Simply Prepared ecourse Module 9, Chapter 2: Other Supplies 1
Welcome Welcome to the written lesson from module nine, chapter two! Food are water are absolutely essential in any preparedness plan because they are life sustaining. After water and food, we talked about first aid skills and supplies (in the last chapter) as they can be lifesaving and are also essential in a well thought out preparedness plan. In this chapter, I want to discuss other supplies that may have a place in your preparedness plan. Some of these supplies will be pretty essential and others will be bonuses, but all should be considered based on what you are preparing for. Intro Before I get into the bulk of today s lesson I have just a few thoughts that will hopefully help you make better use of the information in this lesson. Supplies for staying put The supplies mentioned in this chapter will be most applicable to situations where you will not be evacuating or only evacuating for a short time. This will likely be the case with most disasters and so you will need supplies in your home to use at (or near) your home. In module eleven, you will find a similar list for supplies you might consider if evacuation is a high probability for you. Detailed Lists You can find a link to a detailed list of 100+ non-food items to have in your preparedness supplies in the Helpful Printables section of this chapter when logged into the ecourse website. 2
The purpose of this chapter is to give you a broad overview of the various categories of supplies you might consider, where to store your supplies as well as how to decide which supplies may be more essential than others. Last, I will teach you what I ve learned about where the least expensive place is to buy some consumable supplies you may want to stock up on. Once we ve gone through all that (it won t take too long I promise), you can refer to the list of 100+ supply ideas that I link to for a more detailed list of suggested items that you may choose to add to you to buy (or find for free) list. Consumable vs Non-Consumable Supplies come in two types: Consumable Those that you have to periodically replace as you use them. Examples would be shampoo or paper plates. Non-Consumable Supplies that you buy once and (hopefully) never buy again. Examples would be a grain mill or a tent. As you work your way through the categories I talk about below and the detailed list I link to, you will want to think in terms of both the consumable and non-consumable supplies your family might need for that category. Categories of supplies The list of supplies you need will feel less overwhelming if you can break it up into categories. In addition to food, water, and first aid supplies, here are the categories I suggest: 3
1 Shelter and bedding Sometimes, you may not need to evacuate your area, but your home may not be live-able. But you may want to stay close by as some of the supplies (food, water etc) in your home may still be usable. You also likely have more of a support system near your home as you are familiar with your neighbors and can trade skills and supplies. Even if your home is not live-able, it is often best to stay nearby. You will need to provide some type of shelter for your family in this situation. Most of the items in this category are non-consumable such as tents or sleeping bags. 2 Power s out supplies Module ten is all about power outages, so I will just mention this briefly here. Feel free to skip this section of supplies (if you want to) until you have gone through module ten. Briefly, here are some things you should consider: Are there any kitchen appliances that you cannot live without? Consider how you will replace them if / when the power is out. You will also need a way to cook the food you are storing if the power is out. Consider consumable powerless cooking supplies such as tinfoil or propane as well as non-consumable powerless cooking supplies such as a camping stove. If your power is out, you will need things to be able to keep your family warm if it is cold outside and to avoid hypothermia. Or, you may need to keep them cool to avoid heat stroke if it is hot. 4
You will need consumable items such as candles or hand warmers as well as non-consumable items such as blankets or propane / kerosene heaters. You should also consider any electronics that are essential to you. How will you replace them or keep them running? Last, if the power is out, how will you see at night? There are various options. You should consider consumable options such as candles or glow sticks as well as non-consumable options such as flashlights and lanterns. 3 Sanitation This goes beyond just hand washing! How will you keep your clothes, home and property sanitary? What cleaning supplies do you currently use? How will you handle toilet and human waste issues if you don t have running water? You will need consumable items such as soap and biodegradable waste bags as well as non-consumable items such as a makeshift toilet or laundry system. 4 Hygiene and Personal Care What do you use to get your family ready to go out each morning? You should store those supplies in your home in case you are unable to get them from the grocery store for a period of time. You should have enough of these products as you do food storage. If your goal is a 1 month supply of food, plan for a one month supply of shampoo and toothpaste! Most of the items in this category are likely consumable. 5
5 Communication This was mentioned in module three. Go back and review that chapter if needed. Most items in this category are likely non-consumable such as walkie-talkies. 6 Other Tools What sort of tools might you need for the specific disaster(s) you are preparing for? If you need ideas, you might consider reviewing the links to the lists I gave you in module one that included specifics for preparing for various disasters. Some of these items may be consumable such as a thread in a sewing kit, but most will likely be non-consumable such as a hammer or work gloves. 7 Kitchen Consumables Think about what you currently use in your kitchen each day / week that you have buy and replace every so often. You should store these items in case you are unable to get them from the grocery store for a period of time. Again, you should have enough of these products as you do food storage. If your goal is a 1 month supply of food, plan for a one month supply of tin foil and Ziploc bags! In addition, you may want to store extra paper plates and cups etc. I know they aren t always best for the environment, but in an emergency situation, I will be using (and then burning) them. If you want a bit more on the why behind storing paper goods, you can find a link to a great article titled The case for paper products: why every prepared home needs to stock them in the Other Resources section of this chapter when logged into the ecourse website. 6
