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.

Sunday - Day 7: Ward Emergency - HOW"S YOUR FAMILY? (For those in Eastvale 1st Ward - anyone else should scroll down to see your scenario)

***EASTVALE 1 WARD MEMBERS - IMPORTANT NOTE FOR SUNDAY’S CHALLENGE: Today we are testing our Ward Emergency Plan. Those people in NOT in the Eastvale 1st Ward will complete a different scenario today (scroll down to see it).

Here is our scenario:
Our area has suffered a devastating earthquake and we need to make sure that all the members of the ward are accounted for and see if they have any needs that we should be aware of.


DAILY LIMITATIONS AND TASKS:
•For this day, and ALL days of the challenge: no spending money, no going to stores, and no restaurants.
•All Home Teachers need to contact EACH of their families and check on their status.
•Although you have the information now, you should wait until Sunday to contact your families. All calls to families should be completed before 11:00 am Sunday morning.
•Each Home Teacher needs to contact his Home Teaching Supervisor by 11:00 am to report his findings.
•Some families have been given specific scenarios to report when they are contacted (missing spouse, broken leg, caved in home, etc.), please relay that information to the Home Teaching Supervisor.
•Our goal is to find EVERY scenario that has been given to the assigned families and make sure that it gets reported to the Home Teaching Supervisor who will be reporting it to the Bishop. We want to see if the Bishop hears about all the needs throughout the ward.
•To celebrate the END of the 7-Day-Challenge (woo-hoo!!), we will be meeting at the Biehn’s home for ice cream at 7:00 pm TONIGHT (casual dress)! Please make sure to share that information with EACH of your Home Teaching Families!!

ADVANCED REQUIREMENTS (for anyone who feels up to it)
•Make face-to-face contact with your assigned Home Teaching families.

The goal with the 7 Day Challenge is to explore and evaluate how prepared we are for whatever emergencies may come our way. Try to participate to the EXTENT POSSIBLE with your entire family. It is okay to modify the scenario to fit the needs/schedule/circumstances of your family. And, if the most that you can do on a given day is walk through the scenario in your head and discuss it with your family – that’s ok! Anything is better than nothing!
Please make sure to:
*Fill out the Data Form on a Daily basis.
*Log onto www.EastvalePrepared.blogspot.com and answer the questions and leave comments. This will help us to analyze and understand the results of the 7 Day Challenge (everyone should do this - even if you are not a member of our ward, and even if you just walk through the scenario in your head).
*Participate in the ongoing discussion on Facebook (Eastvale Prepared). Share pictures, your experience, thoughts, ideas, and insights. Let’s learn from each other!

Sunday - Day 7: Everyday Emergency - YOU NEED WHAT? (For Those Not in Eastvale 1st Ward)

***EASTVALE 1 WARD MEMBERS - IMPORTANT NOTE FOR SUNDAY’S CHALLENGE: Today we are testing our Ward Emergency Plan. THIS scenario is intended for people who are participating in the 7 Day Challenge that are not members of the Eastvale 1st Ward. Please check your email for today’s limitations and tasks.


One of your family members calls you in a panic and says they need a treat for a party they are going to (they didn’t know about it, so don’t freak out at them!). You are stranded at home with no car, and can’t get to a store.

DEPENDING ON YOUR SCHEDULE… ONCE YOU MAKE THE TREAT YOU ARE OFFICIALLY DONE WITH THE 7 DAY CHALLENGE!

DAILY LIMITATIONS AND TASKS:
•For this day, and ALL days of the challenge: no spending money, no going to stores, and no restaurants.
•You have run out of fresh butter (you can use shelf stable alternatives).
•You have run out of eggs milk (you can use powdered).
•You have run out of fresh milk (you can use powdered).
•Make a delicious dessert.
•Once the dessert is ready, YOU ARE DONE!

ADVANCED REQUIREMENTS (for anyone who feels up to it)
•Try it with no perishables or pre-made mixes at all.

