7 Day Challenge Results

Click here to download the 7 Day Challenge Results (pdf)

REMEMBER
•These are just some suggestions from people and what works for their families – you need to do what will work for YOUR family!
•You are never DONE with Emergency Preparedness / Food Storage. There will always be a new size of clothes to put into the 72 hour kits, water to replace, information to update, food to swap, a new recipe to try, or something to add to your resources.
•DON’T GET OVERWHELMED!! Start small – you don’t have to do everything, just do SOMETHING!


Day 1 – Natural Disaster – IT’S A FIRE! (72-Hour Kit / Evacuation / Grab List)
86 votes by about 11 voters
100% were able to get out of the house within one hour. 63% stayed out of the house for at least 4 hours. 75% of people did NOT have a ‘Grab List’ properly filled out, and 70% had items that they had forgotten to put on their ‘Grab List’. 91% had a first-aid kit with their 72-hour kit.

•Need to rotate food more often, some of what was in the 72-hour kits wasn’t very appetizing!
•72-hour kit is in a backpack that has wheels so it can move easier.
•Make sure items in packs are opened and not in the packaging material that it was in at the store.
•Need more wipes in 72 hour kits.
•Need clothes, bowls and cups in 72 hour kits.
•The soap in my 72 hour kit made the whole box smell – I got body wash.
•We didn’t have enough food in our 72-hour kits.
•Some of the food that we had in the 72-hour kits required heat and it wasn’t convenient to cook.
•I really need to focus on getting things together for rapid evacuation from the house. I need to make sure my 72 hour kits are together and have plenty of food and water.
•Family not aware of plan – need to be reminded and plan needs to be practiced.
•Discussed assignments for family members in case of evacuation.
•Left phone at home and didn’t have access to phone numbers that I needed.
oPhone numbers on a 3x5 card in glove compartment.
oPhone numbers with immediate and extended family, and a ward list in purse.
oPhone numbers in 3-ring binder ‘Emergency Binder’.
•Made small laminated cards to put in everyone’s backpacks/wallets with emergency contact info, location and phone numbers.
•Didn’t plan for pets in case of evacuation.
•All family members should know where to turn off electricity, gas and water.
•Keep shoes by your bed for a quick evacuation. If you have to evacuate when it is dark, you’ll need a flashlight too.
•Our family learned that we need a better evacuation plan. We were scatterbrained on where our meeting place should be, so we had a chance to sit down and work it out. We also realized we need to put together our 72 hour kits.
•Multiple copies of ‘Grab List’ so that kids can help.
•Items on ‘Grab List’ arranged by room so that it goes smoother.
•Learned a lot about our children by asking them what they would grab first in the event of an evacuation – we added a few things to our ‘Grab List’ that we didn’t originally consider.
•Fluorescent stickers on boxes for easy identification for evacuation.
•Have boxes/packaging for evacuating heirlooms listed on ‘Grab List’.
•Need to re-evaluate my ‘Grab-List’, there wasn’t enough room in my car.
•Want to take just the essentials and use the room in the car for clothes and food for my family.
•Scanned important documents/pictures and put them on a flash drive so that I have them if I need to evacuate.
•Would like a notebook/laptop so that I can access any information I’ve stored on a flash drive.
•Need to back-up my hard drive on a regular basis so that I can take that in case of an evacuation.
•Digital pictures or video of home stored on a flash drive would be good to have if you need to make an insurance claim.


Day 2 – It’s a Pandemic – TIME FOR QUARANTINE! (Quarantine / Non-food Storage Items)
122 votes by about 14 voters
92% had fever medicines on hand, while only 57% had medicines for stomach ache relief. 76% were able to provide comfort foods to their family. 85% had toilet paper and paper towels in their storage, while only 64% had face masks. 92% had hand sanitizer in their storage.

•Good idea to have on hand: gloves, face mask, plastic coated bed pads, rubber gloves, hand sanitizer, Milk of Magnesia (antacid/constipation reliever), fever meds, paper towels, toilet paper, and comfort foods: canned Chicken Noodle soups, Jello, and soda crackers. Lemon-lime soda would be good, too, but never have on hand as we aren't soda drinkers. NEED TO BUY: Pepto Bismol - larger hand sanitizer hand pump-type
•Antibacterial spray for use on phones and door knobs would be good to have.
•A good thermometer would be a good addition to our medical supplies.
•Need to upgrade medical supplies and make sure that the first aid kit is up to date and fully stocked.
•Don’t have any face masks.
•Need to get different varieties of stomach medicine to address different stomach issues, and have both Ibuprofen and Acetaminophen on hand.
•Had what I needed although I don’t know if my supplies would have lasted longer than a week.
•If we are in Quarantine, it would probably be a good idea to have some type of a sign to hang on the door to notify others.


