…unless you have a Winter Kit in your car. Seriously. Look at these temps for today and the next few days. Please. Don’t go driving in this weather unless you are properly prepared. Winter is serious business,  especially here in the upper Midwest. Anyone who goes out in severe weather without a good Winter Kit is…

If you have a 72-hour kit… Congratulations! You have taken an important step to being prepared. But it’s not enough to build a 72-hour kit and then just put it in the closet and forget it. You also need to check the kit periodically, preferably twice a year. If the first time you test your…

For some, prescription medication is a matter of life or death. If you have a medical condition that requires you to regularly take medication, you should consider having an extra reserve of those essential drugs. Good reasons to stock up on medications During a disaster you may find it hard to refill a prescription. Medical…

Be sure to read Part 1: Preparing for a Quarantine When a quarantine is in place A quarantine will be much less stressful if you have prepared ahead of time, making sure that you have supplies on hand and are knowledgeable about caring for the sick. Here are some things that will help you get…

Cold at any temperature can be harmful. but extreme cold is dangerous, especially if you are not wearing good insulating and protective clothing. You’re driving along in your warm and well-tuned car during one of our famous -40° winter days and you get a flat tire. What will you do? Cold is a serious matter…

The time to prepare is now As sure as winter follows autumn, winter is sure to bring at least one power outage to someone this year. There can hardly be a worse time to be without heat or light than during the winter. Prepare now for those winter outages by storing non-electric heat and light.…

This is important! You need to talk to your neighbors about preparedness. Don’t wait. You can not do emergency preparedness by yourself. You might, maybe be able to get through a small, very localized crisis without relying on neighbors or without neighbors needing your help. But if you experience any kind of major disaster in…

Thinking about putting together a 72-hour kit for family members? In addition to the basics found in this post, let me give you a few pointers to take your kit to the next level. In no particular order, here are few tips and tricks to help you build an awesome 72-hour kit. Pictures Those who…

Should you worry about a pandemic? A few years ago there was a lot of buzz in the news about Swine Flu (H1N1) epidemics and quarantines. Before that the concern was Bird Flu and before that it was SARS. There’s no way to know with certainty how much of a threat any of these diseases…

It’s time to put your preparedness skills to the test. Imagine this: You are fast asleep on a cool autumn night and at 2:30 in the morning the sirens begin to blare. A train has derailed just ½ mile from your house. Several cars carrying anhydrous ammonia have overturned and the breeze is carrying the…

September is National Preparedness Month. It’s a great time to evaluate your own level of preparedness and see what preparedness plans and services your city or county has. How are you going to celebrate National Preparedness Month? Here are some ideas: Find out about Preparedness plans in  your area. Every community should have an Emergency Response…

Winter can be a magical time of year: beautiful snowfalls, covering everything in hushed white, snuggling down with a cup of hot cocoa and preparing for our favorite holidays. But winter can also be brutal with fierce winds and deadly storms that cause property damage and take out the power. An outage in wintertime can…

How will you and your family communicate if there is a local disaster or regional crisis? We’ve become so accustomed to phones, especially cell phones, that we almost never give a second thought to how we might communicate if phone service were disrupted. It’s more common now to bury phone landlines, which makes them less…

The end is near. It’s all downhill. It’s SHTF time. Time to kiss civilization good-bye! Just watch the news. News stories of political and social unrest, financial uncertainty, weather and climate disasters and an on-going pandemic. It’s no wonder that many people are panicking (or near panic.) It really does look like The End is…

There are two types of water emergencies: Lack of water and compromised water. In Part 1, we covered how to store water in cases where there is a water shortage. Here we will cover what to do in case your water safety is compromised. A break in the water pipes that allows dirt to get…

Winter can be very unforgiving and a test of our preparedness plans. Are you ready for what winter might bring? This month our goals are designed to make sure that you and your family are prepared for Mother Nature’s worst. Start with a family plan Plan what you will do when a blizzard hits. What…