Anyway, on to the Show. Doomsday Preppers is segmented into blocks featuring 4 preppers. It fist will tell you what they’re prepping for, then show some of their endeavors and finally end up giving the preppers advice from so called “expert preppers”. Finally, at the end, they try and give you odds of whatever it is they are prepping for/against happening. Funny, but they always downplay the odds of whatever it is that’s concerning the preppers.

Is Doomsday Preppers Just Another Reality Show?

For example, last episode a NY firefighter was prepping because he feared a Super Volcano in Yellowstone sending an ash cloud across the country and sending the world into a panic. At the end, they basically tell you that he’s nuts for thinking such things because the chances are astronomical. They also take little pot shots at the preppers along the way.

For example, during one episode, a woman was learning how to make a knife blade from chert. She then proceeded to skin a catfish and stated that she would eat it raw because cooking it would diminish the nutrients. Up popped a box at the bottom of the screen saying how cooking doesn’t diminish the nutrients in fish. Just another way they’re making it easy for the general public to put the ‘Nut Job’ label on these people.

But what I don’t understand is who are these ‘expert preppers’ that give advice. We never see them or know why it is that they’re “experts” in prepping? For all we know the show’s producers sit there and tell these preppers where they are failing.

One nice touch I like is that NatGeo revisits them at some time (apparently) just before airing to see if/how they’ve implemented the changes that the expert preppers gave. This is nice to see how they’re coming along and whether or not they headed the advice.

Other Problems I Have With The Doomsday Preppers

Some of the things that bug me about this show come from the contestants their self. Mainly, why in the world would you go and tell everyone on national TV that you’re prepping? You just made you and your family a huge target. It wouldn’t be hard to find any of these people after they appeared on the show. I have to think that if you’re serious about prepping, one of your first actions would have a “loose lips sink ships” policy where everyone keeps their mouth shut about what you’re doing.

I’d also like to know how the show goes about selecting the people who they feature. Some seem pretty amateurish about their prepping ability. Take the women they feature in Houston. She’s going to walk 12 miles through Houston to an undisclosed location and retrieve her bug out vehicle. If anyone has been to Houston, you’d know that walking through the city isn’t a good idea, especially after dark. The show also said that this woman had an aggressive work out regiment, which if you watched the show, it was obvious that he workout wasn’t that aggressive…just sayin’.

Overall, I generally like the show well enough to TiVo it and watch it at my leisure. Although I was hoping that Doomsday Preppers would take a non-judgmental view of preppers, it’s apparent that this is not going to happen with this show.

Things I Learned From Doomsday Preppers

I have to say, there were a few things I learned, or relearned, from the show, albeit very few. The first one was the technique about making eggs last longer. I knew that, I had just forgotten it. I also found it interesting how the same lady from Utah put up hard cheese for long term storage. Again, at one time in my life I knew this tidbit of information, but I had just forgotten it along the way!

I learned that storage containers can stop a .22 from 100 yards…LOL…okay, I’m being sarcastic. But this was the first “over top sensationalism” moment of the show in my opinion.

Probably one of my favorite scenes was from last week when they guy apparently shot his thumb off. The show made it seem like it was a misfire, but the details were sketchy. I’m betting he had some kind of hangfire and  put his thumb over the end of the barrel when he was trying to clear the weapon. Either way, it goes to show how even a second of carelessness can cause you real and ongoing problems.

Should you watch the show? Well, that’s your choice. Don’t expect to get loads and loads of information about prepping from the show. In fact, I’d say you can get way more and better information from YouTube than you can this show.

Resources for Preppers and Prepping

-(including a link to the show for those of you who haven’t seen it)

Doomsday Preppers on NatGeo

Prepping Articles from Ready Made Resources (I highly recommend ‘liking’ them on FaceBook for their regular updates)

Prepping Forum on Homesteading Today

And a few video trailers for Doomsday Preppers from NatGeo

Have you Watched Doomsday Preppers?

If you’ve watched the show, leave a comment below and let us know what you thought about it. The good and the bad!

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I”m going to start off by saying that neither my Wife nor I are experts at couponing and I don’t consider ourselves even old Salts at it even though we’ve been doing it since we were married. We’ve used coupons to save money on our normal grocery shopping trips so it was only natural when we decided to start putting food back, we’d use coupons for the food and supplies we were putting back for a rainy day.

