By Kellene Bishop
This is a Drill! This is Only a Drill
This is a PRACTICE scenario–not a PANIC scenario. It’s also a practice in recycling JUNK into something that can be as worthwhile as to save lives. What more could you ask for, right?
As you may know if you’re spend time with us on our Facebook page, there are has been a LOT of “chatter” coming at me via various information resources. But there’s been a problem in that no one has been willing to go on the record or definitively confirm any of this. When I say “on the record” I’m not meaning that I expect them to share their name with the rest of the world, though I do require that I confirm identification of anyone that I rely on for information, because one of the most important things to me about operating Preparedness Pro is that our info is reliable. But on news as…well, let’s say potentially serious as these persons are attempting to have me believe, I MUST have some concrete information that I can back up with correlating confirmation. Unfortunately, that’s not been the case with the last three weeks of information gathering. So my rule of thumb is that it’s not real unless I can CONFIRM it’s real. So instead, I’ve chosen to chalk all of this off to the kind of rhetoric and speculation that we’ve had for the past several presidential elections. However, given the plausibility of the information that I’ve been receiving lately, I thought that it would make for a PERFECT time to put into practice our various preparedness efforts.
Whether it is as a family, like-minded group, or as an individual—depending on your circumstances, requiring yourself to go through a bona fide practice scenario can be SO incredibly beneficial in helping you to be better prepared both mentally and physically. It gives you an idea of where your weaknesses are in your efforts, it makes it less traumatic when a real-life crisis may arise, it goes a long way to give peace of mind afterwards knowing that you ARE ready in many aspects, and it gives your mind something to “recall and apply” if you ever find yourself suddenly in a crisis. So instead of freezing and/or panicking, your brain—behaving like a computer solving a mathematical problem—will be able to draw on this experience of this practice scenario and enable you to essentially go on auto-pilot or behave “instinctively” in handling a crisis similar to this crisis that you may encounter in the future. It’s the fact that First Responders (police, EMT’s Firemen, FEMA workers, Red Cross workers, etc.) regularly endure this kind of mental rehearsals that make them the stand-out people who are calm, cool, and collected in a emotionally climatic scenario. They are able to keep the blood flowing to the necessary parts of the brain and thus be clear headed in a crisis whereas the general populace has their blood flowing the largest muscles in their body in an effort to enable the body to “flight or fight”. Star athletes have always used this method of training as well in order to give themselves a serious advantage over their competition. Mohammed Ali frequently talked about how his greatest strength in any fight was his mind and his ability to rattle the mind of his opponent. People who perform well in a crisis do so because of practice. More importantly, these kinds of performers don’t just practice the SKILL needed, they practice the ENVIRONMENT of pressure under which such skill may be needed.
O.K. So, back to this Drill scenario. Let’s use the basis of this rumor mill in order to create for ourselves a plausible 
scenario with color and background and details in order to make the most of this drill. OK. So allow me to give you some more UNFOUNDED details of all of this scuttle-butt I’ve been hearing.
There has been a specific date window offered several times. It is believed that there will be a serious event occur between the dates of October 24th through the 26th . This instance is expected to involve an attack on our public water treatment facilities nationwide as well as our public water areas. This crisis, as you can imagine, if it were to occur, would indeed bring about a great deal of civil unrest. The rumor mill states that this is exactly the desired effect because it will then give probable cause for our present administration to declare a state of Martial Law. So in addition to the panicking of Americans because of their lack of water, they are further panicked because of their own water supplies being the target of those who have not and who might be desperate in obtaining some. But keep in mind that even IF such crisis and it’s portended dates were accurate, and even IF there really was to be a declaration of martial law, there are a bazillion things going on right now that would have had plenty of weight which easily could have ALTERED any specific plans–IF they were to actually exist. So once again, I want to remind you, this is just a PRACTICE DRILL.
Consider some other consequences to this scenario. Compromised water systems and open water sources means that drinking water is gone unless you’ve got some stored already; water to clean is gone without you being able to treat it first by having it at 180 degrees for 5 full minutes; all food manufacturing would stop instantly; all pharmaceutical manufacturing would stop immediately, the water needed to perform operations and to clean and sanitizes hands, areas, and work instruments would be compromised and would have to endure other means for accomplishing the sterile circumstances needed; at home cooking and cleaning and bathing would be arduous as all water used would have to be treated first. No fishing. No restaurants in operation. No food manufacturing. No water available for freezing and preserving food thus a lot of food we rely on could go to waste. Meanwhile, if you are one of those persons who has water stored in barrels that are visible outside, your home is now a target for a desperate fearful person who has woefully unprepared to take care of his family and young ailing daughter—thinking that only crazy people stock up on things like water.
All of this scenario I’ve shared with you will bring about even greater unrest. You may or may not still be able to go to work in a real life scenario like this. How well, or to what extent you really want to try this exercise is up to you. What other consequences might there be as a result of this scenario? More work to prepare fresh meals. Cleaning with baby wipes. Bringing your own supply of water to school or work. Having to strictly rely on what you can prepare and cook at home. Etc. etc.
Depending on what is used to actually poison the water that facet of this practice drill could present a whole other set of circumstances; if it’s biological warfare it could be a virus that passes easily from one person to another. This element added to the crisis will of necessity bring about that much more desperation and lunacy. And it would also drain what little water supplies people have protected from the effects of the virus because in order to recover from a virus, lots of fluids is the answer. Wow. More civil unrest would be certain in such a scenario, and it will lay the ground work for the administration to enact an even more strict form of martial law all over the nation.
So, now here’s the magic question. Crises don’t come when we finally give them the go ahead and say “Rolling!” right? So
I’ve deliberately held off on announcing this little challenge for the night before the 24th of October. It’s up to you how realistic you make the practice for yourself. Electricity can still function with compromised water sources ad it works based on the volume of water not the safety of it, so at least you’d still have electricity, right? And you can still go to work or school as you planned but it will have to be without the school lunch and no drinks from the drinking fountains.
