About a year and a half ago, I was totally obsessed with avian influenza. I checked the World Health Organization updates regularly, read online disaster scenarios (that predict an 8-week recovery period, best-case), and researched what I could do to be prepared. And more importantly, I wanted to know what my community, my County, and the state of Virginia was doing. I contacted regional health officials, got them on the calendar, and they gave a moving presentation at my neighborhood association's monthly meeting.
I purchased some books and some large water/food storage containers. I went to Costco and started buying some instutional-size quantities of odds and ends. I considered becoming trained by the Medical Reserve Corps and volunteer during an emergency (the incentive here is, as a volunteer, you and your family get first dips at vaccinations).
But, after a few months of this at some point, I just couldn't sustain the sense of urgency. The information about the outbreaks started fading from the headlines and buying the extra supplies was hurting my wallet. And, a major hurdle to creating a workable storage system was to actually be able to store supplies. We have a perfect place in our basement, but it's full of other stuff; finding time to clear it out (which would involve many trash bags, recycling, donations to charity, giving stuff to friends, eBay sales, and/or a yard sale) hasn't been a priority with the kiddies taking up all our time and energy during waking hours.
All this to say, my Mother's Day wish is to have the storage area ready. I have AJS on board to help clear the junk out this weekend. We will make those donations, give stuff away, and move the remaining items chosen for future disposal to the attic. The next step is to go to IKEA (or similar place) and buy some cheap-ish but usable shelving.
Then I can move onto the next stage: stocking the space with supplies.
I purchased some books and some large water/food storage containers. I went to Costco and started buying some instutional-size quantities of odds and ends. I considered becoming trained by the Medical Reserve Corps and volunteer during an emergency (the incentive here is, as a volunteer, you and your family get first dips at vaccinations).
But, after a few months of this at some point, I just couldn't sustain the sense of urgency. The information about the outbreaks started fading from the headlines and buying the extra supplies was hurting my wallet. And, a major hurdle to creating a workable storage system was to actually be able to store supplies. We have a perfect place in our basement, but it's full of other stuff; finding time to clear it out (which would involve many trash bags, recycling, donations to charity, giving stuff to friends, eBay sales, and/or a yard sale) hasn't been a priority with the kiddies taking up all our time and energy during waking hours.
All this to say, my Mother's Day wish is to have the storage area ready. I have AJS on board to help clear the junk out this weekend. We will make those donations, give stuff away, and move the remaining items chosen for future disposal to the attic. The next step is to go to IKEA (or similar place) and buy some cheap-ish but usable shelving.
Then I can move onto the next stage: stocking the space with supplies.
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