September is National Preparedness Month in the United States, and I think it is the perfect time for it. Most of us take a bit of a break over the summer and I love getting back into the swing of things in September after my kids are back in school and we are more settled into a routine.
This year, I would like to do something that I hope will help motivate you all to get just a bit more prepared and celebrate National Preparedness Month with me!
10 projects
Below I’ve listed 10 projects that you can do this month that will help your family get more prepared without costing you any money. Some are easy. Some are a bit more involved.
A Giveaway
UPDATE: The winners have been chosen randomly via random.org. A big congrats to Marilyn, Cyrus, and Sharmaine! Check your email for details on how to get your Thrive package!
I really want you to try some of these projects and get your family a bit more prepared this month. So, in order to motivate you, I’m going to give away some free food storage to three of you that participate in the projects!
I will to give away three Taste of Thrive packages. This package provides a good sampling of nine of Thrive Life’s best foods as well as recipes and a guide with tips for using all sorts of food storage.
How to Enter the Giveaway
You get one entry into the giveaway for each project that you complete. Let me know you’ve completed a project by commenting below and telling me (and others who are participating) how it went and what you learned.
I will select three winners randomly on October 1st!
UPDATE: The winners have been chosen randomly via random.org. A big congrats to Marilyn, Cyrus, and Sharmaine! Check your email for details on how to get your Thrive package!
10 Free National Preparedness Month Projects:
1 – Take a video inventory of your home. Walk around and video tape each room and the contents. Pay special attention to more expensive items like pianos, jewelry or televisions. Keep a copy of this video on a hard drive as well as a cloud (such as dropbox)
2 – Print out copies of (at least) 5 of your family’s favorite recipes. You will want copies of these if the power goes out!
3 – Camp in the backyard. If your house is not immediately safe to live in after a natural disaster, you may still want to stay nearby – near family, friends, your supplies etc. Practice living near, but not in your home for one night.
4 – Cook something without electricity. Use whatever you have – a camp stove, a bbq grill, a HERC oven, a Sun Oven, a rocket stove – anything. The only requirement is that you can’t use electricity.
5 – Turn off your running water for 24 hours. I’ve done this (for 48 and 72 hours) and it is so eye opening! You will learn a lot and fill in some gaps in your family’s emergency water plans.
6 – Learn how to change a tire.
7 – Learn how to use a fire extinguisher
8 – Complete (or update) your grab and go binder. Find free printables HERE if you need them.
9 – Create a family evacuation plan (and practice it). Would you know what to do if told you had 30 minutes to evacuate? 10 minutes? Moments? You can read our family plan here.
10 – Add a first aid app to your phone. You can find my favorite one HERE.
11 – Bonus – Take advantage of Preparedness Sales this month. This one isn’t free, but if you have the budget for it, National Preparedness Month can be a great time to get good deals on Preparedness Items. You can find some HERE.
There you go! Get to work! And then come leave comments and tell me what you do and how it goes and what you learn. I’m excited to see what we accomplish this month and can’t wait to give away from food storage!
I have already done an inventory of my home (each room and garage)in my home management binder with photos included!
I made a large binder of over 100 recipes that are easy to cook in hard times with most recipes coming from the recession era.
We are also fortunately to have a nice size brand new RV that will come in handy in case of an emergency. Or quick bug out!
I have a green egg grill that I use for everything on my back porch. I used it yesterday to cook my tomatoes sauce for canning! Ended up with 9 qts.
Grab and go binder is complete and updated regularly. I’ve been prepping for over 8 yrs now!
RV is packed and fully supplied for a quick bug out and everything we would need for over a year is stored in Mylar bags and put in buckets and rubber made containers, they would fit in the RV and bed of truck with cap.
I have several apps for first aid on my phone for camping and a small binder copied from a great prepper site,when there is no Dr. Or dentist! Love those books!
You are on top of it Karen. This is impressive!
I’m so glad I got a reminder email from you about this. I’ve been working through the list and forgetting to post!
#2 – complete – we have both a very old hand printed copy of recipes from my mother and a brand new, shiny printed copy of boat loads of recipes we’ve learned (and love) over the years.
#4 – complete – use the BBQ to whip up dinner multiple times this month – yummy!
#6 – complete – yeah just don’t ask me to do it anytime soon as Hubs is far better at it 😉
#7 – complete – including a discussion with dear son on his role in a kitchen fire.
#8 – a work in progress – we started one this year and are still filling it in 🙂
#10 – complete – and what a great idea this is too! And, it fits so well with the first-aid kit we built earlier in the year.
#11 – complete – Emergency Preparedness has some great deals, and Target carries Augason Farms for a pretty good price too.
I hope we get to the rest this year – it’s always good to practice things we don’t normally do. Thanks for the great list of things to do this month!!
Yahoo! Way to go! You got a LOT done!
I practiced my evacuation plan. I think it went relatively smoothly. I was able to gather everything and get out of my apartment in less than 30 seconds.
That is REALLY smooth! Way to go!
Lost power for a couple hours this past weekend and had to pull out the coffee percolator and camp stove. Hadn’t used that thing in years. Gotta have the coffee though.
Glad it was only a few hours!
so on 4-cooking without electricity I do that everyday with my gas stove, however we BBQ often and have a Charcoal smoker we love.
9-we did evacuation plan for family home evening
10-first aid app is now on my phone and I think I’ll also put it on my Kindle
Thank you again for helping me be more prepared:)
Yay! 3 entries! Does your gas stove have an electric start? If so, do you know how to start it without that?
I turned off the water for 25 hours this past week. It was a pretty tough experience and I definitely realize now that 1 gallon a day is not enough for drinking, cooking and sanitation. I’m going to start stockpiling more water as soon as possible.