But as I see it, there was a silver lining to the extreme couponing show even if it meant that now many stores are cutting back on how many coupons they allow and ending their double and triple coupon programs. The one good thing I’ve seen is how many otherwise sane people look at those of us who stockpile for a rainy day. We’re considered “hoarders” or “kooks” because we believe in being prepared. I’ve been skimming some of my Wife’s coupon forums and I can’t believe how many people are complaining about those who are stockpiling all that product. Instead of “Hey, they’re smart, they’re stocking up”, you’re hearing “Why do they need 15 bottles of detergent” or “No one needs 50 boxes of toothpaste”. It’s these types of people who will be moaning the most if a day ever comes when they have none of that!

Anyway, on to the tips. I’ve ranted long enough. My Wife and I just got back from a somewhat normal shopping trip. We visited a Homeland that doubles coupons everyday. It’s about 15 miles away and we pass by several of our favorite stores because this one will double coupons and has some pretty good sales. Sadly, it’s a little store in a little town and it doesn’t have near the selection that some of the larger stores near us have. But we can’t hit homeruns all the time!

Anyway, our total before anything was $204. After our loyalty card, it was $165. After our coupons had been rung up, we owed $90.36. About 2/3rds of that product went to our food stockpile. Some of the things we bought were laundry detergent, condiments (many of which were free when the coupon was doubled), canned food and cleaning supplies. The price would have been lower, but I was weak and bought some stuff that we did not have a coupon for such as some Tony Chachere’s Fish Batter (never tried it and it was on sale for 4 boxes for $5, call me weak!) We do this once a month or so as well as pick up canned goods during our regular trips to the grocery store.

Tip #1 – Don’t buy something just because you have a coupon for it, unless… Many times people get suckered into buying something they normally wouldn’t because they have a coupon for it. They never stop to think if they can get it cheaper somewhere else. If we buy something just because we have a coupon, it’s because it’s a good deal and we can donate that item and take a write off on our taxes. Cat food is a good example. We get a lot of coupons for cat food and a lot of it winds up being free or low cost. I don’t have cats so I donate this to a rescue or our local dog (cat?) pound (well…what I don’t sneak out of the stockpile behind my Wife’s back to use on the trapline or fish bait).

Tip#2 – Not everything is a good deal, even if you have a coupon for it! My Wife and I pretty much know what are good deals and what isn’t. We know which stores in our area carry certain products for leass plus we look over all the sales flyers. The particular store mentioned above has some things that are higher than some of the stores like Wal-Mart and Target. Even though we won’t get out coupon doubled there, the prices the larger stores have on these products are still lower even with the coupon. Plus, Wal-Mart and Target may have smaller sizes that we can use our coupon on and end up getting it for much less, possibly even for free! And for the record, I like free food!

Make sure you’re not overpaying and that you’re actually getting a good deal before going out. We can never get the utmost best deals on food and supplies from one store. It usually takes a trip to several stores over the period of a month to max out savings.

Tip #3 – Couponing is hard work! When many people find out how much time and effort goes into obtaining coupons, they back way off. We spend many hours a week searching online for coupons as well as our sales papers and Sunday newspapers. We buy anywhere from 3 to 5 Sunday newspapers from several towns to get a good variety of coupons. We also have all our neighbors save their newspapers and sales papers that they don’t use. Then, we carefully go over the sales paper and try to match up coupons for the items on sale. This is just one way how you can leverage your savings! Yeah, it takes time and effort. More than some folks are willing to put into it. But when we’re saving over $100 per week on food and supplies, you better believe I’ll take an hour or two to save that kind of money!

Tip #4 – Join a coupon club to max out your coupons and learn little secrets that can really save you lots of money. My Wife belongs to a local coupon club and is a member of several online coupon websites such as theKrazyCouponLady.com, MoneySavingQueen.com and Coupons.com. There’ll probably others, but those are the ones I can remember off the top of my head that she talks about the most. Many of these sites will have people on them that will do the match up for each store and tell you which coupons to use to save the most. There’s some amazing deals going on those sites!

Tip#5 – Know exactly what the Coupon policy is of the store you’re shopping at and know what you’re buying. As I said above, with the swarm of people thinking they’re going to buy $1000 worth of groceries for $1 using coupons, many of the stores are changing their coupon policy to limit consumers. I’ve seen some change them from week to week. So either download it only or ask the Manager to email you their coupon policy before going. Also, you have to be really careful to read the coupon and match it up perfectly to what you’re buying. I hear of people “thinking” they got the right product only to find out that they don’t get to use the coupon because of some fine print on the coupon. Never go by what the picture is on the coupon, always read it and know exactly what you need to make the coupon ring up.

