COMMUNICATION

This may not be a priority with some but it is for me.          

Hello !! Is anyone there?

My first thought when the proverbial hits the fan is whether everyone is ok. I really need to check on my family and especially my mum who is getting on a bit.

Make sure they have everything they need and if not to tell them to come to me.

Most of us have mobiles and that's great but after more than 24 hours the batteries start to die. My land line is digital and is plugged into the power. No power = no phone.

I'm going to pick up a normal  plug in phone that (yes I'm going to have to dial the numbers into it). The phone lines don't run on the electricity grid and I'll be a lot more happy knowing I can be reached if needed. It will also allow me to check the emergency services to see how long I'll be affected so I have some idea to what extent I need to plan for. Oops all my numbers are on fast dial on my phones.

Must add  a small notebook to my folders with all family, and emergency numbers.

Hopefully family will also get a plain phone for emergencies because otherwise I wont be speaking to anyone.

BEING PREPARED

Oh No !! Now What ?

NO POWER

I

It's funny how a simple conversation can get you thinking. We get used to the inconvenience of a blackout every now and then. It never lasts for long. A couple of hours, maybe 6 on a bad day and we just deal with it. But what if the power went out for longer. Some idiot flipped the wrong switch and now we're told no power for a least 2 days. Even worse the grid got overloaded and now we're looking at a week. What would you do to keep your home and family running smoothly and how prepared are you?

Some homes have gas ( I don't ) so that will help for a while but for the rest of us everything comes to a screaming halt. I wrote a list of everything I rely on power for and found that yes it was just about every thing so how can I continue with my day without too much of a hiccup and without running off to a family members home ( who I hope isn't affected ).

Looking at my basic needs list as a starting point, there are a few things I need to prioritise but more importantly I need to collect the information for each item in one place. So that's where I'm going to start. I might want to live simply but I am a technological user and if your anything like me you keep a large portion of your life on the computer. I'm also a survivor so I'll look at the worst case scenario of 1 week without  power. If I can manage that then a day or two will be a walk in the park.

My first task this week is to  

• Back up all my files onto a flash drive.
• Make a folder and print off all my necessary information

I proberly would have a couple of folders for different things to make it easier for myself to find what I'm looking for.

•  Favourite recipes that aren't in my cookbooks
• .Instructions on making cleaning products
•  Personal information
• "How to" folder with D.I.Y in it.

I'm sure I would think of of a few others as I go along. At least now I can access the information I will need. I will also go through my library and see if the books I've got have everything I need in them. If not I will look around and pick up some more.

Here's a couple that I have that I would recommend but there are plenty out there that may be more to your taste.

Back to Basics by Readers Digest

The New Self Sufficiency Book by John Seymour

Now I can work through my list. It wont be in order of importance but in which I can achieve easily. Some things I will need to research a bit and then practice, practice, practice. There's not much point in having the information and not being able to do it or put it into place when needed.

This post is getting a bit long so I'll finish up for today, I'll have a cuppa and decide which step I'll take next. Let me know what you would do and and share your ideas. Every little bit helps and we'll help each other to sail through whatever gets thrown at us.