Emergency Plan - Where I've been

 

Well, it's been a while since I've written anything. I think my last post was back in July, so you are probably wondering where I have been. To be honest, I'm bad about getting thoughts or plans in my head and then jumping full steam ahead to start working on them. I tend to get tunnel vision and dive deep into them, and that's where I have been, working on a plan. 

This plan, or idea, was for emergency preparedness. We currently have conflicts between Russia and Ukraine and Israel and Iran. We also have Russia's military and China's military training together for some reason; it just seems that things are very unstable right now. Then, to top it off, we have our own problems here in the US with all the election fighting and former President Trump getting shot. It just felt like a good time to get an emergency plan in place. Just in case some big conflict happens on American soil or someone hacks into our electrical grid, I just felt a need to be prepared.

So my two biggest problems to solve are food and water storage. As we all know, we can't get far without either. So for now, my plan is to buy several packs of the freeze-dried meals and get some large jugs or barrels that are safe to store drinking water in. They recommend food-grade storage jugs or barrels for storing water long-term. I will just fill them with tap water and try to drain and refill the water every 6 months to a year. Since our tap water is already treated for human consumption, there shouldn't be any need to treat it anymore. I will just need to make sure that they are sealed and no outside contaminants can get in.
As far as the food goes, I'm looking into freeze-dried camping and hiking meals. My first choice is going to be the Mountain House meals. We will try a pack or two and see what we think. If they don't meet our expectations, then we will try some of the other brands that are out there on the market, but to be honest, in an emergency situation, some food is always better than no food.

The other part of my plan is communication, because, as we all know, cell phone service will be one of the first things to go down. We will need some way to receive information and to contact others outside of our home. Luckily, I have been doing this sort of thing as a hobby for quite some time now. I have antennas set up for receiving radio signals via a RTL-SDR dongle. With this setup, I have been able to receive radio signals from all around the world. So I will be able to listen in on all kinds of radio traffic and gather important information. As for local communications, I have joined a GMRS radio network that will provide a good source for communicating with friends and family.

Now the only other big hurdle that I have is a source of power. If the grid does go down, it would be nice to have some kind of backup power. I have looked into solar, which, in my opinion, would be my best option, but that is a little expensive to get established. I could go with a generator, but then you have the problem of not having enough fuel. If there isn't any power in the area, then the gas stations will be useless. So for the time being, if things were to happen, I guess we would just be relying on a good fire to cook with and heat in cold weather and candles to see by. Luckily, we already have firewood available.

So that's what has been occupying my time here lately. I could be overreacting, and part of me says I am, but the other part of me says it doesn't hurt to be prepared. This is all stuff I can use in the future; even if we don't have a crisis, it's not like it will be a big waste of time and money.

Thank you for joining me once again as I Wander Around My Life.