His "Go Bag" ..oh the shopping.... (and some reflection on Sandy and her destruction)

Well, today (Friday) was full of list making, shopping, list checking, more shopping, more list making...and then making another list.

Because of his job(s), Lovely Man was put on notice to get things ready to leave to go assist with relief/evacuation/general help efforts from the path Sandy tore apart. Since I'm the one that creates the lists, knows the stores and prices, and honestly...has the patience to deal with the prep and shopping for such things.....I got to figure out what he'd need to get, find and collect for this bag.

My normal grocery lists were easy, compared to the "go bag" list lovely man gave me Thursday. That thing is a reason for OCD (thank goodness I'm kinda, sorta, maybe on the brink of it!) It's 3 pages of crap he needs to somehow get crammed into a bag with "the mindset that you are self-sustained and can carry all your gear on your back." Yeah, ok...please explain to me how one successfully executes THAT concept. Everything ranging from hand sanitizer to shower shoes to MRE's to a sleeping bag to pen and paper - really people? I get the "be prepared for any and everything for 7 days" idea, but I'm pretty convinced that it'll be a challenge at the very least to get it all squared away and ready to roll.

Just in case anyone would need to create one of these (I actually HIGHLY recommend having one similar in the car, in case of emergency or unexpected travel)..(he also bought 3 new packs of undies, a pack of socks and a sleeping bag just for this bag).... here goes.. (including how much the items were at Walmart.)

(They aren't the best pictures, but I'll explain them.)

This one shows (other than his leg!):

Ruffies 30 Gallon Trash Bags - $1.62
Wet Ones Fresh Scent 15 pack - $.97
Clorox Disinfectant Wipes 9 pack - $.92
100 Count Aspirin - $.98
Coppertone 30SPF - $1.47
Gold Bond Medicated Foot Powder - $.97
Allergy Relief Minitabs 36 Count - $.88
Mini Sewing Kit - $1.47
Mini First Aid Kit - $.97
Germ X Hand Sanitizer - $.97
Emergency Poncho - $.88
Lensatic Compass - $4.97
Repel with Deet Insect Repellant Wipes 30 pack - $3.88
Kleenex Go Pack Tissues 3 pack - $.97
Master Combination Dial Lock - $3.47

Total for "extra stuff": $25.39

This one shows:

Mountain Trail Mix 8 pack - $4.98
Austin Cheese Crackers with Peanut Butter 12 pack - $2.48
7 Life Energy Protein Bars - $.78 each
2 Jack Link Jack Pack - $1.17 each
3 Chunk Light Tuna Packets - $.98 each
90 Calorie Strawberry Granola Bars 6 pack - $2.00
Cherry Mixed Fruit Cups 4 pack - $1.78
2 Capri Sun 10 packs (these are Fruit Punch and Grape) - $2.48 each
Mio Fruit Punch 24 drink Mix - $3.78
Store Brand Fruit Punch 24 drink Mix - $2.78
(Not Shown) - Can of Party Peanuts - $2.88

Total for food: $36.88

And this one shows:

Bath Towel - $2.97
Hand Towel (he uses them as a "wash towel" in the shower) - $2.47
Comb - $.97
Speed Stick Active Fresh - $.94
Irish Spring Soap Bars 2 pack - $.94
Qtips 30 pack "purse pack" - $.97
Suave Advanced Therapy Lotion - $.87
Dr Fresh Toothbrush Travel Pack (includes brush, toothpaste and brush cover) $.97
Bathroom Tissue - $.86
Mani-T (includes nail clippers, file and tweezers) - $.97
Listerine Ultra Clean Mouth Wash - $1.00
2 3oz bottles (for shampoo and aloe gel) - $.97 each
Equate Flushable Wipes 3 pack - $3.97

Total for Toiletries: $19.84
Total for all pictured: $82.11 - I know that seems like a lot, but in the case of absolute necessity, these items along with water, clothes and blankets will keep you sustained for a few days. Don't stress about getting everything on the list all at one time (as it's the list to pack for an ambulance emergency assistance response trip), get a few things each time you go grocery shopping, it will definitely help lessen the burden. Also, if you have multiples of items you use everyday, you could collect the extras of each thing you find necessary and put them in a container in the car or closet, easily accessible. (Another thing, these are lovely man's preferences, I'm not saying EVERY thing on this list is necessary for YOUR family....figure out what you need for you!)


