon channels. These are not hard to make and once done it will hold 2-3 inches of water in the bottom of each tub. I have converted all 15 of my big tubs of herbs to be self-wicking tubs.

 Below is a Greenstalk tiered planter. You can make or buy many different kinds of tiered planters.

Make use of the microclimates in your yard. Maybe most of your yard has full sun. But you probably have a shady spot or two. Use those cooler, shady spots to grow things that prefer shade or cooler weather like lettuce, radishes or kale.

#5 Know your gardening hardiness zone. In Northern Utah, we are zone 6b. Look for plants that can survive in zone 6b or colder such as zones 5 and 4. The higher the number, the hotter the climate. If you live in zone 6b and buy a plant with a tag that says it is for zone 7-10, it will not survive the Winter. Unless you have a large greenhouse for tropical plants, don't try to trick Mother Nature. She will always win. Grow things suited to your climate for the best success. Also, for new gardeners be aware that there are cool season vegetables and warm season vegetables. This means that is the season of the year where they grow the best. Pay attention to the seed packets and a good gardening book and plant the vegetable in the correct season of the year. Keep in mind that in much of The United States, you can get out in the garden in early Spring and plant cool weather crops. Then as it starts to get hot, plant the warm season crops. And in late Summer, make use of the microclimates in your yard. Maybe most of your yard has full sun. But you probably have a shady spot or two. Use those cooler, shady spots to grow things that prefer shade or cooler weather like lettuce, radishes or kale.

#5 Know your gardening hardiness zone. In Northern Utah, we are zone 6b. Look for plants that can survive in zone 6b or colder such as zones 5 and 4. The higher the number, the hotter the climate. If you live in zone 6b and buy a plant with a tag that says it is for zone 7-10, it will not survive the Winter.

Unless you have a large greenhouse for tropical plants, don't try to trick Mother Nature. She will always win. Grow things suited to your climate for the best success. Also, for new gardeners be aware that there are cool season vegetables and warm season vegetables. This means that is the season of the year where they grow the best. Pay attention to the seed packets and a good gardening book and plant the vegetable in the correct season of the year. Keep in mind that in much of the United States, you can get out in the garden in early Spring and plant cool weather crops. Then as it starts to get hot, plant the warm season crops. And in late Summer you can start to grow cool season crops again.

#6 Starting your garden from SEEDS is the cheapest way to do it. You can choose to buy plant starts but you will pay a lot more for them. Bonnie Brand seedlings are easy to find across the US. But they are terribly expensive. In 2025 it is very normal to see a lettuce seedling by Bonnie for $5 or more. At that price, just buy the produce in the store. If you want to buy seedlings, I suggest you look for stores or nurseries in your area that sell local-grown seedlings from a small, local nursery. These are usually sold in a plain black or red pot with no lettering. There will be a small plant tag in the pot with the name and location of a local nursery. These will be a very reasonable price. 

#7 There is a big crisis in the world of beekeeping. 80% of the bee hives in the US have died of colony collapse in the last year or two. To help out the bees in your area, be sure to plant native flowers and lots of herbs. These will help to feed the bees. And do not use pesticide on your gardens and lawns. This is most likely the biggest reason for their decline. Most of the foods we eat, are pollinated by bees. If our food does not get pollinated, we will not have crops to harvest.

#8  I have bought live worms in the Sporting goods section of Walmart. I brought them home and I made a hole in each garden bed and put a few worms in each bed.  I then covered them with dirt.  The worms will help soften and fertilize the soil.

#9 Here are a few YouTube channels that I like to watch for gardening advice:

 LDS Prepper on YouTube or ldsprepper.com (S.E. Idaho) Mittleider Gardening Method Book

Ali's Organic Garden and Homestead   (Southern Utah)

The Provident Prepper (Utah)                

Gardening With Leon (Oklahoma)

Homegrown Herbalist (Idaho) for natural, herbal medicines for man and animals

MI Gardener (Michigan)

Homesteading Family (Idaho)

 

Emergency Preparedness & Provident Living Newsletter

May 2025

Solar Cooking, Harvest the Energy of the Sun for nearly free!

By now most people know that you can cook delicious meals “off-grid” with only the power of sunlight. There are a few solar cookers that you can buy online that work very well. Some cookers are quite small and will only cook very small amounts at once like kebabs or eggs or cut up vegetables. The larger solar ovens are fantastic. I own one and love it! But if your budget is small or you want a fairly easy project to make with your youth group or family, you can MAKE your own solar cooker with a few easy to find items. You may already have some of these items in your home.

Think about your end goals. Do you want a fun family activity? Do you have a child that wants to make a cool science experiment? Do you want a way to cook in a situation when you are without power? Are there just two people to feed, or do you have a large family? Do you want to make a fast and cheap cooker, and you don't care if it falls apart after a couple uses? Or do you want to make a large cooker that will last a long time?

There are a wide variety of solar cooker tutorials on YouTube. I recommend watching several different video tutorials to see what things they all have in common, that make a cooker successful.  And then find the tutorial that you want to copy.

Here are a few videos that I found to be very helpful when planning the solar oven that I made from boxes.

https://youtu.be/qYVm17uW3vY?si=dhKe0piBbY1ptfow Solar Box Oven Build and Test

https://youtu.be/DaiGiRqCTQw?si=SG5oNg-E_nB2uKIr How to build a solar cooker for cheap

https://youtu.be/J1sS9NtmKzo?si=ppgYGFBHvKaZicVk DIY Solar Cooker

https://youtu.be/f0pexxYQVVw?si=YY28q7JHG0u6HRYz The Best $35 Solar Sun Oven-Easy to make

These videos show you how to make an oven without a box;

https://youtu.be/cLCBQscnSdU?si=JQ4trrDZlCrBNJ4G Using a windshield sun shade

https://youtu.be/Hnynux2eGbY?si=Tfv4wlXDxQxv7Qgt Funnel solar oven

https://youtu.be/qfhgG6AcBiA?si=nyQ_9rHGhKSkJ9ci Building a cheap and easy solar oven

Things that most of these DIY Solar Ovens have in common are: Reflective materials on the sides of the inside of the box, reflective materials on the reflectors. Some models have 1 reflector, most have 3 or 4 reflectors. The more reflectors, the better. The bottom should be painted with a matte black paint. Black High Heat paint is best. Pans should be a dark metal for the best heat retention. And most ovens have a window.

