Did you know that September is National Preparedness month? It seems fitting on our homestead since we are in over our heads with garden harvest, orchard harvest, canning and preserving so we can prepare to feed our family for the next year. We’ve also been busy foraging for wild edibles to eat throughout the year and busy cutting, splitting and stacking firewood to prepare to keep us warm this winter.
There are so many things that we need to be prepared for throughout the year. We always like to be prepared with food supplies, firewood, batteries, and ways to cook without power. Here are a few things we have to be prepared for living in rural Montana:
- Winter snowstorms
- Forest fires
- Power outage
- Floods
- Colds/flu/sickness (Here’s our post with tips on preparing for a medical emergency at home in case you missed it!)
It is important to be prepared for natural disasters and emergencies. Do you have a plan on how to evacuate your home or where your family would meet if you were separated in a natural disaster? I work part time as a geriatric social worker in town and we give all our clients information on disaster preparedness, how to create a plan and important contact information. Here’s a quick video clip for you to watch as a reminder of how important it is to have a plan in case of emergencies:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DD3PmZQb2ts
There are a lot of resources available on how to prepare for a disaster or emergency. If you don’t have a plan, the Ready.gov website is a great resource.
National Preparedness Month $100 Amazon Card Giveaway
Since September is National Preparedness month (www.Ready.gov/Prepare), we joined with the Homestead Bloggers Network to bring you all a giveaway for a $100 Amazon gift card. Our hope is that the lucky winner of this gift card will be able to use it to purchase supplies to be more prepared at home for whatever disaster or emergency comes your way.
This giveaway will end at 11:59pm on September 22, 2014. It is open to US residents who are 18 and older and void where prohibited by law. No purchase is necessary.
We get forest fires real bad out here so we always need more hoses to keep everything watered down.
I live in Wisconsin, so cold,snow,ice, all the things I dread!
Oops, forgot to add, I’d like to get a crank radio and some pandemic gear. thanks for the chance!
Living off grid in Montana requires daily preparedness, but there is always something more needed. I try to stay prepared for anything, but know there is always room for improvement on my supply list. Would love the chance to win.
Animal attacks, forest fires,blizzards,illness, outdoor work accidents. These are some of what I try to stay prepared for.
We got winter storms, freezing long winter. I’ll stock up on emergency kit such as batteries using the prize.
I’d like a solar/ crank radio and a small solar charger for my Kindle
I like to be prepared for anything that comes my way. Knowing that we have everything that we need in our pantry along with ways of doing what needs done are my goals. Slowly building up our required assists and this giveaway would go a nice way toward this goal. Thank you for the chance to win.
We have been having such heavy rain in the SW that we have had flash floods. Although a boat would be nice right about now, good pair of Boggs would be even better! Plus then you can use them for other non-emergency situations. Dual-purpose whenever possible!
I live in hurricane and tornado country, so I need solar or crank radios, Chargers, food supply, batteries, lamp oil, first aid supplies, enough for at least 2 weeks.
We get really bad storms with power outages. A generator would be good to have.
We are in Oklahoma so we get tornadoes and ice storms. We would need crank radio
We are in southeastern PA. Last year our winter was very white! I would like to have more preparedness info and cast iron cooking supplies.
Thanks for your awesome blog!
What an awesome contest. I’ve been trying to get things as we have a little extra money. This would certainly help in that regard.
Being in southern California I have wild fires to contend with. I have so many things on my wishlist at Amazon for my preparedness supplies including water filters, sunovens, ham radios, and heat sealers. I am itching to get my hands on a heat sealer so I can bag up my dry goods.
In the Austin area we have to be prepared for flash flooding and in the winter there is a chance of ice on the roads.
I live in tornado alley so that is the type of disaster I am most likely to have. We prepare with rain barrels for water for one thing.
We are in the South Central Region of the United States, Oklahoma, we are in a tornado area, learned after I moved here that Norman is right in tornado alley, (we have a shelter (fraidy Hole) and we keep it clean and stocked, we have had to use it quite a few times, last year when we were on the beginning edge of a tornado, lost parts of roof shingles and a lot of trees, but we are all okay our neighbors were not as lucky, we are also in the country and we are at risk of wild firs out here because of the dryness and those persistent wild growing cedar trees, that poof like a match when set on fire related to the high oil content and lately we have had a lot of tremors whether man made or natural, who knows, but they are scary.
Although I live in the land of 1,000 lakes, I don’t have a way to filter water. I would use the gift card to help with the cost of a good filter system!
Our biggest concern is wildfire. I would use the gift card to add to our bug out bags…
I didn’t need to check out Ready.gov/Prepare as we recently had severe flooding in our basement to to the latest “storm of the century”. I’m thinking the gift card would come in mighty handy to put towards a sump pump, or a dehumidifier or a solar generator!
I’m from the Texas Gulf coast, so we always look to the Gulf of Mexico for hurricanes all summer long. I would use the gift card for batteries and solar lighting. I also need a new windup radio.
We are most susceptible to Winter Storms. I would use the gift card for some long storage food, some 5 gallon buckets, and a weather radio with a crank to recharge.
We always have to prepare for floods, we get a lot of rain!
We have ice and snow storms. I would love to get a generator.
Earthquakes and winter storms…we’ve built the strongest house around and are well stocked to stay at home for a while if need be! I could use more alternative energy and cooking sources, though…
Earthquakes and wind storms are really the only risk from the elements around here. But I’m not discounting grid problems or quarantines, so I’ve been trying to make sure we’re stocked up on the essentials. Our big problem is alternative cooking sources and home heating since we have a fairly useless fireplace. I’d love to use the gift card to buy a small burner for butane gas that can be used inside.
Living in the Midwest we get tornadoes, floods, drought but winter storms are probably my biggest concern. I’d use the gift card for maybe some prepared meals or some how to provide heat when there’s no electricity.
Visited and I should be preparing for hurricanes and winter storms. We actually just moved here and so this information is very useful! I learned how to prepare and that I need a stockpile.
Winning this contest would put a dent in my wish list on Amazon! I could use a few more items for my GHB.
I need to prepare for earth quakes and tornadoes!
demureprincess7(at)gmail(dot)com
This would be great to use to get some emergency items not only for the house but for my car. I live in a very small town so have to travel 50 miles to the nearest big city can be scary in winter so an emergency kit for the car is essential!
I should prepare mostly for hurricanes, but also some snow this coming winter possibly. I would like to get a small inflatable boat/raft for flooding evacuation, since we have food/water decently well covered!
everytime I think I am doing a good job, I read another blog and say ” oh yeah.. I need that too”… are we ever fully prepared?
Snow and cold are our major threats. As much as I’d like to think I’m prepared for this, I’m not. Not really.
We have earthquakes, so we’d buy a crank radio for news and bottled water.
Hurricanes and tornadoes can effect where I live, so bottled water and canned foods would be good.
The most common danger here is a winter storm with power loss. I would like to get a hand-cranked cell phone charger to let us keep our phones working while we are without power.