Internet Surveys and 72 hours

I was playing on the Internet today. I was taking a test to find out if I am stupid or not. To get the results you had to give your name, address and phone number to different companies so they can call you and try to sell you things. I never got the results page because I wasn't going to do all of that but I think that I passed the test just on the fact that I didn't release my personal information.

I've been slightly obsessed with 72 hour packs lately. In case you do not know, a 72 hour pack is an emergency survival kit. You fill it with everything that you may need in an emergency and could not receive help in 72 hours. We didn't really have one of these in Seattle even though we were in earthquake country. We were lucky enough and never needed to use one although we did survive a 6.8 earthquake while we were there.

We now live in hurricane country and I feel that we need to be responsible. Hurricane season does not start until July but I would like to get ready before they are actually here and everyone freeeeaks out and buys everything at the store. You really should have a 72 hour pack any time of year, no matter what part of the world you live in.

We had started a pack last year but most of the supplies that we had accrued have been used since the hurricane season ended. We had also lucked out and did not have a single storm hit our area last season. This was really unusually and we will probably not get that lucky again.

I talked to Mr. Husband about this tonight and we started adding a few things to our normal grocery list. We figured if we add a little at a time, it will not break the bank. I was glad that we were starting but still a little worried about how this would work out.

We went shopping this evening and picked up some extra canned goods to go in the pack. We made sure that we had batteries for the flash lights and the emergency radio. We also bought some extra water.

After the kids were in bed and the other groceries were away, Mr. Husband called me out to the kitchen and showed me a box. Apparently we have had a box of canned goods in the pantry that I never even noticed. It is a nice size moving box and the bottom was filled. I had just assumed that the box was full of kitchen "stuff" that Mr. Husband had kept but I didn't really see a purpose for.

I was pleased to know that even though I didn't know it, we were at least a little prepared. We have canned food, bottles of water, an emergency radio, extra flashlights, batteries, matches and baby wipes. There are definitely more things that we need to have ready but we are not too far away now.

I still want to get a poncho for each of us, tampons, diapers, garbage bags, money, more water, pack of cards and other little games, toilet paper, copies of important papers and extra clothing for all of us. I'm sure that there are things that I'm forgetting but I think that we have most of the basics covered.

I want to be prepared if something were to happen but at the same time I don't want to get as paranoid as some of the web sites I was on today. I do not think that we need the emergency pills in case of a nuclear attack. I figure that if we needed the pills, we would already be dead. We will also not be getting the survival garden seed packet. It was neat and I'd like to have a garden but I'm not spending that much just for some seeds. But I didn't ready carefully. Maybe these were special survival seeds. We will also not be buying the gas masks.

We do need to get some duct tape but that's just because that stuff is so cool and I'm shocked that we do not have it already. Of course we will have to store it on a really high shelf so Middle child doesn't get it. You know, the same place that we have the crazy glue.