As I'm writing this, I'm watching the Coming Together Concert on OnDemand - it's giving me chills. So many places, homes and lives have been nothing less than destroyed. We're absolutely LUCKY that our house in Delaware just had some trees and little branches (just like we get in a normal rainstorm)... people less than 5 miles away are missing pieces of their house, their boats are gone, their land is flooded. ...ok, correction, the footage from New Jersey is making me cry - it's not fair, nobody deserves devastation like that at all. --- Ironically, I've been planning our anniversary trip to Atlantic City - we were going to stay in a hotel on the Boardwalk, and I was just ready to make the reservations.. I said to him before he left for work the weekend before Sandy started her trek towards us "I'm gonna wait, just in case.." he looked at me funny. Now we have to find a different place to spend our anniversary. Chilling.
To help:
Call 1-800-HELP NOW or 1-800-435-7669
Text REDCROSS to 90999 to donate $10
or on iTunes.com/redcross.
To come together on Twitter, #SandyHelp
........if you can't give money - volunteer your time, pay some positive energy forward, do something, even if you think it's small - everything is important.

Lastly - THANK YOU to the Linemen, the Firefighters, EMS, the Police, the EMC's, and everyone giving everything they've got to make this better for the people that have lost their homes and security.

Sandy, the Frankenstorm

I wasn't totally sure if I'd write this post, but I figured if someone saw it and it helped, great.

The past few days where we live has been an extreme lesson in the definition of "storm" - we've got Sandy, the hurricane turned tropical storm mess coming up to us; we've got some sort of arctic air mass coming down to us; a jetstream that joins the two together...and the lunar effect on the tides. In short, we're in for a windy, wet mess in the next 72 or so hours. Joy.

However, me, being the thrifty deal finder that I am, I've had all kinds of "we'll make it through the apocalypse" goods in the basement - I didn't find myself panicking and running like a mad woman to the store as though the world was ending. A few months back, one of the grocery stores here ran a sale that if you spent $25, you could use a coupon to get a case of bottled water for $1.99 - I was ALL OVER that. I racked up 4 of those puppies in 2 days. Also, that same store has some of the most random sales, ones that drop prices to points that it's almost silly to not buy the stuff in bulk...so I do, sometimes. (Gigantic marshmallows that are normally $4.19, sitting in this nice pretty box for $.99. I got 3. Hey, our daughter eats them straight out of the bag, and it's pretty hard to get them to go bad.)
So, suffice it to say, when lovely man sent me a text with a picture of the ReadyPA Emergency bag that we gave out at Fire Prevention 2 weeks ago with "we have all this stuff?" under it, I giggled. I got formula for P yesterday, and I grabbed some more ice cube trays to freeze his "real food" in something more uniform than an egg carton....but otherwise, I can go into the basement, freezer, pantry or cabinets and locate just about anything to keep our little family sustained for a few days. And yes, I'm proud of that. He calls it "hoarding," I call it sanity.

He's a firefighter (actually, he's the Assistant Chief), an EMT and on the rare occasion that warrants grace his inbox, a Constable. I've gotten used to more than my share of "put this moment on hold, someone else needs help" experiences - you just kinda roll with it after a while. Yes, it's frustrating when you're trying to do something, but I also look at it as though someone has gotten themselves into some sort of situation and needs his help to survive, I'm perfectly capable of managing until he gets back. They usually happen within the last 3 minutes of cooking dinner, but, he knows where the microwave is... This coming week may prove to be no different - I'll probably make meals that he'll never see, or I'm going to package them up and take them to him..whichever, as long as he eats and remembers to sleep between pumping out basements and fishing [stupid] people out of places the barricades told them to not be in the first place. {side note: If a barricade is in the road, THERE'S A REASON. Don't be stubborn or foolish, TURN AROUND, DON'T DROWN. ...ok, I'm done with that for now.}

I thought I'd share the ReadyPA list with you all, it's good to have all these things regardless of the weather, emergencies can happen at any time. (I have some additions, I'll put them below the list in blue.)

3 day supply of: (for each person in your household)
- canned foods (meats, tuna, soup, fruit, veggies)
- food bars (powerbar, luna, granola/cereal bars)
- crackers
- peanut butter
My additions:
-- I prefer the crackers to be sandwich ones with peanut butter in them, easy to get that little bit extra nutrients if you're stuck somewhere.
-- I have jelly and bread on the line with peanut butter, sandwiches are easy, and better for you than just scooping peanut butter out of the jar!

Infant supplies
- formula
- baby/toddler food/snacks
- diapers
My additions:
--WIPES. they're more useful than just cleaning the baby's butt - you can clean faces, fingers, toes..etc.
-- Blankets and burp clothes, especially familiar ones.

