Self reliance Tip # 54 72 hour car kits

 

I was almost always nervous in school when it was time to take tests... Would I remember everything I needed to know? Did I study hard enough? Did I care enough to study or did I feel like I could just wing it? ...I sure hope we can use a book for this test... Would I pass? Well, just an fyi, I think it would be good for us to do our own version of the "7 day challenge" that the cute gals at Food Storage Made Easy have done for the last few years.

Check out the re-cap of last year's challenge. http://foodstoragemadeeasy.net/2011/09/22/7-day-challenge-recap/
I will be talking more about this another time. Make sure you study, so when it is time for the test, you won't need to try and "wing it" and hope you pass.

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Lately I've been looking into how I might be able to make a car/ truck 72 hour emergency kit that would handle the Arizona heat. The main concerns are the food and medicine. If non-perishable food or medicine can last a year at room temperature, how long would it last in a hot car? A few months? It may prove to be a life saver. It would be worth asking your Doctor what his/ her thoughts are. Here are some suggestions on gathering things to put in a vehicle kit: (some of these are obvious, but I think they are still worth mentioning) - Park your car in the shade whenever possible. - Get sun reflectors for both the front and back windows - that will reflect more heat and in turn keep the car cooler. - Rotation is always important. However, if you have stale water in your vehicle, you'll be so glad you have it if you need it! - If a package of freeze dried food (say, Mountain House or Wise Company Foods freeze dried meals) will last 15 years at room temperature, do you think you could get a good year out of one that sat in a car with higher temperatures for 4 months? It would be worth having in an emergency. These are only a few ideas. If you have any more, drop me a line!

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... And another thing... .... From Heavenly Father's medicine cabinet... The last several months I've been highlighting local desert plants with awesome properties. I'm going to stray from that this time. This tip may not be for every family. I just wanted to share my experience because I think it is significant. When I was a kid and I had a boogery nose or a phlegmy cough, my mom would say, "Lets take you off of milk for a little while." I don't know if I recognized then if it helped clear things up faster or not. Well, our family decided (much to my son's discontent) that we would drink rice milk this winter and see if there was a difference. Usually during the winter (for me it seems) we have one thing after another. There is usually a trip to the good ol' Doc in there. It seems as one child is getting better, another one starts the same symptoms and it is a vicious cycle. The difference for our family has been significant. We had two kiddos with a cough for about a week (which normally lasts a month), and one instance of a throw-up. That was it. For some who might question, "Where are you getting your calcium?" Well, cows get the calcium from green food. We get it from the same place. :) Rice milk does cost more, but it was so worth the healthy winter we had. There are rice milk recipes out there, but I am still working on one that actually tastes good. I'll let you know when I get it perfected.