[00:00:04] Speaker A: Welcome to the weekend warriors home improvement show built by Bar Lumber. When it comes to big or small projects around the home, tony and Cory have got the know how and the answers to make your life just a bit easier. Here they are, your weekend warriors, Tony and Cory.
[00:00:24] Speaker B: Hey.
[00:00:25] Speaker C: Welcome to the weekend.
[00:00:26] Speaker A: Warriors home improvement show built by Par Lumber. I'm Corey Valdez.
[00:00:30] Speaker C: And I'm Tony Cookston.
[00:00:32] Speaker A: Thanks for checking out the Weekend Warriors podcast again today. We are in the middle of Emergency Preparedness month. September. Every year we talk about things that you need to do or consider to be ready for that emergency, whatever it may be.
[00:00:49] Speaker C: Yeah, I mean, we've alluded to a lot of things. There, of course, are giant emergencies like an earthquake or hurricane. Tornado. A flood, maybe. An earthquake and a flood.
[00:01:03] Speaker A: You never know.
[00:01:04] Speaker C: Yeah, you just don't know.
[00:01:05] Speaker A: Tsunamis.
[00:01:06] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:01:07] Speaker A: There are a lot of emergencies that happen in the United States. Wildfires is another one. Last week we talked about some of those emergencies and things that you should do to be prepared for them. And one of the items on that list was to have an emergency preparedness kit. And if you don't have one, you need to consider getting one, building one, whatever you need to do. I've heard the term you've probably heard the term prepper.
[00:01:31] Speaker B: Oh, yeah.
[00:01:32] Speaker C: Well, I mean, generally, survivalist generally, that is combined with doomsday.
[00:01:38] Speaker A: Sure.
[00:01:38] Speaker C: Doomsday prepper, sure.
[00:01:40] Speaker A: But having any sort of preparedness, having a kit. If the power went out in your house for a week, if there was a terrible storm and you lost power for a week, what would you do?
Can you cook? Do you have food? Is it all in your fridge? Do you have dry goods? Just think about it right now. What would happen if you lost power for a week? What if there was an earthquake and you lost power for two weeks? There's no gas stations that you can go to because there's no power. There's no grocery stores that you can go to.
They're all going to get wrecked, right?
[00:02:18] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:02:18] Speaker C: Everybody this takes me right back to Pandemic. Right? Pandemic. While not necessarily a natural disaster, it was reacted to in that way.
[00:02:28] Speaker A: Absolutely.
[00:02:29] Speaker C: People rushed out to supply stores and bought everything they had.
[00:02:34] Speaker A: Toilet paper.
[00:02:35] Speaker C: Yeah, I remember.
[00:02:36] Speaker A: Out of control.
[00:02:37] Speaker C: It was out of control. Toilet paper. Everyone owned all of the toilet paper and rolls of toilet paper.
[00:02:44] Speaker A: Can I just tell a quick story?
[00:02:46] Speaker C: Yes, please. I need it.
[00:02:48] Speaker A: There is a guy that lives in my neighborhood that I've seen a few times driving by his house. And not even that long ago, maybe a couple of months ago, I was driving by his house. He had his garage open and inside of his garage. I am not exaggerating ten foot wide. Ten foot tall by as deep as the garage full of toilet paper.
[00:03:12] Speaker C: Wow.
[00:03:12] Speaker A: Like Costco toilet paper packs stacked to the ceiling for the entire, like the whole right side of his garage.
[00:03:20] Speaker C: Wow.
[00:03:20] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:03:21] Speaker A: How crazy.
[00:03:22] Speaker C: Maybe he is a toilet paper artist.
[00:03:26] Speaker B: Maybe.
[00:03:26] Speaker C: Maybe he uses rolls of toilet paper when he creates art.
[00:03:30] Speaker A: We call him the toilet paper man. Every time we drive by his house, we want to see if his garage doors open and see if he oh, my goodness. Used some of it.
[00:03:39] Speaker C: So it makes people react in different ways when things come undone.
[00:03:46] Speaker A: Well, and that's even more reason to be prepared yourself. If you don't have anything, what are you going to do?
[00:03:52] Speaker C: Right.
[00:03:53] Speaker A: Start you relying on your neighbors.
[00:03:54] Speaker C: Start somewhere.
[00:03:55] Speaker A: Start somewhere.
[00:03:56] Speaker C: What if you could at least say this, well, I'll tell you what, I do have 1000 gallons of water stored. It's filtered and it's stored. I have that. That's somewhere.
[00:04:06] Speaker A: That's something that's starting somewhere. That's a lot of water. 1000 gallons. Holy canola.
[00:04:13] Speaker C: I was shooting from the hip.
[00:04:16] Speaker A: Well, I mean, I'll be honest. I have a hot tub. There's probably 300 gallons in that. That is filterable.
[00:04:23] Speaker B: Okay.
[00:04:24] Speaker A: You know what I mean?
[00:04:24] Speaker C: Got chlorine?
[00:04:25] Speaker A: Sure, but it's filterable.
[00:04:27] Speaker C: Turn your tongue white if you drink.
[00:04:29] Speaker A: I could filter it. Your water heater is full of water, typically.
[00:04:33] Speaker C: Yeah, that's true.
[00:04:34] Speaker A: In the event of a natural disaster that didn't completely destroy your home, you would at least have 80 gallons of water there.
[00:04:43] Speaker C: So this is what you need. You need water and tuna fish and that's it. How long does tuna fish last in a can? Long time, I think.
[00:04:52] Speaker A: I don't know.
[00:04:53] Speaker C: It's packed in water. You can dash a little water there too.
Normally when you open a can of tuna and you squeeze all the water out into the sink. Now you squeeze it into your glass and drink it.
[00:05:05] Speaker A: Drink tuna water.
