Water Storage FAQs & Family Prayer

Hot, dry weather will soon be here, and water will be essential for small emergencies ("I’m thirsty and we’re in the car!") and big emergencies (water supply is shut off or polluted) we may face in the coming months. Do you have enough water?

HOW MUCH WATER SHOULD I STORE?

• 1 gallon of water per day for each member of your family. 1/2 gallon for drinking, 1/2 gallon for cooking and washing dishes. Two weeks of water is a reasonable, feasible amount to store. For my family of five, that means about 100 gallons of water.
• My family went camping over Spring Break and we used about 4 gallons of water each day for our family of 5, and that included washing dishes, cooking, and drinking. If you plan on cleaning your body, you might need a little more . . .!

HOW SHOULD I STORE IT?

• Store water in sturdy, leak-proof, breakage-resistant containers. For the budget-conscious (and who’s not?!?), re-use plastic (PETE) juice or soft drink bottles. For the lazy, you can buy commercially packaged water in many sizes. Check the expiration date and have a plan to use it in the car or otherwise. I like to keep a few cases of bottled water in my garage to grab-and-go and avoid those midsummer trips to Wendy’s for a drink that invariably leads me to buy something else my thighs don’t need!
• Do not use plastic milk jugs, because they do not seal well and tend to become brittle over time. Do not use containers previously used to store non-food products.
• Heavier plastic buckets or drums work well too, but if you get giant ones, make sure you can get the water out and transport it if needed.
• Store water only where potential leakage would not damage your home. And be careful to store it where it won’t leach the taste or odor from something icky like a gas container or pesticides. A cool and dark place is best, but ours go in the garage on a piece of plywood because that’s the best we can do.

HOW OFTEN SHOULD I ROTATE IT?

• If you have commercially bottled water in PETE (or PET) plastic containers, follow the container’s “best if used by” dates as a rotation guideline.
• If you fill your own bottles, empty your water containers (onto your grass!) and refill them every six months.

WHERE CAN I GET CONTAINERS?

You can pick them up locally for cheap at this place in Round Rock:
www.survivaloutpost.com
15 gal: $10 (this is my favorite size because I can actually pick it up by myself)
30 gal: $20
55 gal: $30
(some of these once held soda syrup, but if you can handle that, it an awesome deal)


DO I NEED TO TREAT THE WATER I STORE?

• If it comes from the chlorinated municipal water supply (your tap unless you have a well), then no.
• You should clean, sanitize, and thoroughly rinse all containers prior to use. A sanitizing solution can be prepared by adding 1 teaspoon bleach (5 to 6% sodium hypochlorite) to one quart (1 liter) water. Don’t use bleach without thickeners, scents, or additives.
• Non-chlorinated water should be treated with bleach. Add 1/8 of a teaspoon (8 drops) of liquid household chlorine bleach (5 to 6% sodium hypochlorite) for every gallon (4 liters) of water. Again, stick to simply bleach without additives.
• The taste of stored water can be improved by pouring it back and forth between two containers before use.

FOR MORE INFO

www.fema.gov/plan/prepare/water
www.redcross.org/services/prepare


FAMILY PRAYER

As always, we should focus just as much or more on spiritual preparedness as physical preparedness in our families. How are you doing with family prayer? Our stake president has challenged us to pray morning and evening with our families and as couples. It can be difficult to get everyone together on both ends of the day, but let’s all do our best to try a little harder to do a little better on this one.

Last week we were visiting some relatives of relatives and there were a lot of people in the house late at night, not all members. I was impressed that the father and mother of the home walked into the living room where we were all talking and simply knelt down and invited us all to pray with them. It felt so natural and right, but I don’t know if we would have done the same in our house in a similar situation. I hope we will in the future.

From lds.org:

“The Savior has exhorted us to pray with our families. He said, ‘Pray in your families unto the Father, always in my name, that your wives and your children may be blessed’ (3 Nephi 18:21). Through regular family prayer, our family members will draw nearer to God and to each other. Our children will learn to communicate with their Father in Heaven. We will all be better prepared to serve others and withstand temptations. Our homes will be places of spiritual strength, a refuge from the evil influences of the world.”

