Do you have oil lamps, candles or a flashlights you can depend on if the electricity goes out? I remember when we had the bad ice storm a few years ago. I was trying to carry a flashlight in one hand and unload my deep freeze with the other one. The house was dark and cold but not cold enough for a deep freeze after 48 hours with no power. We decided we would go to our daughter and her family in a town about 37 miles away.
So we hunted up coolers and boxes, took the back seat from the van and loaded them in. It was cold enough outside that we could leave the food in the van overnight. The next day our neighbor called to tell us the electricity came on around noon. The point is, had I been better prepared, I could have used both hands to unload the deep freeze and it would have been quicker. The sad thing is that I had the oil lamps and the 36 hour candles, I just didn’t have them organized to find them in the dark. It was so cold we only wanted to leave and get warm. So rule number one, don’t just purchase the items, but have them organized in one place ready to grab quickly when the need arises. Who knows, disaster may get us out of bed in the middle of the night and we would have to leave quickly urban survival gear!
One way to organize would be to purchase a survival pack with all the items in readiness. However, if you have a lot of loose items in a pile already, a multi pocket backpack is available. There is one for adults and one for children. These would be great to hold your supplies. Then you can continue to buy single items you may need to add along. Another tool to use in organizing, is a large metal garbage can. Using a heavy blanket, wrap all your electronic equipment, such as radios, a meter that detects nuclear amounts and the like, and place in the can. In case of a nuclear attack, these will be kept in tact and not melt. Be sure to include some Potassium Iodate Tablets in this can as well as keeping a few tablets in your bathroom medicine cabinet. Be sure you have the directions with them to know what to take and when to take in case nuclear fallout is coming your way. In case you do not have any, just Google and find your choice. The ones I just noticed has a date at present of 2018.
So you do have to make sure to check on dates and keep them current.You can continue to fill the can with other items and place the lid on. And by the way, speaking of nuclear fallout, You can print the articles out in PDF form, so you can prepare and then keep the information with your survival supplies. We can never be too prepared and most of us are very unprepared. After all, what can happen here in America? I think we are beginning to see that a lot can and has happened already in the last two years. I took a portable, metal office file and placed a lot of kitchen type tools in it we might need if we had to flee and rough it for a time outdoors. Just think of things you use all of the time and have extra of these things ready to go. For instance, blankets, pillows, sleeping bags, and the folding cloth lawn chairs. Keep these all together in one room or closet to be able to grab quickly.
There are some excellent combination lighting and communication items available, like a flashlight radio, a flashlight with an army knife, and a lantern radio to name a few. Remember to store batteries if any are needed for the items you are storing. Also, you may want to take the batteries out of and of the items, tape to to the bottom of each item, so they will be found easy. Things like the shake flashlight and some solar items do not take batteries. Like everything else you store, you will need to go through once in awhile and use anything that can go out of date and replace it.
You should have shelter and warmth items, like a two man tent or larger for a family, blankets, ponchos, body warmers and other survival gear. Make sure you have on hand some real warm clothes, outer wear and boots for everyone in the family. Your car should have a survival pack ready with some of the food bars, water boxes and other items you may need if leaving in a hurry or even if your car breaks down. I usually try to have my car gas tank full most of the time, because we never know when an emergency will come up and we need to be prepared. In some places you would not be able to find a gas station open in the middle of the night. Besides in the worst scenario, (remember Katrina?) you may not be able to get gas.
Another thing that is very important. Have a family plan of what to do in a disaster. For instance, cell phones or any other telephones may not work for communication. You should plan a certain location to meet, that you all know about, and get there as quickly as possible if an emergency would arise. A large disaster could be chaos and it may be hard to find each other. It is really hard to prepare for all the many things that could happen; but if we do our best it will help us a great deal when disaster does arrive.