Tag Archives: prepping

Top 10 Things in My Get Home Bag

  By Mama Kautz | June 18, 2013 - 6:00 AM | ,
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gethome

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If you’ve been reading my blog for any part of the last year, you know that I am a prepper. Not a crazy on TV type of prepper. We are completely normal and believe in being ready for any type of emergency.
Whether it be:

  • forest fire
  • earthquake
  • bridge collapse
  • terrorist attack
  • financial collapse
  • EMP

These are my Top 10 items in my Get Home Bag. Or in my case, box. I carry a Rubbermaid tote in my Suburban with these items. We will transfer into my Everyday Carry bag. The kids also have Get Home bags in the car that we will transfer to.
Now the only reason we would need to “Get Home” would be if we had to walk; thus abandoning our car. These items are for just getting home. Enough for food and water for hiking home or for about 24 hours. Whenever we go to Target or Costco it is a 40 minute drive one way. It would take us 6 hours just to walk without being under an emergency situation. Very well could be longer if we have any sort of roadblocks or had to get off of the main road.

(In alphabetical order)

Clothes
A change of clothes for each member of the family. This may need to be rotated as kids grow. Also a pair of sneakers. Especially in summer when we are most likely wearing flops.

Food
Calorie dense foods like protein bars etc. We enjoy the tuna packs with crackers. Also rotate and pay attention to expiration dates.

Fire
Matches and/or fire-steel, etc. Any way to build a fire if you need to.

First Aid
In addition to my EDC I have more First Aid supplies in the bin. Add N-95 masks to this list also, in case of debris, dust, or illness.

Lighting
Flashlight and/or glow in the dark sticks. You can pick up a 3 pack of headlamps at Costco for $9.99

Miscellaneous
Bug spray, sun block, duct tape

Paper Map and Compass
In a grid down situation your phone GPS isn’t going to work. Know multiple ways to get home ahead of time to reduce stress. Practice them.

Sanitation
TP! Take the cardboard out of the middle and squish it down. Put it in a Ziploc bag to keep dry. Hand sanitizer. Baby wipes.

Self Defense
In addition to my 9mm I have pepper spray and a couple of knives.

Shelter
Tarp or tube tent. Don’t forget the paracord. Emergency blankets also.

Water
I rotate small bottles of water. I write the date on them to keep track. This works in case one of the kids forgot their Camlebak bottle at home.
Also filter straws are great.

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Top 10 Ways to Begin Prepping

  By Mama Kautz | June 11, 2013 - 3:00 AM | ,
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beginprepping

Understand that there is no way to prepare for every possible scenario. What is my worst case scenario may not be yours.

I prep for:

Possible job layoff.
You never know when the company your spouse works for will decide to downsize.

Weather
For North Idaho it’s snow. In 2008 we had one storm stall over us and dump 36 inches of that white stuff in one day.

Economic Collapse
If you have been watching the news for any length of time you know our country is in trouble. I’m not going to get political here, but if you want to chat please feel free to e-mail me.

Worst Case Scenario
For me this is death of The Principal or one of my kids. I also list EMP under this category.

We started prepping about a year ago.  I am listing these in order of OUR importance. This will be different for you. Please use it as a guide.

#1 Gather Supplies for an Emergency Kit

AKA 72 hour kit. This is the go to kit for power outages, etc… If you watched the news during Katrina or Sandy you know it can be more than 72 hours for government response.

  • Easy to cook food. Think camp stove ready
  • Manual can opener
  • Bottles of water
  • TP
  • Extra blankets if it’s winter
  • Candles and matches
  • Flashlights
  • Extra Batteries
  • Prescription medications
  • First aid kit

 

#2 Water

We purchased 6 55 gallon barrels from Craigslist. We lined them up under the eave of the house for rain water collection. PLEASE check your local laws.

We also purchased a hand pump for the well. Water is the priority for sanitation and human or animal consumption. We lose power we lose water and toilet. You can Youtub hand well pump and build this for much less than we paid.

#3 Food

I started couponing and putting back canned food. Food that we don’t normally eat so the suggested rotation won’t be that easy. That said, I don’t think we have 2+ years, or whatever the shelf life of some canned goods claim. We have also purchased a few of the long term storage food stuffs. There are many brands. Pay attention to calories to serving size ratio.

#4 Self Defense

If the power is out for longer than a couple of days people will start to get brave. Especially if you are in the city or suburbs. Self defense doesn’t have to be a firearm. Although, it is what I chose. I also have a concealed carry permit.

#5 Cash

We make sure to carry some cash at all times. If you are at the store and the power goes out your debit card will be worthless.

#6 Full Gas Tank

Again. No power no debit card. Or if prices start to go higher than they are now, lines could be long. I rarely let my tank go below half.

#7 Phone Charged

I am OCD about my phone being charged. The first time mom got sick, in 2008, I didn’t have a car charger. My cell phone died in the middle of calling siblings about her scheduled open heart surgery.

The next thing we did was

#8 Car Emergency Kit 
We have basically a scaled down version of the 72 hour kit in the car. We travel mountain passes either direction from us. You never know when they might be closed for avalanche control or snow removal.

#9 Emergency Radio

This technically should be in your 72 hour kit, but I didn’t want it to be overlooked. We have one that hand cranks and has a solar panel for charging. It also has a cell charger outlet on it.

#10 Faith

This should be number one I suppose and this sounds cliche. Heaven forbid you NEED any of the above. You prep for the worst and hope for the best. He knows where our world is and isn’t surprised. Just keep the faith.

I linked up with Many Little Blessings. Head over there to see some more Top Ten.
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Here is a list of 72 hour kit:
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My Everyday Carry Bag

  By Mama Kautz | May 14, 2013 - 6:00 AM |
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EDCbutton

If you have been reading my blog for at least the last year then you know I am what society would call a Prepper.
You won’t see us on Doomsday Preppers or Apocalypse 101, although we find both shows entertaining to watch.

Today I am going to share with you what is in my Everyday Carry Bag or EDC.
This bag, for me, is a backpack. For you it could be your purse or ahem fanny pack.
The point of this bag is not to get home. A Get Home Bag is a different bag that one might leave in their car.
The point of my EDC is to have things on my person all the time. I also want to be able to carry it easily.
What isn’t pictured, because it was in my hiking pack, is my flashlight and headlamp.

contentA
This pictures is pretty self explanatory.
I do have my CWP or Concealed Weapons Permit.
So yes, I do carry my 9mm in my back pack. I do not leave my pack anywhere or let it out of my sight, if I am not at home.
I prefer to carry this way rather than on my hip or strapped to my ankle. Is it as easy to access this way? Not as easy as if it were on me, no. That said, I feel it’s too bulky to try to hide when all I may have on is a t-shirt and shorts.

The next picture shows what’s in the blue satchel.

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Again, self explanatory. My mini 1st aid kit. I actually needed the tweezers yesterday for The Principal.

Your bag will look different.
These things are what works for me and what I am comfortable carrying with me everyday. Things that I feel I may need when not at home.
We also have Get Home Bags, for each of us, in the car. These are in case of a bigger emergency such as an EMP or earthquake, where the roads home would be impassable.
There is also a tote for emergencies that I carry in the car.
These all have different items in them. I also, depending on if I am on a road-trip, will add or remove items accordingly.

Watch for posts in the coming weeks on Get Home Bags and emergency items for the car.


A great read if you interested in learning more about preparedness (affiliate link)

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