[00:05:06] Speaker C: Tuna water. Tuna water and tuna fish. That's all you need to survive, I think. I mean, I don't know that for a fact, but I think gross.
These are the things we're talking about.
[00:05:17] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:05:18] Speaker A: Today we're going to go over a list of things that you should have in your emergency preparedness kit.
[00:05:23] Speaker B: Okay. Yeah.
[00:05:24] Speaker C: We talked about needing a kit. Now we're going to talk about what probably should be in it.
[00:05:28] Speaker B: Yep.
[00:05:28] Speaker A: Number one, like you said, Tony, number one on the list is water. You need at least one gallon of water per person per day. And ideally you want at least three days for drinking and sanitary purposes, whether it's hygiene, brushing your teeth, those sorts of things.
[00:05:47] Speaker C: So when you say an emergency preparation kit, I'm imagining a bag, right. Like a backpack? Well, big old backpack that you're going to strap on and you're going to venture off into the woods.
[00:05:59] Speaker A: I would break this out into having this kit in your home.
[00:06:03] Speaker B: Okay.
[00:06:03] Speaker A: Like maybe like a tote or something? Or an area in your home that you keep all of your emergency items in. Now, what you're probably thinking of might be a Go bag or a get home bag. Those would be totally different. A Go bag would be something that you would have in your home that has essentials in it that if something went down, you can grab that bag and go.
[00:06:27] Speaker C: Leave the home. Not leave yeah, exactly.
[00:06:30] Speaker A: Leave your house. You got to get out and go somewhere.
A get home bag is something that you leave in your vehicle. And if you're at work, you would have essential items in there that would help you get home. I, for instance, I work 25 minutes drive from my home and I cross over, I don't know, at least five rivers, creeks and rivers. So I have a get home bag in my truck that I have things in it that would allow me or help me get home at any time of year.
[00:07:05] Speaker C: You got an inflatable boat?
[00:07:07] Speaker A: I don't have it.
[00:07:08] Speaker C: Well, the rivers snowshoes.
[00:07:10] Speaker A: The rivers that I would have to cross wouldn't be that big. I could wade through them.
[00:07:14] Speaker C: But what about floaties inflatable floaties if.
[00:07:18] Speaker A: The river it was in the middle of winter yeah, think about it. If it's in the middle of winter, it might be frozen and things go down. And I got to get home. I'm going to be cold. I'm going to need I'm going to have to make fire. I'm going to have to stay warm. Because realistically, I'm probably not going to be able to hike home from my office.
[00:07:39] Speaker C: Too many miles home.
[00:07:41] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:07:41] Speaker A: In one day.
[00:07:42] Speaker C: And in addition to that, you have all of the things going on.
[00:07:45] Speaker A: Absolutely. That is, if there was a major earthquake and we lost all the bridges, all the roadways would just be totally hosed.
[00:07:52] Speaker C: Right.
[00:07:53] Speaker A: You're basically hiking. Right. So I would have to be hiking home. So that's my get home bag. I have everything I need to get me home. I think what we're talking about today is having a kit in your home.
[00:08:04] Speaker C: In your home. For your home.
[00:08:06] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:08:06] Speaker A: For you and your family to survive.
[00:08:08] Speaker C: At home during a difficult time where you can't get supplies that you need.
[00:08:13] Speaker A: Absolutely.
[00:08:13] Speaker B: Got it.
[00:08:13] Speaker A: So number one is water. You need to have enough water, which is equivalent of one gallon per person per day. So if you have a family of four, that's four gallons. And you want at least a minimum of three days.
[00:08:27] Speaker C: Twelve gallons.
[00:08:28] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:08:28] Speaker A: You need twelve gallons of water just sitting there, ready. And not only that, you have to swap it out. You have to cycle it out every year.
[00:08:37] Speaker B: Right.
[00:08:37] Speaker C: You can't leave it there for years and years and years.
[00:08:40] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:08:40] Speaker A: And you kind of got pay attention when you're buying your water storage, because some water storage you can do for longer, but just pay attention what you're buying and how you're storing.
[00:08:51] Speaker C: Got it.
[00:08:51] Speaker A: And it's always recommended just replace it as it's recommended. Next one on the list.
[00:08:57] Speaker B: I got it.
[00:08:57] Speaker C: I'm going to do the next one.
[00:08:58] Speaker B: Do it.
[00:08:59] Speaker C: Disc golf disc. And here's the thing, you can't afford to have a lot of them. So just one.
[00:09:04] Speaker A: One disc golf.
[00:09:05] Speaker C: Yes, one disc golf disc. And so it can't be a driver and it can't be a putter, because those are for long and short distances. You need a mid range disc, a middle disc.
[00:09:15] Speaker A: And what is this for?
[00:09:17] Speaker C: This is for your brain.
[00:09:18] Speaker A: Like a plate.
[00:09:19] Speaker C: This is for your health. Right. Mental health.
[00:09:22] Speaker A: Oh, mental health.
[00:09:22] Speaker C: Mental health. And it can be used as a plate.
[00:09:25] Speaker A: Got you as well. Double duty.
Honestly, there is an item on our list for entertainment.
[00:09:34] Speaker B: Yes.
[00:09:34] Speaker C: Much closer to the bottom, maybe even in the more obscure column.
[00:09:38] Speaker A: It's the last one on our list.
[00:09:40] Speaker C: Here, but I wanted to keep it light.
[00:09:41] Speaker A: A little entertainment.
[00:09:42] Speaker C: Yes, entertainment. There is an entertainment. An opportunity for you to put something in there for me. That would be one disc golf disc.
[00:09:50] Speaker A: Okay.
Over the number two, which would be food. There's two things you need to survive. Water and food.
[00:09:57] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:09:57] Speaker C: It would have to be three entertainment.
