tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4738062031052371885.post4765760086797406463..comments2024-03-17T10:07:53.205-07:00Comments on The Well-Rounded Mama: Have an Emergency Food and Water ReserveWell-Rounded Mamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04129621631406155340noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4738062031052371885.post-1194198614431428782014-02-18T00:37:28.571-08:002014-02-18T00:37:28.571-08:00Back again for the tight budget/tight schedule wat...Back again for the tight budget/tight schedule water storage plan.<br /><br />1. Find your water storage space. It should be cool and dark. <br /><br />2. Find your water containers. You can use any plastic or glass food or drink container with a screw-on cap, <i>except</i> don't use milk jugs because milk proteins are very difficult to remove from plastic, so that a milk jug may have enough gunk in it to allow the growth of bacteria even if it looks clean. Also, you probably won't want to use containers that held strong-tasting items such as pickles or salsa because they will affect the taste of the water. <br /><br />3. Carefully clean each container. Use a bottle brush that you previously cleaned with hot water and dish detergent. Also get a new scrubby sponge. Clean every crevice and corner in both the bottle/jar and the cap. Lots of hot water and a good basic dish detergent are all you should need.<br /><br />4. Fill each container with cold tap water, screw on the cap, and put it away.<br /><br />5. Continue until your storage space is full. If you keep a record of how much water you put away, you'll know how long your supply will last in the event of an emergency. The usual rule is 1 gallon per person per day, and don't forget pets.<br /><br />6. Whenever you get a new container that is suitable for water storage, rotate an old one out. As with your cans, keep it consistent; for example, always put a new bottle on the right end back of the bottom shelf, take out the one at the left end front of the top shelf, and move the bottles up and to the left to make room. If the water in a container looks weird when you pick it up, dump it out, clean it and refill it. <br /><br />Jenny IslanderAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4738062031052371885.post-52482785834265662422014-02-11T09:50:22.351-08:002014-02-11T09:50:22.351-08:00If you are working with a tight budget and schedul...If you are working with a tight budget and schedule, here's a way to build a food reserve:<br /><br />1. Figure out how much shelf space you need for canned/boxed low-prep food if you're just feeding the household between shopping days.<br /><br />2. Double that. If possible, triple it. Move the stuff that was on the extra shelf space to somewhere else, or decide whether you really need it. Food is important! (If you were raised to think of food as that scary calorie-having substance you poke at your naughty incorrectly-shaped body when you absolutely must, do your best to ditch that mindset. Food is fuel in an emergency; food is morale; food keeps you going. Yeah, preaching to the choir, I know, but I've been gobsmacked lately by <i>just how much</i> this mindset permeates U.S. culture. I dunno, maybe somebody interested in disaster prep will see this in her Google results and rethink her diet.)<br /><br />3. Buy your chunky soups, canned fruit, etc., on sale. Buy what you usually eat. Fill every shelf clear to the back; organize the food by type, so that you have a line of soup going to the back, a line of fruit, etc. Put the oldest cans on the bottom in the back, the newest on the top in the front.<br /><br />4. When you need something for daily use, pull from the bottom in the back first. This feels awkward to begin with, but eventually becomes a habit. When you shop, fill from the front on the top. Yes, stuff needs to be moved around when you do this. It's still less hassle than building special shelves in your basement.<br /><br />5. When the blizzard hits, you'll have food.<br /><br />Jenny IslanderAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4738062031052371885.post-18902883485111077232014-02-11T06:46:53.310-08:002014-02-11T06:46:53.310-08:00And don't forget the pet food and cat litter i...And don't forget the pet food and cat litter if you need it. Don't be going out in a blizzard because Precious doesn't have any Fancy Feast.<br /><br />I had a food/water/diaper/formula/pet food store in my old house but we pitched it all when we moved, because the food was all past its expiration date. Need to build it back up.Maitrihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07559563433241033522noreply@blogger.com