Some Church members opine that emergency plans and supplies, food storage, and 72-hour kits must not be important anymore because the Brethren have not spoken recently and extensively about these and related topics in general conference. But repeated admonitions to prepare have been proclaimed by leaders of the Church for decades. The consistency of prophetic counsel over time creates a powerful concert of clarity and a warning volume far louder than solo performances can ever produce."- Elder David A. Bednar, October 2020 general conference.
Everyone is at different levels of preparedness, so everyone's "checklist" is going to look a little different. In all reality there isn't a one size fits all preparedness checklist out there. We all need to be doing a little something every month if not every week or every day to be preparing ourselves for an emergency. In this post we will be talking about things you can do every six months or so to check your readiness and make sure your supplies are fresh or refreshed.
Here are some good general guidelines to keep in mind when you are preparing:1. Most important: stay practical and realistic. Focus on things that matter most to you and your family and remember that simple is better. You don't need to go into debt or follow extreme practices.
2. You can't always predict what is going to happen. Be realistic in your planning and never assume that something isn't going to happen. This year has definitely proven the truth of that statement. A good provident provider is always ready for any given situation.
3. Plan for contingencies. Emergencies don't care what you have planned, they are going to do what they do best: cause chaos. If you are prepared with more than one plan in mind you will be better off than just assuming everything will work out how you had perfectly planned for it.
4. If you buy a kit off the shelf, never assume it has everything you need. It is a good basic place to start. Make sure it has enough room to expand for the supplies you will put in it to personalize them to your and and your family's specific needs.
5. Avoid using your emergency gear in other capacities such as camping or everyday first aid uses. If you are using it for multiple needs then next thing you know all your emergency gear is strung out all over your house and not where you need it in an emergency.
6. You can still prepare on a budget. Buy a few good to high quality items at a time. If you go cheap-like dollar store cheap-you can't be sure it will work how it is supposed to in an emergency. Look into doing DIY projects or try to buy second hand if possible to save some money.
7. Know how to use your gear. You can't just buy something and throw it in a closet or your garage and expect to know how to use it properly in an emergency. Like the old adage says: Practice makes perfect!
8. Last but definitely not least: Listen to the promptings of the Spirit. He will guide you on your preparedness journey if you are really listening. If you have had a something weighing on your mind to buy for your family's preparedness for a while now DO IT!
The following checklist is a general guide for you to do every six months. I find it helps to have a certain event that happens every six months to do it by whether it be General Conference, spring/fall yard maintenance, or case lot sales.
-WATER: Drain and refill your water barrels. Make sure you use a food grade water hose to do this and not your standard garden hose. If you have never filled your water barrels, do it now. Be sure to keep your water barrels in a place that is easy to empty and refill them. If you haven't bought any yet get on it, you can get them for fairly cheap usually around $25.
-FUEL: Keep at least a couple of gas cans filled to use in your generator, lawn mowers, snow blowers, vehicles, etc. Also check to make sure you have full fuel canisters for your heating and cooking apparatuses and check to make sure they (canisters and apparatus) are still in good working order.
-GENERATOR: generators need to be run every few months to make sure they are still in good working condition and that no build up is causing problems. Don't fill the gas tank full. Just put enough in there to run it for about 20 minutes. It's a lot less fuel than you think. Make sure you don't leave any fuel in it. It will clog and cause problems in the long run. It is recommended to store it with a dry gas tank unless you use it quite often.
-72 HOUR KITS: Check your food and any other items that may have expired and replace them. If your kits aren't complete pick 2-3 things off your list of things you still need and buy them. Make sure to put your kits in a place that will be easy to grab them as you walk out of the house.
-BATTERIES: check any emergency items that use batteries and make sure they are still ok and not leaking any battery acid. If they are old or weak replace them. If you have jump starters in your vehicles make sure they are fully charged. If you have any solar powered items that can be charged with a USB port charge them too.
- RADIOS: if you have a walkie talkie or NOAA radio make sure you know how to use them, they are still working, and are fully charged. Make sure you have any emergency radio frequencies you might need either taped to them or close by them.
-VITAL RECORDS BINDER: Fill it out. If you have been following along with us this year your records should be nearly completed. If not, start now filling out and gathering the necessary information. It is so beneficial to have all these things at your fingertips and in one place in an emergency. Even if you only fill out a page or two every week/month. Some will be quicker than others but it is essential to fill it out and save yourself heartache and headaches in the end.
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