[00:09:59] Speaker A: So for you, disc golf disc you're like, I don't need the food.
[00:10:05] Speaker C: Yeah, the food is a good idea. Let's do that. Number two, non perishable food. When I think of non perishable food, obviously I think of canned food, but I also think of MREs, which is something that you can buy, I think, on Amazon.
[00:10:21] Speaker A: Oh, 100%. Actually, I have a couple buckets that I bought from Costco. These survival foods that are all dry, you mix with water to prepare them. It's basically survivalist food. If you were in a situation.
[00:10:35] Speaker C: I know it costs money. It's not a joke or anything like that. But when you bought this food, this non perishable food that you're going to store and use to keep you alive in the case of an emergency, did you at least try it?
[00:10:50] Speaker A: No.
[00:10:51] Speaker C: Did you test it out?
[00:10:52] Speaker A: No.
[00:10:54] Speaker C: You're just going to pin all your hopes and dreams on this non perishable.
[00:10:59] Speaker A: Food when you're trying to survive. It's not about how good it tastes.
[00:11:02] Speaker C: But I know about calories. Isn't it worth it to just buy two and then eat one now?
[00:11:07] Speaker A: Well, but if you open it I'm not opening it.
[00:11:09] Speaker C: That's what I'm saying.
[00:11:10] Speaker A: I'm going to open it in an.
[00:11:11] Speaker C: Emergency, buy two, eat one now, make sure it's going to keep you alive for real.
[00:11:16] Speaker A: I'm pretty sure.
[00:11:17] Speaker C: The second one, I have faith. Okay, all right.
[00:11:19] Speaker A: I have faith that the food in.
[00:11:21] Speaker C: The bucket is the bucket food. Bucket food is good.
[00:11:25] Speaker A: It's at least edible. That's all I care about.
[00:11:27] Speaker C: Other examples would be canned foods, dried fruits, nuts, granola bars. Nuts have a tendency to go bad, too. Keep an eye on those granola bars. And of course, ready to eat meals, MREs. That's what we're talking about.
[00:11:40] Speaker A: And that's honestly the bucket that I bought. The buckets I bought a couple of them because we have a family.
[00:11:45] Speaker C: Is it also second as a toilet?
[00:11:48] Speaker A: No.
[00:11:48] Speaker C: Okay, well, you don't have running water.
[00:11:50] Speaker A: Why would you poop in your bucket?
[00:11:52] Speaker C: I don't know. You line food bucket?
[00:11:55] Speaker B: No.
[00:11:55] Speaker C: After it's empty the bucket, you line the inside with a plastic bag.
[00:12:01] Speaker A: That's just weird.
[00:12:01] Speaker C: And then you can use that as a toilet. And then when you're done, you just discard the plastic bag.
[00:12:05] Speaker A: Well, if I was in my home, I would probably use my toilet.
[00:12:08] Speaker C: A biodegradable bag actually is better than a plastic bag.
[00:12:11] Speaker A: I would probably just use my toilet and use my hot tub water to flush the toilet.
[00:12:15] Speaker C: Oh, you'd flush the toilet with your hot what if an earthquake? You might not.
[00:12:19] Speaker A: Yeah, maybe sewer might be bad. I might dig a hole then. I don't know.
[00:12:23] Speaker C: All right, I'm just getting through the thing.
[00:12:26] Speaker A: Using your non perishable food bucket as.
[00:12:30] Speaker C: A toilet after it's empty. Number three, this is a big one. Flashlight include a reliable flashlight with extra batteries. Very important.
[00:12:41] Speaker B: Yes.
[00:12:42] Speaker A: I actually have a flashlight that's rechargeable, so that's something to consider. They have flashlights that you can spin a knob or you turn a hand.
[00:12:53] Speaker C: Wind up flashlight.
[00:12:54] Speaker A: Wind up flashlight. I actually have one of those in my kit in an emergency, but it's good to have same thing. Next one on the list is a battery powered or hand crank radio.
[00:13:03] Speaker C: Oh, yes.
[00:13:05] Speaker A: In an emergency, for example, we lose all power. There are going to be emergency channels that operate on radio frequencies. So it's good to have a radio that operates on those frequencies. And you'll know it it'll say it on there. Emergency radio. Put it on this frequency and you can hear and get updates on where to go. Maybe there's a shelter, maybe there's food, maybe there's emergency services and medical services, but you don't know where to go.
[00:13:36] Speaker C: Right.
[00:13:37] Speaker A: That's where you would need that information.
So hand crank or a battery powered and like Tony said, extra batteries.
[00:13:46] Speaker C: Extra batteries, for sure.
And a very important one here.
[00:13:50] Speaker A: First aid kit.
[00:13:51] Speaker C: First aid kit. A well stocked first aid kit, of course, would have bandages, antiseptic wipes, pain relievers, antibiotic scissors, tweezers, and then, of course, any prescription medications that you are already taking, you have to have some of those set aside so that in an emergency situation, you have them available to you.
[00:14:13] Speaker A: Yeah, there are absolutely you'll know this if you take medication every day, we actually talked about this last week.
You can in between refills, sometimes they overlap and you can keep a few, right?
[00:14:29] Speaker C: That's right.
[00:14:29] Speaker A: So if you have medications that you rely on to stay alive right. It would be a good idea to have some in your emergency kit.
[00:14:38] Speaker C: Absolutely. You just have to intentionally plug those away do that.
[00:14:45] Speaker A: Right.
[00:14:46] Speaker C: It's a good way to go and.
[00:14:47] Speaker A: Cycle through them and cycle. You don't want them sitting in there for three years and then your heart medicine becomes too old to use.
[00:14:55] Speaker C: Right.