The goal with the 7 Day Challenge is to explore and evaluate how prepared we are for whatever emergencies may come our way. Try to participate to the EXTENT POSSIBLE with your entire family. It is okay to modify the scenario to fit the needs/schedule/circumstances of your family. And, if the most that you can do on a given day is walk through the scenario in your head and discuss it with your family – that’s ok! Anything is better than nothing!
Please make sure to:
*Fill out the Data Form on a Daily basis.
*Log onto www.EastvalePrepared.blogspot.com and answer the questions and leave comments. This will help us to analyze and understand the results of the 7 Day Challenge (everyone should do this - even if you are not a member of our ward, and even if you just walk through the scenario in your head).
*Participate in the ongoing discussion on Facebook (Eastvale Prepared). Share pictures, your experience, thoughts, ideas, and insights. Let’s learn from each other!

Saturday - Day 6: Everyday Emergency - DINNER GUESTS!

***EASTVALE 1 WARD MEMBERS - IMPORTANT NOTE FOR SUNDAY’S CHALLENGE:
We will be testing our Ward Emergency Plan on Sunday. We want you to get the full effect of Sunday’s challenge, so make sure to check your email Saturday night after 8 pm.

Your spouse calls and announces their boss is coming over for dinner (or your boss invites themselves over for dinner TONIGHT!). You have no WAY to go to the store, and you have to come up with an impressive meal from what you already have in your home.

DAILY LIMITATIONS AND TASKS:
•For this day, and ALL days of the challenge: no spending money, no going to stores, and no restaurants.
•You can use whatever food you have in your house (includes fridge, freezer).
•The meal has to have an appetizer.
•The main course can’t use meat because the boss is a vegetarian (your meal CAN use milk, and dairy).
•You have to have at least 2 side dishes for the dinner.
•The meal has to have a dessert.
•You have to get other family members to help you make the meal and or set the table “NICELY” (share your pictures on Facebook).
•Brainstorm what other types of “everyday” emergencies you may have, and how you could better prepare for them.

ADVANCED REQUIREMENTS (for anyone who feels up to it)
•You only have 1 hour from when you start to finish making the meal

REMEMBER, TOMORROW’S LIMITATIONS AND TASKS WILL BE COMPLETELY DIFFERENT. How long would you have lasted under these conditions? Do you have a wide variety of food items stored?

The goal with the 7 Day Challenge is to explore and evaluate how prepared we are for whatever emergencies may come our way. Try to participate to the EXTENT POSSIBLE with your entire family. It is okay to modify the scenario to fit the needs/schedule/circumstances of your family. And, if the most that you can do on a given day is walk through the scenario in your head and discuss it with your family – that’s ok! Anything is better than nothing!
Please make sure to:
*Fill out the Data Form on a Daily basis.
*Log onto www.EastvalePrepared.blogspot.com and answer the questions and leave comments. This will help us to analyze and understand the results of the 7 Day Challenge (everyone should do this - even if you are not a member of our ward, and even if you just walk through the scenario in your head).
*Participate in the ongoing discussion on Facebook (Eastvale Prepared). Share pictures, your experience, thoughts, ideas, and insights. Let’s learn from each other!

Friday - Day 5: ECONOMIC CRISIS - MONEY IS TIGHT!

Times are tough. You have no income at the time. You have lost some critical utilities and are having to cut back on certain items. It’s been a rough, trying week and you want to do something fun with your family or your friends.

DAILY LIMITATIONS AND TASKS:
•For this day, and ALL days of the challenge: no spending money, no going to stores, and no restaurants.
•You no longer have cable, internet (except for the challenge), or cell phones (except for the challenge) due to lack of money.
•You need to be conscientious and conserve water (remember toilets use 1½ to 3 gallons of water PER FLUSH).
•You need to be conscientious and conserve electricity.
•You ran out of bread, need some, and don’t have money for store bought -YES today is the day you have to actually try making bread.
•You can’t participate in activities that cost money.
•Do a fun activity with your family, or with your friends that costs no money outside of the home (If you have a prior commitment – that’s okay).

ADVANCED REQUIREMENTS (for anyone who feels up to it)
•You can’t afford gas for your car, and you’re on empty.
•Your power gets shut off!

REMEMBER, TOMORROW’S LIMITATIONS AND TASKS WILL BE COMPLETELY DIFFERENT. How long would you have lasted under these conditions? What can you do to conserve money? Do you know how to use your food storage? Do you know how to make bread?

