Benefits of Estate Planning

• Avoid having your assets tied up in probate
• Clear directions on what will happen to your children should you and your spouse both pass away
• Beneficiaries can pay less inheritance tax
• Allows YOU to make decisions, rather than the courts
• Peace of mind in knowing things are taken care of

CREATE A WILL

A will is the foundation of your estate planning. Without a will the courts will decide what happens to your children and your assets, and your family that is left behind could be in for a mess. Your will should include the following items:

• Nominate a guardian for any children you have
• List your assets and how you want them distributed
• Name an executor of your estate to take care of fulfilling your wishes

A few things to consider:

• Beneficiaries on life insurance policies and financial accounts will take precedence over a will, so make sure they are all updated appropriately.
• EVERYONE that has assets should have a will.
• Review your will each year, modify it should any major life changes occur such as the death of a beneficiary, addition of new beneficiaries, major changes in financial situation, etc.
• Don’t hide your will in a safe deposit box. Keep a copy somewhere your family can easily find it.

ESTABLISH A REVOKABLE TRUST

A trust is used to distribute your assets without the use of courts or attorneys. If a husband and wife both put their assest into a trust, only ONE inheritance tax is charged rather than one on each of them (I wasn’t exactly sure what this stuff means but it sounds like a way to let your heirs keep more of a your money which is a good thing, hehe). Here are some things to note about trusts:

• Money and assets in your trust are not protected from lawsuits against you.
• IRAs should not be included in the trust as they are able to roll directly into the IRA of an heir with no penalties
• You should select ONE trustee to manage the assets in your trust according to the directions you leave in your will
• The trust should be updated if your trustee changes or your beneficiaries change
• You should include a “Pour-Over Will” which is a safety net to administer property that is not in your trust due to accidental exclusion or that was acquired after your death

HAVE A LIVING WILL

Having a living will allows you to decide whether or not you want to remain on artificial life support when there is no chance of recovery. It relieves your family of the burden of having to make that decision. This is a very good thing to have.

HAVE A DURABLE POWER OF ATTORNEY

A durable power of attorney allows you to name someone of your choice to handle your affairs in the event that you become unable to do so. You can specify what those circumstances are.

Summary

If you have less than $10 million in assets, these four documents should be sufficient for your needs and are very reasonably priced to have established. If you have more than $10 million you will need to explore some more complex estate planning options.

Hopefully that was a helpful little overview for you. Now you should be able to at least know some of the questions to ask if you go to have a meeting with a lawyer to get your affairs in order. Please remember we’re not trying to give legal counsel, just give you some things to think about for you to research further.

Powerless Cooking Event – Hosted by Food Storage Made Easy

Date/Time: May 10th 7-9 pm
Location: Draper, Utah
Cost: FREE

Join us for an evening of free information on different options for cooking when the power goes out. Representatives from great companies such as Sun Oven, Volcano Grills, Humless, and InstaFire will be combining with us to help you learn about these products as well as several free or inexpensive tools you can make yourself. Come and enjoy free handouts, event discounts, giveaways and more!

This is the event that WE are putting on which we posted about a few weeks ago. Click here to view full details and RSVP if you haven’t already. Seating is limited and it’s filling up!

Self Reliance Expo

Date/Time: Friday 5/18 -> 10AM-7PM, Saturday 5/19 -> 9AM-7PM
Location: Colorado Springs, CO
Cost: $10 per adult

There are several Self Reliance Expos in different locations throughout the year. This one in Colorado is exciting because they have an entire panel of women presenters including some of our favorites like Lisa Bedford (The Survival Mom). This expo will be worth going to just for the exhibits alone, but there also looks to be a huge line-up of classes, workshops, and presentations to attend as well. Click here for more details and to get ticket information.

Please note: If you are aware of any local events in your area please ALWAYS let us know so we can get the word out either through our newsletter or our Facebook page. We love to support local expos and help connect our readers with them!

We’re excited to be hosting a free Powerless Cooking Event! The event will consist of 2 parts- instruction and booth time. The instruction portion of the event will last about 1 hour and include segments featuring various products, that will be taught by experts from the respective companies of each powerless cooking tool. Each segment will be long enough to give a good overview of the product and how it is helpful in a powerless emergency.

Following the instruction portion, we will have booth time where you can ask detailed questions on the products you’re interested in at individual booths. This will allow for you to learn as much as possible about multiple options, then delve into whichever options you may be more interested in. We will also be handing out special order forms that you can submit and get special event pricing and discounts.