[00:14:56] Speaker A: Next one on the list is a multi tool or a Swiss Army knife. Like something versatile that has multiple functions so you can fix things, cut things, use it as a tool.
[00:15:06] Speaker C: I'm on the fence about the versatility of these knives versus a Rambo knife. One big Rambo knife, like a buoy knife that's maybe even bigger than that. Remember, it has those little spikes on it that screw on and off. Like big rambo knife.
[00:15:21] Speaker A: Sure, whatever you want.
[00:15:24] Speaker C: Just something that cuts stuff. No, I like the multi tool knife. It's a good idea.
[00:15:28] Speaker A: In my kit, I do have a multi tool, but I have a big knife. Just a big knife.
[00:15:36] Speaker C: Something bigger, something that cuts wood and cuts big things, leather.
[00:15:42] Speaker A: You could use it for protection. You could use it to cut whatever you need. Yeah, I would definitely put a large knife.
[00:15:49] Speaker C: This Rambo knife, you remember Rambo, the movie?
[00:15:51] Speaker A: I don't remember.
[00:15:52] Speaker C: It has a compass in the end of the knife.
[00:15:55] Speaker A: Okay.
[00:15:55] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:15:56] Speaker C: I mean, this knife was yeah, crazy.
[00:15:58] Speaker A: I haven't seen Rambo in 20 years.
[00:16:02] Speaker C: It's been a long time. Next on the list, this is a really good one. A whistle, of course, can help, signal for help if you're trapped or you need assistance. So a whistle is a good thing to have in there oftentimes. No, I know this for a fact. It is very difficult to make noises as loud as a whistle without exerting a massive amount of energy to make it happen. And at the expense of your vocal cords.
[00:16:31] Speaker B: Right.
[00:16:32] Speaker A: Well, and I take this one. I actually bought four whistles, one for each of my family members. And in the event of an emergency, where we're all in our home, we're hunkered down, we're surviving for an extended period of time. Let's say we have to split up and go do things, and the situations are dangerous. And my kids are over there and they need help. I give them all a whistle so everyone in the house has something that they can signal for help.
And I go running.
[00:17:05] Speaker C: And then you tell them, don't blow it unless you're in trouble.
[00:17:09] Speaker A: Yes.
[00:17:10] Speaker C: You know what happens if you cry wolf.
[00:17:11] Speaker A: That's right.
The other next ones on the list would be face masks. And we're talking not necessarily about COVID-19 masks, we're talking about filtering out dust, debris, smoke.
It would be probably good to have an N 95, a respirator, depending on what sort of natural disaster in the event of earthquakes, it kicks up debris.
You think about the 911 emergency ash, the responders that had to go into the building, they are suffering years and years after that event because of the debris and the ash and the smoke. That they inhaled cancer causing agents in the building itself.
In an emergency event, like something huge, not having the ability to filter out that stuff, you would be in trouble.
[00:18:05] Speaker B: Yes.
[00:18:05] Speaker C: Putting yourself at risk. And that's not the intention here at all. So that's a very good idea.
Very important to include personal hygiene items like soap, sanitizer, wet wipes, toilet paper, for example. You might not be able to buy it later after this happens, so have some ahead of time.
[00:18:25] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:18:26] Speaker A: Staying clean and keeping yourself clean and having your personal hygiene, I think, is, to me, it's healthy. Healthy. You need it to be healthy.
[00:18:37] Speaker C: That's very important.
[00:18:38] Speaker A: But B, it's A, it's a boost in your morale.
[00:18:41] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:18:41] Speaker A: Just being clean.
[00:18:43] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:18:44] Speaker A: The next one on the list is to have copies of your important documents, like your IDs, your passports, your insurance policy policies, medical records, maybe banking information.
Like I said on the last week's show, I keep all of my stuff in my safe.
In a fireproof container? Yeah, it's a fireproof bag and it's got a big handle on it. So in the event an emergency, I can open my safe, grab all of my documents that's in one bag. I can just grab them all and.
[00:19:18] Speaker C: Go, yeah, that's a very good idea.
It's also going to be important to have cash. Cash. Credit cards will likely not do you any good in a situation, in some emergent situations. And if you're going to make purchases or have some sort of collateral during a difficult time, cash is the way.
[00:19:42] Speaker B: To get that done.
[00:19:43] Speaker A: 100%. You got to imagine ATMs and credit card machines probably will not be working, along with any cell phone technology, depending on the natural disaster, of course.
Next one on the list would be to have a map. Think about it. If no cell phones are working and you need to get from point A to point B, whether it be in the same town or on the other side of the country, if you just need to go here in Portland, our biggest fear here is the big earthquake. We call it the big one. It's coming. There's a Cascadia subduction zone, whatever it is, 5100 miles out, that when that fault slips, it's going to send a shockwave across the entire Pacific Northwest that will level. They basically say, every bridge in Portland, the tsunami alone will destroy the coast. So for us in the Portland area, we would want to be heading east. And depending on how familiar you are with your area, you're going to be trying to get out of town. There's going to be areas that you won't be able to cross. There's going to be bridges out, potential other hazards that you'll need to navigate around.
[00:20:57] Speaker B: Right.
[00:20:57] Speaker A: And if you don't have GPS on your phone because none of it's working.
[00:21:02] Speaker C: You need a reference.
[00:21:03] Speaker A: You need a reference. So having an actual map is a good way to go.
[00:21:09] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:21:11] Speaker C: So you also want to have extra clothing and blankets right. A lot of the clothing that you take with you you can wrap around your waist or you can put over your shoulder or whatever. Layers is important.
Shirts under shirts under sweatshirts, maybe a jacket but extra socks is a very big deal. You want to protect your feet more than anything. Without your feet you can't get anywhere. So extra socks is a good idea.