Let’s just recep what we’re looking at for this practice scenario:
- No water other than what we’ve stored.
- Martial law, so there will be curfews in place by dark.
- No more supplies in the grocery stores after the first day.
- Non-emergency Medical visits will be postponed until quality water is restored.
- If someone in you family has been exposed to the waterborne illness you may need to set up health care in your home with the supplies you’ve already got
- Food will have to come from what you have in your home.
- Martial law will make it difficult for anyone to be outside that doesn’t have a “legitimate purpose” such as going to work or school.
As a family I’d be sure to watch the key sources for news over the next couple of days just as you would if there truly were to be a serious situation as this arising. In other words, get your mind in the game. The more your mind is there the better your drill will be fore you and your family.
We’re not offering any reward or incentive for you to participate in this exercise this time. We’re certain that since I’ve been able to give you so many plausible details for this practice drill, your experience will it will be your greatest gift. I suggest that you run the entire lengthy of the 24th through the 26th of October in order to reap the greatest reward.
Let’s consider if there are any “cons” to running with this sudden practice scenario…What’s the worst that can happen? You’ll find areas where you need more work. You’ll find that this Practice Drill came at a time when something was REALLY scheduled to happen and thus be more ready. Or of course you get a little bit more peace of mind knowing how well you were able to handle the situation in spite of that long list you have in your mind of all of the things that you still need to do or have to be ready. Regardless, practice never makes pathetic, right? Nope, Practice Make Perfect. Let’s give it a try folks. You are responsible for the logistics and perhaps some more specifics, but as you go through this, let’s hear from you. Let’s hear of what happened in your imaginary crisis scenario of Oct. 24-26th!
So…how about it? Will you join us all on this little Preparedness Pro Practice for the next 72 hours? If so, I advise you to be very aware of your surroundings. And if there is any credence to all of this “info” that I’ve had come at me lately, it would still be wise to stay in the Yellow realm of readiness as you would in a real crisis. I’d suggest that you take time to be aware of what’s being reported on the news tomorrow through the 26th of October. IF you see one iota of something concerning, I’d suggest you ere on the side of caution while still remaining, peacefully and calmly aware. But when nothing happens, then just consider this a nice little 72 hour fire drill. OK?
I’ll be hear right there with you…and I’ll be cheering you on as well! Good luck!
Join us on Facebook - Follow us on Twitter - In-Home-Educational Programs - Subscribe to Preparedness Pro
For any questions or comments on this article, please leave a comment on the blog site so that everyone can benefit! © 2013 Of COURSE this post is Copyright Protected by Preparedness Pro/Kellene Bishop. All Rights Reserved. NO portion of this article may be reposted, printed, copied, disbursed, etc. without first receiving written permission by the author. (Then again, laws are only as good as the people who keep them.) Preparedness Pro/Kellene Bishop will pursue all violations of these rights just as vigorously as she does any of her other freedoms, liberties, and protections.
102412 PRACTICE DRILL Report for Perky Gramma from the East Coast:
You mid-westerners aren’t awake yet to see what is happening. ProP reports an (PRACTICE DRILL) attack on our public water treatment facilities nationwide as well as our public water areas.
Well, the first thing I’ve done is empty out my ice maker. Will that be safe? Did it occur last night?
Pulling out our wapi’s out of storage.
Not sure if I will be working today (in the scenario) since I work at a famous coffee purveyor and most everything depends on water. Though we do have water purification treatment systems in place for most of our water supplies. Curious if it will impact our system. If not, I am effectively out of work.
Spit bath this morning.
Super test idea Kellene, I learned a lot from my 5 day no water test. I think a lot folks are going to have a few surprises and find out how much water weights when they have to move it with muscle power!
It’s only 3pm here and I really missed my whole morning pot of coffee, one dang instant cup just wasn’t the same……………already see one area, need to cut my coffee consumption so that my attitude does not suffer when it is taken away against my will.
Ah…already “jonesing” eh? Keep the faith!!
Would wells and private owned lakes be contaminated as well.
any water that’s out in the open would be tainted, yes.
So along with other unnamed, unlocated sources, I always have a “bit” of water in the house. Hubby likes to tease me because of the other mentioned sources. I put him on task with me today and after dinner he was about to walk out the door to go fetch some water. I told him “no, this (our trial disaster) has just happened today, we do not know yet the source or method it got into the water systems, it could still be airborne” He said well how the heck am I supposed to flush. I walked to a closet and handed him a gallon of water, but told him if it was number one he had to wait LOL”
Now he wants to have more in the house water so he doesn’t have to wait to flush LOL
I guess this was my warning to not have everything in one place, or in only a place you might think is best. If we indeed had not been able to leave the house we would have been in a pickle if I didn’t have my water here.
Awesome! I’m SOOO thrilled to hear you taking the challenge seriously! It really makes me smile!!!
I feel very fortunate that we have a deep, closed aquifer well. While I do have water stored, I am depending on my well to provide water for us in such an emergency. My biggest concern is if we lose power. Then we must rely on our generator, which over time we won’t be able to use if/when we run out of fuel. Am seriously considering a solar pump for the well. Is there anything else that I’ve missed, & should be thinking about in this scenario? Thanks, Kellene, for the practice drill!
I think as you go through these 72 hours, Lori, that you’ll think of other things as well. Remember, this isn’t just about water, it’s also about health and security. Good job though thus far!!!
Things I learned from my water test in April this year. A big 5 gallon igloo water jug for storing hot water over night is great for having hot/warm water for clean up or doing dishes and stuff. A smaller 1-2 gallon type insulated water jug is a great size for a bathroom.
Make your coffee from safe water the night before and use a good thermos to store it overnight. Same for tea. Primed with a litle hot water for 30 minutes makes the thermos a great energy saver.
Big stock pots in the 5 gallon or 20+ quart range for heating water and 1/2 gallon pitchers for moving water worked best for me.
That is a really good idea. Adding it to my list. Thanks for sharing.