The goal with the 7 Day Challenge is to explore and evaluate how prepared we are for whatever emergencies may come our way. Try to participate to the EXTENT POSSIBLE with your entire family. It is okay to modify the scenario to fit the needs/schedule/circumstances of your family. And, if the most that you can do on a given day is walk through the scenario in your head and discuss it with your family – that’s ok! Anything is better than nothing! Please make sure to:
*Fill out the Data Form on a Daily basis.
*Log onto www.EastvalePrepared.blogspot.com and answer the questions and leave comments. This will help us to analyze and understand the results of the 7 Day Challenge (everyone should do this - even if you are not a member of our ward, and even if you just walk through the scenario in your head).
*Participate in the ongoing discussion on Facebook (Eastvale Prepared). Share pictures, your experience, thoughts, ideas, and insights. Let’s learn from each other!

Thursday - Day 4: HEALTHY LIFESTYLE - DELVING INTO FOOD STORAGE

Your doctor has indicated that you need to make some changes to your unhealthy eating habits. You need to eat more grains and legumes, and stay away from processed food. Fortunately this is a benefit of using your food storage!

While traveling on the 91 freeway to your doctor’s appointment, you learn that there is an accident up ahead. A tanker truck has caught on fire and exploded (does this sound familiar?). There is no way to exit the freeway. It is expected that you will be sitting in traffic for about 6 hours. This part of the challenge is more of a “THINKING” opportunity.

DAILY LIMITATIONS AND TASKS:
•For this day, and ALL days of the challenge: no spending money, no going to stores, and no restaurants.
•You can’t use any pre-packaged or convenience foods.
•Your breakfast has to be low sugar.
•Your lunch has to be low fat (if you’re at work already, think about what you could have brought or made).
•Your dinner has to be from scratch using whole grains and/or legumes.
•You have to have 3-5 servings of fruits and vegetables today.

ADVANCED REQUIREMENTS (for anyone who feels up to it)
•You have to figure out how many calories, grams of sugar, grams of fat, and grams of fiber are in what you are making.
•Your whole family has to adapt to this healthy living for the day (you can’t just make yourself a healthy sandwich and give the kids hot dogs).

REMEMBER, TOMORROW’S LIMITATIONS AND TASKS WILL BE COMPLETELY DIFFERENT. How long would you have lasted under these conditions? What are the benefits of food storage? Have you prepared your car in case of an emergency? Do you keep your gas tank above 1/2?


The goal with the 7 Day Challenge is to explore and evaluate how prepared we are for whatever emergencies may come our way. Try to participate to the EXTENT POSSIBLE with your entire family. It is okay to modify the scenario to fit the needs/schedule/circumstances of your family. And, if the most that you can do on a given day is walk through the scenario in your head and discuss it with your family – that’s ok! Anything is better than nothing! Please make sure to:
*Fill out the Data Form on a Daily basis.
*Log onto www.EastvalePrepared.blogspot.com and answer the questions and leave comments. This will help us to analyze and understand the results of the 7 Day Challenge (everyone should do this - even if you are not a member of our ward, and even if you just walk through the scenario in your head).
*Participate in the ongoing discussion on Facebook (Eastvale Prepared). Share pictures, your experience, thoughts, ideas, and insights. Let’s learn from each other!

Wednesday - Day 3: NATURAL DISASTER - EARTHQUAKE!!

There has been an earthquake and you have lost some utilities.

DAILY LIMITATIONS AND TASKS:•For this day, and ALL days of the challenge: no spending money, no going to stores, and no restaurants.
•Your water pipe broke, and you have no water access. Your family is limited to 1 gallon of water per person of stored water. A family of 4 would have 4 gallons of water to use for drinking, cooking, hygiene and cleaning (toilet not included).
•The power has been cut off.
•It’s the 2nd day of the earthquake, your fridge food has gone bad, but the food in your freezer has managed to stay cold enough to use.
•During the earthquake a beam fell on your computer(s) and crushed it. (Using the crushed computer to go onto Eastvale Prepared Blogspot or Eastvale Prepared Facebook is acceptable.)
•You need to make dinner with no power.
•Keep your family entertained with no power (no lights, tv, appliances, etc.).

ADVANCED REQUIREMENTS (for anyone who feels up to it)
•If you have a generator – it got CRUSHED!
•Unfortunately all fridges and freezers in your home ALSO got crushed!
•Your allowable water quota has to include toilet usage.

