More than a year ago, a friend of Dan’s got him very concerned about emergency preparedness. Dan assembled a pack consisting of all kinds of practical items (lighter, first aid kit, dust masks, etc.) and a few dorky ones too (LED headlamp …). An emergency supply of water was of course on his list but for some reason (maybe because it isn’t gadgety?) he never quite got it together. When we merged households, I added the emergency water to my to do list since it seemed like probably the most important emergency item to have and I’d probably be pretty bummed if a disaster were to occur and we were swimming in all kinds of pocket knives and tools but no water to sustain us for even a few days. I think we had it in our minds that we’d just pick up some big jugs of water from Safeway but whenever we browsed that aisle nothing really seemed sufficient, so water just stayed in the to do category. Finally, however, we were at REI post-Haiti earthquake and I told Dan it was now or never, so we took the leap and invested in three of these babies, the Aqua-Tainer.
Part of why the emergency supply had been put off in the past had to be worry about how plasticy the water would get over time if we just bought gallon jugs that with luck would sit around for many years. So, this seems like a good compromise. We didn’t pay for water which seems pretty stupid but paid for some good refreshable containers that stack well and include a spout that would help control waste in the event of actual use.
I’m sharing this not because it’s particularly sexy but in the hopes that maybe this will inspire you, my generally young and fearless readers, get the very basic emergency supplies off your to do list. It’s so easy if you just get started.
Filed under: Home Tagged: | earthquakes, emergency preparedness