This is not a directly related question but indirectly! Just this year began preparing and feel panicky that am far behind. Have purchased 40 bags of sugar and need know best way of storage as well as powder jello and gravy/sauce mixes. What can be sealed with foodsaver if you do not have jars? Also have 75 boxes of pasta…PLEASE HELP!!!!! Am very nervous
Please look up articles involving a “FoodSaver” for answers to your questions. I also have the most recent video on our YouTubechannel that addresses this too. (youtube.com/preparednesspro.)
As for sugar, it has an unlimited shelf-life. YOu just need to keep it cool and dry. I put mine in 4 gallon square buckets.
If stored correctly (cool and dry and dark) pasta can also be stored indefinitely. You don’t need to go overboard with this though. The FoodSaver method with the jars will work just fine; even tupperware or PET containers will go a long ways towards protecting them. I’ve eaten “Mac and Cheese” this week that’s expiration date was 3 years ago and I didn’t store it in anything other than our pantry which is cool and dry.
I might make one comment on your post. Only perfect practice makes perfect. This is why it is so important to learn all one can and to evaluate (especially in a group setting) one’s experience in preparing for crises. Thanks for all you do. I learn much from you.
There’s no such thing as perfect practice because the only way to get to perfection is through practice, right?
Group settings are SOOO helpful to be able to see things clearly. I’m a grammar and spelling Nazi, so to speak, but I can’t for the life of me perfectly catch my own typos and such.
As a piano teacher, I know what she’s talking about. Practice makes permanent. So if you practice it wrong, you will learn it wrong. Real practice means going slow enough to catch your mistakes, and fixing them as you go along, rather than just blowing throughout over and over. This may be more applicable to music, but that’s what she’s talking about.
I wholeheartedly agree with that aspect of practice. The same goes when I’m teaching our very specific quick draw self-defense shot. I specifically require the ladies to go in slow motion for each step so that it can be perfect because they are laying down a new neuron pathway and it has to laid perfectly so that they can perform perfectly in a crisis (which is definitely going to be the state of things should a woman ever have to draw her gun.) Good point.
My thought was that if you repeatedly practice something in the wrong way you will never get it right. Perhaps I should have said that only the practices that are done correctly will lead to perfection. I realize that you can also learn from mistakes.
I think the best and easiest way to store these supplies is in 3.5 gallon plastic buckets with a mylar liner inside. (I choose this size because it is easier for me to lift,) When I tried storing pasta in vacuum sealed bags, it leaked after awhile.. Maybe it was just that batch of bags, not sure. Kellene is right about the sugar but putting it in buckets will lessen the likelyhood of being invaded by insects/rodents.
Taking a bath in cold pool water is not going to be fun for this 60 year old woman but I’m up for your challenge! Great idea for a “dry” run…
“Come on in! The water’s fine!”
What a great idea! Many of us have never been through a ‘natural disaster’ that left us paralyzed for days. Our family learned this lesson the hard way. The year 2009 the disaster, The ice storm that hit NW AR. We lived in the country at the bottom of a hill, only one way out, our nearest neighbor a quarter mile away. The little road to our place was covered in ice and downed trees. We had well water, which didn’t work once the electric went out. Our house ALL electric! Temps outside were -5 with the feel like -10 to -12. We had NO heat. Thankfully, even though my husband thought I was nuts at the time, I had been storing emergency water for about 6 months in food grade containers. This went a long way the 5, yes FIVE days we were without water and electricity. We huddled together in one room, hoping the trees around our house wouldn’t fall on us. The popping and snapping of the trees sounded like fireworks! At the time we had ‘just enough’ food to feed our family of 7. I also had 10 laying hens that provided us with eggs. On day 2, we were able to go out and try to find ‘dry’ wood to build a fire. I was able to heat my stored water and boil eggs and make a pot of coffee…No I didn’t have a percolator, I stood over my coffee pot and slowly, very slowly added water to the grounds in the basket and watched it drip into my pot. LOL (Yes, I need my coffee – NOT INSTANT – IMHO YUCK!) On day 4 a neighbor was finally able to get down to our house to check on us, and was kind enough to bring a propane tank and a ‘Mr Heater’, and an attachment like a stove top. Mid day 5 we finally had electric, and water. We learned a lot from that experience. My husband now thinks I have ESP or something…LOL because before hand I hadn’t though of ‘preparing’ for anything. But all kidding aside, we would have been in serious trouble if I hadn’t stored the water. It also taught me to have much more food on hand, AND food that’s not just in the freezer. We did lose some of our freezer food, even though our freezer was in an unheated shed outside. We definitely would have needed more water as well if we would have had to wait a few more days. You never know how much water you actually use until you don’t have it. Since then we’ve moved out of state, but what it did is it made me look at ‘IF this or that happens can we get out of here?” I will never live at the bottom of a steep hill again, especially in a snow/ice area. I like to have more than one way out. How close are the trees to the home, how long will my food last, how much requires water? etc etc… It definitely changes you when you go through something like that. It wasn’t that traumatic of an experience compared to most, and even though we froze our butts off for 5 days we were all ok. Still, leaves you with this sense to be aware of your surroundings where ever you go.
Thanks for allowing me to share my story and I hope it brings to life some ideas for others. Keep up the good work!
God Bless!
(ps. please excuse the typos…it’s 2:30am my time…LOL)
Thanks for sharing this. I’m sure a lot of us will enjoy reading it! I know I did.
Excellent idea to do a practice run…. Boy!!! I have learned so much about preparedness and it’s only 7:30 am. 10/25 Being an apartment dweller and storing water is a real huge issue as space is very limited. All I can hear Kellene say is “Excuses, Excuses, Excuses” Sure I can purchase a “Water Bob” for the bath tub, but who says you will have enough warning to fill it in all scenarios. I woke up this morning and read the preparation for this drill and realized I was not prepared in the event that it had been an actual water threat. I emptied out my stored foods, medical supplies out of five gallon buckets and filled them with water. I will have to get creative on how to disguise double stacked 5 gal buckets in plain sight around my apartment. Perhaps a piece of wood on top and a skirt around them to make a table book shelf or something else. Good luck to us all dury this drill. Chin up and keep smiling =)
Buckets can be stored usually 2 high in a straight row behind your couch, put a board or even cardboard over the top and something decorative…lol… like an old sheet to cover them. You will be surprised how many you can put in that space and it just looks like a table when your done. In an apartment you can also stack 2 2X4′s attach Drill 1/2 way through the top one the same size as your chair or couch legs and you have a good place to store case foods.