We will also teach you about some free/inexpensive powerless cooking tools and include handouts with instructions for how to make them!

FEATURED PRODUCTS AND EXPERT GUESTS:
Global Sun Ovens:
Paul Munsen: President of Sun Ovens Int.
Insta Fire Fuel:
Frank Weston/Konel Banner: Owners and CEO
Volcano Grills:
TBA
Humless Solar Powered Generators:
St. John Holloway: Sales and Support Rep

FREE/EDUCATIONAL OPTIONS COVERED IN CLASS:
Brief Fuel Overview: Taught by JODI AND JULIE!
Cardboard Box Ovens: Taught by JODI AND JULIE!
#10 Can Stoves: Taught by JODI AND JULIE!
Indoor Cooking and Butane Stoves: Taught by Preparedness Expert Guest
Hand Wheat Grinders: Taught by JODI AND JULIE!

DETAILS:
Date: Thursday May 10, 2012
Time: 7-9 pm (7-8 will be instructional, 8-9 will be Q&A at individual booths)
Place:

American Preparatory Academy
12892 S. Pony Express Rd. (Just off of I15 and 123000 S.)
Draper, Utah 84020

Cost: FREE! Bring a friend!

Please RSVP below so we can plan seating accordingly:

“New” CPR Guidelines

This was not a formal CPR class but it was great to get a handle on the general principles. There have been some changes to what the American Heart Association recommends for people to know about performing CPR. Since 2008 they have been encouraging all Americans to learn Hands-Only CPR in order to be able to potentially save the life of someone in cardiac arrest. The American Heart Association website says:

Hands-Only CPR (CPR with just chest compressions) has been proven to be as effective as CPR with breaths in treating adult cardiac arrest victims. A study published in the March 8 issue of Circulation states: “Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes showed that people who view a CPR instructional video are significantly more likely to attempt life-saving resuscitation.”

Official AHA Hands-Only® CPR instructional video.

 
A few extra notes from my class:

• For small children use one hand only and compress only about half the distance from your and to the ground
• For infants only use 2 fingers
• The first two compressions will be difficult and feel a bit “crunchy” as the ribs break away from cartilage, it should get easier after that.
• Don’t stop doing compressions until a doctor pronounces them dead, someone with higher training takes over, or you are so tired you are about to pass out
• Don’t check for a pulse or for breathing before you start, just start compressions immediately after calling 911. Precious time is lost otherwise.

What to do for CHOKING

Try to determine if it is a partial obstruction or a complete obstruction. If it’s partial, the object should be able to work it’s way out and the person is still able to breathe slightly. There is nothing you can do for this. If it is a complete obstruction, perform the heimlich maneuver. This is done by wrapping your arms around the person, place your thumb on their belly button, then make a fist and wrap your other hand around that fist. Pull up and back until the obstruction is removed. If the person goes unconscious, perform CPR.

What to do for severe BLEEDING

Call 911 if the cut is gushing, very deep, or a gaping wound. Do your best to stop or minimized the bleeding. If you are using a rag or towel to stop the bleeding, make sure to sterilize it first. You can attempt to stop the bleeding in one of three ways:

• Apply pressure, either directly (push right on the injury) or indirect (wrap a towel AROUND the injury)
• Use pressure points. Find any place you feel a heart beat near the wound and apply pressure (i.e. under the bicep)
• Elevate the injury

Once you have stopped the bleeding, do not remove the towel to check on the injury. Wait until medical help arrives or you get to a hospital.

What to do for POISONING

If you have ANY concerns about what a person (or pet) has eaten, call poison control immediately. The phone number is 1-800-222-1222

What to do for HEAD TRAUMA

If a person (usually a child) falls or receives some trauma to the head, check for the seriousness of the injury. If they are vomiting, go unconscious, act strange, get lethargic, or have a dramatic difference in pupil sizes these are all signs that it could be serious. If any of these symptoms occur, take the person to a doctor.

What to do for HEAT EMERGENCIES

Heat affects the young, old, and already sick much more than normal healthy adults. Heat exhaustion is quite common and is recognized by cool and clammy skin, nausea, and dizziness. Get the person out of the sun, keep cool, and have them drink lots of water. If heat exhaustion is not treated within 2-3 days, it can develop into heat stroke which is VERY dangerous. Signs of heat stroke are red skin, radiating heat, becoming incoherent or unconscious, and their body can’t control its temperature. This can be deadly, get medical attention IMMEDIATELY.