REMEMBER, TOMORROW’S LIMITATIONS AND TASKS WILL BE COMPLETELY DIFFERENT. How long would you have lasted under these conditions? Is 1 gallon of water per person per day enough to do what you need to do? Is the data on your computer backed up? If you had no electricity, do you have things on hand to deal with that?


The goal with the 7 Day Challenge is to explore and evaluate how prepared we are for whatever emergencies may come our way. Try to participate to the EXTENT POSSIBLE with your entire family. It is okay to modify the scenario to fit the needs/schedule/circumstances of your family. And, if the most that you can do on a given day is walk through the scenario in your head and discuss it with your family – that’s ok! Anything is better than nothing! Please make sure to:
*Fill out the Data Form on a Daily basis.
*Log onto www.EastvalePrepared.blogspot.com and answer the questions and leave comments. This will help us to analyze and understand the results of the 7 Day Challenge (everyone should do this - even if you are not a member of our ward, and even if you just walk through the scenario in your head).
*Participate in the ongoing discussion on Facebook (Eastvale Prepared). Share pictures, your experience, thoughts, ideas, and insights. Let’s learn from each other!

Tuesday - Day 2: IT'S A PANDEMIC - TIME FOR QUARANTINE!

The goal with the 7 Day Challenge is to explore and evaluate how prepared we are for whatever emergencies may come our way. Try to participate to the EXTENT POSSIBLE with your entire family. It is okay to modify the scenario to fit the needs/schedule/circumstances of your family. And, if the most that you can do on a given day is walk through the scenario in your head and discuss it with your family – that’s ok! Anything is better than nothing! Please make sure to:
*Fill out the Data Form on a Daily basis.
*Log onto http://www.eastvaleprepared.blogspot.com/ and answer the questions and leave comments. This will help us to analyze and understand the results of the 7 Day Challenge (everyone should do this - even if you are not a member of our ward, and even if you just walk through the scenario in your head).
*Participate in the ongoing discussion on Facebook (Eastvale Prepared). Share pictures, your experience, thoughts, ideas, and insights. Let’s learn from each other!

Tuesday

DAY 2: IT’S A PANDEMIC – TIME FOR QUARANTINE!
There has been an outbreak of the swine flu (or something like it) in your city, and you are ordered into quarantine in your home. (YESTERDAY’S LIMITATIONS DON’T APPLY, THESE ARE ALL NEW)

DAILY LIMITATIONS AND TASKS:
•For this day, and ALL days of the challenge: no spending money, no going to stores, and no restaurants. Today is more of a “THINKING” day then a “DOING” day.
•You can’t leave your house at all (if you have a prior commitment – it’s ok to attend! Participate to the extent that you can!)
•Some of your family members have been infected and have fevers/stomach flu and need proper medication.
•You need to provide comfort foods to infected family members to make them feel better.
•You have used up ALL the toilet paper and paper towels in your bathroom and kitchen, you can only use what you have stored extra (wherever that may be).
•The family members that have not been infected will stay healthy so long as they follow proper recommendations, meaning proper hand washing and sanitizing, and even wearing face masks.

ADVANCED REQUIREMENTS (for anyone who feels up to it)
•This is the 7th day or your quarantine, so ALL your fridge food is gone.
•You actually REALLY have to stay home – NO CHEATING!

REMEMBER, TOMORROW’S LIMITATIONS AND TASKS WILL BE COMPLETELY DIFFERENT. How long would you have lasted under these conditions? Would you be able to stay in your house for an extended amount of time? Did you have all of the 'non-food' storage items that you may need?

Monday - Day 1: NATURAL DISASTER - IT'S A FIRE!

The goal with the 7 Day Challenge is to explore and evaluate how prepared we are for whatever emergencies may come our way. Try to participate to the EXTENT POSSIBLE with your entire family. It is okay to modify the scenario to fit the needs/schedule/circumstances of your family. And, if the most that you can do on a given day is walk through the scenario in your head and discuss it with your family – that’s ok! Anything is better than nothing! Please make sure to:
*Fill out the Data Form on a Daily basis.
*Log onto http://www.eastvaleprepared.blogspot.com/ and answer the questions and leave comments. This will help us to analyze and understand the results of the 7 Day Challenge (everyone should do this - even if you are not a member of our ward, and even if you just walk through the scenario in your head).
*Participate in the ongoing discussion on Facebook (Eastvale Prepared) - Click on the 'Discussion' Tab. Share pictures, your experience, thoughts, ideas, and insights. Let’s learn from each other!

