Oh my gosh, my biggest anxiety re: preparedness is related to my eyes!! I was able to do get Lasik, but that isn't an option for so many people and this is SO important!
I think end of winter/spring is a great time to drag out all your bags of things for car/home/whatever and chuck what isn't working/expired and give me a reason to buy a stupid new thing. My big hot tip is we have lots of animals (dogs, cats, chickens) so in order to prep for possible food needs I buy (at least for dogs and cats) dehydrated raw diet food because it's smaller packaging, but lots of food when rehydrated, stays fresh for a year or two and when it's close to expiring I just feed it to my animals and restock.
These are great ideas. I'm a single mom well below the poverty line so having *extra* of anything is not feasible. I'm wondering if there's a list out there that includes a soap I can use for my hands, dishes and laundry or how to repurpose things that might be waste. I don't live in a disaster prone area so my prep generally is for things like a houesfire, prolonged electrical failure, car breaking down in the winter and possible tornado.
Thanks for your question! And it's such an important point that not everyone is going to have the means to have extra. "Prepping" is not going to look the same for everyone! And your point about preparedness for personal disasters is such an important one. I think we all assume it's going to be external disasters, but any number of disasters can happen at home or in our car.
Re: soap, not sure about a list, but I'd absolutely recommend Dr. Bronner's. They bill themselves as been an all-in-one soap (or rather "18-in-one uses") and you can buy in liquid, bar soap, etc. The liquid soap is great, too, because it's concentrated so you don't need to get a lot and can dilute it when needed -- https://www.drbronner.com/products/peppermint-pure-castile-liquid-soap.
Bonus is they're an incredible company that treats its people and the planet well!
My local grocery store does a 50% off Dr. Bronner's sale every year and we always stock up :)
My hot tip is to lean into minimalism, at home and while traveling.
Having fewer things means that it’s 1) faster to find what you need and 2) easier to move your stuff if needed. I have increased confidence that if I grabbed clothes and ran out of the house, they would all be things that fit me and that I like. Plus if nothing else it takes less work to keep the house clean!
For travel, we have always tried to travel light as a family, even with young kids. But now we are experimenting with short airline trips with just a small backpack or purse. It’s a fun low stakes way to practice living out of a small pack with 2 kids under 6. We are using hotels or staying with friends / family but we’ve learned a ton about each family members essentials + “must have” comfort items.
I am definitely not a prepper - and yet, I find that having taken on roles like "Girl Scout Troop Leader" and e-prep chair for my kiddos school, I actually might be!
Here are some of the things I've learned:
1. Parking your car by backing in. This is a Girl Scout rule at any camp, and the reason? In the event of an emergency, chaos lessens if cars aren't all trying to back out and get around each other!
2. Having an emergency kit as well as an 'activity' kit in my car - to be honest, I've never used the emergency kit but I suppose I know it's there. The activity kit however is great all the time - and I keep things like coloring books, air dry clay kits, beading activities etc... along with small sanitizer, tissues etc... (think small toiletry bag)
3. Paperwork on my phone - I have photo album on my phone with pictures of our passports, IDs, insurance etc... it's not foolproof, but it's come in handy
What's your favorite document checklist? After the LA fires, we realized we need to get our paperwork in better order (keep originals together, make digital copies, encrypt them for us + to send to an out of state family member, etc). We've been using the FEMA Financial Toolkit, but if there's a better list, I'd love it!! https://www.fema.gov/sites/default/files/documents/fema_effak-toolkit.pdf
The fires also made me appreciate our little Halo Bolt. SO great for charging multiple devices at once while on the go
Re the fires, we TOTALLY underestimated the need for basic comfort items in a go bag... and wound up spending a fortune at Target on items we didn't bring and hotels don't provide. I'd love a link to any lists better prepared people have already figured out! Now I'll include random things like hand sanitizer, baby wipes, garbage bags, hand-wash laundry soap, dish soap, sleep masks, eyeglasses cleaner, pens & paper & tons of screen-free distractions for the kids... but I'm sure I'm missing a ton!
Brekke and I put together a list during the finance and document section of the preparedness series. I just made it free for everyone so you can find that here: https://crammingfortheapocalypse.substack.com/p/prep-series-week-6-finances-and-documents. I highly recommend storing them in an encrypted app on your phone/computer as well. We use 1Password which we already have an account for all our passwords (life saver on that front!)
I have a packable down blanket (purchased at Costco years ago) that is a major comfort item. I take it with me when traveling (hotels never have good throw bkankets) and it's on our emergency evac packing list, too. I like it because it's light and warm & I'm always cold (which gets worse when I'm stressed).
Good call on this packable blanket! We have one in our camping gear that's kind of extraneous -- now I'm thinking that should go into our go bags/one of our cars instead
Okay my hot tip that I will scream for the rooftops is...
If you wear contacts, the MOST IMPORTANT THING to prep is to get spare glasses for every car and go-bag.
Imagine not being able to go home and get your glasses???
Devastating!
(I found cheaper pairs online at www.zennioptical.com but I'm not an affiliate/promoter or anything.)
Oh my gosh, my biggest anxiety re: preparedness is related to my eyes!! I was able to do get Lasik, but that isn't an option for so many people and this is SO important!