I recently made a solar oven using 2 large boxes. I wanted to make a solar oven large enough to fit my 9x13 inch pans or a big soup pot. I have a large family, and I am used to cooking a lot of food at once.

I own a commercially made Solar Oven and it was a lot of money. My only complaint with that oven is that I can only use pans that are smaller than what I am used to. So I made sure that my homemade oven will hold my larger pans. And even though my homemade solar oven was a DIY project, I want it to look nice and last for several years. I am very happy with how it turned out. The following instructions and photos are from my project.

Box Style Solar Oven Materials

2 large cardboard boxes One box will fit inside the other. There needs to be a gap on each side and the bottom of about 1-2 inches for insulation that you will add.

Insulation materials of your choice, thick cardboard, shredded and compacted paper, packing peanuts, old fabric or clothes

Heavy duty tin foil or thin silver insulation that comes on a large roll, or mirrors

Silver Aluminum foil Duct tape that is sticky on one side. Used in HVAC construction

Matte black spray paint, High Heat paint is best

sharp scissors or a knife

Glue such as Elmers stick glue, glue gun, E600 etc.

Reynolds Oven bag, clear plastic, Glass or plexiglass for a lid and a way to cut these to fit

2 small handles or knobs to attach to the lid if using glass or Plexiglass

#1 Gather materials. Notes on the boxes; You can use square or rectangle boxes, it doesn't matter. Leave the box lid/flaps on the OUTSIDE box. These will become your reflectors. The 2^nd box should fit inside the main box. You need a gap for insulation that will go on the bottom and up all the sides between the boxes. The inside box should be trimmed to be a little bit shorter than the outside box.

I was lucky enough to get a large, insulated box that was used for mailing groceries. It had dense 1 1/2 inch insulation around all 6 sides! The only insulation I removed was the insulation on top of the food. I took scissors and cut it off and saved it for another project. I found a second box that fit snuggly inside the insulation. That was a great find. You can always cut and retape a box to make it fit inside.

#2 Test fit your 2 boxes and the insulation with the largest pan you want to use in your oven. Make sure you are happy with the size of everything. Remove the inner box. Put your insulation material across the bottom. Put the inner box back in. Now fill all the gaps between the two boxes with insulation. Large gaps in insulation will allow heat to escape. Make sure you can close the lid flaps/reflectors flat with the inside box in place. Make adjustments as necessary.

#3 Line the 4 inside walls of the inner box with the heavy-duty aluminum foil. Overlap all seams. My seams were verticle.   I used an Elmers glue stick for adhering the foil. Glue the foil to cover the entire inside of each box flap/ reflector. Use foil or the rolled insulation, to cut pieces that will cover the top edges of the insulation that is between the two boxes. Use foil and the silver duct tape to cover EVERY BIT of the cardboard boxes etc. The more reflection the better the oven will work. And as you cook, moisture will get trapped in the oven and that can ruin the boxes.

#4 Take the silver foil duct tape and measure out each piece needed before you cut it. Then carefully remove the backing to expose the sticky side. (this stuff will curl very easily). Place this tape all along every seam in the oven. I also applied it where the box flaps/ reflectors move like a hinge. Use this same tape along every edge of each reflector to hold the foil down. If you don't do this step, the foil will come off too easily.

#5 Measure the inside of the bottom on the inner box. Cut a piece of the rolled insulation or cardboard to fit in the bottom of the box. Test the fit. Once satisfied, take this new bottom piece and spray paint it a matte black. If you have a High Heat black paint, that is even better. Place the black bottom piece in the oven.

#6 Take your almost complete oven outside and spray paint the outside of the oven. You can paint the underside of the reflectors too. The dark color helps to absorb more heat. And it makes the oven look nicer too.

#7 Window: You can make a quick window with a cardboard frame and a Reynolds Oven roasting bag, heavy plastic or other material. I chose to buy a piece of 18x24 inch plexiglass at the hardware store. I bought the thinner of the two thicknesses. It is easy to cut and is a little bit flexible. My cost in 2025 was $18. I also had to buy a plexiglass cutter for $5 to trim it to fit.

Measure the inside of the oven at the top of the oven “chamber”. You want the window to sit on the top of the opening and to be easy to remove. My lid fits a little snug, but it is ok as long as I take my time removing the lid. Just make sure the lid does not leave an opening for heat to escape while the food is cooking.

Use E6000 or Super Glue to attach 2 small handles to the window. Allow the glue to dry overnight.

#8 Reflector Stabilizers: The slightest breeze may blow your reflectors closed. I bought a package of sticky back Velcro or Hook and loop fastener. I cut 4 pieces that are about 6-8 inches long. I then cut each hard piece of Velcro in half.  Set the soft side pieces aside for now. 

I hot glued the short pieces of the hard Velcro to the BACK SIDE of the reflectors at the right and left side.   I then pressed one long strip of the soft side of the Velcro onto the pieces of the glued Velcro.  It is the soft side that holds the flaps together.  This also keeps the reflectors adjustable.  See photo below.  The soft pieces of Velcro can be removed and placed inside the oven when not in use.

#9 When ready to cook: Put a trivet or some metal canning rings on the bottom of your oven. Place your pan on the trivet. This allows hot air to circulate all around and under your pan.

Use dark colored metal pans if you have them. These will retain the heat the best. You may choose to buy a small, inexpensive oven thermometer to use inside your solar oven. I found some on Amazon.

The most important thing to consider when cooking with solar energy is the brightness of the sun. It can be cold, but it will work if the sun is bright. Keep this oven dry as it is made of cardboard.

 

Emergency Preparedness and Provident Living Newsletter

April 2025

Grocery Shopping tips to save money

Each week before shopping, take a few minutes to look at the grocery store app or website. Look for foods that are on sale that your family likes. Instead of buying only one of that item, buy at least two. Only buy the foods and non-food items that you like and purchase already. Depending on the grocery store chain, in order to get the best price, you have to use a digital coupon or buy a certain number of that item. Many of these deals will allow you to mix and match similar items or flavors. Read the fine print.