Bottled water - 1 gallon per person, per day.
My addition:
-- I have cases of water, I find them easier to handle than gallon jugs, and the bottles are easier to control once they've been opened. We have the 35 pack cases, I feel as though 2 of those should be sufficient for 2 adults and 2 kids for 3 days.

Paper plates, Plastic cups, forks, spoons, knives
My addition:
-- Have at least one metal knife, in case you need to cut or separate something.

Plastic storage containers and bags
My addition:
-- Multiple sizes of bags - grocery store bags, trashbags, ziploc bags .. they will all be necessary should you need them.

Toilet paper and tissues
My additions:
-- Paper towels should also be on this list - at least a roll.
-- Walmart has cheap 6 packs of toilet paper for $1.27 (or thereabouts), those are good for emergency use, and not overly expensive.

Manual can opener
My addition:
-- Have a larger spoon and spatula in your kit as well, cooking without those is hard to do. Also, easier to get the contents of the canned goods out if they need some assistance.

Matches and/or Lighter

Extra batteries for flashlights, radios
My addition:
-- LED flashlights run longer on less battery usage.

Pet food and water for 3 days
-- Obviously your pets will need a container to eat from, but to keep them calm, one of their familiar toys/blankets/etc is going to help ease their stress.

Personal care products
- toothbrush and toothpaste
- soap and antibacterial wipes
- feminine products
My additions:
-- Purell, or something of that nature
-- Hand lotion (trust me, it helps, especially if you're exposed to a lot of wind and rain.)
-- A towel for each person
-- Hair ties
-- Chapstick

First Aid supplies
- Different sized bandages
- Antiseptic spray/antibiotic ointment
- Aspirin and non-aspirin pain relievers
My additions:
-- Gauze/sterile wrap
-- Medical tape
-- Latex (or non-latex if necessary) Gloves - they'll be useful for more than just medical.
-- Kid's medications

My Additions overall:
-- Pad of paper and a pen and marker (Sharpie type)
-- Coloring book and crayons for kids
-- A book
-- Flameless candles
-- Actual candles
-- 2 changes of clothes per person
-- PERSONAL INFORMATION - ours is on a jump drive, easier than a folder to throw into my wallet/purse and go (copies of your family's birth certificates, social security cards, licenses or other picture id for kids, ownership papers/deeds or titles for your home and vehicles; and recent pictures of everyone in your household; an inventory of the contents of your home; description of your home and vehicles; as well as your Emergency Contact Information.)

Now, I'd recommend having all, or at least most, of this in a plastic tote with a snap on lid. Easy to transport, keeps everything collected. Make sure it's in a location that everyone is familiar with, and is easily accessible (but not in the way!)

That's about all I have for now, to anyone on the East Coast, get ready for this disaster ahead of time!

:)

Gotta start somewhere/Homemade "drano"

Well, here I sit, its 3:32am (or 0332 for the emergency people...don't ask, I'll explain later)
I figure its a good a time as any to finally start posting here...I've only had this blog set up for about 3 months..
Waiting for the familiar whimpers and cries of P, the just about 7 month old, I thought it would be a great time to get the dishes done, clean the tub drain, get a shower, finish up some fundraising stuff for the firehouse.....I realized that we're out of "drano" - so, I started thinking of what kinds of crap I could finagle down the drain to blast the clog out, so I could actually get a shower before the sun comes up .... Baking Soda and Vinegar ....
...yup, the stuff we dumped into the paper maché volcanoes in elementary school, waiting to watch the explosion make a huge mess that the teacher wouldn't find as funny as we did. Apparently it cleans drains pretty well too!
-- what to do:
Clean as much of the water out of the clogged area as possible (plunger, bucket, cup, straw, whatever..you just want a relatively dry drain hole to get the baking soda into)
Put about a quarter cup of baking soda into the drain, until it reaches the top of the hole - but is still below the rim.
Locate some sort of object to quickly cover the drain hole (I used a shaving cream lid that I've been meaning to get back on its original can) - get it and that hand pretty close to the drain.
Pour a splash of vinegar into the drain and slam the cover over it until it stops fizzing (you're forcing the fizz to go down the drain and work it's fizzy magic in the pipe) ... Do this enough times to release the entire blob of baking soda down into the drain. I found it works better to pour it in smaller amounts rather than the whole cup, because it gives the baking soda a chance to blast all of whatever is stuck in the pipe.
Wait about 15 minutes, then pour the hottest water you can get the tap above the drain to produce (about a gallon worth of hot water) down the drain - you might have to flush/dump the water twice to get everything down.
Hopefully it works for you like it did for me!
Off to finally take that shower and maybe close my eyes for a few minutes before I'm awoken by the little precious one as he's demanding food.
Good night!
:)