Plus a copy of your prescription so you can get new ones as needed.
Great call
I think end of winter/spring is a great time to drag out all your bags of things for car/home/whatever and chuck what isn't working/expired and give me a reason to buy a stupid new thing. My big hot tip is we have lots of animals (dogs, cats, chickens) so in order to prep for possible food needs I buy (at least for dogs and cats) dehydrated raw diet food because it's smaller packaging, but lots of food when rehydrated, stays fresh for a year or two and when it's close to expiring I just feed it to my animals and restock.
Spring cleaning!!
These are great ideas. I'm a single mom well below the poverty line so having *extra* of anything is not feasible. I'm wondering if there's a list out there that includes a soap I can use for my hands, dishes and laundry or how to repurpose things that might be waste. I don't live in a disaster prone area so my prep generally is for things like a houesfire, prolonged electrical failure, car breaking down in the winter and possible tornado.
Thanks for your question! And it's such an important point that not everyone is going to have the means to have extra. "Prepping" is not going to look the same for everyone! And your point about preparedness for personal disasters is such an important one. I think we all assume it's going to be external disasters, but any number of disasters can happen at home or in our car.
Re: soap, not sure about a list, but I'd absolutely recommend Dr. Bronner's. They bill themselves as been an all-in-one soap (or rather "18-in-one uses") and you can buy in liquid, bar soap, etc. The liquid soap is great, too, because it's concentrated so you don't need to get a lot and can dilute it when needed -- https://www.drbronner.com/products/peppermint-pure-castile-liquid-soap.
Bonus is they're an incredible company that treats its people and the planet well!
My local grocery store does a 50% off Dr. Bronner's sale every year and we always stock up :)
Thank you for replying so quickly. This is really helpful!
My hot tip is to lean into minimalism, at home and while traveling.
Having fewer things means that it’s 1) faster to find what you need and 2) easier to move your stuff if needed. I have increased confidence that if I grabbed clothes and ran out of the house, they would all be things that fit me and that I like. Plus if nothing else it takes less work to keep the house clean!
For travel, we have always tried to travel light as a family, even with young kids. But now we are experimenting with short airline trips with just a small backpack or purse. It’s a fun low stakes way to practice living out of a small pack with 2 kids under 6. We are using hotels or staying with friends / family but we’ve learned a ton about each family members essentials + “must have” comfort items.
Love that! And bonus is that minimalism is better for the environment! Anti-capitalism and prepping all that the same time.
I am definitely not a prepper - and yet, I find that having taken on roles like "Girl Scout Troop Leader" and e-prep chair for my kiddos school, I actually might be!
Here are some of the things I've learned:
1. Parking your car by backing in. This is a Girl Scout rule at any camp, and the reason? In the event of an emergency, chaos lessens if cars aren't all trying to back out and get around each other!
2. Having an emergency kit as well as an 'activity' kit in my car - to be honest, I've never used the emergency kit but I suppose I know it's there. The activity kit however is great all the time - and I keep things like coloring books, air dry clay kits, beading activities etc... along with small sanitizer, tissues etc... (think small toiletry bag)
3. Paperwork on my phone - I have photo album on my phone with pictures of our passports, IDs, insurance etc... it's not foolproof, but it's come in handy
Love this!
What's your favorite document checklist? After the LA fires, we realized we need to get our paperwork in better order (keep originals together, make digital copies, encrypt them for us + to send to an out of state family member, etc). We've been using the FEMA Financial Toolkit, but if there's a better list, I'd love it!! https://www.fema.gov/sites/default/files/documents/fema_effak-toolkit.pdf
The fires also made me appreciate our little Halo Bolt. SO great for charging multiple devices at once while on the go
Re the fires, we TOTALLY underestimated the need for basic comfort items in a go bag... and wound up spending a fortune at Target on items we didn't bring and hotels don't provide. I'd love a link to any lists better prepared people have already figured out! Now I'll include random things like hand sanitizer, baby wipes, garbage bags, hand-wash laundry soap, dish soap, sleep masks, eyeglasses cleaner, pens & paper & tons of screen-free distractions for the kids... but I'm sure I'm missing a ton!
Brekke and I put together a list during the finance and document section of the preparedness series. I just made it free for everyone so you can find that here: https://crammingfortheapocalypse.substack.com/p/prep-series-week-6-finances-and-documents. I highly recommend storing them in an encrypted app on your phone/computer as well. We use 1Password which we already have an account for all our passwords (life saver on that front!)
Thank you! Will go look ❤️
We use 1Password, too! I'm always nervous about data breeches so we just have our docs encrypted on drives, but I'll look into using it now, too.
I'm so grateful for your expertise, Elizabeth! Thank you!!
I have a packable down blanket (purchased at Costco years ago) that is a major comfort item. I take it with me when traveling (hotels never have good throw bkankets) and it's on our emergency evac packing list, too. I like it because it's light and warm & I'm always cold (which gets worse when I'm stressed).
Good call on this packable blanket! We have one in our camping gear that's kind of extraneous -- now I'm thinking that should go into our go bags/one of our cars instead