Shopping this way will save you money in the long-run and it will also help you build up some food storage. Always use a marker to put the year and month that you bought it on the lid or front label. Pull older items toward the front of the shelf. Put new items in the back of the shelf. .

Use the store app to clip digital coupons. Some store chains like Kroger will send you physical coupons in the mail. Be sure to put them in an envelope or organizer and use them before they expire.

Buy fresh produce in season and preserve it

Watch for seasonal produce to go on sale and check the prices often. When there is a special on certain foods, buy a lot and then freeze, dehydrate, can or freeze-day it. In Winter citrus is at its lowest price. In April and May, you will find strawberries and asparagus will be at their lowest. In early Summer fresh cherries will be at their lowest price. In the Fall pumpkins, other squashes and apples will be on sale. These sales are cyclical and you will know when to watch for these good sales.

Case Lot Sales

I realize that not everyone has a store that offers case lot sales. These sales are usually a week or two long, 2 times a year, and offer many canned and boxed foods for sale by the case. In Utah, Eastern Idaho and the Las Vegas area these usually occur in March and September. Most of the time these sales makes the per item price cheaper than the everyday price. Common case items are canned fruits vegetables, beans, tomato sauce and paste, flour, sugar, vegetable oil, apple juice and some box mixes for rice or Hamburger Helper and tuna. For those stores that have case lot sales, be sure to check them out and support those sales if the prices are right.

For those who do not have access to case lot sales, you can buy many of these items by the case at Costco and Sam's Club.

Online Resources for Food Storage

Amazon sells Augason Farms #10 cans of long-term food storage. If you watch there is often a daily deal where you can save a lot of money on that special.

You can purchase food storage items on the websites for Costco, Walmart and Sportsmans Warehouse.

Food Storage | Store This link for churchofjesuschritst.org/food storage, allows you to purchase long-term food storage and have it shipped to you for a $6 per order shipping fee.

Find a Home Storage Center This is from the website providentliving.org Scroll to the bottom of this page to see the current price sheet. This page also has information to locate the nearest Home Storage Center to you, where you can shop in person. All items are already packaged.

Www.beprepared.com is the website for Emergency Essentials. They have been in the emergency preparedness business for over 30 years. They sell long-term food storage items under their original name. They bought out Augason Farms a few years ago.

Shelf Stable Emergency Food Products - Augason Farms This company, affiliated with the above company has a great selection of long-term foods for sale. They ship all over the United States. Their products can also be bought inside some stores such as Walmart and Associated Foods Stores in the Western Unites States like Maceys, Lins, Dans, Braulims and Petersons. I have been very happy with their products. If you have never tried any of these foods, buy a can of each to sample. Once you know you like it, you can them buy more as money allows.

Best Value Freeze Dried Emergency Food Storage | Affordable – Legacy Food Storage

Best Variety & Great Value! - 4Patriots

Freeze Dried Food for Camping & Emergency | Mountain House

Project suggestions to do this month

Each family is different and has different needs and is at different stages of preparedness. Take a few minutes to go over this suggestion list and decide what projects you can do this month to be better prepared.

#1 Make a list of foods you commonly buy and that you want to start to stock up on.

#2 Download the app for your favorite grocery stores and start looking at their adds and coupons each week before you go shopping. Most stores also put their weekly ads on their website. Make your shopping list from the specials and coupons.

#3 Assemble a Go-Bag or 5- day kit. Maybe it is time to check your kits and change out some of the food or clothing. Have you thought of new things to add to your kits? Add some paper maps and more cash in small bills to your kit. Be sure to scan and download copies of your Vital Documents to a thumb drive and add to your kit.

#4 If you already have some food storage, take a look at your supply and organize it or reorganize it.

See if there are items that are years beyond the best by date. Do any items have damage to the packaging, look bad or smell bad? Throw away things that are obviously bad. You may need to take some time to reorganize your stockpile. We just learned the hard way that if things are too hard to get to....we don't use it and it is forgotten. We have several buckets of really old flour that need to be emptied. ( We could not get to them, and they were forgotten). We also found some home canned foods that the lid had come unsealed, and the food was either moldy inside or most of the moisture had evaporated. In this case, it is safe to throw the contents into the trash and wash the jars in a dishwasher. The jars can be safely reused in the future.

How old is too old for food storage?

Most canned foods from a store will be good well beyond the Best by Date. Don't automatically throw things away.

You will not know for sure if something has spoiled or is too old until you open it up. If in doubt, open it. Check to see if the packaging is still good. If it looks good, open it. Now that it is open, does the food inside look good? No signs of spoilage or discoloration? If it looks good, smell it. Does it smell ok? If it does, take a small taste. If it tastes ok, it is fine to consume. If something passes all of these tests, put it in the front of the shelf and plan on using it soon.

How will you know if something has gone bad? Your eyes and nose will tell you right away, but you have to open the can, bucket or jar to find out.

NOTES ON STORING FLOUR

Flour will only be good or taste good for a couple years, even if stored in a large bucket in ideal conditions. For better storage, only store a little bit of flour and store whole grains for most of your baking. Whole grains if stored in a cool, dark and dry place in an airtight container can be good for 20 years. Once grain has been ground it will then only be good for a couple years. Make sure you have a grain mill for grinding your grains as you need into flour.

The most affordable grain mill is a hand crank model. It is well under $100. It is non-electric and small. These can be clamped to a work bench or countertop. The hopper holds about 1 cup of grain at a time. I always suggest one start with this kind of grain mill. A common brand name is Victorio.

When you are ready to move up to a more expensive electric grain mill there are many brands to choose from. Do a Google search and read up on several different brands and check out the reviews for them. Depending on where you live, you may be able to find an old one for sale for a really good price in the classifieds or on Facebook Marketplace. Some of the old models may look old and dated but they still work very well. Here are some helpful videos on this topic.

https://youtu.be/WD8xAsG-RFs?si=5J3mhwp6pzOt6lsI Flour Power and Grain Mills

https://youtu.be/cbNXwbhTxdU?si=jo8wcEguVFE9C9B4 Selecting the Right Grain Mill for Emergencies and Everyday Use

https://youtu.be/ASGQWtWXBIo?si=hasfkVKVYWbzKjfp Grain Mill Review, Mock Mill, Nutri Mill Plus & Harvest

 

Tornado Preparedness

Do you know that there have been tornados in every state in the United States? They also occur in other parts of the world as well.