Monday

DAY 1: NATURAL DISASTER – IT’S A FIRE!
There have been fires in your area and everyone in your city has been told to evacuate their homes for part of the day.

DAILY LIMITATIONS AND TASKS:
•For this day, and ALL days of the challenge: no spending money, no going to stores, and no restaurants.
•You have to “leave” your house within an hour from the time you start for at least 4 hours (but you don’t know if your house is going to be there when you get back).
•You can only grab what is in your disasters kit/72 hour kit and ALREADY on your grab list when you leave. *remember your house may be destroyed when you get back
•You have to eat the food from your 72 hour kit while you are gone.
•During evacuation, one of your family members cuts their toe open.
•Your spouse is at work. You have to meet at your pre-determined meeting location when he or she is done with work.
•Once your whole family reunites you can return to your house.

ADVANCED REQUIREMENTS (for anyone who feels up to it)

•You have to stay out of your house until it’s bed time.
•You can only eat your 72 hour kit food the whole day.
•You forgot your cell phone at home when you evacuated.

REMEMBER, TOMORROW’S LIMITATIONS AND TASKS WILL BE COMPLETELY DIFFERENT. How long would you have lasted under these conditions? Are you prepared so that you can pick up and go if you need to? Is your 72 hour kit prepared?

What have you been working on to Prepare for the 7 Day Challenge?

Leave a comment to share what you've been doing.

7 Day Challenge Data Form

Are you ready for the 7 Day Challenge? It's coming up quick!! Here is a form that will help you keep track of your ideas/thoughts/and future things-to-do that come up during the 7 Day Challenge. Click on the link below and print off 7 copies (one for EACH DAY of the Challenge).

7 Day Challenge Data Form

Hurry and finish up any last minute things so that you are better prepared for the 7 Day Challenge!!

Remember to:

Log onto http://www.eastvaleprepared.blogspot.com/ and answer the questions.

Participate in the Facebook Discussion (at Eastvale Prepared), share: pictures, ideas, and your experience.

Eastvale 1st Ward Members - At the completion of the 7 Day Challenge, bring your forms with you to Church on Sunday August 29 so you can refer to them as we discuss the 7 Day Challenge.

7 Day Challenge Information

Our 7 Day Challenge is quickly approaching! Are you prepared? I wanted to give a little bit more information about how it is going to work.

Our 7 Day Challenge is scheduled from August 16-22. Each day there will be a different scenario about an emergency situation, or how food storage may come in handy, or something involving Emergency Preparedness/Food Storage. These scenarios will be posted here on our Emergency Preparedness blog (www.EastvalePrepared.blogspot.com), they will be posted on facebook (search for Eastvale Prepared - and become a member of the group today), and they will be emailed to anyone that is on my email list.

The information posted will give you a list of tasks to accomplish and it will tell you what your limitations are for the day (what utilities may be out, etc.) There will be a beginner level and a more advanced level for those who want an extra challenge. Some days will be harder than others. I'd like you and your family to participate TO THE EXTENT THAT YOU CAN. So here are the questions that I'm getting - Do I have to go to work?? YES. Are my kids supposed to go to school?? YES.

That being said, you may need to modify the challenge a little bit to fit your family. For example, there may be one day that the scenario states you have to grab your 72 hour kit and evacuate your home (wow - that was a HUGE :) hint) within an hour of reading the email. On that day, I might modify that challenge for my family so that we evacuate as soon as everyone gets home from school - I know where all the supplies are, so this challenge would be more effective if my kids and husband :) have to go through the process to see if THEY know where the supplies are. On another day, our schedule may be too full to fully participate, and if all we can do on that day is brainstorm and discuss the scenario as a family - that's ok! Anything is better than nothing! Try to participate TO THE EXTENT THAT YOU CAN!

When I did this, I learned a LOT of things! I had water in a 55 gallon barrel, but I didn't have the siphon to get the water out. I had planned to pack up my scrapbooks and pictures if I had to evacuate, but I realized that I didn't have any boxes or packing tape on hand. I was able to see some of the flaws with my plan and fix/modify them. A great thing to do is to take notes/create a to-do-list as the challenge progresses. I'll post a form you can download when we get a little closer to the Challenge.