Those are blessings we could stand to receive in our home! Have a great week!

Stake Goals

Last week in sacrament meeting a member of our stake presidency, Pres. Brown, issued some challenges for our stake, all with a deadline of June 30, 2009:

Read the Book of Mormon. We need to read four pages a day every day until June 30th to accomplish our goal. I am excited about this goal! At first I felt a little overwhelmed, but as I have spent the last week trying to have faith and do as I was asked, I have found the following quote by Ezra Taft Benson to be absolutely true in my own life:

“There is a power in the book which will begin to flow into your lives the moment you begin a serious study of the book. You will find greater power to resist temptation...to avoid deception...to stay on the strait and narrow path...[Y]ou will find life in greater and greater abundance...love and harmony in the home, greater respect between parent and child, increased spirituality and righteousness.”

In my reading this week, I found a promise that certainly applies to us today and gives us hope as we face difficult times now and in the future:

“if the Gentiles shall hearken unto the Lamb of God in that day that he shall manifest himself unto them in word, and also in power, in very deed, unto the taking away of their stumbling blocks—And harden not their hearts against the Lamb of God . . . They shall be a blessed people upon the promised land forever . . .” (1 Nephi 14:1-2)

I want to allow the Lord to take away my stumbling blocks by letting His word and work into my life . Here’s a site to help you calculate your own Book of Mormon reading goal:
http://lds.about.com/library/weekly/2004/blscripture_calculators.htm

This goal includes children! Pres. Brown encouraged us to be creative as we figure out how to do this with our children. Brother Beck suggested yesterday that we get the Book of Mormon playing in our car with tapes, CDs or an portable music player and we will be surprised how much we and our children get out of it. Check out this link on the Church website to figure out how to download the Book of Mormon to your portable music player:
http://www.lds.org/mp3/newarchive/0,18615,5249-1,00.html

Pray daily as families, couples & individuals. Brother Beck suggested that we schedule a time for each of these prayers to happen so we don’t forget and so we have most or all of the family at home. There is great power in family prayer on both ends of our day.

Have 1 month of food storage on hand. I've started by keeping track of what my family eats for a week. After that, I drew up a menu plan for a one-week supply of food storage. Though it's not always easy, I'm trying to include mostly foods that will last at least three months on my or in the fridge/freezer.

Get cash in your 72-hour kits. As we've calculated how much ywe need, we've imagined we're taking a 3-day road trip and you can’t use your credit card. We plan to put that amount in smaller bills in our 72-hour kits.

Last week I witnessed a 72-hour kit in action during an everyday emergency. I was with Cheri Evans and our kids were playing on a playground. Her preschooler had a little accident and needed a change of clothes. Without a hint of panic, Cheri calmly walked to her car, pulled out a small rolling suitcase she keeps there with her 72-hour kit inside. She had a change of clothes for her son, and an extra one for another little boy who needed a change of clothes too. Cheri told me she is surprised how much she uses her car kit for extra clothes, snacks, water, and first aid. She just has to remember to replace the items she uses, and then she’s set for the next everyday emergency. I felt very inspired by her preparedness and plan to put a similar kit in my car this week.

There’s a lot to do, but if we take it one small step at a time, having faith that the Lord will cover our weaknesses and shortcomings if we do our best, we will be ready for whatever may lie ahead for us. I know this is true because I’ve seen it happen over and over in my life, and in the lives of others around me.

A New Year, a New Plan

I've got a plan for 2009, with a focus for each of five areas each month. Here's the ones for January:

JANUARY: Whaddya Got? Whaddya Need

Spiritual Preparedness:
Focus on personal prayer

Emergency Preparedness:
Check & Replenish 72-Hour Kits

3-Month Food Storage:
Keep track of what your family eats and how much you spend on food for at least one week. Clean out those cabinets and closets to make room for more food storage. Keep track of spending for the month.

Home Storage:
Inventory current food storage--how many months do you have of the basics?

Financial Reserve:
Make a jar for saving change. Decide how much cash your family needs to put in your 72-hour kit and set aside 1/6 of that amount.