Comments on: Step 10: Non-Food Items

By: Sally Burnett Shoemaker

Sally Burnett Shoemaker — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 13:35:12 +0000

I found after Hurricanes Rita, and Ike having glow sticks hanging from the ceiling fans and light fixtures gave enough light throughout the night to see and manuever after dark. It also created a sense of security to my children having “the lights on” as they would go to the bathroom or kitchen after bedtime. I was secure know there were no open flames burning.

We also played horseshoes, badmittion and volleyball during the day, all the games we would play when we go camping. My two sons, would go through the neighborhood helping neighbors clean their yards and they would sleep very good each night tired from all the work. At night would listen to our emergency radio that broadcast local television stations. I listened for 6 days, straight and never needed to change batteries.

By: liz76522

liz76522 — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 22:26:59 +0000

Now, I need help finding suscreen to put in storage?

By: liz76522

liz76522 — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 22:12:38 +0000

It's quick and easy to make your own natural, waterless hand sanitizer.

Gather Your Ingredients

1 cup aloe vera gel
1 tsp rubbing alcohol
2 tsp vegetable glycerin
8-10 drops tea tree essential oil or lavender essential oil

Simply blend all of the ingredients together and store.

Decide Where You are Going to Store Your Sanitizer

Be creative! You can recycle old liquid soap or hand sanitizer dispensers. You can also purchase a beautiful glass jar with a pump top to store and display your sanitizer. Think out of the box. If you find some nice glass jars and then add your own label, you can give home made sanitizers as gifts to family and friends!

Choose Essential Oils Carefully

The original recipe calls for tea tree or lavender oil, but you can be creative and use other types of essential oils as well. I like to pull out a list of oils that have antibacterial AND antiviral properties and make a blend that suits the season. Look at the properties of citrus oils, especially. Use oils that suit your likes as far as scents are concerned but will still add the cleansing properties appropriate for a hand sanitizer.

Use Sparingly

Your home made hand sanitizer will not dissolve into your hands as quickly or effectively as the commercial hand sanitizers you buy in the store. It is better to err on the side of too little than to end up wiping excess sanitizer off of your hands later. Waste not - want not!

By: liz76522

liz76522 — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 20:10:51 +0000

“Gladrags”, and for the younger female members of our household, I ordered the teen kit for each of them! I'm excited, I wish I had these options when I was growing up! My oldest darling daughter has committed to using “it” “the cup” for 2-3 months, then I think I'll store new ones in the shelter for TEOTWAWKI, LOL!

By: Karen Cook

Karen Cook — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 23:06:31 +0000

Dry dog and cat food don't store as well as their raw ingredients – the fats and oils in the food get rancid after several months. All meat dog food [canned] plus rice and vegetables [e.g., carrots] would store better [obviously the carrots would have to be freshly grown or freeze-dried/dehydrated.

Light bulbs are an odd thing to save for emergencies – if there is no power, wouldn't light bulbs be kind of moot?

By: Ginger Bangs

Ginger Bangs — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 14:19:48 +0000

I don't know if anyone else thought about those but you can books, coloring boys, crayons, coloring pencils, mad libs, puzzles to the misc list for things to do if you are without power. Legos, dolls and cars can keep small (and not so small) children entertained for hours without using electrical power. Have some of your habby items around to help you keep calm. If you stay calm, chances are your children will be able to stay calm too

By: Jodi - Food Storage Made Easy

Jodi - Food Storage Made Easy — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 13:37:58 +0000

Great tips!

By: dorothysandaker

dorothysandaker — Sun, 06 Sep 2009 13:45:33 +0000

Don't forget to store some needles and thread. Clothes could get pretty ratty if we can't mend or sew on a button. And those babies don't stop growing just because there is an emergency of some kind so some extra fabric would be a good idea too.

By: Jodi - Food Storage Made Easy

Jodi - Food Storage Made Easy — Sat, 29 Aug 2009 01:34:14 +0000

Great additions. This is definitely something we need to learn more about!

By: kdonat

kdonat — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 12:16:06 +0000

Miscellaneous items to store: storable fuel for cooking :
charcoal for the grill, canned fuel (chafing dish fuel), homemade buddy burners, alcohol burners (use 91% alcohol for clean burn), make and learn how to use a solar oven (start with a mylar covered windshield reflector), Coleman fuel for a camp stove, other compressed fuel (used with inexpensive small camp stove)