Some things I'd like you to do:
*Each day of the Challenge, log onto the blog and answer the questions relating to that day (the answers are anonymous) - we'll use those answers to provide some statistics to help us better understand/analyze the results. (Does that mean you can get on the computer, even on a day the scenario states we don't have any electricity?? YES, BUT ONLY IF YOU ARE VISITING THE BLOG OR FACEBOOK SITES ASSOCIATED WITH THE CHALLENGE :)
*I'd like to see more "chatter" - comments, facebook posts - I'd like this to be fun, exciting, and interactive. We can learn and get ideas from other people's experiences that may help and improve our plan. Someone may mention in a comment or post, something that we hadn't thought about. The comments will also help us to understand/analyze the results of our 7 Day Challenge.
*Keep a list of things that you need to purchase, work-on, or add to your plan (a form will soon be available on the blog to download).
*Include your friends, family and neighbors! If someone would like to be added to the email list, let me know - I'd be happy to add them.

I've heard GREAT stories about the things that people are doing to get prepared!! That's AWESOME! So on that note - here is something to work on for your "Cram Session" - it would be a good idea to have a 72-hour kit ready to go! It doesn't have to be elaborate, and anything is better than nothing. Try to include: a change of clothes, food (that you/your kids will eat), water (the recommended is 1 gallon of water per person per day = 3 gallons per person), and a first-aid kit. If you want more information click on 'Informational Topics' near the top of the page.

Feel free to contact me if you have any questions! If you facebook - sign up today as a member and start discussing!

Cram Session #2 - Grab List

TO ACCOMPLISH THIS WEEK
*Create a Grab List

If you need to evacuate your home in a hurry, it would be a good idea to have a list to work off of. This week we are going to create a 'Grab List'. Here is a form you can download and fill in.

Click Here to Download Grab List

Once you've completed the Grab List, you should add it to your 3-ring binder.

When we did this, I started off and wrote things down. Then, I decided to incorporate my family into the process. We moved from room to room as we were making the list. I pointed some things out that would be important to grab in each room (seriously, I think this part helped my husband :) too). Then, we went into each kids room, I let the kids think of a couple of things that they would "need" if we had to evacuate. (Remember if you had to evacuate it would be quite stressful for children - having a favorite stuffed animal or familiar toy may make a huge difference in helping them to cope with the stress around them). After it was all said and done, and as the week progressed I kept thinking about things to add to the list that I had forgotten (my jewelry box, the jewelry that we take off each night). It was nice to be able to remember something and add it to the list. I KNOW that if I was having to do this during a REAL emergency - I would have forgotten something.

I reordered the list, grouping things from each room together so that it would be easier to grab in an semi-organized fashion. I also made several copies of the list to add to my 3-ring binder. I figure that I can have my kids help me in case of a real emergency.

Some things to make sure you include on your list: 3-ring binder, important documents (birth certificates, social security cards), medication, cell phone chargers, pictures, computer (tower only), purse/wallet/cell phone, financial records (account numbers), heirloom items, items with sentimental value (if you think of something else - add it as a comment!)

As I continued to think about this, I started thinking -
*What if we had only 5 minutes as opposed to 30 minutes? What are the MOST important things on my list? I need to rework my list and maybe put an asterisk or something to prioritize the MOST important items.
*Do I have materials (boxes and packing tape) on hand that I can pack things into?
*I also thought that maybe I should use brightly colored labels on boxes that contain important items (financial records, sentimental Christmas ornaments, etc) so that if I had my kids helping me, it would be easier for them to identify the box and grab it.

I want to hear what you are doing with your grab list - leave me a comment! Do you have any great ideas to share? What items should we make sure to include?

7 Day Challenge

Mark your Calendar! August 16-22. Plan now to participate in the 7 Day Challenge and see what areas of preparedness you need to work on!

Each day of the Challenge will present a new scenario with a list of limitations and items to accomplish. Some days will be harder than others. How prepared are you? What do you need to work on? What have you overlooked in your Emergency Preparedness plan?

