So, yep…this post is late. And, yes you would be right again if you thought I didn’t post yesterday either. Absolutely correct. Monday’s post was late, didn’t post a recipe yesterday and today’s post is late. I’ve been trying to decide what to say about all that. I could say:
My kids have been sick….
Yeah, but they’ve all be better since yesterday…what about
I’ve been too busy trying to catch up on other things…
Somewhat true, but I also found the time to watch the latest episodes of two of my favorite shows, so…..what about
I didn’t have a recipe to post yesterday and forgot about today’s post…
I actually have 3-4 recipes that I have pictures of and everything and just need to post. And I’ve been thinking about posting today all day…just kept doing other stuff instead. I planned more of my garden (I’ll be sharing some of that soon), took my kids to the park, and read a whole bunch of books to the kiddos.
So, nope, no really good excuse. The honest truth is I’ve kinda enjoyed the break. I think I’m a bit burnt out! Coming up with something to post 5+ times a week is tough! I enjoyed taking a week off when my sister was here (all posts were pre-written and on auto post), and I’m having a really hard time getting back into it.
Anyway, please accept my apology even though I don’t really have a good excuse at all! I think I’ve had enough of a break – and that you can safely expect a post tomorrow, Friday and Saturday. 
Onto the regularly scheduled survival kit post for the day:
If you are just joining us, I recommend starting with week #1. You can find it here:
Survival Kit Series Week #1
Once you’ve completed that, just jump in on this week’s focus. I will cycle through each week again once we are done. You can do the earlier weeks last instead of first! You can also read the intro to this series here:
Survival Kit Ideas: a week by week approach.
I hope all of you were able to get your kit stocked up with the most essential tools for your area today. Sounds like most of you had more than I expected. Way to go!
This week’s focus:
Communication
Suggestions:
Do you have ways in which you will be able to communicate with loved ones in the event of a disaster? What about communicating with the outside world? Following the news / warnings etc about your area? Signaling for help? Communication following a serious disaster will be difficult at best. Much of your preparation in the area of communication is simply planning now what you will do then. But there are some tools that can help you be better prepared as well:
- Whistle
- Mirror
- Radio (make sure it includes AM/FM and NOAA weather; consider one that can be crank or solar charged)
- Two way radio
- Flares (thanks to reader Michael for mentioning this)
You can purchase many of these tools at a discount right here on my Shelf Reliance Consultant Website. Of course, to be clear, I will be compensated if you choose to do that! You can read more about that here.
Anything I forgot? What other communication tools do you have / want in your kits? And more importantly, what plans do you have in place? What skills do you have or plan on gaining in order to be better prepared in this area?
What we have done in our family:
Recently we had a large scale power outage her in Southern California and I experienced a phenomenon I had only heard of before. I was able to use my cell phone to make long distance calls, but not local ones. In other words, I could call my mother in Utah, but not my husband down the street or my next door neighbor. After that experience, we decided that if faced with a similar situation, my husband and I would communicate through my mother. I would call her and report and she would call him, tell him how I was and find out how he was and then call me. We also bought long range two way radios and keep one in each kit. Our kids each have a whistle in their kits (as do the adult kits), and they’ve been told to use it over and over if they are alone until someone finds them. We also have a AM/FM NOAA solar/crank radio.
This week’s focus:
Communication
And don’t forget….
Add $1 per person to your survival kit this week. Make sure you use $1 bills and / or quarters.
This week’s winner:
I’m so thrilled to announce the winner of week #13′s drawing: I 12 entries! Far more than last week. YAY! According to Random.org commenter #11 was the winner:
Kristy said:
Congrats Kristy!
Want to win?
I am giving away 1 prize per week for 26 weeks. All you have to do to enter the drawing each week is leave a comment on THIS POST before 9:00 am next Wednesday, January 11th. Simple. Just tell me what you are going to do to round out the first aid supplies in your kit.
