Emergency Prep Test

Haitian beans & rice are a
favorite at our house.

On Monday April 16th, I started an unofficial test of my emergency preparations.  I knew going into the test that I had some deficencies such as not enough bottled water.  However, this month long test taught me several things and sent me to the store 2 to 3 times a week filling in gaps. This is a brief summary of what I learned.

1.  I had the wrong balance of food.  I needed more flour and more powdered/canned milk.  My milk supplies did not last a week!
2.  My kids would probably choose death over eating any of the tuna or spam stash. As Corrine pointed out, "I thought you had those in case the neighbors needed food during an emergency."
3.  Peanut butter is not my kid's favorite food without bread and jelly.
4.  Cereal without milk is not a good plan...no matter how good the cereal.
5.  Locating my emergency supplies was more difficult than I thought. 
     Grace: "Mom, where is the rice?"
     Me:  "In one of these 8 big boxes".
6.  Paper towels are less desirable in an emergency than wet wipes or toilet paper.  Make the best use of storage space, fill it with wipes and toilet paper!
7.  Day 7 of using up the emergency supplies will cause everyone to crave chicken nuggets, even the parents.
8.  Diapers!  A month long emergency plan can NEVER have too many diapers.  (A few cloth ones and plastic pants are going into my new improved kit because the "old way" is better than the "new nude way" when the diaper supplies are gone.)
9.  Treats for everyone!  Okay so treats may not be essential, but 30 days living with a teenager who is going without chocolate can have its own challenges.
10.  Having a 100 pounds of rice and 50 pounds of beans as part of the emergency plans, means one must be prepared to eat a 100 pounds of rice and 50 pounds of beans without it deminishing anyones will to live.

I'm starting the restocking plans now and I'm developing a more organized way to store and track the items so we can eat the old before it expires.  So far new items include the following:  multi vitamins, pediasure/boost, canned ham, canned Chef Boyardee, canned prepared baked beans, shelf stable cheese like parmesean and more focus on things the kids eat well like pudding, fruit (dried and canned) and yes, maybe even chicken nuggets!  (I'm so glad this past month way just a test and I could go to the store to fill gaps.  Hopefully, I'll now be better prepared for if there were a real emergency.)