nichepoetryandprose

In November, one of my projects has been to establish an equipped emergency shelf for our home. We always keep supplies on hand in case of a power outage, but I want to bring those things together so a last minute scramble is not needed.

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Canada’s ‘get prepared kit’ recommends the following items:(https://www.getprepared.gc.ca/cnt/rsrcs/pblctns/yprprdnssgd/index-en.aspx )

1. Water — two litres of water per person per day (include small bottles) 
2. Food such as canned food, energy bars and dried foods (replace once a year) 
3. Manual can opener
4. Wind-up or battery-powered flashlight (and extra batteries)
5. Wind-up or battery-powered radio (and extra batteries) 
6. First aid kit
7. Extra keys for your car and house 
8. Cash, travellers’ cheques and change 
9. Important family documents such as identification, insurance and bank records 
10. An emergency plan – include a copy in your kit as well as contact information

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I recently purchased our safety shelf for another purpose, but when I brought it home, I knew it was perfect for our emergency supplies. On the safety shelf we have:

1. bottles of water, for washing and other uses; we always have water for drinking on hand
2. candles ( I have so many candles, having light during a power outage is never an issue)
3. matches (to light candles and the wood stove)
4. a ‘go-bag’ – packed with flagging tape, compasses (I have eight compasses of various types due to my work life in the woods), more candles and matches, a flashlight, paper and pencils, a small first aid kit, extra keys, and a manual can opener
5. a box of extra food: canned beans, trail mix, energy bars, raisins, canned fruit, canned soup
6. a fire retardant blanket for putting out small fires quickly
7. an emergency plan

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Our ‘go-bag’ has been around many years and began as a safe-in-the-woods kit for our son. We spent many hours at our home and cabin in or near the woods, and the ‘go-bag’ includes instructions for my son if he was ever lost in the woods. All these years later, it is a precious keep-sake, but still useful in its wisdom.

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Our emergency plan is simple:

1. our address
2. our home and cell phone numbers
3. a list of phone numbers for other family members
4. the location of our shelf of emergency supplies (!)
5. a place designated as a meeting place if there is ever a fire
6. the duty to check and replenish supplies once per year in November!

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We have personal experience with emergencies, most memorably in the guise of Hurricane Aurthur, in 2014. We have a small generator that kept our refrigerator and television going. The storm put the power out for seven days and our biggest help was from the Oromocto Fire Department. The firefighters supplied us with water for our containers and cases of drinking water. I will be grateful to them forever.

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Now that our emergency shelf is prepared, my main fear, of having to scramble and find our various supplies, is over.

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Do you have the needed supplies in case of an emergency? And are they organized in a way you can find them quickly?

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All my best!

Jane (a.k.a. Alexandra)