You’re miles ahead of the game before you acted on the post. Way to go!!!
Looks like I’m good on all fronts as long as we have electricity.
We did discuss alternate latrene options (where, how deep, etc…) Even my boys’ school gets their water from a deep well or stored containers of water.
My husband brought up a good point – if the stuff contaminating the water is airborne, then we have more serious issues to deal with… we had our windows open all last night! lol.
Remember it’s not just water at issue here, it’s safety, and health concerns too. Good job!!!
lol – looks like my practice is becoming practical – just got word that Hurricaine Sandy’s going to dump a TON of rain my way! We’ve got the weekend, and then we’ll see what happens – going to prepare & test the sump pump today, and get the house/yard ready for high winds and tons of rain!
Two months ago I was starting to can peaches. The water went off in our subdivision because they were working on it for 6 hours. I had to pull out my water storage. To clean the peaches, and water bath them, (three hours) and for drinking when the kids got home from school, it took 10 gallons of water…so in a no power situation, and you were canning the things from a freezer-it would take lots of water. I used alot more than I thought as I kept sending the kids into the garage for another gallon. This is a great practice drill. Thank you
Wow… you’ve “rattled our cage” again.. thanks! As I read this post and went to FB to check out some other posts, I came across “Why I Worry About You”… 2009! About the time (I think) we started getting our act together but had a very tempermental computer so couldn’t read a lot of the posts…
Soooo appreciate you and all the others on your site!
These can also be painted or decopauged to match your room decor… and stored in plain sight 
After reading The 72 hour Drill post and comments, it hit me, there’s a lot of things that could happen and where I couldn’t just “got to the computer and see what Kellene says”!! Unthinkable in spite of how much I’ve learned from you that Kellene, the PrepardnessPro might not be available because I have no electricity, PC broke??? !!!
Thankfully, you’ve taught us how to think about being prepared rather than panic/survive… so I can just hear us, “becoming” a “what would Kellene do” when it happens
If anyone has not read the “Why I worry About You”, post please do… that is the heart of Kellene and I sooo related
Sharon, I place my pasta in the freezer for 24 hrs (to destroy potential bugs) then take it out, place it on a towel to absorb any condensation and store it in the large popped corn tins I’d used for Christmas decorations
Here’s the “Why I Worry About You” post for those of you who are interested: http://preparednesspro.com/why-i-worry-about-you/
2 milk jug containers with water in them (one for each bathroom), enclosed well water from underground aqua system, 3 day supply of water in water tank, Four 1/2 gallon containers of water in freezer along with a few drink bottles of frozen water, icecube maker full, drinks in the garage and refrigerator…should be ok for a minimum of 3 days. Disposable plates, cups, dinnerware, bowls in place. Enough food to cover this situation (been freezing and canning as our garden over produced this year). Recipe books and copies of on-line recipies with reduced availability of things in place. Books and boardgames along with tons of scrapbooking available to keep me busy. Will want to pick up some additional antibacterial wipes (babywipes) and that powdered milk I keep meaning to purchase….Great idea and way to rethink what you have and don’t yet have. Regrets I didn’t read your post in time to join in the fun with the group but enjoying the comments back on it.
102512 PRACTICE DRILL Report for Perky Gramma from the East Coast:
Wow! Learning as I go…
I had forgotten to add water for my (3) dogs into my calculations.
I drink a LOT of water. I personally drank a gallon yesterday, which is my normal intake. Hmmm.
What am I going to do with my forty lbs. of chicken I am picking up this afternoon from Zaycon? Just going to put it in the fridge for now. Obviously NOT prepping them tonight.
Boiling water now for washing now. Have eggs in there for dinner tonight. LOL.
Really thankful to have electricity. Making me think.
Doing happy dance that I have some water stored for the toilet. If it’s yellow, let it mellow….
People may think I am a little nuts; but I am actually having a latte this morning. Yes, I have canned lattes stored. I pressure canned them last week, because they are free for me.
Another FUN read! Way to go you guys!!!
You’ve got people salivating over on our FB page (cause I shared your comment cause I liked it so much). They want to know what’s the recipe for the canned latte’s though I assume they are commercially done from your employer. Am I correct?
Nope. *grins* Just got back from picking up my very first Zaycon purchase! So, I just posted on the FB page. Thanks for sharing my post. That tickles me. *grins*. I am so new to prepping & I am excited that with Hurricane Sandy approaching I feel very comfortable and at peace with our preparedness. You are a such blessing!
Would have like to have started this practice drill at the beginning, (“Posted: 23 Oct 2012 10:21 PM PDT”) on October 24 but being an email subscriber, this arrived in my inbox at “10/25/2012 12:43:08 A.M. Central Daylight Time”, more than 24 hours later. I appreciate and have greatly benefitted from the information you provide your readers but is there not some way to get your posts out to your email subscribers sooner?
Sorry Marie, I don’t have any control over when the RSS feeds finally do their job. If I were a techie, I would. You can still jump on the bandwagon and extend further out than the 26th.
