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Attention Deficit Disorders

When the going Gets Challenging,
The Challenged Get Going!
A four-part series by Grandpa Bob.

There are so many different ways in which to prepare for both natural disasters and the many disasters caused by human blunder that just knowing where to start is probably the hardest part; for the sake of easiness, my first suggestion is to start on familiar ground. Since you’re probably sitting at your computer in the comfort of your own home, we’ll start with a careful look at what you have in your house that might lend itself to an emergency situation.

While you may be able to weather a storm under your own roof, consider the possibility that the roof may no longer be there. Even if evacuation is mandated by Federal, State or local authorities, however, most families can still put an emergency kit together without leaving the house! The best sources for your own Family Emergency Kit are your kitchen, your bathroom, your bedroom(s) and your garage.

Source One - Your Kitchen:

Without getting up from where you are, close your eyes and look around your kitchen. Don’t worry about food right now, we’ll cover that in another section of the interview!

A brand, spanking-new fifteen gallon Rubber-Maid trash can makes a wonderful container for all of the emergency stuff we’re going to find in your kitchen. Paint your family name on it, along with the words, “NOT FOR TRASH!”
On the counter-top there may be a can opener; if it isn’t the electric kind it will come in handy in an emergency, when most of the foods you’ll have with you are likely to be in cans. Even though I know your kitchen is cleaner than mine, I’d be willing to bet that there are knives, forks and spoons on the counter somewhere and probably a cup, plate or bowl as well; you’ll want to have at least one of each of these items in the kit for every member of your household.

You have too many pots and pans to bring along all of your favorites; pick out one old pot that will make enough stew or soup for the whole family and one pan that will scramble eggs, fry bacon, etc. For the pot, bring along a wooden spoon long enough to stir to the bottom and for the pan bring along a sturdy spatula. No more. These are all you’ll need, so even if you feel like bringing more, don’t. If you own a chafing dish (and who doesn’t?), you ought to have a can or two of Sterno stored somewhere out of the reach of children. Throw a can or two into yoour kit.

Here’s an old camper’s trick that will save you some valuable time in cleaning up - use paper plates! Have you ever heard of the frisbee-tarian church? They believe that when you die, your soul gets stuck on the roof. While that may or may not be true, frisbees are not only an easy to bring along and fun diversion to get one’s mind off of the disaster/survival situation for a few minutes at a time, they’re also the most durable reusable insulative paper plate holders available!

Your kitchen is probably equipt with paper towels or paper napkins. One whole roll or package for each member of the household may sound like a lot, but it will take strict rationing by Mom or Dad to make them last! If you use good old-fashioned cloth napkins, make sure there are enough in your kit for everyone to have at least two for emergencies!

If there are no zip-lock bags in your kitchen, please add them to your shopping list and be sure to get both the big ones and the little ones! The first big one should have your insurance policies, birth certificates and other identification documents for each and every member of the household.

The next most important big one is for a box of crayons and enough paper to keep the kids occupied for as long as possible! Another might be filled with the toys from kid’s meals, happy-meals, cracker jacks, and the like.

One small zip-lock should be filled with a 50:50 split of quarters and dimes, since some pay-phones take one but not the other and you never know which kind you’ll be stuck with!

Mom needs to look good even if she feels a little less than great - she should have her own zip-lock filled with emergency cosmetics; this may sound petty or superfluous but its importance cannot be overemphasized!

Dad, too, needs a baggie with soap, deodorant and shaving supplies to keep up morale, if not for himself, then for Mom!

Got any trash bags in your kitchen? Why of course you do! I suggest a whole roll of them be put in the kit because of the many uses they can be put to - here are just a few:

For the heavyweight black trash bags; 1. You can put trash in them! 2. By poking face and arm holes in the right places, they make funny-looking but functional raincoats; 3. Laying two of then end-to-end provides a water-resistant ground cloth to keep your bedroll or sleeping bag clean and dry; and 4. If there are no plumbing facilities, you can poop in them if you have to - if you think that you’re going to have to do this, add a roll or three of toilet paper and a small bag of inexpensive kitty litter to your list and throw a scoop in every time you use the bag, and be sure to tie it closed very securely when not in use!

With a little imagination, I’m sure that you can think of enough other uses for these big trash bags to use up the whole roll before your emergency ends!

The thinner, lightweight white trash bags have many uses as well; 1. Divvy ‘em up so that each person has their own trash container - when filled, they get deposited into the big black one and a new small white one is issued; 2. Use them as dry bags for the paper towels, napkins, toilet paper and any other materials that might be destroyed or rendered useless by exposure to rain or flood-waters; 3. Pee-pee bags while on the road if evacuation is ordered.

We haven’t even got out of the kitchen and we have a nice little list of supplies that will make any emergency situation as easy to handle as a day at the beach! Before we move on into the bathroom, let’s look over what we have in that “NOT FOR TRASH!” trash can.

1. Can opener;
2. Cup, Plate, bowl, Knife, Fork and Spoon for each person;
3. One Pot with a Wooden Spoon and One Pan with a Spatula;
4. Sterno
5. Paper Plates, Paper towels, Paper Napkins and a Frisbee for each person;
6. Big & Little Zip-Lock baggies and Big & Little Trash Bags;

A. Important papers;
B. Quarters and Dimes;
C. Make-up for Mom;
D. Dad’s toiletries
E. Art Supplies for Kids;
F. Tiny Toys;
7. Kitty-Litter and toilet Paper.
If the can isn’t quite full, wait and see if you can fit the bathroom stuff in it, but if it is full, you can go ahead and duct-tape it closed and set it aside for that unusually rainy day!

Until next time, love and light to all, from Grandpa Bob.

Next time: Source Two - Your Bathroom

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