How To Be Prepared with BOB

A while back I wrote a post on my newly remodeled pantry.  I explained that I had begun to "prepare" for the unexpected events that cause it to be difficult to buy groceries for a period of time.  Today I wish to share with you some other thoughts about how and why you should be prepared (also known as "prepping") for other situations, namely emergency evacuation.

But I'm going to begin with a background story.

A few years ago, we here in the Indiana experienced a Hundred Year Flood.  On that occasion we happened to be visiting my in-laws and were consumed with helping them with the water rising in their basement.  We had planned to go home, but after watching the news the television realized that we couldn't get there if we tried.

Had we been home we would have been stuck at home for a few days.  But, had we lived merely a few miles down the road, we would have been evacuated.  I've thought a lot about this over the last couple of years.

I've decided that I need to be prepared in case 1) I can't leave my house for a few days and 2) in case I must leave my house in a few minutes. 

I have devised a plan.  I haven't yet implemented it, but I'm using this as a motivator to help me (if I post it I am accountable, right?) as well as looking for other thoughts. 

I have 6 children.  My desire is to have a Bug Out Bag (BOB as they are called) for each of them that is packed with - at least 3 pairs of undies and socks, at least one set of long pants/long sleeved shirt and one pair of shorts/short sleeved shirt.  Also an extra toothbrush and maybe a hand towel.  I'm not sure yet whether I will pack each a bag or partner pack them.  I'm pondering other items that need to get packed without consuming too much space (Diapers for the baby, etc.), as it is easy to "over prepare" and have more than you can manage in an emergency.

I have yet to decide what I'm going to do about food.  I know I can't possibly carry enough food for long term, but it would be best to have a few bottles of water and simple snacks (granola bars, raisins, etc) handy that will allow me some flexibility in an emergency.  Should I have each kid pack a few items or keep them all together in one additional food bag? 

In addition to that, I'm packing a BOB for the bathroom.  Since I already buy extra of everything to keep on the shelf, I'm going to keep one set of everything (shampoo, conditioner, soap, toothpaste, toothbrushes, bandaids, triple antibiotic, diaper wipes, etc.) in that bag.

I already have a nice plastic container with a lid and handle containing flashlights, candles and matches.  It has grown up flash lights and kid flashlights so each kid has their own (reduces fighting).
Besides a BOB for each member of the family and the bathroom supplies, I have decided it is more important that I get the kids in the habit of keeping shoes and a jacket at the shoe/jacket rack/hook area.  I was even more convinced one day as, while we were trying to leave, we had the inevitable 20 shoe search realizing that had this been an emergency she'd be shoeless.

The last thing I want to touch on with prepping for an evacuation is cash.  I know some people never carry cash, for various reasons.  But I urge you to obtain an amount of cash (determined by you through careful consideration) and keep it safe at home.  Don't necessarily carry it in your purse, wallet or car, but keep some at home, preferably in a fire proof safe.   Think about what the situation might dictate.  If money is tight in your world, what would happen if it was Tuesday before payday Friday, and you were evacuated from home.  You must leave and be prepared to provide for your family for a period of days before payday hit.  Could you 1) put gas in your vehicle 2) buy yourself a meal or a few meals 3) provide your family a place to stay?  If you can evacuate in your own vehicle, that helps the situation, but can you get away someplace?  Is your car perpetually on E and you don't have the money to buy enough gas to get to a loved one's house?  Do you need to stay in a hotel?  Cash gives you choices and choices are powerful.

It might help to have a list by the main exit of things you need/plan to grab.  Let the kids know where everything is so they can grab things.  If you have a larger family, assign bigger kids to carry bags for and hold hands of littler kids.  It might help to think "What can I grab in 10 minutes and be on the road?"  You should be planning no more than you and your help (kids, spouse, etc.) can grab in one trip.  Backpacks reduce what you must have in your hands, therefore increasing what you can grab on the go.

What are your thoughts on prepping?  How are you preparing for an emergency that forces you to leave your home quickly?  What have I not mentioned that I might need to pack in our BOBs? 