These are the major things we do to save a lot of money on our food and supplies. There are many ways to save a lot of money and you’ll find those coupon sites listed above as a great source of information about the different ways you can use coupons to build your food stockpile. If you haven’t started yet, what are you waiting on?

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Lesson #1 – It Can Happen To You

Japan is notorious for its long lists of earthquakes. So it should come as no surprise after the last one, there would be another. Yet, there are millions of people living and working in Japan. From what I could tell, even in areas where the tsunami never reached, there is wide spread damage and people out of food begging for help. It’s like they never imagined this could happen.

I’m betting many of these people thought “it would never happen to me”. They gambled and they lost.

Never assume an emergency, whether it be a natural disaster or man made one, will not affect you. Everyone who lives on the West Coast should have an Earthquake preparedness kit and a minimum of two weeks worth of food and water stored up. What percentage of the people do you think do?

Also, how many people living in Southeastern Missouri, Northeast Arkansas (in the area of the New Madrid fault) and even as far away as Little Rock, Memphis Tn and parts of Illinois are prepared for a major earthquake such as the one that hit Japan?

Become aware that it can happen to you. Once you accept that you are susceptible to wildfires, tornadoes, floods, earthquakes or other disasters, you can then be more prepared for them. Sticking your head in the ground and saying it won’t happen to you will not save your ass during a disaster.

Lesson 2 – Technology is Great, but it won’t put food on the table after a disaster

The images that strike me at my core the most are those of people who are hungry and haven’t eaten in days. Sure, some are those that lived in the area ravaged by the tsunami and would have lost everything they stored, but then again doesn’t this stress the importance of planning and preparing for disasters that are likely to happen in your area?

I mean geez, if you live near the ocean and your area, (or even a region) is prone to having earthquakes, doesn’t the likelihood of one day being affected by a tsunami make you want to have alternate plans in case one hits?

Japan is known for their technology. Not only are they great at developing technologies, their people are probably the most “wired” citizens in the World. That could have affected how many of them thought about preparedness. Probably many figured their technology would give them enough warning to handle any disaster, if they thought about it at all.

Now most of them only have the Government take care of them.

I love my techno gadgets. But I also love my food stores and I know they’ll be there if a disaster strikes. I won’t have to wait for a Red Cross van or a FEMA center to open before I can get something to eat. I’ll just open my storage closet and decide what I’ll have to eat.

Lesson #3 – Never Depend on the Government for your Security or Groceries!

Remember when I said above about the people having to rely on the Government of Japan for food and shelter now? It only took about a day for government officials to come out and state that they were overwhelmed. You know what happens to a government gets overwhelmed? NOTHING! Nothing happens fast! You’ll go hungry.

Just another reason to have stored food and basic necessities and preferably stored on at least two different spots. People often look at me funny when I mention this, but what if you had a house fire or were flooded and all your food is stored in your house? You think your Insurance Man is gonna wave his magic wand and make all your food reappear? Good luck on that one!

Lesson #4 – Never Live Near A Nuclear Plant if You’re In A Earthquake Prone Area

You’d think this one would be a no brainer, but apparently it’s not. You preppers around 3 Mile Island may want to take note of this one too. Nuclear plants are constructed better than most other buildings that you can think of. Probably even better than Fort Knox. But an earthquake is one of those events that will really test even the best engineers can think of. It certainly did in the case of Japan and her Nuclear power plants.

I’m all for Nuclear power. I think it’s great. You can even put it in my back yard as long as the rates are cheap. Just pay me a reasonable market rate for my property and I’ll move away. You can have it. No way will I live remotely close to a Nuclear power plant! Radiation is a nasty little problem and one I don’t want to have to deal with, especially after a major disaster.

If you live near one now, you’ve been warned!

Lesson #5 – Prepare For The Worse and Hope For The Best

We already know this lesson, but how many actually practice it? Let’s look at what a typical Japanese family might had done if they’d lived on the Coast.

First off, they would have food stored at their homes for an emergency. At least two weeks worth, ideally longer.