Layers of clothes and of course blankets to keep you warm because you never know when you're going to be in a cold situation. Those are important things.
[00:21:44] Speaker A: Absolutely. Next one on the list was gloves. Having a nice sturdy pair of gloves. You ever seen those mechanics that are like heavy duty? Yeah, those would be great to have.
[00:21:55] Speaker C: Yeah, they have those that are sort of thermal like a thermal also work heavy duty work glove.
[00:22:00] Speaker A: Yeah, but they're you could, you could use them to stay warm but also functionality know move debris because you got to think you never know what you're going to be getting yourself into right?
[00:22:11] Speaker C: Absolutely. Here's another thing, Corey I feel like every emergency situation calls for duct tape. Oh yeah, you can do so much with duct tape. Duct tape is a big deal. Duct tape and a little bit of plastic like maybe some a nine by twelve sheet of plastic or something like that.
[00:22:28] Speaker A: I'd get as much plastic as you could fit in there.
[00:22:30] Speaker C: Yeah, but you don't want to overdo it. Remember you have to make room for all this stuff.
[00:22:33] Speaker A: Right, but you can buy plastic sheets. I would buy the thickest mill that you can get in those sheets like.
[00:22:41] Speaker C: Ten x 25 roll or something like.
[00:22:43] Speaker A: A four mil or a six mil plastic? Six mil plastic is very thick visqueen. You can buy plastic sheathing like that and you can use it for a multitude of things making shelters, sealing up windows and doors in the event some of those get damaged because for you it's all about staying safe and staying warm in the wintertime or in the summertime. You just never know what you're getting yourself into. I would say fit as much plastic as you could fit in there. I've got a couple of the big and I couldn't tell you the size of them but they were as big as I could get in like a nice heavy duty plastic.
[00:23:18] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:23:19] Speaker C: And duct tape.
[00:23:20] Speaker A: And duct tape.
[00:23:21] Speaker C: And duct tape.
[00:23:22] Speaker A: Can't have enough duct tape.
[00:23:23] Speaker C: Correct.
[00:23:24] Speaker A: Next one on the list is prescription medicines but we already talked about that earlier.
[00:23:28] Speaker C: We got to have those in the first aid kit. That's a good plan.
[00:23:30] Speaker B: Yes.
[00:23:31] Speaker A: If you have a baby, consider baby supplies. Everything you need.
[00:23:35] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:23:35] Speaker A: Diapers, formula stuff, all that stuff and.
[00:23:39] Speaker C: Then as long as you're talking about dependence how about pet supplies? We're going to have pets and pets are dependent on us. If you're going to protect them and keep them safe, then all the things that they need medication, obviously, food, leash, whatever those things are, you got to have all that stuff set aside as well.
[00:23:59] Speaker A: Do you think in the moment of an emergency, you would worry about poop bags?
[00:24:05] Speaker C: No, absolutely not. As a matter of fact, I might collect it and use it as a weapon.
[00:24:12] Speaker A: Dog poop?
[00:24:13] Speaker C: Well, yeah, if you have poo, fling it now.
[00:24:18] Speaker A: What are you talking about?
[00:24:19] Speaker C: The line of the movie? I don't know.
Yeah, I don't think we would be worried about collecting and disposing of well.
[00:24:29] Speaker A: For sanitary reasons, I'm going to say that I would have the bags in the kit.
[00:24:36] Speaker C: Well, you do it.
[00:24:37] Speaker A: I will.
[00:24:38] Speaker B: Good.
[00:24:38] Speaker C: I'm going to use it to fertilize the carrots I'm growing in the back.
[00:24:41] Speaker A: I don't think you want to fertilize food with dog poop, do you not? I don't think so.
[00:24:46] Speaker C: I thought that was fertilizer.
[00:24:49] Speaker A: No, not dog.
[00:24:53] Speaker C: Is there a difference?
[00:24:54] Speaker A: Yes.
[00:24:55] Speaker C: Oh, I see.
[00:24:56] Speaker B: Okay.
[00:24:56] Speaker A: The makeup of said poo. I'm pretty sure you don't want to use pet poo.
[00:25:03] Speaker C: That is a very weird conversation. Chickens chicken poo is very good for fertilizing. I understand chicken is is it because of the things that chicken eat?
Dogs eat chicken, probably. So that's probably a problem already.
[00:25:18] Speaker A: It says dog. Well, I Googled, it says dog waste compost can be used as a soil additive for revegetation lawn establishment planting goods. It should not be used on crops grown for human consumption.
[00:25:31] Speaker B: I see. Okay.
[00:25:31] Speaker C: Well, that's an important distinction.
[00:25:33] Speaker A: Yes.
[00:25:34] Speaker C: You can grow flowers and grass, but not tomatoes and carrots.
[00:25:40] Speaker A: 100%.
[00:25:41] Speaker C: Copy that. All right. That's a good piece of information.
[00:25:44] Speaker A: According to the Googles.
[00:25:45] Speaker C: According to Googles.
[00:25:48] Speaker A: Where are we at here?
[00:25:49] Speaker C: Cooking and eating utensils.
[00:25:50] Speaker B: Oh, yeah.
[00:25:52] Speaker C: Some fork, knife, spoon, maybe a spork.
[00:25:55] Speaker A: A spork?
[00:25:56] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:25:58] Speaker A: I think I've explained this. I have a go bag, I have a get home bag, and I have an emergency home kit, and I don't have cooking and eating utensils in my home kit because I have all that stuff at home.
[00:26:15] Speaker C: Sure, of course.
[00:26:16] Speaker A: But I do have it in my go bag. I have travel for our family, and I have it in my get home and my go bags.
[00:26:25] Speaker B: Yeah, good idea.
