Disaster Kit For Babies!

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.

Food Storage Recipe - Rocky Road Fudge

You have to have snacks and feel-good food factored into your food storage! Things would get pretty bad if you could not have a treat every once in a while.

Rocky Road Fudge

In a saucepan combine:

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate morsels
1 cup of butterscotch morsels
a half a cup of peanut butter

Place this over low heat and melt it until it is well blended and smooth.

Add to it:

3 cups of miniature marshmallows
1 cup of salted peanuts

Mix this well and spread it into a foil lined 8 inch square pan. Chill in the fridge until firm.

YUMMY!!

Ways To Make or Find Extra Money

1. Get a second job - There are companies looking for part-time help all the time and this can be a great way to earn more cash. Just remember to consider the extra expenses you might incur while working a second job; If you're eating out every night because you're working 14 hours a day and no longer have time to cook for yourself, or incurring additional expenses for clothing, or transportation because the new job is across town, or the extra income has bumped you up into a much higher tax bracket… you get the point.

2. Cut back on spending - This is usually the easiest and quickest way to create more cash, and it's something everyone can do. If you’ve already sized down and cut back as far as you can, I challenge you to look further. Write down all of your spending for a few weeks and undoubtedly you’ll find something else that can be cut. No matter how small the savings may be, every penny counts. Example-- Take your own coffee instead of buying at coffee shop.

3. Cancel subscriptions - If you have several magazines you're subscribed to, keep your favorite one and cancel the rest. Daily newspaper subscriptions can be very costly, consider going to a weekend only delivery (to get the coupons of course!), or cancel your subscription altogether and pick up the Sunday paper at a local store each week as needed. And if any of your subscriptions have time left, you should be able to get a refund for the difference.

4. Stop buying new books - Find something good to read at the library instead, for free! Many libraries will even order new books for you to read if it's in their budget, all you have to do is ask. Depending on how serious your bookstore habit is you could save a lot of money here. There are even a lot of free kindle books.

5. Use those coupons! - When you toss those weekly coupons out with the trash it's almost like throwing away CASH. Take a few moments each week to cut out just the coupons you can really use, then look through the grocery store advertisements and match your coupons to the sales, saving double! And if your grocery store doesn’t offer a double coupon deal, try to find one that does.

6. Forget your loyalty to name brands - You can save a fortune buying store brand foods, which are almost always just as good. Especially when using the item in a recipe with other ingredients – no one will notice the difference. You don't have to commit to buying them for the rest of your life, just try them!

7. Combine errands into one trip - I've used this little trick for years. The more errands you can combine into one weekly trip, the more gas money you will save, therefore creating more cash. You can also carpool or walk to your job and local stores if possible. When carpooling with a friend, either take turns driving your own car each week or split the gas money.

8. Stop buying expensive gifts - When you need to create more cash, spending money on expensive store-bought gifts for your family and friends, or even yourself, doesn’t make much sense. Your homemade gifts from the kitchen etc are a great idea.

9. Cancel memberships to health clubs - Walking is one of the best exercises for you anyways, and it’s free! If you don’t have an area near your home that is good for walking, many shopping malls open up early so people can walk safely and comfortably (no bad weather conditions to worry about). And, at that hour the stores will still be closed so there won’t be any temptation to spend money!

10. Create cash by selling your unused items online - Selling items on eBay can be a little time consuming, but I've sold alot of items we no longer use and are in great condition and the bonus of making extra money is the decluttering!

11. Have a garage sale or work with consignment stores - When dealing with consignment stores, make sure they are reputable and have been in business for a while. Otherwise you could give them a carload of items to sell, only to have them close up shop the following month. You could even start your own business by helping other people sell their stuff - if this is something you enjoy doing.

12. Sell your handcrafted products for a profit - The list of items you can make to sell is endless – dog houses, book cases, bird houses, painted mailboxes, plants, quilts, crocheted baby blankets, cloth diapers, pillows, baked goods, homemade bread, jelly, Christmas ornaments, toys, picture frames… you name it! If it’s something people want or need to buy, you can make it and earn a nice profit!

13. Offer services or start a home business - If you have the ability or qualifications you can offer several services from your own home - such as childcare, senior care, tutoring, music lessons, sewing, typing, lawn care, housecleaning, pet sitting and even personal shopping. Have some inexpensive business cards printed announcing your services and hand them out to everyone

14. Have a bake sale with lemonade while you are having a yardsale.

15. Give with a pure heart - When giving, do not give to make money or earn favor… “Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” Luke 6:38 (NIV) And that could be more important than anything else you do, not just for creating more cash, but also for living a better life!

501 Easy Ways To Make Money At Home


Savings Challenge

Unclaimed Money - I Actually Found Some!!

I think that everyone should do a search for any unclaimed money!! I had a banner ad on my email page for Indiana Unclaimed Money. So out of curiosity I went to it and did a search for hubby, my kids, etc. Then did my name and I actually found that I had $50.00 of unclaimed money from a utility deposit from where I lived about 6 years ago!! Pretty cool Now I am on NAUPA website , which can do all states. It is recommended that you search in every state that you have ever lived in. It is easy and free to do. I did my search for Indiana and found my unclaimed money, had to fill out a form and they are sending me a form to fill out to send back to the state to verify who I am and I will get my money. Cool!!

5 Things That Should Be in a Survival Kit

There are certain situations that require a person to have the tools needed to survive. It does not necessarily have to be an outlandish scenario such as the collapse of the federal government either. A person may simply be put in a difficult situation due to being stranded, lost, or confronted with harsh geography or weather. In such a situation, it is very important to have the proper field equipment and survival gear. Below is a top five list of items that may come in very handy.

1. A First Aid Kit

One obvious thing that should be in a person's survival gear is first aid. Certain things should be included in a first aid kit. This includes bandages, wraps, and disinfectant. However, it should include other items for situations you may have not have thought of. For example, a quality first aid kit should also include a snake bite kit and insect sting and bite treatment scrub.

2. A Forever Flashlight

If you are stranded in the wilderness, having the ability to see in the dark may help you survive. This is why a flashlight should always be part of any survival kit. Unfortunately, the lifespan of the batteries of most flashlights is rather short. One solution is to purchase a Forever Flashlight instead. Such a flashlight only needs to be shaken to be charged. Half a minute of shaking will provide exactly 5 minutes of light.

3. A Emergency Fire Starter

Unfortunately, starting a fire in the wild is not as simple as it is portrayed in cartoons. Rubbing two sticks together is unlikely to do the job. For this reason, it is also a smart idea to keep some kind of fire starter in your survival gear. There are thankfully many great choices that work much better than simple match sticks. This can include tinder quick fire tabs, a tindercard, or firelighting flint.

4. A Emergency Rain Poncho

Dealing with the elements is one of the most important steps to surviving the wild. At some point, it is going to rain. If you don't have proper protection, you could get soaked and suffer from hypothermia. One way to stop this from happening is to have a nylon poncho in your survival kit. Such ponchos are easy to fold and store in small spaces.

5. A Survival Hatchet

Having the proper tools is also important. At some point, it is likely you'll need something a little stronger than a Swiss arm knife. One such tool is a survival hatchet. This will come in handy if you need to chop anything. This kind of hatchet is also multi-purposed. It is designed to also be used as a hammer, nail puller, and a crowbar.