Each week from now until then we will have a 'Cram Session'. I'll post here and email a couple of things to do that week so that you will be better prepared for the Challenge. Look at the 'Cram Session' as a sort of huge hint for what may be coming during the 7 Day Challenge. We'll review things that we've learned in the past and remind you what to do in different situations.

Join with us and find out how prepared you are! Now is the time to make room in the garage for Food Storage, take inventory of those #10 cans, or fill those water bottles! If you've been putting off a preparedness project, now is a great time to get it going!

Friends, Family, Neighbors or Members of other wards are welcome to join us! Leave a comment with your email address, or send me an email (link in right column) indicating that you'd like to join us, and I'll add you to the email list.

Cram Session #1 - 3-Ring Binder, Family Emergency Plan, Family Resources

TO ACCOMPLISH THIS WEEK:
*Start 3-Ring Binder
*Develop Family Emergency Plan
*Brainstorm Family Resources


Start 3-Ring Binder
For this week's 'Cram Session' for the 7 Day Challenge, we will start assemblying a 3-ring binder. The idea is that in case of an emergency, you would grab your 3-ring binder and it would have important information and resources in it (family plan, emergency phone numbers, etc). At church on Sunday, we talked about our Ward Emergeny Plan. Copies of the plan were passed out, and those should go into the 3-ring binder.

Click here to download a copy of Eastvale 1st Ward Plan (minus Ward Leadership Information and Member Directory) 27 page PDF

Family Emergency Plan
We are also working on getting our Family Emergency Plan together. If you think that the following handout looks familiar - you're right!! It was in our Family Home Evening Lesson for January, so you've probably seen it before. Now is the time to complete it (if you haven't already) and get it turned in!

Click here to download a copy of the Family Emergency Plan handout.

If you are in the Eastvale 1st Ward or Eastvale 2nd Ward, please fill out page one and turn it in to a member of the Bishopric, or the Emergency Prep Coordinator. A copy should be put in your 3-ring binder, a copy will go into the Ward Emergency Plan binder, and a copy will be given to your home teacher.

If you are following along with us, complete this page as a family and put it into your 3-ring binder.

Page 2 and Page 3 of the above document download are folding wallet cards for adults (page 2) and children (page 3). The details of the plan could be written on these cards and then kept in a wallet or backpack so that each family member has a copy of the information if needed.

Ready.gov has many additional downloadable resources. Information for the Family Emergency Plan is found in the 'Family Emergency Plan (FEP)' under the 'Individual & Family Publications' section. Click here to visit their site.

Family Resource Worksheet
Finally, we spent time brainstorming, as families, what special needs we may have, what training we may possess and what additional resources we may have to offer those around us. Eastvale 1st and Eastvale 2nd ward families will complete the form and turn it in to the Bishopric, so that a compehensive list can be put together to go into the Ward Emergency Plan binder.

Click here to download a copy of the Family Resource Worksheet handout

Some ideas that we came up with to help you start brainstorming:

Special Needs: Single Working Parent, Commuting Spouse, One Car Family, Spouse's Type of Work (Firefighter, Police Office, Teacher - may need to remain at work in an emergency), Visually Impaired, Hearing Impaired, Mobility Impaired, Special Dietary needs, Medical Conditions - allergies, insulin, medication, dialysis, cpap machine, Non-English Speaking, Intellectual Disabilities, Dementia, Animals

Specialized Training/Skills: Medical, Amateur (Ham) Radio, Heavy Equipment Operator, Plumber, Handyman, CERT, Computer, CPR Certified, Eagle Scout, Physical Therapist, Mechanic, Backhoe Operator, Forklift Operator, First Aid, Lifeguard

Resources: Generator, Gun; Heavy Equipment - Fork Lift, Bobcat, Truck; Tools - Chain Saw, Table Saw, Tall Ladder, Hand Tools, Battery Charger; Cleaning - Power Washer, Carpet Shampooer; Camping Equipment - Outdoor Stove; Business - FAX Machine, Business Products; Communication - Satellite Phone, Ham Radio; Housing - RV, Tent; Outdoor Equipment - Pool, Heater, BBQ, EZ-up; Transportation - Bicycles

Thank you to everyone working to help develop a plan for your family and ward! Remember - "If you are not prepared to take care of yourself, be prepared to have to rely on the generosity of strangers"