Massive band of storms wrecks Ind. towns, kills 3 - Yahoo! News

Massive band of storms wrecks Ind. towns, kills 3 - Yahoo! News


I am so sick - still have family that we can't get ahold of and we cannot get out of our town into this area to see if they are alright.

Getting Ready For Severe Weather

I am in Indiana and we have a huge track of possibly severe weather headed our way. I am trying to get prepared for it the best that I can. Last tornado season I had cleaned out a closet in the center of the house to be a safe room. But, over the winter I have stored stuff in it. So I am just putting a radio and stuff I will need or could need in the hallway. I also have pillows & blankets to cover ourselves with for more protection. Also have a charged up cell phone. We have no land-line so I have had my cell on charger all night so that I would be prepared for today.
Hope that everyone is safe!!

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Baby Needs A Disaster Kit Too!

72 Hour Kits and Disaster Kits For Babies

If you have an infant or a toddler at home, consider including these items as you put together your disaster and 72 hour kits for your family:

Instant formula. Make sure to buy the kind you do not need to mix with water. Also, track expiration dates and rotate through them frequently.

5 small bottles for the formula. You can fill them with purified water to provide extra drinking water in your kit.

Refrigerated bottle bag. This is helpful in case you get the chance to warm up or cool down the formula you can keep it at that temperature for around 4 hours.

Plenty of diapers. The exact number needed depends on the age of your child. I recommend including about 20 disposables and also 3 cloth ones that can be washed, dried and reused in case you run out.

A travel package of wipes. These are great for washing as well. If you have space I'd recommend just storing a full box of wet wipes.

Pacifiers. Put in two just in case. If you're stressed the baby will probably be stressed and it's a comfort for them.

3 cotton/flannel wraps, and 2 muslin wraps.

Baby food. Depending on the age of your child you will probably want to include some jars of baby food. Once your baby can eat mostly regular foods just pop these out of your kit.

Washcloths. Stored around 10 small ones, it's an eventuality, you'll require them at some point.

Small comfort toy/s. If you child has a specific toy or blanket that he/she really loves, try to grab that in an emergency. But if you can't, then try to have a usable substitute that will help comfort the child in lieu of their favorite item.

Clothes - and plenty of them! This is a tough one as babies grow so fast. One trick I recommend is that as you swap out their closets to put in the next size of clothes to remember to do that in the disaster kit at the same time. Make sure to include clothes for all types of weather and include lots of spares.

Ziplock bags. These work great for storing used diapers or anything else that is dirty, or clean for that matter.

Bulb nose syringe and saline. Saline loosens mucous and syringe sucks water/mucous/misc out of ears, nose, mouth etc. You never know if you'll need one so it's great to keep in your kit.

Infant tylenol/motrin. It never fails that kids get sick as soon as you are somewhere WITHOUT your medicine. So this is a definite requirement for any child disaster kit.

Desatin or other diaper rash cream and travel-sized baby powder. The last thing you'd want in an emergency situation is a sore bum and nothing to treat it with. This will be especially useful if you have to resort to using cloth diapers.

The most important thing to remember is to always be thinking about what is appropriate for your child's age and stage of development. For example, if your child is no longer drinking bottles then there is no reason to keep formula in your disaster kit.

Visit my blog Food Storage Made Easy for some more great resources about 72 hour kits and food storage in general.





The Prepper's Pocket Guide: 101 Easy Things You Can Do to Ready Your Home for a Disaster Ultimate Family Preparedness Pak

120 Serving Breakfast Only @ $198 (120 Servings breakfast assortment. No entrees) - Order Now!

You Can Make Your Own Soda & Off-Grid

This saves money and is healthier than buying soda at the store. You control the soda with this machine and it pays for itself quickly!! The best part is that this uses NO BATTERIES OR ELECTRICITY!!!! The best-tasting soda starts with great-tasting water! Make fresh seltzer and soda with SodaStream’s compact soda maker and concentrated sodamix. 27 flavors – regular, diet, caffeine-free and cocktail mixers. No more lugging, storing or recycling!
The ultimate RV accessory! No more lugging, storing and recycling store-bought cans and bottles. Make fresh seltzer and soda with SodaStream’s compact soda maker and concentrated sodamix. 27 flavors – regular, diet, caffeine-free and cocktail mixers.


Ultimate Family Preparedness Pak

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The Many Ways To Wash Clothes Off-Grid

Since it is getting warmer and I can now hang my clothes outside to dry , I have been thinking of the many ways that you can wash clothing Off-Grid. There are a few different ways to make sure that you have clean clothing in an emergency. You have several ways to do it while Surviving Off Off-Grid. I have highlighted several of the ways over the last few years.
Hand-Crank Washing Machine

The Laundry Pod

The $6.50 Washing Machine


The bicycle washing machine from The Colony is one of my favorite ideas.

Another great way I just seen was to use a Commercial 5-Gallon Salad Dryer. They are more sturdy and a lot bigger that the cheap salad spinners you can get for home use.

I also am wanting to get one of these Washboards for smaller loads, like socks and underwear.

As you can see there are many ways to keep your clothing clean in a SHTF situation.