First Aid Kits

One last thing they mentioned in the class is to have a well-stocked first aid kit in your home. We gave a recommend list of first aid kit items from the Red Cross in this post last year. Check it out for a good starting point.

I still don’t feel like an EXPERT on all of these things, but I definitely feel a little more confident in managing first aid issues that may arise in my home with my little children. Hopefully you can find some classes in your area too!

Last week we talked about water filtration and purification methods you may need to use, should you not have enough actual water stored. The idea is, that you would be able to find a water source and filter and purify that water should you need extra. While this is a good option, it’s always a great idea to store as much actual water as possible. In our “Water Storage Containers” post we talked about water storage containers, one of which is a 55 gallon barrel. Storing 55 gallon barrels comes with Pros and Cons:

Pros
– Great solution for storing LOTS of water
– Available in multiple sizes from 30 gallons up to 250 gallons
– With additives, can extend rotation needs to every 5 years

Cons
– Slightly difficult to fill and rotate
– Not very accessible when you have to actually USE the water
– Not an ideal solution in small homes/storage areas and shouldn’t be stored outside

WATER BARREL TOWER A couple of months ago, we were contacted by Trigen Manufacturing and we got some of their water barrel towers. Their water barrel towers solve the typical cons to the regular way of storing 55 gallon barrels. Rotating and filing the barrels is a breeze compared to when they are upright. Not only is rotation easier, it is a space saver too! Both of us got one of their 3 barrel towers. Jodi’s husband built her tower and they took a video of it in case you are wanting to know how to build the actual shelf. The shelf comes with instructions, and the shelf is pretty basic so it’s not too difficult:

Darin from Trigen was kind enough to come over and help Julie get the barrels plumbed and ready for filling. This video shows you the tower fully built with the water barrels on it, and how to assemble the plumbing kit:

Check out our post on the barrels we did a few months ago when we introduced them and learn more about discounts available for Food Storage Made Easy readers!

To order call: 801-997-0575. Make sure you mention Food Storage Made Easy when you order to get the following discounts:

• $20 off the Triple Barrel Tower with Upgraded Plumbing kit
• $10 off Triple Barrel Tower with Basic Plumbing Kit
• $10 off the Double Barrel Tower with Upgraded Plumbing kit
• $10 off the Double Barrel Tower with Basic Plumbing kit

Visit Trigen Manufacturing for pricing and full list of contents. To get the discount, make a phone order and mention Food Storage Made Easy.

Pick up your barrels here:

When you get more involved in using and preserving Food Storage, you start realizing there are a lot of appliances out there that are either necessary or certainly helpful in getting the job done!

When determining what it is you need in terms of appliances, we recommend the “test yourself” theory. What we mean by that, is test yourself by either borsrowing, or doing things the hard way before buying an appliance. Try making bread by hand before buying an expensive mixer. SURE the mixer WILL make the job easier, and oftentimes make the bread turn out better, but see if you are dedicated enough to the habit or lifestyle before buying something you may never use. We borrowed wheat grinders, canners, and dehydrators before ever getting our own, and it was great practice to allow us to see what it was we wanted. So here are a few of our favorite appliances to help us use and preserve our Food Storage.

A Few Of Our Top Picks!

