With hurricane Dorian and all the flooding, tornadoes, and fires on the West coast it's a good reminder that September is National Preparedness Month! In the last two days we've had lots of wind, thunder, lightning and rain here in Boise. While the rain is a blessing, the winds and lightning can always start fires. October usually brings our first big storms. One thing I'd thought of recently was buying sheets of heavy plywood to cover our large, west-facing windows and sliding door if they got hit by a storm. These take the brunt of the wind, and branches come down quite frequently-
Dining room slider
Living room picture window
Master bedroom window
Tarps won't cut it in 65 + mph winds, snow or rain! It could also be used on the roof in case of a storm downing of large branches. We're in high summer garden and harvest season, but soon I'll be prepping the coop and putting the garden to bed for the winter. WINTER, yes it's coming. One of the things I did today was buy a new winter comforter for master bedroom bed. I realized I only had one comforter in the entire house and ours was getting pretty worn. If we lost the furnace or power it could get pretty darn cold with just one comforter, now two is even better! I got a great deal at a local discount store for that. I'll keep the old one as a spare. As for preparedness I have several links below with really great information on what kinds of things you may want to have on hand. There's also a link below about how to save money while prepping. Don't forget one of the main things you need to have on hand is WATER as you may not have access to some depending on the emergency you might have. Extra food, fuel, pet foods, baby/child items, OTC and prescription medications are always a must. We stock up on canned goods, batteries and I am storing more water this time of year. While we have a 55 gallon rain barrel it would need to be filtered (we have a filter), but we have to empty it for the winter. I buy a gallon jug of water for $1.00, so it's easy to buy a few at a time. I personally don't like reusing milk jugs for water storage. Some folks use alternative methods for heat, wood stove (still want one) or have a generator. We have a camping stove and several Kerosene heaters, but not for indoor use. We could use the stove in the garage for cooking in a vented area. Links here - Ready.gov Budget Friendly Preparedness Kit Don't forget your pets!
We found out some information recently I thought I'd share, from my husband's business Fire Safety inspector. He told Dave that most home fire extinguishers have a six year life span. The plastic handle will also break a lot, as the solution will turn to sludge. If yours is 20 plus years old it might fail when you most need it. We bought a industrial version from for $55.00. Check yours, better safe than sorry! Any welding supply company has them and they'll recharge every six years for half the price. Here's our new one-
Harvest Time Continues!
It's the land of plenty! Nothing like freezing lots of famous San Marzano plum tomatoes, dead ripe!!!
Lots of apples, froze about 15 gallons or more of apple slices for baking-
Pears are starting, we bake or eat fresh, since it's a semi-dwarf tree-
And then there's apple crumble-
10 comments:
Thanks for the reminder! Having sheets of plywood at the ready is an excellent idea. That's something the home improvement stores run out of quickly when everyone's in panic-prep mode.
Everything from your garden looks absolutely fantastic. You've done well this year!
You're welcome! Yes, I just thought of that the other day watching the hurricane news and all the holes in the roofs broken windows. Yes we're having a bumper year in her garden, yay!
Your harvest looks delicious.
I live in a fire-prone area of Northern California. We already have our "to-go" bags packed. Just a couple of weeks ago, we thought we might have to evacuate.
Timely post. Thanks for the info.
Thanks Debbie we are having a good year this year! That must be scary living that kind of area and I know that we've had our share of fires in Idaho, luckily yours have been all pretty small this year since we had a wet spring.
Thanks for the reminder and tips about fire extinguishers. Ours are always "there" but making sure they would actually be usable in an emergency is vital!
Wonderful garden produce/harvest. Stocking up this time of year is a good feeling whether it be food, water or emergency supplies. Adequate tarps (for holes in the roof, etc.) would be good, too. Thanks for your reminders, Nancy!
Thanks Mama, makes me smile when you drop by!!!
All really good advice, Nancy. Especially about the fire extinguisher - something I never remember to check! You had a wonderful year in the garden - beautiful produce!
Thanks Susan! I really admire all the uber hardwork you do on your place!!!
A great reminder about checking your fire extinguisher. About 2 months ago I was under the kitchen sink (to fix the garbage disposal) and found our fire extinguishers shoved in the back of the cabinet (whoops) and with a gauge that read "empty" (double whoops). Similar to you, I did research for my home blog and was found similar information - fire extinguishers have shorter lives that I thought, and the ones with the plastic handles have a tendency to break (there has been some recalls). And a lot more deaths per year from fires in homes - about 2700 deaths - than I expected. We ended up buying a similar fire extinguisher to yours. Better safe than sorry! (your link found through Farm Fresh Tuesday's link party)
Thanks Jen I'm glad you discovered that! Better safe than sorry and I would have responded sooner but your comment went into the spam folder
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