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 #4 - 72 Hour Kit

TO ACCOMPLISH THIS WEEK:
*Create a 72 Hour Kit
*Store a MINIMUM of 3 gallons of water per person.

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.

Emergency Essentials Group Order and Sale Items for August

Check out the Group Specials from Emergency Essentials for August. Money and orders are due on Sunday, August 22nd. Please let me know what you are planning on ordering so I know how close we are to meeting the required minimums.



Tote-able Toilet Seat & Lid (bucket not included - minimum needed 12 - $6.00 (regularly $10.95)








5 Gallon Lidless Bucket - minimum needed 10 - $5.50 (regularly $6.50)






MRE Dessert Combo (15 bars) - minimum needed 6 - $12.00 (regularly $22.50)






Freeze Dried Cheddar Cheese - minimum needed 6 - $30.00 (regularly $45.50)




Freeze Dried Banana Slices - minimum needed 6 - $14.00 (regularly $19.50).





After we meet the minimum for one item we get free shipping. If anyone would like to add-on to the order, please let me know. Adding on an item that is on sale is a great way to save money. Click here to see what is on sale for the month of August at Emergency Essentials.

Cram Session #3 - Non-food Items

TO ACCOMPLISH THIS WEEK:
*Stock up on Non-food Items

Make sure that you have items in stock at your home that are non-food related that would be useful in the event of an emergency. These items should include things such as: Toilet Paper, Paper Towels, Hand Sanitizer, Medicine, First-Aid Kit, Paper Plates, Baby Wipes, etc. That way, if you had to shelter-in-place (not leave your home) or if someone was sick, you would have some necessary supplies on hand (that was a HUGE hint for our 7-Day Challenge).

Honeyville Farms - In-Store Coupon

Click here for this month's coupons.
Grandma Goodies Granolia - 2 lb bag - $3.89 Each (Regular Price $4.97) - expires 7/31/2010

10% off any ONE Item! - Excludes NutriMill & Sale Items - expires 7/31/2010

Emergency Essentials Group Order and Sale Items for July

Check out the Group Specials from Emergency Essentials for July. Money and orders are due on Sunday, July 25th. Please let me know what you are planning on ordering so I know how close we are to meeting the required minimums.

Tote-able Toilet Seat & Lid (bucket not include - minimum needed 12 - $6.00 (regularly $11.95)

Mixed Vegetables for Stew - minimum needed 12 - $11.00 (regularly $14.50)

Freeze Dried Strawberries - minimum needed 12 - $13.00 (regularly $17.50)

Dehydrated Apple Pieces - minimum needed 12 - $10.00 (regularly 15.95).

BurnFree Personal Burn Kit - minimum needed 10 - $7.00 (regulalry $11.95)

After we meet the minimum for one item we get free shipping. If anyone would like to add-on to the order, please let me know. Adding on an item that is on sale is a great way to save money. Click here to see what is on sale for the month of July at Emergency Essentials.

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?