	Wondermill Electric: In an extended emergency with no power, we’ll use our Wonder Jrs, but day in and day out we LOVE our Wondermill Electrics. We have become so familiar with how to use our wheat, other grains, and legumes because the electric mill is so handy, that we’d be ready to use a hand grinder and not change our diets much at all. Emergencies aside, grain mills are great appliances to have to help you cook whole foods from scratch.
	Pressure Canner One of the cheapest and healthiest ways of increasing your supplemental long term food storage is to can your own foods. High acid foods can be canned with a regular and inexpensive water bath canning. But to get into more advanced things like canning meats and certain vegetables, you need a good pressure canner. Jodi currently uses a Presto pressure canner which works well for small amounts of canning, but is also saving up for an All-American pressure canner which is a little more industrial and doesn’t have a gasket that needs replacing.
	Electric Pressure Cooker: An electric pressure cooker is great for cooking dry beans, brown rice, and a variety of other foods that usually take much longer to cook. We’re talking from dry to cooked beans in an hour or less! It’s awesome. You can also use this for cooking a variety of meals in a hurry. We both use and love the Cuisinart Electric Pressure Cooker.
	Food Dehydrators: Another great way to add to your food storage is by dehydrating your own foods either from your garden or bought in bulk at a farmer’s market. Foods you dehydrate yourself have less preservatives and are much cheaper than purchasing dehydrated foods. When the time is right, this can be a good investment for your long term food storage. Our favorite brand is the Excalibur Dehydrator.
	Super Blenders: Super Blenders are great to have for everyday, regular cooking, but also can help you use your Food Storage in ways you wouldn’t expect. Often times, these blenders can grind wheat or other grains into flours so you can avoid buying a wheat grinder. The more you start using your Food Storage, the more you’ll find you cook from scratch and eat healthier and these blenders sure come in handy. You can view our two favorite blenders at this link.
	Tortilla Press and Cooker: After making tortillas by hand a number of times, and testing out this press of one of our friend’s, we were sold on it! Whole wheat tortillas that are made from scratch are so much yummier and healthier than any you could buy at the store. Use your Food Storage, be healthier, and make them much faster than by hand! This tortilla cooker presses, and COOKS the tortilla at the same time.
	Bosch Mixer: If you plan to make bread, pizza, or other baked goods frequently as you practice using your food storage, a Bosch can be a dream. It really does make your doughs turn out better and it is soooo much easier than hand kneading. We’d definitely consider this a luxury item, but if you can afford it, go for it! If you are shopping online you can check out the Bosch Universal Mixer with Cookie Paddles and Metal Whip Drive from Emergency Essentials or a stand-alone Bosch Mixer from Amazon.com

There are hundreds (probably thousands) of Emergency Preparedness products available out there. Some products are critical to have, while others just make life easier. Over the past 4 years of doing this blog, we have tried lots of different things, and have become dealers for many of them. Our basic rules for becoming dealers of products are

• 1. Do we honestly like and use the product?
• 2. Can we sell it for the cheapest possible price to our readers?
• 3. Does the company do drop-shipping for us? (hey we’re still moms of young kids and running to the post office all the time isn’t always feasible).

If the answers are YES to all these questions we work to be able to sell them to you our readers for CHEAP. Below you will find a few of our hand chosen products we love for Emergency Preparedness. Tomorrow we’ll show you some of the products we love to use daily to cook with our Food Storage in our regular lives, and check back often as we’re always adding products when we like them, and can get them for you at the best prices.

When determining what it is you need, we always recommend taking care of basics first. Take care of your 72 hour kits, your water storage, basic first aid, and sanitation supplies. After you have taken care of the basics (and have either saved up money or get a nice chunk of change) add to your supplies. If you follow our blog, you know we often try to teach you cheap or free solutions to tie you over in the mean time

A Few Of Our Top Picks!

	Wondermill Jr: In an extended emergency with no power, and pounds and pounds of wheat, you’ll need a good hand grinder to make use of your wheat. The Wonder Jr is a fantastic mill that can grind all sorts of grains and by simply swapping the stone heads for the stainless steel burr heads you can make delicious peanut butter or other nut butters, grind flax or any oily or wet grains, grind herbs and spices, and even coffee or soy beans.
	Global Sun Oven: One of the things that really intimidated us about even getting started with food storage was the idea of powerless cooking. When we discovered Sun Ovens we were thrilled with the possibilities. Anything you can cook in a regular oven can be cooked in a Sun Oven and usually turns out even better! Without having to worry about storing a fuel source, Sun Ovens are the perfect tool for a long term powerless emergency.
	Volcano Grills: The Volcano Grill is a great stove that gives you all sorts of cooking options. We love them because they work with a variety of fuels, and cook with pots and pans, grills, woks, or dutch ovens. We use ours for camping, eprep, and just for fun!
	Water Bricks: Water Bricks have a unique stacking capability that allows you to store them in virtually any configuration. From small nooks and crannies to large storage rooms or even outside, these containers will fit your needs. When we first saw Water Bricks we knew they could be a GREAT option for people who are struggling with space issues, or who are looking for an easy to carry, light-weight, portable water storage solution.
	Insta-Fire: Insta Fire is a safe, simple, and versatile new fire starting product. It has water-repellant properties, a fifteen minute burn time and a thirty year shelf life. Use it to light campfires, prepare charcoal briquettes, or as a safe and reliable fuel source for cooking or heating in emergency situations. In an emergency you will most likely need to boil water, cook your food, and heat your shelter.
	Berkey Water Filters: While most good filtration systems use a ceramic filter which gets out most of the contaminants in water, you still need to purify it afterwards to get out all of the viruses. The Black Berkey Purification Elements are unique filters in that they remove viruses, harmful pathogenic bacteria, cysts and parasites as well as unhealthy chemical contaminates and impurities while leaving in the essential minerals your body needs.
	Humless Solar Generators: When just getting started with food storage, it is overwhelming to think of what to do in a true powerless emergency situation. Generators can be intimidating, loud, huge, heavy, and require the storage of fuel which is scary, limited, and expensive as well. When we discovered the Humless Solar Generators we knew they would be the perfect solution for many of our readers. The Humless Sentinel is strong enough to power virtually anything in your home from a Bosch or Wheat Grinder to a washing machine or microwave.
	Prepare My Life Planner: The Prepare My Life Planner is an organized emergency preparedness plan. Not only does it contain a step-by-step plan to help prepare your home and family for an emergency, it is also designed to store and organize your important documents. All of the pages, pockets, pouches, and folders are included. Whether it’s a natural disaster or a death in the family, every household needs a plan in order to survive, cope, and recover.