Second, they should have a backup plan in place and a backup plan to the backup plan in case things get really bad. We know these as Plans A, B and C. You should have predetermined evacuation routes mapped out and each member of the family knows these routes. This family would have simple asked a few basic questions. “If a earthquake strikes us, where will we go?” “If a tsunami warning sounds, where we escape to?” “Which escape routes are furthest from the coast?”

If they owned a car or two, each one should have had an Earthquake kit in them and two or more in their home. The extras would be in bug out bags, which one should be in their cars as well and at work if they could swing it.

Probably the most important item next to transportation would be a second or even third location to bug out too in case of an emergency. The family would also have a way to contact each other and decide where to reassemble after an emergency. This should also be covered in their bug out plans in case the lines of communication were down. Have predetermined places to assemble after an emergency or natural disaster.

These bug out locations would also have some food and water stored. These could be your friends home in the Mountains or a cache hidden in the hills near a remote campground. You just need someplace to reassemble and regroup if you’ve been separated. You can then make further plans from there.

By the way, you people on the Left coast can use this theoretical situation to develop your own bug out plans in case of a natural disaster or other emergency.

I’m sure there are other lessons to be learned from this disaster. I’ve often heard it said that wise people learn from others bad experiences. I hope many of us can learn and better prepare for any emergency that might come upon us! The worse thing any of us could do is pretend it won’t happen to us or to not even start prepping because it seems like a daunting task.

You might also take a moment and take a look at what there was a run on after this disaster and what they quickly ran out of. Food, water, fuel, medicine, protective mask and clothing along with iodine tablets. How many of these do you have stored up for an emergency?

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For starters, decide where you’re going to store you food. Even if there are only two of you, 6 months of food is a lot of food and it takes up a lot of space. 1 years worth of food could take up a whole room! So you need to decide where you’re going to start.

Next, the easiest way to get started preparing your family for an emergency is to just buy a little extra every time you go to the store. That’s all there is too it! Don’t buy exotic junk you have never tried. Buy stuff that you and your family eat all the time! But on this shopping trip, instead of just buying your usual grocery items, you’re going to buy some extra food. I always try to buy anywhere from $10 to $20 worth of food.

This food can be canned food, which is probably best for beginners. Corn, peas, beans, meat, tuna, salmon, etc all come in cans. Be sure to check the date on them and get the ones that have dates as far away as possible. I like to look for food that will last at least a year, preferably two or more years. E

Evaporated milk, spices, salt, sugar, dried rice and dried beans are also stuff you should ad. Below is a video I made to show you just how simple it is to get started.

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Like nearly any other area on Earth that has a potential for natural disasters, people in earthquake prone areas need to take into account the possibility that they will be in the cross-hairs one day and plan accordingly. For these people, earthquake preparedness is an year round affair.

Earthquake survival kits are a lot like other survival kits people in other areas might put together or buy in case of a natural disaster. You should have the basics; food for several days, batteries for radio’s and flashlights, water for a week or more, charger for your cell phone or a backup battery, supplies for your pets, etc.

One must keep in mind that after an earthquake, the possibility of there being any civil services like emergency personnel, water, electricity and others will be slim to none. Many of the first responders will be making sure their families are safe first before they start helping others. Even then, they’ll more than likely be dispatched to high population centers like downtown areas. Residential areas will be down the list a ways, so you may be on your own for a while. That’s why you should have an earthquake kit handy and the knowledge to use all of its contents.

Other items you may want to include in your earthquake kit are blankets, mirrors, matches or lighters, 2 way radio, prescriptions, extra eye glasses or contacts if you use them, solar generator or fuel generator along with a supply of fuel (now you know why I recommend solar generators!) and baby items should you have infants in the house. Don’t forget first aid kits for you and your pets as well as any special medical needs you or people in your family might have, especially elderly people.

Don’t scrimp on earthquake supplies. Also, take into account how many people are in your household. If you have enough water for 2 people for a week, it won’t last long if there are 4 or 5 people in your family…or if others show up at your home. You need to take these things into account when preparing for an earthquake.

Also, don’t forget your pets. Earthquake survival kits should include plenty of food and water for them. Is they water they will be drinking the same water you’ll be drinking? If so, make sure you have more than enough stored for your family and your pets. All pets should have collars with your name and address on them. This will help in case you and your pets get separated after an earthquake.

Other things you should know how to do are as follows: do you know where the emergency shut off valves are for the water and gas? Do you know how to shut these off? If you don’t, or you think you might know, make sure and have someone who does know, show you where they’re at and how to do it.

