Keep your Kits Fresh

From the WebMD site here are a list of goods that should be changed out or used with in a certain time frame. Always keep rotating your items so you don't waste, and keep yourself healthy should the need arise.

A good method of keeping track of times is to check your list at the same time as you change your smoke alarm batteries. It's good practice to change the batteries in your smoke alarm when you change your clocks.

Keep Kits Fresh

Make sure you store your kits in airtight, easy-to-carry containers, and in places that are accessible and that will not likely be affected by disasters. For instance, if you live in a tornado zone, it would be inconvenient for your emergency kit to be on the second floor of your home while you and your family are in the basement.
To keep the items in the kits in good condition, store them in cool, dry places that are not exposed to varied conditions. Also, update your kit every six months. The needs of your family change, and items such as food, water, and batteries can become stale. It's a good idea to write the date of storage on each item.
"The reason to keep your kit fresh is it enables your family to survive longer," explains Hudgins. "Foods that you just refreshed six months ago have a longer shelf life."
The Red Cross offers the following guidelines for food storage:
Use within six months:

• Water
• Powdered milk (boxed)
• Dried fruit (in metal container)
• Dry, crisp crackers (in metal container)
• Potatoes

Use within one year:

• Canned, condensed meat and vegetable soups
• Canned fruits, fruit juices and vegetables
• Ready-to-eat cereals and uncooked instant cereals (in metal containers)
• Peanut butter
• Jelly
• Hard candy and canned nuts
• Vitamin C

May be stored indefinitely (in proper containers and conditions):

• Wheat
• Vegetable oils
• Dried corn
• Baking powder
• Soybeans
• Instant coffee, tea, and cocoa
• Salt
• Noncarbonated soft drinks
• White rice
• Bouillon products
• Dry pasta
• Powdered milk (in nitrogen-packed cans).

Car Survival Kit

It almost doesn't matter where you live, you always want to go somewhere else. If you live at the beach,  you want to travel to the mountains. If you live in a sunny warm climate, you want to go where you can ski and ice fish. While in most cases you would not travel with your home emergency kit, you should always travel with a modified one.

This week we will be putting together a car survival kit. Having a couple of plastic shoe boxes filled with some of these useful tool will help you if you get stranded. Some items will not fit into a shoe box, these should be stored under seats or secured in the back of you vehicle or trunk.

The number one rule : Always maintain at least a 1/2 tank of gas. With the cost of gas sometimes we allow ourselves to ride around town close to empty. However, if there was a local disaster, you may need more gas then the fumes your use to getting by on. Keeping  your tank always above 1/2 allows you more freedom at a moments notice.

Car Fire Extinguisher
Bag of Sand (if it's winter)
Small Shovel
Sleeping Bag, or blankets (good for car accident victims or moving people)

Shoe Box #1
First Aid kit and manual
Small Radio and pack of batteries
Paper, Pencil, Tissues, Plastic Bags, essential medications.
Pre Moistened Towels
Diapers if your child needs them
Flashlight and batteries
Granola Bars
Nuts and raisins
Water purification tablets
some bottled water

Shoe Box #2
Simple tool kit, screwdrivers, wrenches, hammer
Pocket knife
Reflectors and or Flares
Waterproof matches, candles and a newspaper
Jumper Cables
Short Rubber hose for Siphoning

These are simply basics and many times you will have snacks and water packed with you. However it is always good to keep a couple just in case.

Establish Emergency Contacts and Meeting Places

  Two of the most important steps you can take now to prepare your family if a disaster were to occur is to establish a set of safe meeting places and an emergency family contact number outside of your city or state.
  First, it's important that if there is a fire or earthquake at night that you have a safe place to meet outside of your home. This will immediately make you aware of missing family members. If everyone is just told to exit the home, you may not know if your son went to the neighbors house, or is standing in the back yard behind the shed. This can cause panic in an already tense and stressful situation. Before you take another step make sure everyone in your family knows where to meet if a disaster were to hit.
  Next, it is important to have a meeting place outside of your neighborhood, should you not be able to meet at your house. Remember if an earthquake, tornado or severe storm were to hit, cell phone communication may not be available. If your neighborhood is inaccessible, your family should have a second meeting place. This is usually a store or mall parking lot. Remember if you can not be reached by phone, and are not allowed near your home, you will need to assume everyone in your family will be headed to your second meeting place.
  Lastly, it is important to remember that while family members outside of your town may be concerned and unable to get calls in due to overload, calls going out will be more reliable. In the event of a disaster, your family should have a contact member outside of your area. Parents can call the contact family member and let them know where they are. Kids can call the contact family member to check in and hear where their mom and dad are waiting. While communication may be difficult, having one family member outside of the disaster zone to direct family members to will be helpful in keeping all the lines open.

• Make sure all family members know your meeting location outside of your house. Practice!
• Have a secondary meeting place outside of your neighborhood. Local store parking lot. Show everyone the exact location to meet.
• Have a family contact member outside of your town, preferably your state that everyone will check in with no matter what the circumstances in case of a local disaster.