Tornados can be very unpredictable, but weather forecasting has come a long way! There are several Storm Chasing weathermen that have fantastic YouTube channels, and their forecasting is VERY good. One of my favorites is the Ryan Hall Y'All channel. Another well-known storm chaser is Reed Timmer. I recommend that you check out their channels and watch or listen to a couple of their recent Live Streams. They have multiple people on the ground in different areas of the predicted danger zones. If you subscribe to their channels, especially if you live in areas that have frequent tornados, you will get notifications of when they go live. These will be very helpful.

Make a family plan of what to do during a tornado in your area. Have supplies on hand in the safe place you will go. Be prepared to stay there for several hours if needed. Be prepared to be without power or communication for several days. I recently listened to this video by a man in tornado alley. He is a first responder and trainer. He covers a lot of great information in this video.

https://youtu.be/_UkpbuaUXkU?si=6fW9m2j2qY2KRbnm Tornado Survival Secrets No One Talks About

 

Provident Living and Emergency Preparedness Newsletter February 2025

 

Northern Utah Events to put on your calendar

West Jordan, Utah Citizen Corps class for the community-

GMRS (General Mobile Radio Service) class by Scott Katsilas Thur. Feb. 27^th 7pm MT

West Jordan, UT City Hall in the Community Room on the West side of the building

Free class geared toward those interested in learning how to use a radio, GMRS vs Ham radios, ease of use, advantages for the family and how it fits into your family communication plan. He will also discuss the types of GMRS radios, license requirements, where to get the radios and pricing.

If you cannot attend in person, this will be available on Zoom as well. The Zoom link is HERE:

Launch Meeting - Zoom The passcode if needed will be Meeting ID: 890 5164 7155
Passcode: 295438

Northern Utah, SE Idaho and St. George/ Las Vegas Spring Case Lot Sales

The stores that have case lot sales are, Broulims, Lin's, Petersen's, Ream's, Dan's and Smiths. They are usually held in March and September. Macey's case lot prices will go into effect on Monday March 3^rd even though the new add doesn't start until Wed. March 5^th. You can go into your local store and ask at Customer Service if they know when their case lot sale will start.

Now is a good time to go through your food storage and take inventory and do a clean-up, reorganize and make your shopping list.

Yard & Garden things to do this month

If you have fruit trees, now is the time to do your yearly pruning. Start by removing any broken or diseased limbs. Then remove any limbs that cross each other or rub on another limb. Finally, trim or thin out branches to increase production. There are a lot of helpful videos available on Youtube and probably some posted by University Extension offices. Do not remove more than 1/3 of the limbs on your tree.

Plan out your garden. Make a map of your garden and where you will plant everything. I keep a spiral notebook just for this purpose. Consider adding another fruit tree, or edible shrubs or berries to your landscape. On the map of your yard, plan where you will put these new plants.

Order your garden seeds for the year. It can take at least 2 weeks for your seeds to arrive. If you want to buy heirloom or non-hybrid seeds, some good suppliers are Seed Savers Exchange Home – SeedSavers, True Leaf Market True Leaf Market | True Leaf Market Seed Company

Baker Creek Seeds, www.rareseeds.com and Anderson Seed and Grain, Organic & Quality Seeds for Every Gardener – Anderson's Seed & Garden

This month the focus will be on storing sweets and other things that we love. If you like this kind of information, I wrote a cookbook in 2024 that has hundreds of recipes for everyday meals and desserts, many different kinds of breads, soups, salads, ethnic recipes, how to make various dairy products from fresh or powdered milk, how to turn butter into ghee, how to vacuum seal foods 3 different ways, dips, dressings, sauces, vinegars and twelve pages of herbal remedies and salves. I also included a lot of food storage information for storing many commonly used foods. The book also includes hints on how to incorporate “food storage” into your everyday meals. My book has 200 pages and the cost is $20 per copy. Shipping IS AVAILABLE. All information you need will be found on the order form HERE: https://forms.gle/hNtPMUi8KVtB5t4X7

How to store chocolate

Chocolate in either chip form or a solid block can be stored for a long time. Simply put in a glass or plastic container with a tightfitting lid. You can add a 100cc size oxygen absorber to each container if desired, but it is not necessary. Store in a cool, dry and dark location. Over time the chocolate will develop a white coating on the outside. That is called a “bloom” and it is harmless. Cocoa powder can be stored in its original container or in glass for many years.

Mint flavored baking chip storage: A few years ago, I bought several pounds of the green mint flavored baking chips in bulk. I did not get around to using a lot of it. They looked fine and I stored them in ideal conditions, but when we tested some, they tasted like soap. I do not recommend storing a lot of these at one time. Buy a bag or two and be sure to use them and rotate them out of your storage. M & M candies and Toffee bits can be stored for several years.

How to store hard candy

Hard candy can be stored for a very long time. You can buy it on clearance sales after major holidays and store in glass or plastic containers. Just be sure to keep it insect-free and dry. Hard candy will be good for several years. There is no need to freeze-dry hard candy as it is not needed for storage and there is almost zero moisture to remove.

  How to store sugar

White sugar should be stored in glass or plastic containers. It should be airtight to keep out moisture. Never use oxygen absorbers with sugar! If you do, it will turn into a brick and will not be usable. Sugar is considered a “forever” food as it can be stored for decades.

Brown sugar can be stored for many years. Over time it will become hard, but it can be softened in the microwave. I suggest storing brown sugar in smaller packages to make it easy to soften when ready to use. If you store unwrapped brown sugar in a large bucket and it becomes hard, it will be difficult to break it up to warm and soften it. You can also make brown sugar by adding molasses to white sugar and stir well.