8 Kids Preparing for kids requires supplies specific to them. What do your kids use that you don t, but that they would need no matter what (even in an emergency). Even if you don t have kids you may consider storing a few extra diapers, formula, toys etc to help out others or as trade items. 9 Pets Similar to children, pets often have needs that we don t. What items will your pets need? What consumable items do they use regularly that you might want to stock up on? 10 Cash This isn t so much a supply itself as a means to get things you need. If the power is out in your area, your credit / debit cards are not going to work. Keep cash somewhere safe in your home, and make sure that most of the cash you add is in very small bills. Others may not have change, so if all you ve got is a $50 bill and you need $10 in gas, that $10 of gas is going to cost you $50! I suggest having mostly $1 bills with a few $5 and $10. I also suggest having a roll of quarters so you can use pay phones if needed. 7
Storing Your Supplies One very common question that I get asked is: Where should I put my supplies? We went over some of this in module two, but I have four guidelines for you today: 1 Store supplies where they are most likely to be safe Obviously, you can t completely predict this, but if you live somewhere at high risk for tornados, store them underground when possible. But if you live somewhere at high risk for flooding, store them up high. 2 Store supplies where you need them Some items, like a flashlight, should be stored where you are most likely to need them near the door, in case you come home to a dark house, and by your bed in case you need to get out at night. Think about each supply / type of supply and where you are most likely to need or use it. 3 Group like supplies together Whenever possible, store each category of supplies together. This will make it easier for you to remember where things are and find what you need when you need it. For example, keep your powerless cooking supplies on one shelf and everything you need for shelter on another. 4 Split things up Since you can t ever 100% predict what will happen during a disaster, it is wise to have essential supplies such as food, water, first aid supplies in multiple spots. 8
For example, I keep the majority of our food and water in our basement storage area. But we live in an earthquake zone so that may get buried and take a while to get to. For this reason, I keep about a week s worth of just add water meals and a few 5 gallon water containers in our upstairs pantry. I also keep a few days worth of food and water and a first aid kit in our car. Deciding what is important At this point in a preparedness plan, you can quickly become overwhelmed and wonder what is truly essential, what is important, and what is just a bonus? This is where the system I gave you in module one for prioritizing your to do, to learn, and to buy lists is going to be very important. As you add things to those list (especially the to buy one), go back through and re-prioritize things so that you know what is truly important instead of just guessing. It will bring you peace of mind, I promise! Paying Less Nine months ago, I walked around Costco and Walmart and took pictures of the prices of hundreds of items. Then, I recorded those in a spreadsheet and compared them to the online prices from Amazon.com and Jet.com. 9
I had thought this project would take a few hours to update each month. Well, it actually took about 30 hours just to gather all the prices each time! Ouch. Eventually, I narrowed it down to around 40 non-food, consumable items. This helped with the time commitment a bit! I learned a lot as I studied the data I gathered. 1 Walmart s and Costco s prices are pretty stable. They don t change much. Over the last 9 months, prices increased slightly, but not on all items. 2 The difference between prices at Walmart and the prices at Costco also stays relatively consistent. Items that were less expensive at one store 9 months ago were less expensive at that store every month that I checked on prices. 3 Prices at Jet.com and Amazon.com are all over the place. They can change drastically from one day to another. 4 While there are times when the prices at Amazon and Jet beat those at Costco and Walmart, they don t do so consistently. There is almost always at least one of the 40 items on my list that is cheaper at one of these two stores, but it changes so frequently that it is very difficult to track. 5 For each item on my list it is almost always (90% of the time), cheaper at Costco or Walmart than Amazon or Jet. A Shopping Guide For You: As a result of this study of sorts, I ve created a shopping guide for you. You can find it in the Helpful Printables section of this chapter when logged into the ecourse website. 10
Costco vs Walmart Lists: You will find two lists in this guide: (1) Buy at Costco, and (2) Buy at Walmart. These two lists compare the prices of each item from those two stores. If it is consistently less at Costco, it is on the Costco list. If it is consistently less at Walmart, it is on the Walmart list. In addition, you will find the approximate price difference (listed as a savings %) for each item. For example, if this number is 50% on the Costco list, that means you save approximately 50% (per unit) by buying that item at Costco instead of Walmart. This will help you decide if it is worth a separate trip or not. For example, tissues are cheaper at Costco, but only by 10%. Personally, I only go to Costco once every 3 months. If I run out between Costco runs, Walmart is closer. I will likely just pick up a few there. However, bathroom trash liners are 86% less at Costco than Walmart. I ll make a special trip to Costco for that kind of savings. Jet and Amazon Because of the frequent price changes, tracking Jet and Amazon prices regularly is impractical. What I ve done instead is to let you know if an item has been found for less on Amazon or Jet. You will find * and ^ signs on the Costco and Walmart lists letting you know if I ve seen that items for less over the last six month. I hope you find this shopping guide helpful as you decide where to stock up on various items! 11
Review As a review, brainstorm using the information in this chapter as well as the 100+ list of suggested items to consider. Write down those supplies you would like to have for your family. Use the rating system from module one to re-prioritize your lists based on what is most important for your family and the disasters you are preparing for. Then, decide where you will store your supplies based on the four suggestions I gave you. 12
Take Action! Update Your 3 Lists! Take time this week to update and re-prioritize your to do, to learn, and especially your to buy lists. Use the worksheet from module one! You might also consider having another look at your preparedness budgets (time and money). What s Next: Power outages are something that most everyone will face at least once in their lives. Most are short term, but some could be very long term. In Module 10, we will discuss living without electricity, starting with how to cook without power. 13