Regardless of the city and state in which you live, most of us have people we consider to be our neighbors. They might be the people you share your apartment building with or the ones across the street. Maybe you spend time together regularly and consider them to be close family friends, or perhaps you only know them on the street from time to time but never learn their names. My questions for you today are these: how well do you know your neighbors? Would you be prepared to help them in an emergency, and would you be willing to ask for their assistance if you needed it? If you’ve recently relocated to a new area, or if you think of the folks on your street as perfect strangers, take this upcoming holiday season as an opportunity to get to know them better. This simple step may lead to more safety and preparedness in case of an emergency.

During large-scale emergencies, such as natural disasters and serious cases of civil unrest, government help may be delayed or suspended completely. Without reliable means of transportation, where will you turn if you need medical or emotional help? The people that are geographically closest to you – on your block, in your building – can get to you easily and quickly, and if you know your neighbors well, they can be literal life-savers. For this reason, it’s important to know some basic information about your neighbors and to make sure they know that information about you. Even things as simple as family members’ names and ages can be vital if a person is injured or missing.

Every household in a neighborhood likely has some resource or knowledge that will be helpful in an emergency, so a little foreknowledge of those things might be the key to getting through an emergency safely. Which neighbors have radios? Are there any individuals with thorough first aid training? Are people’s food storage supplies well-stocked? Sharing information with your neighbors will help them to prepare themselves, and that will lead to a better outcome for the entire group.

As you celebrate the exciting holidays to come, stop by a neighbor’s house with some Scones or Blackberry Muffin Cups, and open up the lines of communication. There are great possibilities for valuable assistance in your neighborhood, and there’s also room for solid friendships to form. Remember to offer your help just as readily as you’d ask for it. Good luck, and let us know how it goes! You can leave a comment on this blog and update us on your progress.

There are some expensive things out there that we want and might even need. Examples might include a home or a sensible car. Traditional wisdom suggests that you can either save your pennies and dimes to eventually buy what you need, or you can go into debt and pay smaller amounts on a regular basis until, eventually, the item is paid off in full.

Food storage, like your home, is something worth investing in. It provides you with security in uncertain times. However, many people are leery of going into debt for their food storage, and understandably so. In this economic climate, who wants to spend more money than necessary? For this reason, it can be incredibly easy to put off this important part of preparedness.

Are you caught up in trying to decide between spending a huge chunk of money on a food storage package or going without altogether? If so, then stop right where you are. Lucky for you, Shelf Reliance has completely eliminated the need for this dilemma. Keep reading to learn more about this option and find out how you can save 10% when you take advantage of it.

(more…)

There’s not much about emergency preparedness that seems easy, at least not initially. It’s not as easy to make bread at home as it is to buy it at a grocery store. It’s not easy to convince your kids to drink milk or eat eggs that you’ve made from a powder. If it comes down to a choice between going to the movie theater or staying at home to update your 72-hour kits, it’s not easy to choose the latter. However, even though these things can seem inconvenient or tiresome, the difficulty can lessen with time and, as a lot of you know, these very tasks can become very rewarding.

One of the most daunting parts of preparing for the worst case scenario is actually accepting that the worst case scenario could happen. If you ask me, that scenario boils down to a situation where my life and my family are being threatened with violence and I have to defend against that danger. Like anything else, though, this frightening idea can become more manageable. The topic of today’s blog is the importance of considering self-defense as part of your emergency plan.

(more…)

Nearly a month ago, Romie Olsen’s comment was picked from among 395 comments as the winner of the Cansolidator Pantry 4-Pack. You can check out that announcement by clicking here. Romie was kind enough to send me a very nice thank you note and a few pictures of her giveaway prize in action. I thought it would be nice to share those pictures with all of you, showing you how it pays off to spend a few minutes reading the Shelf Reliance blog and entering our weekly contests.

I love what Romie’s done with her pantry, which is a standard corner cupboard.

In this picture, you can see all four of the Cansolidator Pantry units that Romie was sent.  Check out all of the cans she’s able to hold and organize!

After all of her Cansolidators were assembled and loaded up with food, Romie filled up the remaining space.

Here’s what Romie had to say about her 4-pack:

“It arrived last week and I felt like the dad on A Christmas Story who just received his major award leg lamp. The cansolidators fit perfectly in the black hole space of my weird shaped pantry, I have moved my canned food almost completely from my basement to my pantry!!! No more running downstairs every time I need tomato sauce, plus I’ve freed up room down there for more storage!!! I am a major fan of these now, I always wondered if I’d like them–I LOVE them! They are designed so well, so easy to put together and to customize.”

It’s been wonderful to send out these great prizes to our winners. Thanks to Romie for taking the time to send in the pictures, and thanks to all of you for your continued support. A new giveaway will be announced on Monday. See you then!

Pre-made emergency kits are easy to find. Lots of retail stores and websites offer them, complete with flashlights, bandages, and matches. A pre-assembled kit is incredibly helpful in an emergency, but it’s best to look at this kit as a great starting place rather than as a complete package. There are some things that almost everyone will find useful in an emergency (such as the flashlights and bandages I mentioned earlier), but there are many other items that won’t be included in these kits because they aren’t universal. Therefore, it becomes your responsibility to supplement your emergency supplies as is necessary.

Here are a few ideas of things you may want to add to your emergency kit:

• Allergy medication that you rely on, along with any other over-the-counter drugs that you use frequently
• Hydrocortisone or bug repellent if you’re particularly susceptible to bites
• Birth control. Let’s face it: if you’re wandering through the desert for weeks and months at a time, pregnancy probably won’t be the most appealing idea
• A sturdy change of clothes and shoes, in the right size and style for whichever season you’re in
• Favorite treats
• Pet food
• Cash

What other ideas can you give? The best way to figure out which additional items you should have is to take a week or so, during which you pay special attention to the things you do without the day. If you spend a lot of time reading, think about whether or not you’d like to have a small book in your emergency kit. Nail clippers? A hairbrush? There’s no need to take along a million necessities, but it’s hard to overestimate the value that familiar possessions can have in a stressful situation. Take stock of your own situation and decide which things you’d hate to do without. If you have any other suggestions, let us know in a comment! This will help other readers evaluate their own emergency kits.

Thanks for reading!