[00:26:26] Speaker A: As with the next one on the list, which is matches or a lighter, and honestly, I have both. Any sort of situation that you need to stay alive, and honestly, I think matches and lighters needs to be higher up on the list. I think it's one of the more important things to have right after food and water, because making fire, you're going to be able to boil water to drink it safely. You're going to be able to stay warm if it's cold or it's the wintertime. So having the ability to make fire, I think, is way higher on that list.
[00:26:59] Speaker C: Much more tell you what, they make these little torches that's three or four inches tall. It's kind of like a lighter, like a big lighter, but it uses butane yeah, I have one and it lets out a torch.
[00:27:13] Speaker A: Flame.
[00:27:13] Speaker C: Torch flame, yeah. Well, I'll tell you what, one of those and an extra can of butane would take you a long ways. A lot easier to light wet things when you have more hotter flame.
[00:27:26] Speaker A: Absolutely. Torch.
That's a good one. Next one. Enlistes emergency contact information. We talked about this a little bit earlier, having it in your documents, but having a list of your emergency contacts. Think about it. If you have a cell phone and all your contacts are on your cell phone, could you tell me what your grandmother's phone number is?
[00:27:49] Speaker C: If your phone dies?
[00:27:50] Speaker B: Right.
[00:27:50] Speaker A: If your phone dies.
[00:27:51] Speaker B: Right.
[00:27:51] Speaker C: No, right. I have a lot of phone numbers. My phone that I don't have memorized. I have some very important phone numbers. Memorized, of course, sure. But not all of them.
[00:28:01] Speaker A: But what about a situation where if you got to get out of your house, there's an earthquake and you got to get out of your house and you couldn't find your phone, it's in the middle of the night, all of a sudden your phone is in a pile of rebel.
Not having that information, access to that information or your phone was damaged is crazy. I mean, you definitely want to have a cut sheet or something. Probably laminated with the important phone numbers on it. We talked last week about having a central point of contact outside of your area.
[00:28:30] Speaker C: That's right.
[00:28:30] Speaker A: Maybe on the other side of the country, maybe in the same state, but on the other side of the state where if something happened, you could all contact that person and they can relay information.
[00:28:39] Speaker B: Yes.
[00:28:41] Speaker A: Sometimes communication opens up, but not permanently.
[00:28:47] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:28:47] Speaker C: Here's a few other things that are maybe just on the edge of absolutely necessary, depending on your situation. Additional tools and supplies, rope, tarp, compass, notepad depend, maybe.
[00:29:06] Speaker A: I think those are really good things to have, depending on what kit you're putting this in. Again, this is for home. You probably would have maybe a notepad and pen stashed around somewhere.
[00:29:15] Speaker B: Sure.
[00:29:16] Speaker A: But having it available to you, having a rope and a tarp, those are going to be ideal if you need to carry an injured person, if you need to stay dry or warm or create a shelter. Those are just good things to have. And honestly, the last thing on the list here is something that you already talked about, Tony.
[00:29:35] Speaker C: It's so important to me.
[00:29:36] Speaker A: Entertainment.
[00:29:37] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:29:37] Speaker A: Think about your kids. Think about what you have. Obviously, our kids are enthralled in iPads and Nintendo switches, but batteries for those things only last so long. So if you had the ability to charge or kept battery operated power equipment or chargers or some way of keeping. Them entertained.
Sure, that's great. But having things like books and playing cards and puzzles, the big emergencies, you're going to have to keep your mind occupied, especially the children.
[00:30:10] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:30:11] Speaker C: Uno phase ten and phase ten and skippo. That's all you need. Uno phase ten and skippo.
[00:30:20] Speaker A: And I believe the last time we played phase ten together, you didn't get it past phase four.
[00:30:25] Speaker C: I'm not good at phase ten. I'm pretty sure I enjoy playing the game. I just rarely win.
[00:30:31] Speaker A: You never get to phase I never.
[00:30:33] Speaker C: Get to the phase of ten. Phase ten for when I play myself.
[00:30:36] Speaker A: That's a great game.
[00:30:37] Speaker C: It is fun. It takes a long time to play that game.
[00:30:40] Speaker A: It really does it's for us. We like to put it down and just write down what phase you're on and then come back.
[00:30:47] Speaker C: Oh, yeah.
[00:30:47] Speaker A: All right, guys, it's bedtime or it's dinner time.
[00:30:50] Speaker C: We'll hit this up tomorrow.
[00:30:51] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:30:51] Speaker A: We're doing this later.
[00:30:53] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:30:54] Speaker A: All right. I made a list, Tony, of some more obscure things, and I just want to go through some of these. Some of them are good for your home kit. Some of them are good for more of, like, a go bag or get home bag.
[00:31:08] Speaker C: But let me get a feel for where this is going.
Anywhere on this obscure items list? Is there hair gel for your hair?
[00:31:19] Speaker A: No.
[00:31:19] Speaker C: Okay, so it's not that obscure.
[00:31:21] Speaker A: Unless it's flammable. I would say no.
[00:31:25] Speaker C: You don't want your hair catching on fire.
[00:31:27] Speaker A: No, but you could use it as a fire starter.
[00:31:30] Speaker B: Okay.
[00:31:31] Speaker C: All right.
[00:31:32] Speaker A: No, things like, for example, the number one on the list is a solar powered charger.
[00:31:37] Speaker B: Oh, yeah.
[00:31:37] Speaker A: Something you put solar panels out. I actually have a solar powered bank, energy bank. It's like, I don't know how many milliamps it is.
[00:31:47] Speaker C: So after you set out in the sun for a while, you can make a withdrawal.
[00:31:51] Speaker A: Exactly. It charges it up with solar power. You just leave it out. It's got solar panels on one side of it. You just leave it out.
[00:31:57] Speaker C: It's not a money withdrawal.
You take a power withdrawal.