Yay! GOOD FOR YOU! So brave!
We cooked without electricity this weekend. I used my cast iron skillet over a campfire we built to cook bacon and eggs. Little burnt, but it worked!
Bacon is good no matter how burnt, right?
This past weekend we went camping in the backyard. It actually gave me a chance to realize that my tent does not do a very good job of repelling water (light rain overnight) so I’m glad that I know that now and can take steps to remedy the situation!
You are a super star! So happy for all the things you are learning.
I added the first aid & pet first aid apps to my phone – I often panic when needing info, so these will be great. I will have to ask you more about the Q system.
thanks for these great reminders!
(I thought I already posted comment, but couldn’t find it below)
Got it! And shoot me an email anytime about the Q. Happy to answer questions.
and I completed #10 and I also downloaded the pet one and I put together your first aide kit and It really made me feel better to know I have an awesome kit.
Yay! So glad it was helpful. I love having that kit too!
k I completed # 11 we actually had fun doing it. and I completed #2,6,7 so far its fun to do this and 9 & 8 my husband is handy capped and I’ve made sure I have ramps out the front and the back door it worries me to think that he couldn’t get out if something was to happen. I love my grab and go binder its helped me a lot.
k I completed # 11 we actually had fun doing it. and I completed #2 and #6 and #7 so far its fun to do this.
So glad you are having fun. That is the way to get things done!
I have completed 2,6,7,8 and 11. Having paper recipes is a must, If I find a favorite I always make a paper copy. I learned how to change a flat years ago so maybe that don’t count:/ Using a fire extinguisher was kinda scary but once you do it, it’s not that bad, we have one in the kitchen, bedroom and basement. Love my Grab and go binder, I just need to put it in the safe. Love the case lot sales and bulk item sales, this is when I stock back up on those everyday items that I use.
Misty you are amazing and you have helped me become prepared in so many ways.
Thank you
Thank you Tammy! You are so kind.
I printed out five copies of my family’s favorite recipes. It was a little challenging to find ones that were universal favorites and to also select recipes that could have ingredients switched out for others with longer shelf lives but after a little work, I got them all together and ready.
Yay! Way to go! And I get the challenge. We are headed to Yellowstone soon and I wanted to have meals that all six of us really like – it took an hour yesterday to decide on four meals!
I have many more than 5 favorite recipes printed out. so entry #2!!
Thanks!
Julie D.
Awesome!
We have now finished numbers 3 and 5, and that completes the list.
In addition to that, we built a nice can storage unit in the garage with scrap wood. It is great to have a place where we automatically rotate our canned goods without having to look at the date on every can. We simply drop a can in the top and it rolls down the slot. Then we use them from the bottom. Very nice! I have wanted this for a long time.
Ooooo….come and visit my house, PLEASE!!!! That sounds so great! I would love to see a picture of it.
We completed numbers 8 and 9. All is updated and we know who grabs what in what sequence!
Awesome! Love it!
I just completed number 10:) I love what you have taught me and cannot wait to become more prepared:)
Yay!
I have been working on my emergency preparedness binder (all digital at the moment). It’s really stressful trying to get it all done, but I’m just taking it step by step and making a list of what I still need to add.
Also, I just downloaded the first aid app by Red Cross, and will be looking at that this week.
Because of all this digital reliance on my side, I also am looking into a hand crank cell phone charger (i found a few that also are radios!) on Amazon.
I have one like that. It is a great backup but does take a lot of hand cranking. (-:
I just downloaded the phone app…great idea! Thanks!
PS we had a car once that didn’t have a jack included and later, we’ve had several cars that the car company stashed the jack in really weird spots that I never would have thought of looking!
That is why it is good to know beforehand, right? Thanks for hte real life experience!
Yes indeed! 🙂 Your reminders are great! 🙂
1. For the video, the house was kinda not in shape/clean but as we were doing it realized that i want to make sure we have some type of newspaper or something with the date on it as more proof that we owned it before something happened. And that we need to do more research on our more pricey/ sentimental things and take pictures as well so we can also have pictures if it gets destroyed or evidence of burglary and have a photo copy of it. we did this last month but want to do it again with more detail and preparation .
10. I have actually 3 apps that are centered around self and first aid care First Aid one, also a family medical one with our DOB and information that people / medical providers would need basically and ICE type thing. also have an app called Safe Hearts which is an app that provides help for things that may happen- drug overdose, suicidal thoughts, abuse, etc and gives you resources to help you or friend with it and provides the hotlines as well.
7. so the instructions on the extinguisher are on there but I would like to actually USE one before something happens so i know what to expect and exactly how to operate it, do you know if the firehouse would have old ones you can test out to see how they work etc??
11. question? So we just bought a bunch of food storage items from thrive thru your course does that count?? haha! but we did also stocked up during the case lot sale from the grocery store. so your call !
Yep. #11 counts! And I know that the CERT course lets you use a fire extinguisher….not sure about the fire department. If you find out, let us know!
I took a video inventory of my home. One thing I learned after a home robbery a year ago was the importance of having evidence of serial numbers on big items like electronics. Now that I have the video evidence of my home’s contents, I feel better prepared for a situation where insurance would be involved. Thanks!
Glad you got it done Rebecca!
I made our Grab & Go Binder and encouraged my 2 sister in laws to get going on theirs, and they are already starting, as well as my Pastor and his wife! I also downloaded the Red Cross app.
YAY! 2 entries!
I have the ICE app on my phone for medical info/emergencies.
Entry #3, right?
I have printed out recipes using little ingredients– because if you are in an emergency/crisis situation, you are not wanting to make anything elaborate. I’ve also given out recipes to each of our children living away from home so they can rely on these family recipes as well in case they are in the same situation.
Way to go! I hope they said thank you!