I’m a little late to this party. Read the challange at 10 am 10/25 and with firm reliance, looked my hubby straight in the eye and said we are doing this! 1 st cleaned out my bathtub and filled it with cold water.(took 3 min to clean, 20 minutes to fill). I had purchased a flat rubber seal for drain for this purpose and it was at hand. We had breakfast and started discussing our supply issues. Fill the solar shower (5 gal) and get it outside. I learned the actual problems concerning removing water from an operating water heaters (the heating elements placement/inflow etc.) and decided to by pass that source for now. We did have a tygon tubeing with fitting to remove the water, but relalized it should be a bit longer. Retrieved stored bottled water for consumption, tub water was for cleaning. Washed breakfast dishes with heated water from a hot pot, put soapy water in one tub ( use less soap), rinse in another…and then the first “daahh moment”. Get out the paper plates, cups, bowls. Left the tubs in the sink for hand wash/rinse. Save the wash water for the flushing of toilets. No flushing until it’s necessary. it’s only been 1 1/2 hrs. This could prove to be a very interesting 72 hrs. Hubby just asked, “can I water the garden”…my reply “only if you take it from the rain barrels”.
I LOVED reading this post!!! Way to go!!!
Kellene, I have a question that is plaguing my whole family. I don’t know if you’ve addressed this on ‘facebook’ or not, cause we don’t do facebook. My question is this: IF we were to experience an EMP (Electrical Magnetic Pulse), would ANY vehicles work? I’ve been told a couple of different things concerning this. One, I’ve been told that only certain vehicles would work, such as those that do not have electronic ignition. Secondly, I’ve been told that anything with a battery, will NOT work. Which one of these is the truth?
Cheryl, Actually I’m working on a nitty gritty article about EMPs. But you can look up EMP in the search bar and read the one that I’ve already posted. The other one should be out this week.
I’m just seeing this now after Hubby has gone to work. He will be surprised when he returns.
Some things we have already agreed to for practise: For washing hands, we use a large, empty, laundry detergent container that has the push button. It is filled with water and some hand soap. Pressing the button releases a bit of water and we catch it in a basin so we can wash or scrub again.
For showers/ bathing, we decided to fill a new, unused garden sprayer with plain water. By standing in the tub, the other person can spray us with clean water to rinse. That water can be used for plants or flushing. Problem is, I need a shower now and no one is here to help me…hmmm.
Paper plates for supper!
This will be interesting.
the laundry soap jug is a great idea…on the shower I have several camping showers that we have used for several yrs and they are GREAT. THEY USE D CELL BATTARIES in the pump that sets in the bottom of your warm water . a bucket is good for this. it also has a on off so you can soap up then turn water back on. it is a very nice shower even with only 1 gal of water. also I buy bleach in the lg bottles and when used up they make good water containers. we have a 3500 gal water tank ( very cheap considering the importance of water) even though we have a deep well , genarater and fuel for a yr. I just cant think of life without a years supply of water,food ,paper goods and Medications. I pray that everyone can do this in time
After using our cleaned out detergent bottle with water and a bit of liquid hand soap for hand washing I don’t like it. When it is empty, I am going to fill it with PLAIN water. No soap! As I had it set up there was too much soap in the detergent container and it was difficult to rinse off. If I put just a touch of soap in the plastic basin, I can get my hands clean by swishing, then use the CLEAN water from the bottle to rinse off; the rinse water is just added to the plastic basin.
Why am I thinking of this now? Long after the Challenge? Our water pump seems to be frozen and we are having our own, unscheduled, challenge. However, this time we are better prepared. More water, and better handling techniques, thanks to the PPro’s water challenge.
However, the latrine is not dug, yet. We are melting snow in order to flush the toilet.
With the huge storm that’s heading our way on the East coast, we might get a serious chance to see how well we are prepared. Its supposed to get pretty bad. So for those of us that will be in its path, do some checking to see what you might need to restock and good luck to us all.
Thank you so much for this helpful “nudge”! It made me think of things that are still undone if we were to have an emergency. I’m trying to keep my rain barrel full until the freezing weather sets in. We used it all summer for watering the garden (filling empty milk cartons and carrying them to water the plants). We keep a dozen empty milk containers filled at all times “just in case”.
I got the email today but it just means we are in for an interesting weekend!
Does anyone know how to keep rain barrels from freezing in the winter so they can still be used in emergencies?
Thank you Kellene for reminding people about practice. This has to also carry over into everyday life, storing food and water is great but people need to also remember to practice cooking from scratch, not eating out, gardening, washing clothes by hand and hanging them outside to dry, sawing wood with a hand saw, sewing, and so many other skills, even making coffee will not be possible with the Mr Coffee if the grid goes down, nor will it be possible to cook on propane or electric. even flushing the toilet with the saved water will not be possible if city sewer systems are not working, toilet paper will only last so long and other disposal methods will need to be learned as well as how to catch rainwater and other ways to obtain water. Our preps will only last so long if we do not know how to use other resources to supplement what we have stored. Competition will be stiff for resources and misuse of the resources will mean fewer resources such as wood, animals and wild plants for food etc. Thank You so much for your blog Kellene. I learn so much from you!
Well this is a real challenge. My husband and I drive a truck as a team. It is 7:45 pm and as i do buy bottle water in the gallon size we do not have enough. So I will be buying many more and store under the bunk.
We did just get four 54 gallon plastic food grade drums to catch rain water. My question is, will rain water captured after the attack be safe? I think I will fill 2 up just in case. Glad we upgraded to the 50 gal water heater. I do keep bulk baby wipes on hand and hand sanitation lotion also.
If this was to really happen I see us headed to home real fast. Always keep enough fuel in our truck to get home in case of such emergences. Thanks for the food for thought. I need to get busy.
hi! I’m just catching up here, and was wondering your thoughts on using pool water to drink. it’s cleaned by minerals instead of the normal chemicals. oh, and I wanted to share an idea I had for washing clothes if there’s no electricity: I recently bought one of those yellow janitor’s tubs on wheels, the kind that has the squeeze thing for the mop. I also bought one of those plunger things with the holes in it, that’s supposed to be good for agitating. fill up the tub, use the agitator and after rinsing (use vinegar to make sure the soap is out), then put the item in the squeeze thing to wring the water out. my hands are arthritic and I couldn’t afford a wringer washer, so this was the next best thing for me.
It all depends on what you need to clean out of the water. You can use diatomaceous earth (food grade) but that won’t get everything especially if it’s fecal matter that you need to take care of. It’s all going to depend on the circumstances which is why you need back-ups to back-ups to back-ups.
