From a Hurricane help website:
Save cooking water: When you have a pot of water to heat boil-in-bags, you don't have to discard it. Save it to heat boil-in-bags at another meal. Just bring to a boil again, let boil a few moments, then add more bags. Don't use for another purpose, however.
Bread ideas: If bread becomes a bit stale, don't throw it out. When you make soup, break up the bread and put a few of these croutons in the bottom of the bowl before you ladle the soup into it. The bread will soak up the soup and make a heartier broth.
Grilled Spam: If Spam is in your hurricane survival pantry, remember it's not mystery meat but ground pork. If you've got a charcoal or gas grill, don't hesitate to slice and grill it either plain or slathered with sauce.
Cleanup: Use disposable plastic gloves to mix things by hand so you don't dirty utensils unnecessarily. This saves water used for cleanup. And use self-seal plastic bags instead of mixing bowls to mix salads and marinate meats. Just put the ingredients into one, seal and toss to mix. No need to wash a container. Food stored in plastic bags in an ice chest take up less space than plastic containers.
Food kept in an unopened refrigerator for 24 hours is still cold and remains safe. An unopened freezer will remain safe for 48 hours. Make an inventory often -- to minimize opening the door.
Fresh eggs: Safe unrefrigerated for five to seven days. Discard if shells are cracked or odor or discoloration is present.
Hard-boiled eggs: Discard if held at room temperature for more than two hours.
From an email circulating:
We have a 6'x6' hole in our roof, no electricity or running water, Trees down everywhere. However, because we listened to the counsel of our Prophet we are prepared. In fact it seems to me that it's only the members of the church who seem to be calm, prepared, and helping one another with trees in roofs, flooding, etc.
There is a POD or Point of Distribution in Tomball where we live. There you get water and ice IF you have enough fuel to wait in the 3-hour lines. We don't have to do that because we have 3 full water barrels, 75 juice bottles filled with water, and our pool, which is dirty, but we use it to flush.
It is very difficult to get gas. Police guard the stations when fuel is delivered and you might wait half a day to get up to the pump just to have them say, "Too bad, we are out". I am grateful that we have a generator. We run it 4 hours a day to keep our fridge and light. I am grateful that we have had fuel for it. You can't even by gas containers as they are rationed. We can only buy bread once a week and limited to 2 loaves at a time. Water is rationed by the case at the grocery store - 3 cases per family.The ATM machines do not have power. For the past 6 months I have stashed small bills away because I have had such a feeling of foreboding. We have cash because of that. LISTEN TO THE SPIRIT. Get cash in small bills because the stores can't make change and credit and debit cards often don't work. I had to pay 5 dollars more for an item because they couldn't make change for me. And . . PHONES ONLY WORK OCCASIONALLY.
Believe it or not...I have not had a bath in 4 days, Today was the first day I got to wash my hair with pool water. I haven't fixed my hair in a week!!! It just doesn't matter anymore. We c
annot do laundry because we don't have water. So, we wear our clothes until they are literally disgusting. When we do finally get water we will have to boil it since it is contaminated.I want all of you to know that I have such a testimony of following the counsel of our living prophet. There really is safety and peace in your heart if you are prepared. Please get your generators, 5 gas cans full of gas, canned goods, baby items, baby wipes to bathe, and all the water you can store...even if you have to trip on it in your home. Have your lanterns, crank flashlights, tarps, rope, etc. ready to go because you never know when it will be your turn to endure the test. It's overwhelming, but it's going to be ok eventually. I have a home, I have food, and I have water, because I listened to the counsel of the prophet. Please make sure you do the same. It's time to have your life in order. Tomorrow may be too late.
And another email:
Emergency Preparedness Info (True Story)
This was true up until a few days ago in this area (north of the city); however, now things are pretty much back to normal. The Galveston area is a MESS, though. It breaks my heart to watch the news reports. Residents were just recently allowed back on the island (during daylight hours only) to survey the destruction. Dead bodies are still washing up on the beach from time to time and the topography of the coastline has completely changed.
We all learned a lot from the experience. Like your friend's family member, we learned that the three most important commodities to have on hand are water, cash, and GASOLINE. My family had plenty of food and water and a good supply of cash, but we did not have gasoline, so we were trapped. The only way we could get our cell phones to work (to let people know we were OK) during the first week the power was out was to drive around searching for a pocket of reception, which used up half my tank of gas in three days. Once gas became available, on the fifth day after the storm, I had to wait in line for two hours to get it and then could only pay for it with cash. Before the next hurricane, we will fill our gas cans.
Another item we had a low supply of was candles. I thought we had plenty, scattered all over the house, and we even dragged our supply of Christmas candles out. But after two or three nights of doing everything by candlelight, we were almost out of candles. 20We were also really sick of jasmine/Peppermint/Juniper/Cinnamon/Apple Pie fragrances. I am going to buy a case of emergency NO FRAGRANCE candles before the next storm.