Adding some basic camping gear to your earthquake kit is a wise idea as well. Because you sure aren’t going to want to sleep in a building after an earthquake. Some after shocks can be nearly as strong as the earthquake itself. A multi fuel camp stove, chairs, tents, water containers, utensils, kitchen tools and sanitary bucket for relieving yourself are wise additions to any emergency kit for earthquakes.

Earthquake preparedness isn’t something that you should take lightly or put off. Now is the best time to start. If you don’t have the time or you’re not comfortable putting together a kit yourself, there are many places where you can buy ready made earthquake kits. The important thing is that you start now, because non of us know when the ‘big one’ will strike next.

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How Are Solar Generators Different From Traditional Solar Systems?

The main difference between a solar generator and a solar system is that the solar generator is generally more portable. Your standard solar generator will consist of solar panels, deep cell batteries and a converter/controller. This is a highly portable unit since the batteries and controller will generally be attached in a single unit.

The smaller of the solar generators will generally be capable of running things such as laptops, small fridges, microwaves, lights, etc. The larger units will power regular household appliances such as refrigerators and large TV’s.

In addition to the all-in-one controller/battery box, the solar generator obviously comes with a solar panel. This makes the entire unit very portable and is one reason this smaller systems are so popular with those living off the grid.

The traditional solar system is generally permanently mounted to either the home or a supports system. It’s not unusual to have an entire room to store huge industrial deep cell batteries with a controller costing hundreds, if not thousands of dollars.

What Are The Disadvantages Of Solar Generators?

Well, in my opinion, what some people may consider disadvantages of solar generators are another person advantages. Some people point out that solar generators are too small to power an entire home. In most cases they are correct. But you have to remember, solar generators are designed to supply emergency power when the main power goes out. Just like your gas powered generators.

Others point out the smaller batteries that most solar generators use. Again, this could be an advantage. These batteries generally last around 5 years or so and they are easily replaceable. If you’ve ever tried replacing the industrial sized batteries of a traditional solar system, then you’ll definitely see the advantage of the smaller batteries.

When used properly, I really don’t see any disadvantages of the smaller, portable solar generators unless you have several large appliances to run when the power goes out.

Gas vs Solar

When comparing a traditional gas powered generators to solar generators, there’s really no comparison at all. To run your gas powered generator, you’ll have to have a supply of gas. As stated earlier, if you have no electric after a natural disaster, chances are good that the store that carries gas will not have power to pump it. And let’s not forget about the price of gas these days!

Also, once your supply of gas runs out, you’re out of power.

With the solar generator, you’re able to store power for a few days if you plan well. A few days without sun light will not affect you unless you run to many appliances and fail to plan well.

When it’s all said and done, I feel a solar generator will be far more useful for supplying your home power after a natural disaster or blackout than a gas or diesel powered generators.

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One thing that the Holidays did make me think about is what will happen to my friends and family (those outside my immediate family). They all know that I practice emergency preparedness. Many think I’ve lost my rocker, some are curious while others understand and envy me. Those who envy me are mostly men who have wives who do not understand the importance of preparing for times of unrest or emergencies.

The one exception is my Sister who has a husband that thinks I’m a wacko. He works in insurance in a high-rise office building in KC. They do very well and live in a gated subdivision. I often tease him that if it’s so unsafe that they have to put a fence and gates around the place, then they need to move to a safer location! He doesn’t laugh. He’s one of these people who takes his self way too serious.

My Brother-In-Law believes that the Government will take care of us and provide us all the things we need in an emergency. Whenever he spouts that crap on me and just remind him of Hurricane Katrina and New Orleans. For some reason the thinks that just because he makes a lot of money, him and his like will be cared for first. Luckily my Sister knows better and she has become a closet Survivalist. Basically she practices emergency preparedness under his nose without him knowing about it! At least, the best she can without being too obvious.

I have other relatives who live out in the Country. For many of them, the see no need in prepping. They believe that they can survive anything simply because they can hunt, fish and grow a garden. I’ll agree with them to a point, but you can’t have everything you need in an instant if you’re not putting back.

One of my Uncles loves telling me that he’ll just grab his gun and go take what he needs away from people like me should TSHTF. I love telling him that he’ll be one of the first ones to go if TSHTF! That kind of thinking is foolish. I’m surprised at how many idiots in our world still think like that!