[00:32:01] Speaker A: Power. So you could charge your phone or.
[00:32:03] Speaker C: You could charge power from it.
[00:32:05] Speaker A: A Nintendo Switch or an iPad for your kids.
[00:32:07] Speaker B: Oh, yeah.
[00:32:07] Speaker A: You could do those things. And it's got a pretty big decent sized solar panel on it, so that's something good to have. You can pick them up on Amazon for $40, probably, I think, is what I paid for mine.
[00:32:23] Speaker C: I like this water purification tablets or a filter.
Water filters and water purification tablets are available everywhere now. You could just grab a regular water bottle, just looks like a normal water bottle, and you can fill that water bottle up with river water or whatever and put the cap on it, and it filters it as you squeeze it through the little nozzle.
[00:32:49] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:32:49] Speaker A: Life straw.
[00:32:50] Speaker C: Is that what it's called?
[00:32:51] Speaker A: Yeah, life straw. Makes a product that filters it as you draw the water out.
Like a straw.
[00:32:59] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:32:59] Speaker C: Very cool. I mean, the things that we can do these days is amazing.
[00:33:03] Speaker A: Yeah. So I have those life straws in my get home bag and my go bag for our home one, I actually have a larger filter that I keep that you can hang from a tree or whatever. That's probably two or three gallon capacity that you fill that in and then that comes down. Because for me, my thought was family of four floor, family of four, plus a dog.
We're going to need a lot of water.
[00:33:33] Speaker C: Right.
[00:33:33] Speaker A: And in the event of something that was a week or two weeks, we're going to need a lot of water.
[00:33:39] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:33:39] Speaker C: So you're looking for a rainwater or something.
[00:33:41] Speaker A: Yeah. Or just being able to filter, like you said, my hot tub.
[00:33:45] Speaker C: Oh, sure.
[00:33:46] Speaker B: Okay.
[00:33:46] Speaker A: Or filter water that wasn't necessarily potable right. Out of a creek or a river.
[00:33:54] Speaker C: On a large immediate hill.
[00:33:56] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:33:58] Speaker A: Next one on the list, chemical light sticks.
[00:34:01] Speaker C: Glow sticks.
[00:34:01] Speaker A: Glow sticks. Cool to have. It's just something a little more obscure. If you've got, obviously, flashlights, they work great, but if you're in a situation where your flashlights are dying, like in a horror movie, yikes. You've got those chemical light sticks you can throw down and they stay lit for a very long time so you don't have to burn through your flashlight batteries.
[00:34:25] Speaker C: I like this one. A fishing kit, which of course, is going to be a rod and some lures and some extra line. This is very important, I feel like, specifically because if you're eating canned food and MREs for the first days of this natural disaster and it extends on, you're not going to want to continue to eat those things. And you don't want to be foraging necessarily just for fruit. Being able to go out and get meat that is available to you in a way as simple as fishing. If you have a fishing kit that will allow you to go out and fish, that could be the thing that changes it for you entirely.
[00:35:06] Speaker A: There's a lot of rivers here in Oregon.
[00:35:08] Speaker C: Yeah, it's a great idea. I love that fishing kit.
[00:35:11] Speaker A: Next one on the list is a local plant identification guide.
[00:35:15] Speaker C: Leaves of three. Leave them be.
[00:35:17] Speaker A: Oh, really? That's a good one.
[00:35:18] Speaker C: That's right.
[00:35:19] Speaker A: But yeah, foraging, think about where you live and what's around you. If you don't have the proper identification for things that you want to eat, you could potentially make yourself very ill.
Next one on the list is insect repellent. If you're walking through the woods, anybody that lives in this area, they know about mosquitoes when you go in the woods. And if you're trying to survive, it's just a creature comfort. Right. Having insect repellent in your kit, it's probably not a bad thing to have.
Next one list is a signal mirror. Think about where you live.
If you're out in the woods and you're walking around and you don't have a signal mirror. What a signal mirror is used for is for long distance.
If somebody's walking, say, to the next ridge, and you've got to separate, they can walk there, get to the top of the ridge and then signal. You can signal back and forth using that mirror. It's got a little hole in the center that you can look through, and you catch the light and it'll shine right on the person. So it's a good long distance way of communicating. Or for overhead.
[00:36:36] Speaker C: Yes, an airplane. Airplane, helicopters, yeah, because they'll be looking for something like that, some sort of signs of distress or life or whatever.
[00:36:46] Speaker A: Sometimes waving a flag just isn't going to cut it.
[00:36:49] Speaker B: Sure.
[00:36:49] Speaker C: Absolutely.
Signal mirror is a good idea. Great idea. A mini sewing kit is a great idea.
I can sew a little.
[00:36:58] Speaker A: You can?
[00:36:59] Speaker C: I sewed that patch for you you asked me for. Oh, yeah, I did that. I need to bring you that.
[00:37:03] Speaker A: Yeah, you do?
[00:37:04] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:37:04] Speaker A: I asked you for that, like a long time ago.
[00:37:07] Speaker C: I did it a long time ago. It's still sitting there at the house. I'll bring that to you.
[00:37:09] Speaker A: And that $100 you owe me.
[00:37:11] Speaker C: And that a sewing kit is a great idea.
It'll help you keep your clothes on you, fitting you properly while you're in this difficult time. You just never know what you're going to have to darn yourself.
[00:37:25] Speaker A: I always think about my kids. Right. I can hack it if I tear my jeans, right. But if your kids are with you and something happened, you just want to be able to take care of them.
[00:37:39] Speaker B: Right.
[00:37:40] Speaker A: I always think about that. I want to take care of that. If they tore their jeans or if they tore their shirt and it's the only one they have, you want to keep it going.
[00:37:49] Speaker C: Sure.