Day 3 – Natural Disaster – EARTHQUAKE! (Water / Electricity)
105 votes by about 9 voters
71% stuck with the water quota for the day. 66% used water that came from their storage. 70% of people have the items they need to get the water out of their barrels. 85% of people felt that it was difficult to complete the tasks with the amount of water allowed. 90% of people had enough water stored for 1 gallon per person per day to last 3 days. 80% have enough water for 2 weeks. Only 33% cooked meals without power. And only 44% have their computers backed up.

•I used to think we wouldn’t really need a gallon per person, per day. I leaned that should be bare minimum. I hope to get a whole army of 55 gallon drums lined up! AND I’ve learned that we should have a “year’s supply” of friendship and emotional support because, at times, it felt surreal and would be nice to have that lift/levity of get-togethers and support.
•I drink that much in one day…sheesh!
•It’s good to have a flavored drink mix on hand (like Tang) so it will help hide the taste of water that has been stored.
•Paper plates, bowls and cups were really useful – they didn’t need to be washed.
•We used a lot of baby wipes and Clorox wipes. It would be good to make sure that we had plenty of those in stock.
•We have short term water, but NO long-term water storage.
•Everything that I thought of to cook without power used MORE water – pasta, macaroni n’ cheese, ramen. I need to store more water!
•Need to invest in a power generator.
•Need to get a nightlight that works off of batteries! It gets VERY dark with no lights!
•Should store some extra batteries that the kids don’t know about, so I have some for the flashlights when I need them!
•Make sure to have a phone with a cord. Most of us have cordless phones, and those wouldn’t work without electricity.


Day 4 – Healthy Lifestyle – DELVING INTO FOOD STORAGE! (Car Scenario)
62 votes by about 4 voters
80% do not have a change of clothes in their car. 100% of people did NOT have food/snacks in their car. 75% had water and a first-aid kit in their car. 100% did NOT have any money in their car. Half of the people were above ½ a tank and the other half were below ½ a tank.

•Have a kit for each car.
•Need to add snacks, money and a blanket to my car.
•Important to always keep gas tank above half!
•CAR KIT CONTENTS: First Aid Kit (gauze pads, alcohol prep pads, antibiotic ointment, Band-Aids, 4 non-aspirin pain relievers, ammonia inhalant, surgical tape, butterfly Band-Aids, ibuprofen), Plastic tarp, 5 in 1 Survival Whistle (whistle, compass, water-proof match holder, mirror) , 1/2 box waterproof matches, Multi-function knife kit, Emergency foil blanket (I also have 2 other regular blankets), Flashlight with 2 batteries, 15 feet of rope, work gloves, Water boxes (6--good for 5 years)
•NEED TO ADD: Sturdy walking shoes, sweatshirt, nonperishable food (nuts, dried fruits, granola bars), Emergency phone numbers, Cell phone/car battery charger, Something to read, notebook, pen, Jumper cables, Tools (screwdriver - pliers - wrench), Reflectors or flares, Duct tape, Small, compact shovel, Zip lock baggies, Hand cleaner/sanitizer, A couple of rags or dishcloths to wipe hands on


Day 5 – Economic Crisis – MONEY IS TIGHT! (Conserve Resources / Bake Bread )
58 votes by about 6 voters
Only 33% went without TV for the entire day. Only 37% went without Internet, and 33% went without cell phones. 83% conserved on electricity. Half were able to find a fun and free activity.

•Used the Dutch Oven to cook.
•Hard to turn off the A/C in August!
•This one is a challenge. Our oven is electric not gas, so if the power gets shut off, we can't
bake bread.
•Need to check into a solar oven.
oMy mom has one, and if I had an extra $300 lying around, I'd have one too. My mom uses it all the time. Anything you can cook in a regular oven, you can cook in a solar oven. You can also use it to sanitize your water.
•I’m glad I have been making bread and getting better at it.


Day 6 – Everyday Emergency – DINNER GUESTS! (Food Storage)
12 votes by 2 voters
100% did NOT make an appetizer, and half were able to make a vegetarian meal. 100% came up with side dishes and half came up with a delicious dessert.

•Didn’t know what to make that was vegetarian and impressive.
•If we have to live off of our food storage, we probably won’t be eating meat every night. I need to come up with more vegetarian meals and recipes to add to my cooking repertoire.
•Never thought that dinner guests would be an emergency to prepare for. It was probably the most prepared item my family had. My family will take what we learned this week and prepare better.
•Food storage needs improvement overall.
•Need to have more ideas for meals using my food storage.
•Need more freezer space.
•Should stock my pantry better.


Day 7 – Ward Emergency – HOW’S YOUR FAMILY? (Ward Emergency Plan)
5 votes by 1 voter
1 person who contacted each of their families (some were face-to-face contact), reported by 11:00 am and told their families about the Ice Cream Social.

•I’d like to know if our ward/stake has a plan to gather together if needed?
•It’s easier to help in a situation if you know your home teaching family.
•Incorrect phone numbers/unknown addresses on many.