How to Grow Sweet Potatoes (With Photos)

La Vida Locavore:: How to Grow Sweet Potatoes (With Photos)


Awesome post. I want to do this badly.

The Prepper's Pocket Guide: 101 Easy Things You Can Do to Ready Your Home for a DisasterUltimate Family Preparedness Pak

120 Serving Breakfast Only @ $198 (120 Servings breakfast assortment. No entrees) - Order Now!

Wyoming Prepares Doomsday Contingency Plans "In the Event of a Complete Economic or Political Collapse in the United States"

Wyoming Prepares Doomsday Contingency Plans "In the Event of a Complete Economic or Political Collapse in the United States"

The Prepper's Pocket Guide: 101 Easy Things You Can Do to Ready Your Home for a DisasterUltimate Family Preparedness Pak

120 Serving Breakfast Only @ $198 (120 Servings breakfast assortment. No entrees) - Order Now!

Food Storage Recipe - Everyday Pasta Sauce

This is a great way to be frugal and have a good pasta sauce. Takes things that should be in your food storage. Canned tomatoes are a thing that I try to have an over abundance of in my food storage. You can do so much with them.

Everyday Pasta Sauce

1 medium onion , chopped. Or you can use the equivalent of dehydrated or freeze-dried onions. The best ones that I have tried are from The Ready Store

1 tablespoon of olive oil

1 14.5 ounce of diced tomatoes with basil, garlic, and oregano

1 6 ounce can of tomato paste

1 cup of water

cook the onion in the oil until tender , add the rest of the ingredients and bring it to a boil. Reduce the heat and let it simmer for about 15 minutes. Stir it occasionally. Serve it over pasta.

There you have it. A frugal meal that is good.






The Prepper's Pocket Guide: 101 Easy Things You Can Do to Ready Your Home for a Disaster Ultimate Family Preparedness Pak

120 Serving Breakfast Only @ $198 (120 Servings breakfast assortment. No entrees) - Order Now!

Food Storage Recipes: Powdered Milk Smoothies

I always see these little smoothie kits at Costco that I am TOTALLY tempted to buy. Who wouldn't want to have easy, healthy, ready-to-blend smoothies sitting there just waiting to be eaten? The problem is they are so expensive I can never justify buying them. My sister-in-law clued me in to this system she has been using to make her own homemade smoothie kits and the best part is they use Powdered Milk so they are perfect for rotating through my food storage supply of milk.

Fruit and Yogurt Smoothies

Serving Size: 2 large glasses
Prep Time: 5 minutes (if you make a bunch of baggies ahead of time)

Ingredients:
3/4 cup of frozen strawberries
1/2 cup of frozen blueberries
1/2 cup of frozen peaches or raspberries
1 cup of Powdered Milk prepared*
5 ice cubes of fat-free strawberry yogurt (or any other kind)
Sugar or other sweetener to taste
*instead of water for the liquid part of the milk, you can use juice for the flavor and sweetness, and the powder to make it creamy!

Directions:
Pour milk into Blender
Add fruit, blend
Add yogurt cubes, blend
Add sugar, blend
Eat with a spoon, or drink with a straw

Directions to prepare a bunch of smoothies for the go ahead of time:
Buy 8-10 ziploc baggies
Buy bags of your favorite frozen fruits (I did 2 strawberry, 1 peach, 1 blueberry)
Divide up your fruit into the baggies
Divide a large container of yogurt into ice cube containers and freeze
Once frozen place 5 yogurt cubes into each ziploc bag
Put bags into the freezer and use them up as you wish, all you'll need to add is the milk and sugar.

By having all of these smoothie packets available in my freezer I have a ready-made, simple, healthy, and delicious meal or snack on hand at all times. My family loves these smoothies and I can feel good about them eating them, knowing exactly what's inside. And the best part is, I no longer have to worry about using up the powdered milk from my food storage before it expires. I can always fall back on my trusted smoothies even if I don't do enough other baking to use up the rest. Having a husband who refuses to drink regular Powdered Milk makes it pretty difficult to find ways to sneak it into my cooking, but the smoothie trick works great!


Jodi has a passion for learning about emergency preparedness and food storage in order to help her family be prepared for any kinds of emergency situations. She shares more food storage recipes and other great tips for planning, buying, and eating your food storage over at her blog Food Storage Made Easy.

If you are new to food storage, sign up for the FREE BabyStep Checklists which will walk you through the entire process of putting together a basic emergency preparedness plan, water storage, three month food supply, and year supply of long term food storage.

Some Useful Links

Survival Plan 2012 - Preparation Is The Key To Survival

Preparing - Position Yourself And Your Family To Survive Disaster

Urban Survival:survive Any Disaster Without Leaving Home

Ultimate Campfire Kitchen Camping Guide

How To Make A Solar Panel -home Wind Power Generator

Diy Solar Water Heater

How To Make A Solar Power Generator For Less Than $300

Self-sufficient-life.com


The Prepper's Pocket Guide: 101 Easy Things You Can Do to Ready Your Home for a Disaster Ultimate Family Preparedness Pak

120 Serving Breakfast Only @ $198 (120 Servings breakfast assortment. No entrees) - Order Now!