One thing we did do that worked out well was use flashlights and radios that were powered by double-A batteries. Double-A's are cheaper and are plentiful and easy to find--EVERY store was sold out of the big C and D batteries a week before the hurricane arrived. We had so many double-A's stocked up that we didn't even use them all. I also found out that with a marine battery (the kind used on boats) and an inverter, we could have plugged in a fan and charged up our cell phones, so I'll be buying those, too, for next time. I have no interest in a generator. They are extremely noisy and use 50-100 dollars' worth of gas a day. Plus, you have to keep them outside and we heard many stories of people's generators being stolen in the night. Easy to do.
Maybe the best tip I got before the storm was from a lady in line behind me at Wal-Mart, where I was trying to buy ice to fill up my freezer, but they were sold out. She said to just fill up gallon-sized freezer Zip-locs with water and freeze them to make giant ice cubes, which I did. I filled every nook and cranny in the freezer with them and then used them to keep the perishables from the fridge cold in coolers for days. Worked like a charm.
And from a blog I happened upon. Thanks for the tips! website resource
#1. Have a way to keep things cool! For us it was a generator to keep our fridge/freezer and deep freeze running (which meant we also needed to have extra gas stored to keep the generator running... and you should also keep some extra gas for your car), but you can also use ice in coolers, etc. A trick our neighbor taught us was to freeze water in 2-liter soda bottles and when you stick those in a bag of ice it makes the ice last a lot longer. (And if you use drinking water in the soda bottle, you can drink it when it melts.) So if you know a disaster is coming, start making lots of ice
#2. Have extra water available (and not just drinking water). Fil some of the more sturdy plastic bottles we've used (like the kind apple juice comes in) with just regular tap water (and we marked them as being tap water so we know it's not drinking water). You would be surprised at how often you use water for non-drinking purposes (like to wash your dishes, your face, your hands, brush your teeth, etc.). A lot of cities ended up with polluted water or no water at all, so it's important to have that supply ready.
#3. Have a way to cook without electricity.
#4. Have a stash of cash available at all times. When gas stations started coming back online, they could pump gas, but credit card machines wouldn't work. So you could only get gas if you had cash (and of course ATM machines didn't work either). We only found this out after waiting for 2 hours in line, but fortunately we keep an emergency stash of cash in several locations. We have a 72-hour kit in each of our cars that each has $100 in it, and then another $100 in our 72-hour kit at the house. So fortunately we were not stuck without any cash when we got up to the pumps. Also, make sure your "stash" is in smaller bills (nothing bigger than a $20) because a lot of people either won't take larger than that or won't have change to give you back.
#5. Battery or hand operated items are great!
#6. Have a way to get the news. This will usually be a battery (or hand) operated radio (although we were able to hook our tv up to the generator and just watch the news... did I mention that I LOVE our generator??!) But the news will keep you posted on if there are things you need to be doing, if your water is safe to drink, where you can find essential items being distributed, etc.
#7. Have a source of light for night. I already mentioned that we had some good lights, we also had flashlights, but you don't want to keep those running all the time because then you'll REALLY go through batteries quickly. So obviously candles are a good choice. Oil lamps are also great But a tip about candles, we found that the candles that are in glass votives put out a lot more light than a candle that is just set on a plate. You could probably even just put the candles in mason jars to make them shine brighter. If you have baby food jars, you could also keep a stash of those (empty and clean, of course) and then get a big bag of those tea-light candles (they're really inexpensive, but you can go through them pretty fast, so it's good to have a lot), and then just put the little lights in the baby food jars all over the place and you've got some decent light.
This was true up until a few days ago in this area (north of the city); however, now things are pretty much back to normal. The Galveston area is a MESS, though. It breaks my heart to watch the news reports. Residents were just recently allowed back on the island (during daylight hours only) to survey the destruction. Dead bodies are still washing up on the beach from time to time and the topography of the coastline has completely changed.
We all learned a lot from the experience. Like your friend's family member, we learned that the three most important commodities to have on hand are water, cash, and GASOLINE. My family had plenty of food and water and a good supply of cash, but we did not have gasoline, so we were trapped. The only way we could get our cell phones to work (to let people know we were OK) during the first week the power was out was to drive around searching for a pocket of reception, which used up half my tank of gas in three days. Once gas became available, on the fifth day after the storm, I had to wait in line for two hours to get it and then could only pay for it with cash. Before the next hurricane, we will fill our gas cans.
Another item we had a low supply of was candles. I thought we had plenty, scattered all over the house, and we even dragged our supply of Christmas candles out. But after two or three nights of doing everything by candlelight, we were almost out of candles. 20We were also really sick of jasmine/Peppermint/Juniper/Cinnamon/Apple Pie fragrances. I am going to buy a case of emergency NO FRAGRANCE candles before the next storm.
One thing we did do that worked out well was use flashlights and radios that were powered by double-A batteries. Double-A's are cheaper and are plentiful and easy to find--EVERY store was sold out of the big C and D batteries a week before the hurricane arrived. We had so many double-A's stocked up that we didn't even use them all. I also found out that with a marine battery (the kind used on boats) and an inverter, we could have plugged in a fan and charged up our cell phones, so I'll be buying those, too, for next time. I have no interest in a generator. They are extremely noisy and use 50-100 dollars' worth of gas a day. Plus, you have to keep them outside and we heard many stories of people's generators being stolen in the night. Easy to do.