How to store honey   

Store honey in a glass or plastic container. It should have a lid to keep it clean. Honey is considered a “forever” food as it will be good to eat for decades. Honey does harden over time. That is normal and it is perfectly good to use. Simply warm the honey in a double boiler to soften it. I suggest storing honey in small containers to make it easier to soften and use once it has hardened. If you have a 5-gallon bucket of hardened honey, it will be difficult to remove some of the honey to use it. You can buy the honey in bulk in a bucket, but I suggest pouring it into smaller containers to put it away for storage.

How to store Stevia  

Stevia in liquid, powder or granulated form, if stored where it is cool, dark and dry, has at least a 3 year shelf-life.

Forever Foods- What to store

Would you like to know which foods will last the longest if stored properly? Most foods need to be used or “rotated” before they will go bad. Some foods will only be good for a few months such as nuts, seeds and brown rice. Many foods can be stored for several years. And there are a few that can last for decades if stored properly. Here is a list of those items that can be found nearly anywhere and will last nearly forever.

Raw honey, Real Maple Syrup, whole wheat, white rice, dried beans, salt, white sugar, old fashioned plain popcorn (not microwave type), corn starch, corn syrup, tea bags, vinegar especially the Raw Apple Cider with the Mother, Liquid Aminos by Braggs, ghee or clarified butter, Pure Vanilla extract, whole spices, hard tack, bouillon in cube form, freeze-dried foods, pemmican and hard liquors.

Other forever items to consider for health issues are, activated charcoal powder, Bentonite clay, Food grade diatomaceous earth and herbal tinctures made with 80 proof alcohol.

I have attached 2 very good videos on this topic below. The ladies also give suggestions on how to store these items and why you should have them.

https://youtu.be/Zu5gscdCEjQ?si=W3ETX8MFQNl8zSf9 by The Alaska Granny

https://youtu.be/iYTbhqOBWJA?si=4a0yti3ehBm9JX4_ by Prepsteaders

January 2025 Provident Living News Family Evacuation Planning

Church of Jesus Christ Home Storage Centers (HSC) 2025 price list. https://youtu.be/qfa1GvcohHM?si=bd1thjQXkc7lXj5g

These prices went into effect on January 1, 2025. You can also find a HSC location nearest you by clicking on the same link, above. Be aware that every time something drastic happens like a big disaster or a war breaks out, people rush to the Home Storage Centers all at once and they quickly run out of stock. This happened in 2020 just before the lockdowns started. It took a couple months for them to resupply. You can buy in-person, or you can order these foods online and have them shipped to your home for only $6 shipping for the entire order. When ordering online with this link HERE: https://store.churchofjesuschrist.org/new-category/food-storage/food-storage/5637169327.c   each item comes in a case of 6 #10/1-gallon cans. For example, 6 wheat, 6 sugar etc.

 

Things to stock up on this month

Egg laying hens are still being culled by the hundreds of thousands because of bird flu. When even just one hen tests positive they cull the entire flock of many thousands. It can take close to a year for a large-scale egg farmers to replace those hens and for them to reach maturity. 16 million egg laying hens have been culled since December 2024. Officials are saying that the bird flu is now being passed onto cattle. No matter if we believe this narrative or not, it is still causing mass culling of cattle, including dairy cows. This leads to shortages and a big increase in prices of dairy products. Take the time NOW to stock-up on powdered milk and shelf-stable egg products. Eggs can be cracked open and frozen in ice cube trays. One can buy freeze-dried egg powder. You can also scramble eggs and then dehydrate them or freeze-dry them. The YouTube channel Rose Red Homestead has a couple different videos on preserving eggs. https://youtu.be/qfa1GvcohHM?si=bd1thjQXkc7lXj5g   If you have your own chickens, you can save fresh, clean, unwashed eggs by Water Glassing them. Here is a great video from Homesteading Family. https://youtu.be/bTlcCvvUjl0?si=FYnfkRbv7U9-nOJX I have used this method successfully for 3 years.

Powdered milk can be bought in #10 cans from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints or you can buy it online at beprepared.com, Amazon and other Food Storage companies. Buy a little and try it out before you buy a lot at once. Morning Moos by Augason Farms is a popular milk. The chocolate milk is pretty good too. Many families prefer Nido Fortificado  brand milk found at Sam's Club and Costco. I have included recipes for preserving eggs three ways, and ideas for using powdered milk in my Cookbook. I still have copies available for local pick up in the Salt Lake Valley and we will ship. The book has 200 pages and I included a lot of food storage information in it as well as everyday recipes. It is $20/book. The order form link to see all the details and to place an order and how to pay is this link HERE: https://forms.gle/EHgo1EJZTYLE6sc9A

Other Books on these topics are Cookin' with dried eggs by PeggyLayton and Cookin' with powdered milk also by Peggy Layton.

 
Make your own citrus cleaner and dishwasher rinse aid to save money 

This is the perfect time of year to make your own citrus cleaner for very little money. Citrus fruits are in season and are at the cheapest price all year. All you need is white vinegar and citrus peels of any kind. This cleaner once strained, can be used on countertops, stove tops and as a dishwasher rinse aid. I buy 32oz Rinse Aid for $10. That is $10/quart or $40/gallon. I use about 1 quart of the Rinse Aid each month. That is $120 every year for 3 gallons! I just bought vinegar for $3/gallon. I can make a year's worth of Rinse Aid for just $9. I poured the vinegar into a clean bucket and as we eat oranges and other citrus fruits we put the peels in the vinegar. You can take some of this and put in a blender first if you want. Keep a lid on the bucket. After a minimum of 2 weeks, strain the peels out of the vinegar. Pour cleaner back into the vinegar bottle that you saved. Use as desired. 

Sources for Ivermectin for human use 

If you are interested in having Ivermectin in your home for personal use, it is now easy to find some. You can buy it online at https://ivermectin.com or you can add it to your prescriptions list from Home US - JASE Medical or https://jasemedical.com If you prefer to have an herbal version of Ivermectin, you can buy it from a friend of mine. Her name is Mickey and it is available on her website https://thehealersart.com Her contact information is on the website including her phone number. Call her to place your order or send an email to mickey@thehealersart.com. Store this dry herbal mix in a cool and dry place in the dark. The powder can be made into a tea or blended until fine and put into gelatin capsules. This can be taken to ward off illnesses or used only when sick. The herbs used are listed on her website.