To celebrate Valentine’s Day, today we are highlighting the Products We LOVE Board. Whenever we find products that are amazing and helpful in building or using our food storage, we always want to share them with our readers. We become dealers if possible to help you get the lowest prices available online so that you can enjoy them too! Check out this board to see some of the products we sell as well as some others that we love and recommend.

• PIN 1: The quietest, fastest, cleanest wheat grinder available … we use this at least once a week!
• PIN 2: Cheap fruits and vegetables to add to your long term food storage.
• PIN 3: The water purifier that most of our readers love and use. Can’t go wrong with this one.
• PIN 4: Cook with the power of the sun (and dehydrate too, with a free dehydrating kit this month)

Make sure you check out the rest of the items on the Products We LOVE board. We’ll keep adding to these boards as we find great stuff.

Don’t forget you can Follow us on Pinterest so you don’t miss any of the great stuff we will be pinning in the future.

Today we are highlighting the Make Your Own board. There are so many household cleaners, body cleaners, and food mixes you can make your own, rather than buying them pre-made. Not only are making them yourselves cheaper, but you can make a variety of things with basic ingredients, allowing you to store less. Pinterest is a gold mind for finding make-your own recipes. We haven’t tried many of them yet, but look forward to trying them out!

• PIN 1: Who remembers to, or WANTS to store drain cleaner. This looks awesome, and who doesn’t have these ingredients?
• PIN 2: A whole list of household cleaners you can make your self from ingredients you have on hand.
• PIN 3: Homemade ranch, onion soup mix, and taco seasoning. Talk about saving you in a pinch when you run out of something!
• PIN 4: Baby wipes? That’s the last thing you want to run out of in case of emergency. Must try this!

Make sure you check out the rest of the items on the Make Your Own board. We’ll keep adding to these boards as we find great stuff, and we’ll see you tomorrow to highlight another one of our boards!

Don’t forget you can Follow us on Pinterest so you don’t miss any of the great stuff we will be pinning in the future.

Today we are highlighting two fun boards, the Emergency Preparedness board and the How-to Tutorials board. On our Emergency preparedness boards we are gathering documents and information you may want to actually print out. You never know when this kind of information can come in handy, AND when you may or may not have internet access. The How-To Tutorial board is full of how-to tutorials we have made or found around the web. These are things you should learn about ahead of time!

   

• PIN 1: These are some ebooks we are going to check out ourselves, looks like great information for a long term crisis.
• PIN 2: A free download that contains a full eprep plan from our site.
• PIN 3: A video tutorial on how to turn off your gas. This could come in really handy!
• PIN 4: For those of you who are handy, or are married to a handy spouse, this tutorial is great for building racks for your water barrels!

Make sure you check out the rest of the items on the Emergency Preparedness board and the How-To Tutorials board. We’ll keep adding to these boards as we find great stuff, and we’ll see you tomorrow to highlight another one of our boards!

Don’t forget you can Follow us on Pinterest so you don’t miss any of the great stuff we will be pinning in the future.