Maybe the best tip I got before the storm was from a lady in line behind me at Wal-Mart, where I was trying to buy ice to fill up my freezer, but they were sold out. She said to just fill up gallon-sized freezer Zip-locs with water and freeze them to make giant ice cubes, which I did. I filled every nook and cranny in the freezer with them and then used them to keep the perishables from the fridge cold in coolers for days. Worked like a charm.
And from a blog I happened upon. Thanks for the tips! website resource
#1. Have a way to keep things cool! For us it was a generator to keep our fridge/freezer and deep freeze running (which meant we also needed to have extra gas stored to keep the generator running... and you should also keep some extra gas for your car), but you can also use ice in coolers, etc. A trick our neighbor taught us was to freeze water in 2-liter soda bottles and when you stick those in a bag of ice it makes the ice last a lot longer. (And if you use drinking water in the soda bottle, you can drink it when it melts.) So if you know a disaster is coming, start making lots of ice
#2. Have extra water available (and not just drinking water). Fil some of the more sturdy plastic bottles we've used (like the kind apple juice comes in) with just regular tap water (and we marked them as being tap water so we know it's not drinking water). You would be surprised at how often you use water for non-drinking purposes (like to wash your dishes, your face, your hands, brush your teeth, etc.). A lot of cities ended up with polluted water or no water at all, so it's important to have that supply ready.
#3. Have a way to cook without electricity.
#4. Have a stash of cash available at all times. When gas stations started coming back online, they could pump gas, but credit card machines wouldn't work. So you could only get gas if you had cash (and of course ATM machines didn't work either). We only found this out after waiting for 2 hours in line, but fortunately we keep an emergency stash of cash in several locations. We have a 72-hour kit in each of our cars that each has $100 in it, and then another $100 in our 72-hour kit at the house. So fortunately we were not stuck without any cash when we got up to the pumps. Also, make sure your "stash" is in smaller bills (nothing bigger than a $20) because a lot of people either won't take larger than that or won't have change to give you back.
#5. Battery or hand operated items are great!
#6. Have a way to get the news. This will usually be a battery (or hand) operated radio (although we were able to hook our tv up to the generator and just watch the news... did I mention that I LOVE our generator??!) But the news will keep you posted on if there are things you need to be doing, if your water is safe to drink, where you can find essential items being distributed, etc.
#7. Have a source of light for night. I already mentioned that we had some good lights, we also had flashlights, but you don't want to keep those running all the time because then you'll REALLY go through batteries quickly. So obviously candles are a good choice. Oil lamps are also great But a tip about candles, we found that the candles that are in glass votives put out a lot more light than a candle that is just set on a plate. You could probably even just put the candles in mason jars to make them shine brighter. If you have baby food jars, you could also keep a stash of those (empty and clean, of course) and then get a big bag of those tea-light candles (they're really inexpensive, but you can go through them pretty fast, so it's good to have a lot), and then just put the little lights in the baby food jars all over the place and you've got some decent light.
#8. Finally, make sure all this stuff is in a location you know about. Try to keep emergency supplies together so you don't have to go hunting for them when you're in the middle of a disaster. And make sure everyone is aware of your emergency plan, etc.
*P.S. A tip I was going to share about our water storage... we just recently switched our water supply/storage plan to be a little more functional. Initially for water storage, we had purchased several of those big 5-gallon jugs of water (like the kind you get delivered to your house... but we just bought them at the grocery store) and we just had them sitting in storage. But then we realized we needed a way to actually use that water. So we've stopped buying the expensive filters for our fridge (which has a water dispenser) and bought a standing water dispenser. Now we can keep a year's supply of water in those big jugs but circulate through it instead of just letting it sit and go bad.
Oh, and another tip I just remembered about generators... if you're thinking about investing in one, my dad pointed out that there are some they've come out with that run on diesel fuel and are quieter. Well, the quiet part would sure be nice (those suckers can be loud), BUT for as difficult as it was to get gas after the hurricane, it was nearly impossible to find diesel fuel. I don't know if that's something that would always be the case, but it's something to keep in mind.
*P.S. A tip I was going to share about our water storage... we just recently switched our water supply/storage plan to be a little more functional. Initially for water storage, we had purchased several of those big 5-gallon jugs of water (like the kind you get delivered to your house... but we just bought them at the grocery store) and we just had them sitting in storage. But then we realized we needed a way to actually use that water. So we've stopped buying the expensive filters for our fridge (which has a water dispenser) and bought a standing water dispenser. Now we can keep a year's supply of water in those big jugs but circulate through it instead of just letting it sit and go bad.
Oh, and another tip I just remembered about generators... if you're thinking about investing in one, my dad pointed out that there are some they've come out with that run on diesel fuel and are quieter. Well, the quiet part would sure be nice (those suckers can be loud), BUT for as difficult as it was to get gas after the hurricane, it was nearly impossible to find diesel fuel. I don't know if that's something that would always be the case, but it's something to keep in mind.
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