Evacuation Planning for your family 

Does your family have an emergency evacuation plan? Do you know what you would grab first if you had to leave quickly? Do you know where your vital documents are? Does each person and pet in your home have a Go Bag? These are also called 72 hour or 96 hour Kits.

 #1 Sit down with your family and talk about realistic scenarios that could happen in your area. Discuss how those events would impact your home and place of work.

 #2 What are the most important things that you want to take with you if you have to leave quickly. Most people agree that those things would be People, Pets and Papers. You can also add photos.

 #3 Make a list of those things from above and make a plan now for who would grab what and write down what you need to do NOW to make it so a quick get-away would go smooth.

 #4 People: Make sure each person knows how to exit the house in the dark. Practice how to escape a house fire with your children. Make sure each person knows where the Go Bags are and that they need to grab one! Make sure each person knows where the meet-up place will be. That could be by the mailbox, or at a certain neighbor's home. Do you also have a meet-up place that is outside of your neighborhood? Does each person know that address?  Have a list of close friends and family with their contact information in your emergency kit so you can contact them in an evacuation.

 #5 Pets: If you have animals, be sure to assemble a Go-bag for each animal. Each small pet should have its own carrier. We bought used carriers on Marketplace. We also assembled a kit for our cats and dogs that include collapsable bowls for food and water, and extra leashes. We also have a small bag of food in the kit. That will need to be rotated out or used each year. We keep our kit inside an extra carrier. You can also use a storage tote. Keep these items all together as well.  If you have farm animals, how would you get them out of danger in the fastest manner? Where would you take them? Do your large animals like horses have a microchip or an easily identifiable tag on a halter? Some people take a sharpie marker and write the owner's name and phone number on a hoof. In an extreme situation, you may just have to let them loose so they can run from danger. In this case you can see why a microchip for a horse will be very important. Each pet should also have physical ID tags on them and have a Microchip that is current on them. If you are not sure if their microchip is current and working, simply take it to your vet or animal control and ask them to scan it so you know for sure. If you do not have a copy of a current rabies vaccine, you will need to get a copy or have it scanned on your thumb drive and include that with your important papers. Shelters most often will not let your animal stay there if there is no proof of a rabies vaccine. Have a list of shelters in your area that may be used if evacuating.

 #6 Papers: I suggest putting your Vital Papers or documents in a LARGE, ZIPPERED, 3-RING BINDER. These are often used by High School Students. To the binder, add SHEET PROTECTORS and a couple ZIPPERED PENCIL POUCHES.

While you are shopping, also be sure to buy an inexpensive LANYARD,  THUMB DRIVE, and KEY HOOK for each person in the home. Lanyards and key hooks, like the picture below, are sold wherever keys are made and sold.   Look for the kind of thumb drive that has a small hole in it to hang it onto something. You will see why further down the page. 

Start to gather the most important papers first, (this part will take multiple sessions to get it all done.) I would also SCAN each of those papers, so you have a digital back up in addition to the original papers. Include a list of your commonly used websites with logins and passwords. In a highly stressful time, you may not be able to remember all of them. Be sure to have a physical photo of the whole family together AND individual pictures of each person. Put the photos in the binder in sheet protectors. 

Buy a thumb drive for each family member. Upload a copy of all of those documents and pictures onto EACH thumb drive. Give each family member, even kids, a thumb drive and put one on each lanyard. It is very important that each family member have all the same information in case you get separated. After Hurricane Katrina, many children were separated from their family. It took several months for many of them to be reunited as the kids often did not have identification and did not know their parent's names, addresses and they were too young to have a way to help the Red Cross find the parents. Photos will also be vital for you to prove that the kids belong to you. 

Lanyards should be kept in a nightstand or with your Go-Bags. When leaving, put lanyard around your neck. To each lanyard, attach a Nite-Ize Brand S Biner Key Hook. See the photo below.  Each little hook can lock into place, so you do not have things fall off. You will put the thumb drive on one hook and will be able to attach other useful things to the other hooks. Those things can be a mini flashlight, a compass, chap stick, small sunscreen and other helpful things such as a Coleman lantern igniter shown below. Practice using this lighter. This lighter has been recommended by someone who has helped in shelters after disasters. Most shelter workers do not know what it is and will not confiscate it. They WILL confiscate things like matches and knives.  If and when you do go to a shelter, take your Go Bags with you!  Some people do not realize that the shelters only give you a roof and walls and a place to sleep.  You will want and need the items in your bag. 

Use the pencil pouches to hold bulky things like passports, paper maps, cash in small bills and spare keys. Depending on the disaster, you may not have cell service. You will need to have detailed paper maps of your area. You can find these at some gas stations, at Barnes and Noble bookstores and on Amazon. Old photos like family history photos can be scanned and they can be saved on a CD or hard drive saved at a separate location like at work or a family member's home.

 If you have enough time to evacuate, add other items to your list that you would want to take with you. I found a great print out at www.totallyready.com and there are print outs on Etsy that you can use for evacuation planning. My favorite plan gives you a list of things to take if you only have 5 minutes. There is another list for if you have 15 minutes. And yet another list if you have 30 minutes or more. You can also create your own list. Prioritize the most important things and then add things as time allows. PRINT your lists out and put in a sheet protector and tape to the back of your front and back doors. Then get busy saving your documents and assembling your Go-Bags.

December 2024 How we can prepare for possible conflict involving our country

 I was recently asked in an email about how to prepare ourselves for what looks like a not-too-distant war that our country may be involved in.  And how people can prepare for possible food shortages.  Remember the Great Depression and the rationing of WWII?  You do not have to be old enough to have lived through it.  We can all learn from it.  There are so many documentaries on YouTube about how people were affected by the war and what they did to survive.  In the UK the rationing went on for several years after the war ended.   I am happy to share a list of videos with you if you ask. Now that Thanksgiving has passed, I can take a few minutes to write an answer.

The answer is "The Primary Answers of Food Storage".  The church of Jesus Christ has counseled us to store a year-supply of the foods we eat and the everyday things we need and use.  Do we have at least a 3-month supply of the things we eat every day?  This varies from family to family. What does your family need?   A 3-month supply is only the beginning.  Do not stop with 3 months.  Once you have 3 months, keep adding to that until you have a year.  I see people commenting on social media all the time that "the Church says we only need 3 months."  That is not true. They did not read the entire article.