A Prepper's Pantry

When I was a child, my father (single parent to five kids) kept an incredibly well stocked pantry.  It wasn't a "plan for a big emergency" pantry.  It was the way people used to manage groceries.  Keep more on hand than you need in case.  In case of what didn't really matter.  It wasn't all about gloom and doom.  It was comforting.  It was normal.  You always knew you had food, and what you had.  As a kid, I always knew we didn't have a lot of money, but it never, ever felt like we didn't have enough food.  I am amazed now looking back at how my dad managed it, but he did.

After I got married, I never managed to keep on hand what we needed.  Part of that was the newlywed phase of "I don't really know what we are going to be eating every day" thing.  But after 15 year, I don't think you can claim newlywed anything.  So I, or rather we, decided that I needed to do a better job of buying a little extra (despite my cheapness, as mentioned in previous posts).  I began the simple task of buying one or two more of long term storage items than I need and one extra on perishables if it would last until it was used (I have had a bad habit of running out of creamer 2 days before grocery day).  Little by little I began to get a better stock of items.

I began to see why my dad did this.  Just in case finally made sense.  Just in case their is a flood and you can't get out (happens quite a lot around here).  Just in case the van breaks down and I can't run to town tomorrow.  Just in case money is a little short next week.  Just in case my husband looses his job.  Man, there are a lot of cases to be preparing for!

After a while, my pantry (such a blessing to have a 10x4 walk in pantry) was unmanageable.  I couldn't find anything.  Now, this is not do solely, or even largely, to my preparedness (or "prepping").  This was due to my lack of ability to organize, tidy or clean anything.  But, even at that, when my pantry was clean it still seemed over stuffed.  After all, not only does it house food, but the occasional tool and/or ammo related item does tend to find residence there. 

When a good friend announced that the retail store at which he works is going out of business and selling fixtures, our collective lightbulbs came on!  Metal shelving from a store would make a great way to add storage!  Brilliant!  Cheap, movable, cheap, sturdy, cheap, and did I mention cheap?

Well, as projects do around here, this one became not so much a weekend revamp as a month long (not so cheap) remodel.  I don't think I will record here all the details as to what all ended up happening and changing.

These before pictures actually look quite decent.  They are ones I took on the rare occasion that it was clean.  I actually took these long before I began prepping.  They don't look too overrun yet.

Notice the hideous shag orange and nasty colored carpet.  My one request in the ever evolving plan was that the nasty carpet disappear.  As you can see we had shelves down both walls, but they were narrow and spaced such that there was a lot of gap where I could have had more shelves with food rather than empty wall space. 

We left the wall on the right empty and placed double the number of (deeper) shelves along the wall on the left.  We then added shelves along the back wall.  In this picture you can see that we had run out of the size used on the back and still  need to add the extra.  Even with removing the shelving from one side, we were able to increase the storage quite a bit with the addition of wider, more closely mounted shelves.  The bottom shelves were spaced high enough to allow 5 gallon bucket storage for long term food storage.

The hideous carpet is gone, with plans for tile when the funds are available.  The empty wall now has a place to store the step stool, a hanging rack (out of view) for brooms and mops and room for the vacuum.  The far back corner will eventually have a custom built shelf for the ammo that is stacked there. 

We also greatly increased the light by adding a long florescent light instead of a small incandescent bulb.  The light had been on the same switch as the hallway light, which gets left on most of the day.  My husband put the light on its own switch and installed a motion detector switch that turns off after 5 minutes so the pantry light won't be left on unknown all day!

There is a lot of information out there on prepping, disaster preparedness, long term food storage.  I am sharing this as encouragement.  Whatever your "just in case" may be, there are easy ways to begin your prepping journey.  It doesn't have to consume your life.  It may take some adjustments, such as my added pantry shelving, but it doesn't have to look like the shows you see with rooms and rooms of stores.  Start where you are, make adjustments as you go.  Begin small and add as you can.  Determine your needs and what "cases" you are planning for and start.  It will get less scary and easier as you go!

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