Storage

If anyone has lack of room for food storage, it's me. I am in a condo, 1-car garage NOT attached, and 1 storage closet on our patio full of camping shiz. So! I have big buckets of wheat and beans in my bedroom closet, and definitely planned to stop there. Clutter. Ugh! I hate clutter, there is no way I was taking tips like "you can slide cans under your bed!" or scarier tips like, "When we were young, we made end tables out of the cases of canned goods - just throw a table cloth over them!" I think I'd rather starve than live with that.

But 2 summers ago, I read a lot about storage, preparedness, and pandemic planning. I read about the flu pandemic that came around in the 20's (I think started in 1918). Not the 1600's, it was in President Hinckley's lifetime - and he lost loved ones to it, by the way. The Provident Living website had tons of resources about pandemics and preparing for one and even when they expected another. Within the next 3 years they said. Yipes. That, well, freaked me out a little. So I started stocking up on Clorox wipes and things like that. My doctor brother poked fun. No less than a year later the Swine Flue started up, and finally built up to "pandemic" level. When my brother got it, and his family was quarantined so they wouldn't spread it, I asked what I could do. Nothing! She had not only food storage, but plenty of other basic needs stored (toilet paper, cleaning supplies, diapers, etc). They were set.

It was then I realized how many reasons having storage is so important. Not just if there's an earthquake and you're stuck in your home, you suddenly lose a job, or some other catastrophe. We need to be prepared very realistic situations like getting stuck at home with a sick family. Or even stores closing because the pandemic is just too prevalent. I read the Bird Flu was only 1 strand from mutating to the point where it can transfer from human to human. (Now, it already can go from bird to human.) There will be a 2nd bout of Swine Flu after that mutates, and it will be worse. I plan to be prepared for it. Whose with me!? :) Here is a list of things basic things you should have:


-Food
-Water
-toilet paper (100 rolls of toilet paper per person-you use much more when you are sick)
-feminine products
-paper towels
-toothpaste
-soap
-Clorox wipes
-rubber cloves
-hand sanitizer - did you know stores ran out of this when H1N1 got around?
-breathing masks
-cleaners
-dish washing
-laundry
-disinfectant
-baby supplies
-diapers
-wipes
-formula
-baby food
-cash
-games
-batteries
-camping stove

So... I didn't start this post planning to say all that. I wanted to talk about my new freezer. Hmm. That's weird. Oh well, get prepared.

Improvement needed:

I guess you could sum it all up in the word balance.

orderly home
plenty of play
physically fit
financially adept
parental control
socially aware
service oriented
mentally challenged (you know what I mean)
=
a well-balanced mom

Everything has it's place. Children need love and attention, homes need order, bodies need work outs, brains need to be challenged. There are so many things to keep up on. It seems like when I get pretty good at one thing, I am neglecting something else that much more. There are some important things that could use real improvement in my life. I've identified so many, and that's the first step, right!?! Now I am tapping all my resources to help me improve them.