Okay, I’ve rambled on long enough. I just wanted to share a few thoughts with you that I had over the Holidays while spending time with my family and friends. I hope you had a wonderful Christmas and wish each of you a profitable and health 2010. May God bless you and your family richly.

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We lived about 20 or so miles North of Houston. The eye of Hurricane Ike passed over our 5 acres. We lost many huge trees but fortunately, none hit our home. Many of your neighbors weren’t as fortunate. We were without power 9 days. You find out real quick where where the holes are in your preparedness plans.

Here’s what I learned from Hurricane Ike and how to prevent them from happening to you.

First off, I had put off buying a generator. I didn’t have any real use for one other than the odd job around the 5 acres and then I used cordless tools for that. I hated to think about a$1000 plus piece of equipment sitting in my Garage not being used. 2 days after Hurricane Ike hit, that $1000 sounded like the deal of the century!

We had bottled water to last for 3 to 5 days. I had also stored some water for the dogs and for misc. use. I had bought plastic gas cans and filled them with water prior to the storm hitting. I also filled our bathtubs.

2 days before the storm hit, there were stores running out of gas. Luckily we were able to fill our tanks and some gas cans but others weren’t as lucky. They waited too long and ended up with less than full tanks of gas and none stored up.

3 days before the storm hit, we went to stock up on some food. We nearly waited too long as people were making a mad dash to get whatever they could. It was quite a sight to see Wal-Mart, Krogers and other Super grocery stores with bare shelves.

Another crazy scene was at hardware and big box stores. Lines were formed out the door as people waited to get into the store and by plywood, generators, flashlights and other items they thought they would need. I drove around several small towns just to look at all the lines of people scrambling to get gas, food and other necessities. It made me think about what it must have looked like in the Gold Rush days with everyone getting crazy and all.

What to expect after a hurricane hits

I returned home (we had waited out the storm at my mother-in-laws about 45 minutes away) the next day in order to see what damage there might be to our home and to keep any looters at bay. One of my huge red oaks lay across the driveway to my home so I had to park out near the county road and walk in. The area around our home looked like a bomb had went off. Tree’s were laying everywhere, the ground was covered with leaves and twigs. The storm had nearly denuded all the trees.

Since we lived in a fairly low area, we had about 6 inches of water in our yard. I wasn’t afraid of that so much as I knew it would drain off, after I removed all the debris from the ditches!

Lucky for everyone in South Texas at that time of year, a cool front passed through and dropped the daytime temps in the middle 70′s. Normally we would have had temps in the upper 80′s to low 90′s. That would have certainly made the clean up much worse.

I started to work cleaning up the area around my home after I checked on my neighbors. For the first few days, living wasn’t too bad. I didn’t mind not having a TV or Internet. In fact, in a short time I loved not having either. The peace and quiet of sitting outside in the evenings was a blessing I had forgotten about. But as the week went on, the quiet evenings were filled with the sounds of generator motors humming. I still preferred that over the TV, phone and Internet.

After a few days, we got out and drove around some. We sit in line for about an hour to get some ice and water at a Church parking lot with the Southern Baptist had sit up shop and were giving water, ice and hot meals away. FEMA and the local emergency management teams hadn’t made it out of the starting blocks yet. It took them as long as a week to set up emergency centers at many areas around Houston.

As the week wore on, lines for ice and water grew. People were waiting 4 to 6 hours for a bag of ice and a case of bottled water. After about a week, a few tankers made it in with gas to some of the stores. State Troopers and local law enforcement were on hand directing traffic and controlling the crowds.

People were desperate for food and water. Many people ended up traveling 2 to 3 hours away just to get gas and some basic necessities. Those who stayed put and waited in lines sometimes came up empty.

I saw people actually fighting over a bag of ice and bottled water. People waiting hours and hours just for a CHANCE at a hot meal and cold water. It was crazy!

When FEMA did show up, they of course set up in the more high end areas of the County. The other side of the County, that consisted of low income families, had to wait a few more days. Plus when help did arrive, there was no mention of it on the local media outlets. All their attention was focused on the larger, more affluent neighborhoods. If it hadn’t been for charity organizations such as the Southern Baptist and other religious help organizations, the situation would have been much worse.

One thing I quickly learned was this.

Your well being is YOUR responsibility in a disaster. You are the one who should prepare your Family for a disaster. If you leave it up to the Government or other organizations to take care of your sorry ass in a disaster, then you need to accept the consequences and don’t gripe when you don’t have something you need, like food, water and/or something simple as ice.