While we are doing this, we should be buying LONG-TERM foods that will sustain life.  These foods are at the moment, easy to find, fairly inexpensive and have a long shelf-life.  The Church sells many of these foods at the Home Storage Centers.  These foods include whole grains such as wheat, oats, white rice, dried beans, dry pasta, honey, salt, sugar and dried apple slices and dried carrots.  You can order these on the church website and have them shipped to you for almost zero shipping fees. www.churchofjesuschrist.org/store or www.providentliving.org  under the food storage button.  In addition to having these foods, we need to know how to cook them.  

A couple years ago I started looking for WWII era cookbooks online to buy and I also buy used food storage books at thrift stores.  For those with special diets they need to store things they can eat.  They need to do what works for their needs.  (I have been preaching this information for 15 years.  So, this is nothing new.)

Each family should have a minimum of a 2-weeks supply of water for an emergency.  That is 2 gallons per person, per day.  This is NOT enough for bathing or doing dishes or for pets.  Do we also have at least one way to filter and purify water that may not be safe to drink?  I highly recommend having more than just one way to do this.  There are gravity filters and ceramic filters and Berkey systems as well as Life Straw and Sawyer among other brands.

Are we trying to get out of debt?  This is probably the hardest thing to do. We need to prioritize our needs and wants and take care of our responsibilities.  Maybe instead of spending $5000 on a vacation, we stay home and buy food storage items and some fuel, a generator, build garden boxes, plant fruit trees etc. (This advice usually makes a few people mad).

Do we have our Vital Documents stored as a copy on a thumb drive?  Are the Originals in a zippered 3-ring binder ready to go if and when we evacuate?  One can add zippered pencil pouches to that binder to hold cash, keys, passports etc.  Maps... buy some old-fashioned paper maps and include those as well.  I bought one that shows every urban street in my suburban area.  And I bought some that show the entire state in great detail in case of evacuation.

Do we have a really good first aid kit assembled, and do we have some over-the-counter medications stored?  One can go beyond that and learn about herbal remedies and how to make them.  Do you have books on wild edibles and herbs for your area?

Do we know how to GROW FOOD?  Do we have edible landscaping?  This can go on and on.

I am now posting information all the time on Facebook in the groups I Admin.  You can email me at wendydriggsprep@gmail.com and ask me which groups those are.  

Google will not allow me to share from my Google Drive now.  But I have downloaded everything to my laptop.  You can always email me and request information and handouts on any topic you want.  I am also happy to share with people my favorite YouTube channels to stay up to date on current events and those that give sound advice on how to prepare.  

The Christmas season is now upon us.  If you have loved ones that are not very prepared, I encourage people to give preparedness items.  You can give long-term foods, small kits or at least a start to a kit such as a power outage kit or a camping mess kit or a 96 hour kit or a First Aid kit.  You can also offer to teach a skill or share something that you made using the preparedness skills you have learned.

If you are interested, I still have some copies left for sale of a cookbook that I published recently.  It has over 200 pages of family recipes as well as recipes and instructions on building up your food storage, how to make dressings, sauces, mixes, how to make multiple dairy products from your powdered milk, kefir, water kefir, apple cider vinegar, ghee and many other things.  The cost is $20/ book and shipping is available.  I have a few on hand in my home in Utah. I am currently waiting for 100 more copies to arrive in the future. I am crossing my fingers they arrive by Christmas.

All of the information you need is included on the order form.  Please read it carefully.  Make note of the price, shipping etc and how to pay.  We except Venmo and PayPal.  The order form link is HERE:  Cookbook Order Form   

Emergency Preparedness and Provident Living Newsletter October 2024

 

Emergency Preparedness and Provident Living Newsletter

October 2024

Announcement: I have written a cookbook that has over 200 pages of everyday recipes and many food storage helps and hints. These include some helpful lists, tips on how to integrate food storage items into your everyday meals, several pages on how to preserve many common fresh and dry foods, how to make a lot of dairy products from fresh or powdered milk, how to make a variety of vinegars and baking extracts, 12 pages of herbal remedies and recipes, 2 pages of kitchen remedies using common spices and other kitchen items and a lot more. There are several biscuit recipes, homemade egg noodles, veggie noodles, tortillas and other breads.  I have included recipes for salad dressings, dips, sauces and other condiments as well.

I expect to have the books shipped to me in November. Each book is $20. If requesting shipping, the first book will cost $6 shipping and each additional book in your order will cost another $1. I accept multiple payment options and local pickup in Utah is offered. At the moment I am not offering shipping outside of the United States. For International orders I am looking into having this available as a digital download. To order, please use this link here. https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeWnzrehMC97rwlZYmgXsFvL0vPWDcJZtUSWfHomYaEei-VCA/viewform?usp=sf_link

If you have questions or need help, please contact me at wendydriggsprep@gmail.com

Current Events and how to prepare

Several states in the United States have been severely affected by Hurricane Helene. There are ongoing rescues and some supplies are just now reaching the areas that were hit the hardest. It will take months to recover destroyed infrastructure. Here is some information on what the most immediate needs are. I pray everyone can take something from this disaster and use it to prepare their families.

The most urgent needs beyond rescuing survivors are the following; Drinking water, foods that can be eaten with little to no preparation, baby formula and diapers, Ham radios because there is no cell service in many areas, laundry soap and cleaning supplies, gasoline, items to see in the dark, ways to cook food off grid, ways to keep cool or to keep warm at night and cash because there is no electricity so cash registers and ATMs don't work.

There are so many things happening all at once these past few months and I have tried to decide on just one topic to focus on and I am still undecided on just what to focus on. So, I think now is a good time to encourage each person or family to take a look at themselves and determine what they need to do right now. The following information is to help you find out what you may need to take care of in the next few weeks. Are you prepared for civil unrest? If you are, you can stay home until things calm down. I have written these in the order that I would prioritize these actions.

Use this list like you would use a checklist.