[00:37:49] Speaker A: Absolutely.
[00:37:49] Speaker C: I think it's a great idea.
[00:37:51] Speaker A: Fire starter kit. We talked about this. This isn't really obscure, but having more unique things. Like they make these bricks that are fire starting bricks where you put them in, even in a wet location, you can start a fire. So I guess just think about your situation. Do you live up in Esticada, way out in the woods where you could potentially be in very wet conditions for 60, 70% of the year? You might consider that central Oregon, maybe not so much. Little drier there.
[00:38:28] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:38:30] Speaker A: We talked about emergency cash and coins already, but having this was the one we talked about emergency cash, but having emergency coins, you might come across some vending machines, maybe some vending machines that are on generators that still work. So being able to drop coins in them and get some stuff out without smashing the glass.
[00:38:51] Speaker B: Right.
[00:38:51] Speaker A: That's a great I guess it depends on the situation, how desperate you are.
[00:38:56] Speaker C: I agree with you. It's a good idea.
Rubber bands is another really good thing to have larger, larger rubber bands. Rubber bands that will go around larger things. You can do a lot of things with rubber bands. It's a very good idea to have some. They're not expensive and they don't take up a lot of space.
[00:39:14] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:39:14] Speaker A: Improvising makeshift tools. I mean, they'd be great for yeah. Next one on this is plastic bags I like to keep, and I actually have a few rolled up husky bags. Those big four mil black visqueen husky bags.
[00:39:31] Speaker C: Sure.
[00:39:32] Speaker A: Those things are bulletproof. They'd keep you dry like a poncho. There's a lot of things you could use them for, so if you can fit them, they actually roll up pretty small. So that's a good thing to keep into your kit.
[00:39:46] Speaker C: Yeah, that sounds like a good I mean, I feel like if you're going to roll up some plastic bags, maybe grab some gallon size Ziploc bags and throw them in there as well, that will allow you to keep some things dry.
Like if you were needing to keep a pair of socks dry or oh, not just food.
[00:40:06] Speaker A: I was thinking food.
[00:40:07] Speaker C: Pair of skivvies dry, you know.
[00:40:09] Speaker A: Good idea.
[00:40:10] Speaker C: You have to wade through the water and you want to come out the other side and put on something dry. That can be a good way to do that.
[00:40:16] Speaker A: Well, so another one down on my list is a little bit lower is actual dry bags.
[00:40:20] Speaker C: A dry bag. Okay.
[00:40:22] Speaker A: They make dry bags that you put all your stuff in. They you roll it and then you clip it together.
Everything inside stays dry. And I actually keep those in my get home bag because I know that I have to cross all these creeks and rivers probably on foot. And the things that I want to stay dry need to keep it dry.
[00:40:43] Speaker C: I just saw one of the items, not the next one, but the one after that, and it just makes me cringe a little bit.
[00:40:50] Speaker B: Oh, yeah.
[00:40:51] Speaker C: A tourniquet even the word. I don't even want to think about having to use a tourniquet on someone or have to have a tourniquet used on me. My goodness.
It's a little scary. It's a little too real for me.
[00:41:07] Speaker A: Yeah, I agree. That's one of those things, but it's a little more obscure depending on one used. I never have buddy, but in the instance where something happened to one of your loved ones and you needed to use it, not having one.
[00:41:25] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:41:26] Speaker C: Terrible, terrible, terrible. Safety pins is a great thing to have. Very small. They don't take up much space, but boy, they sure are a tool that comes in very handy when you need it. I really like having some safety pins. It's a good idea.
[00:41:42] Speaker A: Next one on the list is Paracord. We talked about rope a little bit earlier, but you can buy actually, so I have a really cool book.
I bought a big pack of paracord on Amazon and it came with like a craft book of things. You can do different projects and different things and it actually came with a little, I don't know how you describe it, almost like credit card size flip book. And it's hard plastic. They're almost like little credit cards. And it's like a booklet of different knots. Oh yeah, like survival knots.
And it came with a paracord. So A, you have something you can give your kid to make. They can make some bracelets out of paracord. They can make different things, but you can also use it for building shelters, improvising tools. I mean, there's securing items, lots of different things.
I recommend having a pretty decent amount of it.
[00:42:43] Speaker C: I agree.
[00:42:44] Speaker A: A couple of hundred feet.
[00:42:45] Speaker C: I think that's a great idea. Paracord is extremely strong, extremely useful.
If you need to wrap up your stuff and hang it from a tree to keep it away from wild animals.
Paracord is a great way to do that. There's a lot of things you can use that for.
[00:43:03] Speaker A: Can you think of anything else, Tony?
[00:43:05] Speaker C: I cannot. This list is really good. I mean, I feel like as far as a list of emergency items to have at your house that are in one place and you know where you can find it all, that is a really good idea because you just don't know what the situation is going to be at the house. It may still be providing you with shelter, but it may not be the cozy, loving home that it was prior to the incident.
[00:43:33] Speaker A: It's all about survivability know where that.
[00:43:35] Speaker C: Stuff is and where you can get to it and it will make life easier during a difficult time. So yeah, it's good.
[00:43:42] Speaker A: If you, our listeners out there, have anything that you would want to add to this list or if you have any ideas, email us, you can let us know. We'll talk about it on the show
[email protected]. That's weekendwarriors with an S at Par. P-A-R R.com. Email us. Would love to hear from you.
We said anything really stupid, let us know and we'll correct it on the show next week.
[00:44:10] Speaker C: Absolutely.
[00:44:11] Speaker A: All right, well, that's it. That's all of our list. Hopefully you never have to use it. Absolutely. It's a good idea to have it.
[00:44:19] Speaker C: Thank you so much for listening and we hope you have a great week.
[00:44:23] Speaker A: We'll see you next time.