Drill? I don’t need no stinking drill!! No offense…
If thing go as thye say right now it looks like we here in Southern NJ will be doing the “Drill” for “real”..
They are now saying we could be getting 5 to 10 inches of rain or MORE… Depending on the exact track. With most of the state and the southern part expecially that much rain is not going to wrok out well for any of us her..
I am on what is considered “high ground” here I’m only at about 110 feet above see level. But I still need a sump pump in the basement everytime it rains hard here. During hurricane Irine last year we got about 5 or 6 inches in three hours or so and I just barely was able to keep up with the sump pump and we still got some water in the basement.
I do have a hole in my plans as you speak of and it is water storage. But if we get this much rain water will not be a problem. Just having some place to store it will be. So depending on how it looks over the next 36 hours i will start filling all of my 5 gallon cans which will give me a fair amount of water as we have about 25 cans. I just prefer not to keep them filled as no place to store them filled long term. Thanks Kellene really like and appreciate all you do…
Take care, good luck and God watch over and protect us all..
Rich
I think I even heard your Spanish accent as you said that.
Hey Rich,
My prayers are with you. Been there done that during a variety of snowstorms, hurricanes etc The angst you are feeling will translate into a whole new facet of preparation. I know in the middle of this turmoil it will be difficult to access your growth…but it will be a game changer and you will come out stronger. Life’s threats can be mind expanding. God’s protection be with you.
102612 PRACTICE DRILL Report for Perky Gramma from the East Coast:
Still hanging in there with water, or lack of it. Important note: I’ve been working with the knowledge that tomorrow the “crisis” will be over. In a real situation I wouldn’t know when the end is in sight.
By this time I imagine I wouldn’t be working outside the home.
There is a rhythm to this life.
At night I add more water to the fridge. Make ice cubes in my old fashioned trays. Need more trays…
I have figured out, the first thing I do when I wake up is take the gray water from yesterday & refill depleted sources for other uses like the “loo” containers.
Then get some water boiling for today. All burners going today. Thinking about not having electricity.
After picking up my 40 lbs. of Zaycon chicken yesterday: Need to add more sanitizing solutions. Need to add additional water.
I have also learned that I wash my hands a lot.
Making a list of things I need.
p.s. While I hadn’t planned on their water, the doggies are doing fine. I currently had enough stored for them. Learned they drink about ¾ of a gallon of water a day.
Thinking of “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner” today:
Water, water, every where,
And all the boards did shrink;
Water, water, every where,
Nor any drop to drink.
Day 2: So far this challege has been “inconvenient” but not earthshaking. Shockingly I have used 1/4 of my “tub” water for washing and its only 2 adults in the house. My heart goes out to families with young children or the very elderly. They have an entirely different set of issues.
Used a French press for coffee, took sponge baths (hubby really needed the solar shower… used 2.5 gal), used grey water for the toilet tank to flush. Decided to raid the frig of leftovers for dinner, used the microwave and totally forgot about using my paper plates…things didn’t sink in until I had to wash dishes. I now have the paper products in the cupboard in full view. I am trying to put my standard utentsils in a 5 gal bucket of rainwater to soak/rinse and only use 1 tub of hot wash water/day. I now realize I must keep my empty 5 gal buckets clean.. and.ready for use! I will also purchase more plastic squarish tubs for the sink..have found multiple uses for them. We started using our 2 year old bottled water for drinking and found they benefited from aeriation (pour back and forth in a couple of pitchers). This is a perfect opportunity to rotate this supply. I know the standard of emergency water consumption is 1 gal/day/person minimum. I will be preparing meals today…and tally what I really use for further reference. I find myself ‘economically’ rethinking every move I make concerning water. Onward and upward!!
G
Good thoughts. Thanks for the ideas.
So here we are on our final day of the drill, it’s 11:30ish am here and here is how it has basically gone.
After day 1, DH really got into this, he told me that he listened to the radio and they had determined that is was airborne and was distributed from the East Coat, given that we had 2 days of strong SW winds he felt it was now safe to head outdoors for the boys to “use the woods”, saving some water there.
To keep us all clean and our skin healthy to prevent easy access to germs and such, I boiled a pan of water and added to the sink with a mild liquid body soap, we each had two washrags that all went into the soapy water, one for face and upper body, one for lower body, then we wiped off the soap residue with baby wipes containing lotion (dry skin cracks and becomes an entry way for germs). Then I added a splash of bleach to the water and let the rags sit for a bit and then rinsed and hung to dry. Had this gone longer we do have the garden sprayers also for hair cleaning.
Clothing was washed in the bucket that I have made for this and hung dry. Not that it really needed to be done, we had plenty of clean clothes, but since I have only been using my bucket for homemade diaper wipes and the occasional toddler underpants I wanted to give it a try.
Meals were served on paper plates. Meals were cooked from our canned items so I was able to use the liquid from the potatoes, peas and carrots to cook the noodles in (actually they were more like dumplings since I do not dry my noodles when I make them, instead they go right in the liquid this way they need less liquid to get them soft and done and they are also more filling this way it seems) a splash of dishsoap and small amount of water was tossed in the pan while it was still warm from the cooking to make it warm enough to get the pan and silverware cleaned then a little water to rinse.
We did find something that I will be doing once the “water comes back on” and that is, normally I have 4 large stock pots sitting on my stove (no place to put them) and if company comes we just toss them on my bed LOL, from now on I will be filling those before I go to bed. They would be handy to have for quick boiling to wash up with and such. If we don’t need the water I can use it to water plants, it’s not like the pots are going to take up anymore room on the stove if they have water in them or not, and if we need to throw them in our room when company comes over it will be easy enough to dump the water out..
I used the “downtime” aka being stuck in the house to do some more organizing and decluttering (where the heck does all this crap come from) and thinking of realistic things that can make my everyday life and long term life easier and more efficient so I really enjoyed being “stuck”.
