Saturday, April 2, 2011

Are you ready?

One of my very favorite blogs had a "momversation" recently about emergency preparedness... You can find it here.

Of course being in California we are very scared of earthquakes, and the recent big one in Japan really got us thinking- we would be COMPLETELY unprepared if a big earthquake hit and we were out of food or water or electricity for a few days.  

In response to this tragedy, the first thing we did was donate to the Red Cross to help the people who are being affected by the devastating earthquake and tsunami. The next thing we did was come up with an emergency plan- i.e. what we would do in the event of an earthquake or fire, who would get which little one (me: baby, hubby: toddler and doggie), and where we would meet if we were to get separated. We then made a HUGE list of all the things we needed to purchase for an emergency kit.  I realized when we were making it how expensive it was starting to get- and that canned food I was going to purchase would eventually expire, and take up a lot of room to store. So then I started to research pre-made emergency kits for purchase.  It is CRAZY how much stuff there is out there.  Honestly, you can hoard enough food to feed you and your grandchildren for 100 years if you really want to, but it ain't cheap!

The best kit I could find was from Costco and they have two versions.  One for $140, and one for $180.  They both come in backpacks- which of course would get crushed if something fell on top of them.  I wasn't completely thrilled about the type of products that these kits included, nor the reviews on their website, especially if I was going to drop almost 200 bucks on one.

Anyway, I was complaining about lack of affordable and quality-made emergency kits to my older brother, and he told me that he and his business partner had been working on one for months!  I didn't believe him, so he showed me a prototype, and I have to say (all loyalty to my big bro aside), this really is the best one I have seen, especially for the price of $80.  They products that they use are high quality, the box is pretty indestructible (and glows in the dark if the power goes out) and the food and water is good for 5 years. It also comes with a universal cell phone adapter so you can call loved ones (or get their info and call from a land line if cell service is unavailable), a flashlight, radio, and so much more. It seems pricey, but honestly it's cheaper than buying and replacing everything yourself, AND less expensive than anything else I have seen currently on the marker.  ReadyBox comes in an office version for work and a home version for families.  They also have plans to make the kits customizable so you can include baby food or specific food to accommodate dietary restrictions and allergies.

I'm not just saying all of this to get my brother business or to suck up to him (he doesn't even know about this blog, so he will never know that I am posting this!).  I really, really do think this product is a great thing to purchase to prepare for the unexpected.


I'm excited to say that our ReadyBox is on its way!  Once the kit comes, I am going to add some cash and medications that we need and I'll put it under our bed so we have easy access to it if we ever need it.  I feel sooooo much better about being prepared, even if it is only a little bit.  We might not be able to prevent an earthquake or other natural disaster from hitting, but at least we can be as prepared as possible.  Here is the link if you are interested: www.readybox.com

Even if you don't go with this particular kit, I hope you prepare somehow in whatever way you feel is best for you and your loved ones.

Here's to hoping that we never need the kit!  Stay safe everyone! <3

3 comments:

  1. Thanks for stopping by The Rumour Mill!

    I hope you never need that kit as well!

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  2. Thanks for visiting! Let me know how your quiche turns out.

    My parents used to have this kind of thing when we were growing up. Vital supplies, change of clothes . . yep, fun times.

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  3. I'm so glad that you shared this! The subject of preparedness has been on our minds a lot as well. I'm definitely going to go check out the ready box right now!

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