This is open to anyone and everyone: my family members, friends, those I’ve never met, other Shelf Reliance consultants: anyone! Below are the 4 prizes each winner can choose from:
- A 55 gallon water barrel,
- A Katadyn Hiker Pro Microfilter, or
- A Featherlite zero degree sleeping bag
- A $70 credit to purchase any emergency supplies you want from Shelf Reliance
That’s right! I will be giving away something EACH WEEK for 26 weeks!
Want to guarantee winning one of the above?
If you want to earn a prize instead (or in addition) to winning one all you have to do is share this series 50 times., fill out the form at the bottom of this post each week. Once you reach 50 entries (an average of just over 2 per week), I will contact you about which free product you want.
You can share it:
- using the buttons at the very bottom of this post. This is the quickest and most painless way:…just click on each button! Each click counts as one entry!
- on your own on facebook (each post counts as one entry, so post often),
- on your own on twitter (each tweet counts as one entry),
- on your own on pinterest (each pin counts as one entry)
- by phone (each phone call counts as one entry),
- by email (each person you email counts as one entry), or
- on your blog / website (each post / mention counts as one entry).
- by actually speaking to someone in person about the series (thanks to reader Rachel, for reminding me to add this)
The following form will be available at the end of each weeks post. Simply submit your info each week. Once you reach 50 entries, I will contact you about which product you’d like. Please be honest!
We have a whistle but are working to purchase two way radios and a bigger radio that has hand cranking ability to charge itself and cell phones, etc. What to do if all electronics are knocked out?
I love my radio b/c it can be charged from an outlet, by crank or solar. LOVE it. Highly recommend everyone have one. You can also charge small electronics (like a cell) from it.
I think for what we “pay” you, you should be able to take what ever time off you want (even to watch a show) with out feeling any guilt at ALL! Love your website and I will appreciate any time you take to share thing with us!
Thanks, but many of you do pay me (like you) when you purchase from me. I like to be as consistent as possible. But, I really appreciate all the kind comments. I’m so glad you like the site and appreciate your kindness!
No need for apologies! We all understand you are a very busy person (wife, mother, consultant, and INDIVIDUAL). Sometimes we all just have to take time for ourselves. It keeps us healthy – mentally, physically, and spiritually. If you don’t do this on occasion it is what leads to sickness and exhaustion! So you take whatever time you need when you need it and we all can enjoy your post no matter when it is posted.
As far as this category…I have a whistle, mirror, a battery operated AM/FM radio with extra batteries stored. Oh, and of course, my cell phone which I keep charged all the times and have several ways to charge it (ex: car charger, USB adapter, and portable disposable cell phone charger). What I really want to add to this portion of preparedness is one of the Red Cross Solar Link FR360 radios that can be powered from solar, hand crank, batteries, and AC power. It also has 3 white LED for a source of light, a flashing red LED, and will charge my cell phone! Other than our cell phones (and assuming all land lines are down) my grown kids and I don’t have any other way to communicate. Since we live in a very mountainous region and I live about 7 miles away and 1,500 feet in a lower elevation than them, I am unsure that the long range radios would do us much good here. Luckily we will be living closer soon enough and then the long range handhelds could be an option.
P. S. To me it says a lot about you and the person you are when you hold your webinar from your laptop in the garage so that your children can be themselves and laugh and play with Dad while you sacrifice some of your time with them in the evening to help all of us! I for one appreciate YOU and all you do to help us prepare and had a little giggle myself when you told us where you were holding the webinar. : )
P. P. S. I almost forgot! Congrats to Kristy!
You are so sweet to always remember that!
Thank you Lisa! Everyone is so kind! I’m glad you are all so patient with me. You are right though, sometimes I do need to remember that I am an individual!
Yes, it is funny that I hold webinars in the garage. The kids think I’ve “gone to work,” so they don’t come looking for me. Whereas if I’m in my room, they just follow me right in! We’ve actually taken pictures of it b/c it makes me giggle too. I should post them on facebook sometime!
And I LOVE the Red Cross Solar Link FR360. Great option. Otherwise, you sound very well prepared in this area!
Well said Nann and Lisa. Misty, you are doing us an enormous favor by sacrificing your time with your family to feed us information. So, no apologies necessary. Thank you so much.