Thankfully tomorrow I will be able to color these grays out of my hair, I had intended originally to do it yesterday but that had to be put on hold, maybe I need to get used to these grays LOL
I do feel we are good with our regular water supply, but that is not to say that at some point we might not have to be at a location that does not have our water supply system so it is good to be prepared as none of us know what tomorrow is bringing (well except more bills LOL)
This drill has been a eye opener for me concerning canning..Those little precious jars on the shelf have save me tremendously on water…they are already in juice so I didn’t need water to prepare them…just heat, bake or prep with another side, so my water could be used for other things…I had someone to ask me why canning when you can just store it in the freezer since I have plenty of freezer room..I couldn’t answer them with a really good answer besides conviences and last longer….but this will really get them to see its all worth it…
P.s didn’t know you had a youtube channel. I love youtube…will you be posting more videos. I have already viewed them all…:)
I’m working on more videos right now even. I’ve got LOTS more to do, just not as much time to do them as I’d like.
I know a few of you got a bit more time to go, but I learned quite a bit from your sacrifice. Going without water sounded easy (at least for me) until you do it. If you have a Cash & Carry most stores have the big 5 gallon igloo jug for under $25.00 and they make a great back up to your water heater for keeping water warm for 12-24 hours.
I have to say I did not play this time Kellene, I improved a lot but going 5 days without tap water really sucks rocks! especially if you are disabled because water is so heavy. I have several siphon tubes now but I want one of those battery powered pumps. and I got a few little ideas for a solar pump and mister to stay cool in the summer
102712 AFTER THE DRILL Report for Perky Gramma from the East Coast:
Whew, made it!
Interesting, my only “close call” with water yesterday, was while at work. I found a random supply of small bottles of water in the car to save the day. They weren’t a planned source. But, now it is a plan. I am adding more to the car this morning.
So NOT prepared for the long haul. But, I still have a decent amount of water left.
I am giving myself my own prize. I am giving myself a shopping trip to get a lot more water for in house, after the threat of Hurricane Sandy has passed.
I am actually heading out to the “farm” to can my chicken today. With my BOB in the car.
Sounds like the perfect PRIZE! *happy dance*
Day 3 OK, I really want a shower!! Got up this morning and breathed a sigh of relief that by this evening I could finally get cleaned up. My initial evaluation of “inconvienient” has changed, because I realize I was simply in “maintaince mode” and had not come face to face with the seriousness of the situation. I did not put on make- up because it would take more time to remove it. Hair suffered, but hygiene maintained…just the basics, ladies. Feared someone might visit and say “What the heck happened to you!” I looked at the laundry piled up and realized I had not squarely faced that dilemma either. Huge problem that needed to be handled daily. The tedium of thinking the practicality of every move regarding water became a focus. I can see where one could get overwhelmed and depresed. If I did had not filled my tub with water immediately on challenge day I would have been “up the creek”. I will finish this challenge at 11 pm today with the awareness I have but scratched the surface of a limited water supply. Hurricane Sandy is breathing down our neck today and I will probably have just enough time to retrench for an authentic challenge. Thanks Kellene for helping me to focus on the importance of this problem. Living in the situration is the only way to learn. “That which does not kill me makes me strong.”
Sounds like the perfect result from the challenge, Friend! *Happy Dance*
What a huge amount of information I have learned… Now with the storm coming, Good time to take notes and ask all my questions later…
I did not see the challenge until just now, read comments, took notes. Quite a few notes. One thing I need to do yet, is make a menu for 3 days, and for a week, and for longer periods of time. Because it makes one less thing that we have to consider, and if we have a list made, we won’t find ourselves eating peanut butter and jelly for 3 days straight tho there are numerous options handy when we are in that state of “overwhelm”. Thanks to everybody that shared!
Intersting… Sandy is almost here. Went to look for a Generator and some extra water (I know.. I know, I should have done this weeks ago. : ( ) Finally got a generator (5 stores, 3 days, and 4 days later). I was sHOCKED and scared to see how the water was wiped out, the toliet paper was low, and things like beef jerkey were almost non-exsistant. I’m planning to fully immerse myself in your site tonight and get my butt into gear.
So many good ideas! Love you Kellene <3 There is only one tip that we use to save a lot of water that I haven't read mentioned and we use it often, especially when camping or out exploring the 4×4 trails. Spray bottles, it really saves so much water when you wash your hands with them. Just mist your hands and soap up then spray a few times till the soap is gone. It is a bit difficult to wash your own hands this way as when soapy your hands are slippery to grip the bottle to rinse off so it works a lot better with more than one person. The kids hands get pretty grimy quickly when out like that so I usually add just a teaspoon or so of rubbing alchohol to the full spray bottle of water. The other thing we use the spray bottle for is a bath. Baby wipes are still kind of dry to bath off with but by adding sprays of water they clean grime off more effectively. Also for adults sometimes the baby wipes don't get the body oils or old deodorant completely off of the skin so you can smell as fresh as you would like. Make up removing wipes WILL, my favorite brand is Olay. I have bathed and felt really clean by using a spray bottle and Olay wipes (The only other brand I have tried is Garnier and they did not leave my bits as clean smelling as the Olay). I usually use a four to six wipes depending on how dirty I am, litteraly dirt as in getting the sand and dust off my skin so I can sleep. The wipes say right on the package that after use for makeup removal there is no need to rinse the skin. I have found that to be true but I do prefer to spray my face a few times with clean water and towel off. I also add water to the wipes as I wipe myself or children down starting at the face and working downwards to the feet. Or spraying the skin and then using the wipes works as well. As for washing hair (usually with a small solor shower thing), it is quicker to use a 2 in 1 shampoo combo and use an additional detangler if needed. We only soap up the root area and then rinse with solar shower, also if you have used the wipes to clean your body before hair washing all you need is the quick rinse for your hair and body and you feel sparkly clean. (it is late so pls ignore the gramatical and spelling errors
)
I have a question. I have a friend who stores water 2 ways. First is culinary water, typical drums or canisters for her and her husband. The second way is in used laundry detergent bottles. She stores these outside and plans on using them to wash with. Whether its dishes, clothes or self. She figures there is left over soap in the containers so it kills 2 birds with one stone. What is your take on this?
sounds good to me.