Take stock of what you have

Take a basic inventory of your supplies and write things down. As you look through your supplies you may feel that in some areas you are doing pretty well. Most likely you have more supplies than you thought, they just may need to be organized better, in case of an emergency.

Make a list of things you need to find or buy to get better prepared.

As you took stock of what you have, you will most likely notice some areas that need your attention such as filling more containers with water or maybe you need to stock up on infant and toddler needs or first aid and medical supplies. Make a list of things you feel you need to take care of. You may feel you need more guidance in this. Go ahead and pray about it to know what your family needs. As I watch videos of current events, including current disaster situations, it makes me think of things that I need to take care of as well. There is always room for improvement.

#1 Where to start if you are new to food storage or emergency preparedness

The most important thing to have is some water. No matter where you live or the size of your home, get some water stored. Some water, is better than no water at all. You can buy cases of water, refill used 2 liter soda bottles, fill up Water Bricks or square water jugs. If you have the room, buy some 50 gallon blue water barrels and fill those. Buy a barrel pump made to work with the barrel. You will need this to get the water out. I saw them recently in the Salt Lake Valley for $11. As long as the water was already clean from a city water source and put in a clean, food grade container and it has a tight lid, you are all set. If you are filling a clean container with clean, safe city water you do not need to add bleach.

The bare minimum recommended amount of water is 1 gallon per person per day for 2 weeks. This is only enough to sustain life. This is not enough for bathing or cleaning. If you have pets, you need to store water for them as well. Do the best you can.

In addition to storing water, have a way to filter water that has questionable water quality. There are

Berkey water filter systems that sit on your kitchen counter, there are Life Straw handheld filters, Sawyer handheld filters and even water bottles with a filter inside. These will be especially handy in a flooding situation or for hiking and other situations where there is water, but it is dirty.

#2 Have some easy to prepare, quick meals on hand

You don't need to have a lot of these. Having some on hand is nice for illness, to make things easier. This is especially important if Mom does all the cooking and Mom is the one who is sick. These foods are also nice if the power is out or there is some other emergency. In most cases these foods could be eaten cold if needed.

#3 Assemble an Emergency 96 hour kit/Bug out Bag

Whatever you want to call it, have an emergency bag for each person in the home. Pack a couple day's worth of clean clothes, some light-weight food, some water and a way to filter water, basic toiletries, medications, maps, a light source etc. Your kits need to be tailored to each individual for the stage of life they are in right now. There are many printable lists available online to give ideas. But you don't have to have that. Think of the things you want or need each day.

If you have not looked at your kit for a couple years, it is time to look at them. Take everything out. Food expires, medications expire, kids grow out of clothes. Make it a family activity and make it fun.

#4 Add everyday foods to your pantry

The LDS Church has been recommending that people start with a 3-month supply of the everyday foods that they eat. Build up to having a 3-month supply on hand, if you are able to. (The real goal is 1 year. 3 months is just the starting point). For most families this is a gradual process. Buy what you eat, and eat what you buy. Watch for sales and use digital coupons at your favorite stores. Always take a marker and write the purchase date on it. Pull older inventory to the front of the shelf and put the new items in the back. This is what they do at grocery stores. Keep in mind that most dates on store-bought foods are Best By Dates. That is the date they can guarantee that the food will have the most nutrients. If you have stored things in ideal conditions, the food will usually be good well beyond those dates. This is especially true with canned goods.

#5 Store Long-term foods

In addition to everyday foods you will want to buy foods that have a long shelf-life and can be used to sustain life with the basics for quite a while. These are items such as whole grains, dried milk, sugar, salt, pasta, seasonings etc. These are usually easy to find and fairly affordable in bulk. For success in using these foods, you will need to have basic cooking skills and some recipes.

#6 Have Medical Items on Hand

Winter and cold and flu season are approaching. This is the time of year I start to stock up on cough, cold and flu medications. I get a little each time I go to Walmart of Sam's or Costco. I also stock up on things like facial tissue and pain relievers and anything else that I would normally use for illness. Do you have a pulse-oximeter in your medical kit? Do you have a couple thermometers? Do you have a First Aid booklet? Other things that will be helpful are a blood pressure monitor and ear otoscope. Do you have diabetic supplies? If you have herbalism skills, now is the time to make more tinctures to have when you need them.

#7 Vital Documents Storage

In case of an emergency you will need to have copies, if not the real documents, of your Vital Records. You will need a way to make them “portable”. Start with the most important documents and work your way through a list of documents to have.

Start with gathering and scanning each document like, Birth certificates, Drivers licenses, Social Security cards, have a photo of each family member that is fairly current that can be used for identification. Include a family photo to prove that your kids really belong to you. Then add health insurance cards, Homeowners insurance, car registrations and titles. Take pictures of your home from the front, back, sides etc. Take pictures of your vehicles and the most expensive things in your home. Take pictures of your pets, include rabies certificates etc. Include a copy of a list of logins and passwords to your favorite websites. In times of high stress you may not remember all of them. Include a list of your emergency contacts with their phone numbers. Do you have everyone's phone number memorized? I know I don't. If your phone is lost or damaged, you can borrow a phone and still contact those on your emergency list.

Put original documents in sheet protectors a large zippered 3 ring binder. You will want to spend a little more money on a binder that zips and that has a handle. If the binder has a zipper, things cannot fall out of it. A handle would be nice if you need to attach the binder to your backpack with a carabiner..

In that binder put some zippered pencil pouches that you can buy for school supplies. In one pouch put spare keys for cars and the house, in another pouch put thick documents like passports, in another pouch put a bunch of cash in small bills. I would also have paper maps of your area. One map can be of every street in your urban areas.

And another map could be a good map of the entire region you live in. If the internet is down you will have to resort to using old school skills like map reading.

Scan each vital document. Then save a copy of each scanned item and put on a thumb drive. Each person in your home should have the same information on a thumb drive that he can put on a lanyard. By doing this, you have a back-up to the original documents and if someone is separated from the rest of the family, they will have all the necessary documentation they need.

Once you have completed most of these tasks you will be much better able to recover from a large or small disaster. If you have taken care of these things, you will be able to handle the stress much better and you will be able to recover faster. And you will be comforted and at peace and be able to help others around you.