Storing hope in plastic totes
Jul. 10th, 2006 01:20![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
torquillI can see why we've put off constructing the disaster kit for so long. This is exhausting.
It's rewarding, though. We have almost all the food (I need to get some more energy bars and some bread for me*, but otherwise we're set), and when packed into a tote with some utensils, it's still not too heavy for me to lift easily. I wouldn't want to drag it several miles, but in the unlikely event that we get evacuated, we leave the food here anyway. It's certainly not too heavy to carry out behind the shop.
I've started packing the second tote too, which is utility stuff. Third tote will be bedding and tents (if I can get them all in), fourth will be clothing and such with catfood as an aside. We have our go-bag with essential medications being assembled. Water won't be in a tote, as it can survive perfectly well out in the open.
Each tote is an 18-gallon Sterilite storage tub, labeled on four sides and top with its number. When I'm done, everything but the canned goods will be in clear plastic bags, tied with twist-ties, and there will be a packing list on top. All very tidy.
I keep realizing new, thankfully small, items that would be good to have. Sunscreen. Hair ties. Earplugs. This is the sort of thing the Red Cross doesn't mention, but that doesn't take up much space and can make life so much easier. I don't want to be doing heavy work with my hair in my eyes.
We've got packs of cards, and we can toss in some little puzzle-books, but I can already feel that I'd be sliding into screaming insanity by the time a week was up. Not sure I can do anything about that, except maybe pack a little Mercedes Lackey... net addiction does have its price sometimes.
I need to go to Fry's for a crank flashlight or two, and price crank radios (there's a Red Cross version for $50 that picks up NOAA and shortwave as well as FM/AM, and it'll even charge cell phones -- very tempting). I like not having to worry about batteries, though we'll pack a few anyway just in case.
When I'm done, I'll post my list of stuff, for those of you considering making your own kits. I need to hammer out what goes in the cars (I always keep water in my car, for example, so I don't even think about listing that) and add that into the equation. For basic lists, of course, The Red Cross is a place to start, though they only seem to have a comprehensive list for home use.
We are, perhaps, overpreparing: we're calculating supplies for four people for seven days. Most advice says three days, or around here they say five days. The thing is, our area is relatively safe, and will therefore get neglected as emergency services tend to Richmond, San Francisco, and the Oakland Hills, for a start. We may very well have to wait an extra couple of days before relief gets to us. The other thing we're packing for is the total absence of the house -- I'm assuming the house will not be available at all. We'll have the shop with all its tools, and the generator, but since we are unable to bolt the house fully to the foundations, there is the definite possibility that it could shift off them and become unsafe. That means we'd have to do without anything inside: food, clothing, beds, you name it. It also means we're prepared in case the house burns, but *knock on wood* we'll just discover we've overprepared and be able to shelter inside. It does mean that our list is going to be a bit more comprehensive than most.
It's unpleasant doing all this prep -- it makes me feel like an earthquake is just a moment away from happening, and I know how unprepared we are. I'm hoping to get the majority of it done quickly, though, and end up with odds and ends like needing to get contact lenses as a backup for my glasses. One more day of serious work and we should be there.
* Yes, bread. I can buy rice-bread which is hermetically sealed and has a shelf-life of about a year. I'd suggest that other people look into it, if its consistency didn't so closely resemble styrofoam (it squeaks when you bite into it). It's okay if you have to have something, better when toasted, and very good for french toast. I'll rotate it out every year easily enough.
It's rewarding, though. We have almost all the food (I need to get some more energy bars and some bread for me*, but otherwise we're set), and when packed into a tote with some utensils, it's still not too heavy for me to lift easily. I wouldn't want to drag it several miles, but in the unlikely event that we get evacuated, we leave the food here anyway. It's certainly not too heavy to carry out behind the shop.
I've started packing the second tote too, which is utility stuff. Third tote will be bedding and tents (if I can get them all in), fourth will be clothing and such with catfood as an aside. We have our go-bag with essential medications being assembled. Water won't be in a tote, as it can survive perfectly well out in the open.
Each tote is an 18-gallon Sterilite storage tub, labeled on four sides and top with its number. When I'm done, everything but the canned goods will be in clear plastic bags, tied with twist-ties, and there will be a packing list on top. All very tidy.
I keep realizing new, thankfully small, items that would be good to have. Sunscreen. Hair ties. Earplugs. This is the sort of thing the Red Cross doesn't mention, but that doesn't take up much space and can make life so much easier. I don't want to be doing heavy work with my hair in my eyes.
We've got packs of cards, and we can toss in some little puzzle-books, but I can already feel that I'd be sliding into screaming insanity by the time a week was up. Not sure I can do anything about that, except maybe pack a little Mercedes Lackey... net addiction does have its price sometimes.
I need to go to Fry's for a crank flashlight or two, and price crank radios (there's a Red Cross version for $50 that picks up NOAA and shortwave as well as FM/AM, and it'll even charge cell phones -- very tempting). I like not having to worry about batteries, though we'll pack a few anyway just in case.
When I'm done, I'll post my list of stuff, for those of you considering making your own kits. I need to hammer out what goes in the cars (I always keep water in my car, for example, so I don't even think about listing that) and add that into the equation. For basic lists, of course, The Red Cross is a place to start, though they only seem to have a comprehensive list for home use.
We are, perhaps, overpreparing: we're calculating supplies for four people for seven days. Most advice says three days, or around here they say five days. The thing is, our area is relatively safe, and will therefore get neglected as emergency services tend to Richmond, San Francisco, and the Oakland Hills, for a start. We may very well have to wait an extra couple of days before relief gets to us. The other thing we're packing for is the total absence of the house -- I'm assuming the house will not be available at all. We'll have the shop with all its tools, and the generator, but since we are unable to bolt the house fully to the foundations, there is the definite possibility that it could shift off them and become unsafe. That means we'd have to do without anything inside: food, clothing, beds, you name it. It also means we're prepared in case the house burns, but *knock on wood* we'll just discover we've overprepared and be able to shelter inside. It does mean that our list is going to be a bit more comprehensive than most.
It's unpleasant doing all this prep -- it makes me feel like an earthquake is just a moment away from happening, and I know how unprepared we are. I'm hoping to get the majority of it done quickly, though, and end up with odds and ends like needing to get contact lenses as a backup for my glasses. One more day of serious work and we should be there.
* Yes, bread. I can buy rice-bread which is hermetically sealed and has a shelf-life of about a year. I'd suggest that other people look into it, if its consistency didn't so closely resemble styrofoam (it squeaks when you bite into it). It's okay if you have to have something, better when toasted, and very good for french toast. I'll rotate it out every year easily enough.