This is late, but it might be a good idea to keep crockpot liners in stock (provided electricity is on, just can’t use tap water). Add meat, canned veggies and potatoes, spices….or fresh/frozen veggies and potatoes and a bit of chicken broth. Can also do cakes/desserts in these things. Turkey roasting bags or some of those bag/spice combos would also be good for cooking and keep clean up to a minimum.
Great idea!
Just getting around to reading this and have a couple of ideas to pass on……
If you can a lot as I do, think of this – a canning jar full of water takes up as much space as an empty jar does. Also, we use a lot of cranberry juice cocktail, the kind that comes in square 64 oz. jugs. They’re great with their large opening for storing dried foods in (rice, beans, dehydrated veggies) and they also make good water storage containers.They have a fairly slim profile, so you can put a row of them behind canned or boxed food in a cupboard.
Also, 5 gallon containers of water fit great on a closet floor and you can still put shoes, etc. on top of them.
We are still going through a water situation right now. We’re on a water system that depends on reservoirs on the mountain behind us. We had a drought this year and the water supply got drawn way down (we’re hoping for a good snow pack this winter) and due to the heat there was a real bad alge bloom. Our water started smelling and tasting BAD. The water company has assured everyone the water has been tested and is safe to drink but believe me, it is undrinkable. Thank goodness I bit the bullet and bought a Berkley water filter a few months ago. I bought plastic ice cube trays because the ice maker was using water out of the pipes so the cubes tasted horrible too.
Lastly, I hope and pray those of you in the path of Sandy made it through and I hope your preps are enough to get you through the near future. I would be interested in hearing what worked and what didn’t for you. We evacuated this summer due to a wildfire coming our way and learned a lot from this experience.
Yes, we’ve covered both methods of storing in articles on our site. Thanks. However, a couple of things. You do NOT want to use those plastic containers for dehydrated veggies or you will lose more nutrients over time. Plastic still allows oxygen to penetrate. So I only use such containers for dried beans, white rice, or whole grains that aren’t volatile. We ALSO covered what we discovered with the Berkey filter. You may want to check out the article “Beware of the 9s”. You’ve spent a good deal of money on that Berkey, so I want to make sure that you use it properly.
Could one can their own water?I have two Berkeys and a variety of water catchment systems,but in your scenario they wouldn’t be safe.Canned water would be a good way to use those jars as they became empty and to always have a supply of safe drinking water.
I certainly wouldn’t go through the hassle of actually canning it, but we’ve always suggested that folks keep water in their empty jars while they’re in storage instead of just air.
Regarding canning water:
If I have space in my canner, I add a quart jar full of filtered water. It helps to balance the “load” and having another jar of water certainly does not hurt.
Might I suggest a Sawyer point zero two water filter(.02 micron) It will allow you to filter water from just about any source without boiling.
.02 Micron absolute hollow fiber membrane purifier
Removes 99.997% of viruses, 99.99999% of bacteria, and 99.9999% of Protozoa/Cysts. Filter output is 1-liter per minute with gravity, and with faucet water full facet pressure.Comes with manufacture’s 1 million gallon guarantee.
There are very few viruses that are smaller and those that are are easy to look up so you if one of the smaller ones are used in an attack you will know to boil(of course if it is a chemical attack all bets are off).
Pond, ditch, rain puddle, roof run off is all good to use.
The filter kit is rather expensive(about 123 dollars on amazon) But you get all the pieces to connect it to two five gallon buckets with no extra parts to buy. So overall a good buy considering it lasts 1 million gallons(it includes a back-flush kit as well to unstop it from particles that get into it)
Buy a decent long lasting charcoal filter and replacements to hook into the line as well and you’re set for just about anything.
Oh, a caution on the famous Berkey filters. If you read the comments on amazon(and there are a LOT of negative reviews now, didn’t use to be) it appears that they went to a different manufacturing process for attaching the actual filter to the plastic parts and have had a horrible rate of failure, and will not exchange them for free(even though they have publicly admitted the problem) So I would stay away from the Berkey system until they have fixed the problem and proven that they are willingly replacing any defective parts without charge.
Let’s face it, a water attack that you could render harmless with that high dollar filter will kill you if the internal connection of the filter develops a slow leak from shoddy workmanship and cheap adhesives that you can’t look at and see. The Sawyer has glowing reviews.
And no, I neither work for them, get compensated by them or even own one of their filters(but soon God willing), I found out about the Berkey problems and the rave reviews of the Sawyer when I was researching what filter to buy. Plain and simple.
I forgot to mention, If you collect rainwater from your roof, especially if it is a shingle roof you NEED a diverter valve to allow the first 10-20 minutes of rainfall to run to the ground to clean off the shingles before you
I won’t censor the comment, but I do need to make it clear that I do NOT endorse this filter as of yet. They have been HORRIBLE to work with to do a proper evaluation of their unit and that includes providing me with testing results. I’ve learned the hard way that the water filtration industry is about as corrupt as the Federal Reserve. That’s why I ONLY feel comfortable recommending folks to go to AquaMira for any of their products. I trust them, I’ve evaluated them, and I won’ lose sleep at night sending folks there.
That is why I made it a point to mention that I have not bought one and that I was going by the reviews on Amazon.
I do know that the filter the military issues is only a .1 micron and this one is .02 micron. But the many reviews on amazon are glowing. So I would consider the Sawyer to at least be worthwhile to learn more about. If it works as the company and reviewers claim there would be little need to put chemicals in our water. And the fewer chemicals we ingest the better I feel. In North America there are few viruses that are harmful to us that this wouldn’t catch(but there are some in some regions)
Hopefully this coming spring/summer I can get one and do some serious tests on it. We have Duke, N.C. State and UNC colleges in my ocean town that deal with marine life and all can do thorough tests on water, which i will have them do(Doesn’t cost much)