Down from the Mountain

It has been a while since I posted or even thought to update here.  A lot has happened to us both good and bad.  So where to begin...

Well, we were forced to move from the cabin.  There were some issues with leaks and pests.  Lets not mention the landlords and property management company not wanting to do anything to keep the cabin habitable.  (cough cough leaking septic system and poopie leach fields... cough cough)

Oh well.  Sometimes these things happen for the better.

We ended up moving to the little down off the mountain range where our church is located.  It is nothing like living in a mountain hamlet where there is nothing but bears and deer.  It is a rural town that is mostly older homes with a bit of property.  Livestock are common and everyone has horses in their backyards.  No joke.  Roo and I go out back and say hello to our neighbor's horses everyday.

So we have been in this house for a year now and getting everything set up to make it livable since it has one less bathroom and bedroom compared to the cabin.  No basement either.  It does have a single car garage but it is stacked high with boxes.  Oh the joys of having too much junk!  We had to experience a year here before we could figure out what was needed and what we could get rid of. 

The weather is nothing like the mountains.  It snows here but not hard or often.  It also snows after Christmas so no white holidays.  That is unless you count New Years Day.

Ever seen snow topped palm trees?!

This in the background are the mountains we just left.

This is what we were use to seeing in the mountains from a light dusting.

And what we see now with the entire snow fall for the year.  Not even a few inches...

Go Bag - Mom Edition

Here is my personal Go Bag.  Inside are things not listed on the 72 hour kit post as this is for longer term needs.  I have the bag set up for 7+ days.

Now this picture doesn't show everything in my bag but a small sampling of the items I have in there.  From the picture you can see I have food (long term food bars as well as homemade MREs), water (both a canteen, purifying tablets and a life straw), hygiene items (female urinary device, toothbrush/paste, first aid kit etc) and some weather gear (poncho, fire starters and thermal blanket).

I have tools in my bag that would be needed should I have to hike to safety.  Items like a compass, knives, extra socks, gloves, etc.

Also I carry extras for Roo should something happen and her bag gets lost.  (Remember she is only 2 years old so she can't carry her own supplies.)  These extras are things like training pants (Vacuum sealed to compress them so they don't take up a lot of room in my bag.), toddler snacks, small toys, weather gear for her etc.  Since she has short little legs and can't walk as fast or as far as I can I have been debating tucking my Ergo carrier in my bag.  The only down side to this is with my Go-Bag I'd have to carry her on my chest. 

For a list of items to have in your own bag please refer to my 72-hour kit post.

Go Bag - Dog Edition
Go Bag - Toddler Edition

Emergency Plan Task Two: 72 Hour Kits

72 hour kits are basically the Go Bags I have been putting together.  They are also known as BOBs (Bug Out Bag) and GOOD Bag (Get Out Of Dodge bag).

Here is where I need to go through our existing bags and make sure each has the following items:

• copies of important family documents and identification
• 72 hours of food
• 72 hours of water
• personal first aid kits (just basic first aid items a child could use)
• change of clothing
• hygiene items
• boredom busters 
• emergency cash (small bills and coins)
• extra medications
• weather appropriate gear
• bedroll, bivy, thermal emergency blanket or lightweight sleeping bag
• fire starter/tinder box
• flashlight 

The actual bag is not a big deal.  It needs to be able to house everything you'd need away from home for at least 72 hours.  I have an old (but very clean and rarely used) backpack from high school that I am using.  I have a second backpack of the same type for Roo that has the same items as my bag.  This is aside from her Toddler Go-Bag that she can carry.  The point of the bigger bag is if we can leave by car I have extra supplies for her and we are not forced to share one set of supplies.

Don't forget your pets need a bag too!

Flash Floods

Last week we had a late summer storm roll through.  It lasted a few days but caused a lot of damage.  The dam broke at the top of the ravine a few miles up the mountain and a wall of mud and boulders came barreling down next to the cabin in the creek bed.  Not fun!  I was afraid the cabin was next!

The roads were buried under 4-8 feet of mud and rocks.  They have the roads clear now but they are still moving the rocks and mud away.

Task One, What Now?

After you find your documents and have them in one place it is time to organize them!  I use the plastic file boxes for longer term storage of paperwork but for shorter term or even mobile storage I use the expandable file folder.

 

I have several of these for different types of papers and locations.  I have one in the kitchen for temporary filing of pay stubs, paid bills and other papers to be filed in the long term storage.  I have another for receipts divided by type (work, grocery, gifts, charitable etc).  I even have one in the car with insurance info, maintenance, accident forms etc.  There is one that houses our important documents so I have them all together.

 

Now, as for what to do with important papers for the sake of the Family Emergency Plan...

I made photo copies of all the papers to keep copies in our Go Bags, fire safe and safety deposit box.  These photo copies will work until extra copies can be ordered and swapped out.  I keep them in waterproof map bags but Ziploc freezer bags will work.  Also part of these papers are copies of photo IDs and group family photos.  This way if someone is separated from the group and does not have their ID the family photo will prove they belong to your group. 

This is smart for your pets as well.  If their tags get misplaced or a microchip reader is not available a photo of you and your pet will show they belong to you.  You could even go as far as paw print cards.  They are similar to the child finger print cards they give out at safety fairs.  When I was a teen and worked with sporting dogs many owners had the dogs' ear tattooed with a name or number unique to the owner such as their last name or social.  This practice has been replaced with micro-chipping but this only works if there is a chip reader.

DO NOT keep copies of any of these papers in your car or out in the open!  This can make life easy now but can lead to identity theft later on.

Bear attacked my shed!

Last night a yearling tried to break into my shed down below the cabin.  I store some gardening tools and my trash cans in there.  Well, I guess my trash cans will have to be moved back into the basement.  Fun.

At least trash is picked up tomorrow.

Emergency Plan Task One: Important Documents

For my first task I want to gather all my family's important documents and identification.

Having all your prudent information in one place may seem like a no brainer but most people couldn't tell you were their birth certificate was if they wanted to.  For this reason I want to take the time to get all of these together for our Emergency Plan binder.

Documents like birth certificates, social security cards, marriage and death certificates are important ways to identify your self and your family.  Plus if you don't have everything in one place you could waste precious time looking for them when you need to "GO".

Here are the documents and information I am gathering:

• birth certificates
• social security cards
• marriage certificates
• legal documents
• bank account info
• any other account info (this includes passwords and numbers)
• contacts
• any investment info
• medical info (prescriptions or medical history if you have it)

I use printable pages.  I'm not talented to make my own printables to help keep track of all the information you should have at your fingers so I have linked a few of my favorites (both free and not free). 

Emergency Plan Printables

 Pinch a little Save a lot




Bowl Full of Lemons
Toni also has a multi week preparedness series on her blog you can check out.  She was my inspiration for blogging my own start to preparedness.  Loved her ebook and printables.

Simply Fresh Designs 

UPDATE

Task One: What Now?  08/31/2013