It was truly amazing to sit back and watch how people reacted when faced with the task of supplying their basic needs. Needless to say, many were not prepared and didn’t react very well!

Hurricane Preparedness Checklist

Here are the things you’ll need after a hurricane or other natural disaster to make you life a little easier and to sustain you and your Family.

Generator. Don’t scrimp! Buy a quality generator and make sure it has enough amps to supply your freezer and refrigerator. At a minimum, I’d say you’ll need a 5000 watt generator. More is better. There were people coming into the area fro out of state selling rinky dink generators that normally cost $300 and $400 and charging $1500 and up for them…and there were lines of people waiting to buy them for that price! Make sure you have enough fuel stored up to last at least a week, a two week supply would be better. You should also look into getting some converters for your vehicles. These can be used to charge cell phones, laptops and other small appliances.

Water. You can never have enough water on hand. I would invest in some of the 50 gallon drums available and fill those with water for drinking and other uses.

Food. We had plenty of canned food and MRE’s on hand. Since the power went out, we first started eating everything we could from our freezer. I’d also stock up on bags of charcoal. I can’t tell you how good a Wolf Brand Chili taste after being heated up in the can on top of a grill, especially if you’ve been cutting trees all day!

Personal Defense: If you don’t own a gun, you really need to think about getting one. This would also include ammo to go with it. Although we didn’t have problems with looters, there were some areas that did. I like to keep what I have stored up for my Family. If you or your Family are hungry, so sad – too bad. You should have prepared!

Prescriptions: If you take prescriptions, stock up. The Pharmacy down at Wal-Mart won’t have any electric either and the chances of you getting what you need in an emergency is slim to none.

Fuel: Chances are the stores in your area will not have gas. After Hurricane Ike, there were people driving 3 hours one way just to fill up. Of course, they were nearly back where they started by the time they got home. You’ll also need fuel for your generator. It’s also a good idea to have extra propane on hand. I get the small bottles and the 20 lb bottles as well. I use the small ones for lanterns and cook stoves. You can also buy adapters to hook these up to the larger 20 lb bottles.

Small Window A/C. It’s a fact of life. Hurricanes generally hit in areas that are hot and humid and they do it in Summer. Once the temps got back around normal (high 80′s to low 90′s), we would have been extremely uncomfortable if it had not been for our small window A/C. I put this in our bedroom the first day I got back and unboarded our windows. We kept this room shut off from the rest of the house and used the generator to run it so we’d at least have a cool place to sleep at night. Again, I can’t tell you how good it feels to have a small creature comfort like this after working outside all day.

Trash Bags. Get the Contractor size, you’ll need them

Chain Saw. If you don’t know how to use one, then hire someone to do it. They can be dangerous so operate at your own risk.

Tarps. Hurricane force winds can rip shingles right off your home. Limbs from trees can easily poke holes in your roof. You’ll need plenty of tarps to cover these holes up after a hurricane. They also come in handy for cleanup around your yard. Just pile leaves and other debris on them and pull them where you want them.

Matches, Lighters, etc. I can’t tell you how many people I heard about who couldn’t light their grill or lanterns because they had no matches or lighters around their home. This sounds obvioius but it’s easy to forget.

Toilet Paper: Get lots. Remember, the stores probably won’t be open for a while. This is also true for paper towels. I also suggest using paper plates and plastic utensils. No use wasting stored water cleaning dishes!

Portable Radio. Get a good one. A radio was our only connection to what was going on in the area. I suggest a radio such as a C Crane radio and make sure you have plenty of batteries for it and other devices. Some of these radio’s will also have internal batteries that can be recharged with a crank handle. While they work, it can be a real pain cranking the radio every 15 minutes or so.

Straps: Before a storm hits, pick up any small loose objects around your home. Flower pots and other items can become flying missiles during the heart of the storm. You should also consider strapping down your boat, trailers or anything else that can get blown or washed away.

These are the things that I learned quickly that I needed. Here is a hurricane preparedness list from Uncle Sam covering other items you’ll need.

Like I said above. It’s up to you to be prepared. You’ll get awful hungry and thirsty if you wait on FEMA or anyone else to give you a hand. You only have to look at the after effects of Hurricane Katrina to see what happens when people don’t head the warnings and do not prepare for a hurricane.

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