Are You Prepared? Do the Obvious!

Here in Oklahoma, and many parts of the Midwest, we had a glorious warm fall. Temperatures reached into the 70s each week and dipped only to lows in the mid 30s for the most part.

We celebrated Christmas on Monday the 27th, waiting for my grandson to come be with us. It was a delightful family gathering, presents aplenty. I made ham, mac and cheese, and scalloped corn, each in separate crock pots. My daughter brought a salad and a pecan pie. We feasted and enjoyed the day. We were too tired (or lazy) to wash the crock pots and do the final kitchen cleanup.

Bad Winter Weather Strikes

It was raining as it had been for a couple of days. The basement was doing its usual leak from the east wall. The wind was picking up and really whipped up in the night as the temps began to drop. It turned to sleet, ice, and then snow. The wind was really putting up some strong gales. The electricity was still on and the heater was running. All was good.

This morning, my husband noted that we were out of dry dog food for our dogs. So, bundling up, we planned to go to the grocery store. We went out to start the car; the car doors were frozen shut. The gate to the chicken pen was frozen shut. I had to hammer the door on the coop it to loosen it up and let the chickens out. Their water was slushy, but drinkable. There was snow on the ground, only about 2 inches, but the roads looked questionably icy. Within the hour I saw 2 tow trucks pass by. Well, maybe we will postpone the trip to the store. We usually mix wet food in with the dry food, and we have some canned dog food the dogs can eat for now.

The point of this article is this: Do the obvious! Stay organized and prepared!

Are You Prepared for Days of Ice with No Electricity?

What if the electricity had gone off? I don’t want those icky sticky crock pots sitting in the kitchen, or a dishwasher full of dirty dishes. I have a small kitchen and the counters were cluttered and full. What about the laundry? It was thankfully caught up. The house is still cluttered from all of the Christmas wrappings and festivities. The garage is so cluttered that we cannot get the cars in out of the weather. The chicken waterer is not heated. My freezers are way too full. Again, what if the electricity had gone off? Things would turn out very differently, very quickly. We don’t have back up heat, or a generator. I have been wanting to make one of those cute clay pots you heat with tea lights, and a rocket stove, and a solar oven.

Canned Vegetables

I have my freezers full of food and my shelves are lined with canned foods. I review my food storage log every couple of months and make sure it is up to date. Besides I can look at my shelves and see what is getting low. I watch for bargains at the grocery store. Right now, 12 oz. bags of fresh cranberries are 50 cents each. I bought 10 and I will can some cranberry juice.

But what if the power did not come back on for a couple of days or even weeks? I would not want to lose the food in the freezer. I need to start canning more of the freezer items. I have several canning jars holding non-food items and none more available for canning. I need to make sure canning supplies are available. I wish I had a supply of food for my pets – but I have neglected to incorporate pet food and supplies in my storage inventory.

Do the Obvious Things to Stay Prepared

This scenario is relatively minor. But, I can’t help but wonder, what if…

I am retired, so there’s no excuse not to get these things in order. I have the time and skills. Meanwhile, this served as a good practice run for a bigger storm, calamity, or misfortune. There would be plenty of gaps in my preparedness if a real catastrophe were to occur. Why not take care of the obvious ones that I know about?

Oh, and that leaky basement wall… Better check the gutters. And the cartridges need to be replaced on my printer, I am out of black, so I am printing this in red.

My #1 resolution for 2016: No more putting off the obvious tasks to keep my house in order.

Thanks to “Connie’s Musings” for participating in the [Grow] Network Writing Contest.

We’re still getting the list of prizes lined up for the Spring 2016 Writing Contest. We awarded over $2,097 in prizes for the Fall Writing Contest, including all of the following:

– A 21.5 quart pressure canner from All American, a $382 value
– A Survival Still emergency water purification still, a $288 value
– 1 free 1 year membership in the [Grow] Network Core Community, a $239 value
– A Worm Factory 360 vermicomposting system from Nature’s Footprint, a $128 value
– 2 large heirloom seed collections from Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds, valued at $103 each
– A Metro-Grower Elite sub-irrigation growing container from Nature’s Footprint, a $69 value
– 2 copies of the complete Home Grown Food Summit, valued at $67 each
– 3 free 3 month memberships in the [Grow] Network Core Community, valued at $59 each
– 4 copies of the Grow Your Own Groceries DVD video set, valued at $43 each
– A Bug Out Seed Kit from the Sustainable Seed Company, a $46 value
– 4 copies of the Alternatives To Dentists DVD video, valued at $33 each
– 4 copies of the Greenhouse of the Future DVD and eBook, valued at $31 each