THank you Marcia! YOu guys are so kind! I’m very touched reading all these emails. SO SO good to know that my readers really do support me in ALL I do…not just what I do here! Thanks.
I was able to purchase a walkie-talkie through my affiliation with CERT. It is more than what you can buy at Wal-Mart. It is a police and fire scanner . . . and my communication for CERT. I have a whistle – actually several. But I have not yet decided if I need a regular radio???? Still thinking about it – I have read that for preppers, the key word is: redundancy.
I keep saying I’m going to take that class…gotta find a way to fit it into my schedule somehow!
I recommend the CERT Training for anyone interested. For info:
http://www.citizencorps.gov/cert/
Thanks for that link Marcia
So far it seems we are doing pretty good on our kits. I had not really thought about tool though. We do have one on the radios that works on ac/dc, crank or solar power. We have a set of walkie talkies we used to use when we traveled in the motorhome. I need to get working on the money in the kit, but I have several piggy banks with lots of change in them that I will pour into some bags and put in there. I never spend my change. That way I always have some money at the end of the month if we run short or if an emergency expense comes up.
Sounds like you are doing pretty well Nancy! Often we are doing much better than we think when we really look at what we’ve got. Sometimes the only thing we really need to do is put it all in one spot!
First of all, I want to start out by saying that we received the sleeping bag. My kids love it and are taking turns using it. Kaleb says it is the best sleeping bag he has ever had ( he’s 11, so he hasn’t had too many, lol ). He is looking forward to using it this summer at camp. I am very impressed with the quality. Thanks again.
My kids schools are next to each other – they know to seek each other out. Kaleb has a cell phone. I have heard that during emergencies it will take “forever” to get a call out. However, text messages stand a better chance. We have discussed our emergency plans with the kids.
Reading this seriously made my day. I give out so many prizes and it never gets old hearing about how you are enjoying them! I’m so glad to hear 11 yr old Kaleb approves! Thanks!
I;ve ordered a whistle, but that” about it. I plan on getting a radio soon. I;m lacking on this part.
Something is better than nothing Betty! (-:
I just stumbled upon your blog and love it! You are an amazing woman to find time not only to prep, but to help out newbie preppers like myself. My hubby and I are trying to set up our 10 acre plot and in some ways, we couldn’t be more prepared (19 layer hens, couple of goats, big dogs, greenhouse) but we have literally nothing set up for water aside from some 50 gal rain barrels. Hopefully we’ll get our sand-point hand pump in as soon as the ground thaws. I’m so excited about checking out your tips for food storage… I have two pathetic totes in our basement with cans of beans and mac & cheese… hey, my kids will eat =) Thanks so much for all the great info!!!!
Welcome Anna! I’m so glad to have you here! But I have to admit that although I use a lot of food storage and have a pretty good 72 hr kit, I still consider myself a “newbie” in a lot of ways! There is always more to learn. I learn great stuff from my readers all the time and I’m sure I could learn a lot from you too! Sounds like you have some great experience! Feel free to share it! And I’ll be updating all the food storage tips and recipes this week to make them easier to navigate!
We also need some work in this area, we have made plans in case the roads are blocked and the phones do not work and we are away from the house of places to meet, a second place in case the first is not available and this place is for extended family not just my household. Most of us live and work less than 50 miles and most closer than 10 miles, so a meeting place for siblings and parents also makes sense for us. As of now we only have whistles, but plan to get a radio soon. Thanks for everything!
Plans are half the battle Scarlet! I think many of us have tools, but no plans and in that case the tools won’t do us much good! Thanks for the reminder!
I’m happy to say that we have all of these items….. just seriously need to get them put into the bags.
Yay Rachel!
We have whistles, mirrors, and a hand crank radio that we just put into the bags. We need to purchase 2 way radios and also we would like to add some flares to our kits as well (not sure if this would be considered a communication device or if it falls under another category)
Flares! I completely forgot to add that to the list, but YES, that belongs here! Thank you! I will add it now.