Living in CA where you hear talk about the ‘big one’, there’s always the nagging thought about earthquake preparedness. Every time KQED has their fundraising drive where they talk about their emergency preparedness kit as a thank you gift for subscribers, I get this guilty feeling that we haven’t really done anything for this. So this time around, we decided to do something. Huge props to my sister-in-law for her prodding on this issue.

We starting by compiling a list of things we might need. First things first: what kind of emergencies are we talking about?
i) Earthquake
ii) El Niño (CA has had a severe drought thanks to no rains for the past 4 years. And this year we are predicted to get a record rainfall)
Under these circumstances, we are talking about power loss, no running water, property damage etc.

So, based on that we started our research on things we might need in these cases. (I’ll list the resources at the bottom on this post as well). We decided on getting 2 sets ready: a 72 hour emergency kit that is FEMA recommended and a 24 hour one where everything fits inside a backpack.

72 hr emergency kit:
After a lot of research, we decided to just buy a pre-made 72 hour kit that we would add stuff into. This post does a very good job of listing out everything you’d need to build your own kit.

We chose the one Honey Bucket Survival Kit. One of the primary pros that tipped the scales in its favor was the fact that it functions as a port-a-potty. And also, much cheaper and hassle free way.

Here’s what it includes: Water pouches, water purification tablets, ponchos, blankets, water proof matches, duct tape, food kits, first aid kit (bandages, face mask, sterile towelettes), hand crank operated AM/FM radio & flashlight, whistle, utility knife, crowbar, gas and water shut off tool, toilet disinfectant.

Stuff that we added into it:
1) Datrex water pouches
2) Lifestraw
3) They include the Mylar thermal blankets, so we ended up buying 4 of the sturdier ones: 2 of each – Breathable and Non-breathable
4) Toddler specific stuff: PullUps, Toys, Food pouches. I made a play kit for our daughter which includes a bunch of crayons, stickers. I got this from the dollar bins at Target.
5) Extra clothes. I remember reading that you need to include pants (not jeans), and a lightweight full-sleeve jacket. So we have a pair of clothes for all of us. I also included my daughter’s fleece blanket.
6) After the Nepal earthquake, one of reports stated that the most injuries were due to glass shards etc where people hurt themselves by stuff that was on the floor. So officials recommended a pair of sturdy shoes.
7) Toilet rolls and kitchen towels
8) Wet wipes. I used the Pampers Sensitive one so that we use it for our daughter as well
9) Hand crank operated flashlight
10) Matches and candles

I didn’t get add super elaborate first aid supplies to the kit because I made a kit for our family based on recommendations from the Five Gallon Ideas article and this amazingly thorough post by Bowl full of lemons.

Backpack kit:
These backpacks will be stored in our cars. I didn’t buy a new backpack since we already had 2 lying around. They are pretty nondescript but sturdy enough.

1) Breathable blankets
2) Datrex water pouches
3) Food: Fruit bars (we love the Onebars), protein bars (partial to the Chewy oatmeal bars)
4) Waterproof jackets for all of us
5) Water bottle
6) Swiss utility knife (I’ve had this for 10+ years now. It’s a Victorinox. Has a few more tools than this one)
7) Play kit for our daughter, similar to one mentioned above
8) First aid kit includes bandages, hand sanitizer, pain relievers, EmergenC pouches

There’s a bunch of stuff that we could add to these kits. But for now we are going to add stuff as need arises. Like if on one of our day trips, we need some of these things. And some of the food items don’t have a long enough shelf life as the one in the 72 hr kit, so we’ll keep replenishing the stock.

Resources:
1) FEMA recommendations
2) SV Toddler’s Emergency Preparedness post
3) Bowl of Lemons’s Emergency preparedness series
4) Build your own emergency kit by Five Gallon Ideas
5) B.O.B post by Branden Thompson
and many more…

A lot of the resources that I looked at are listed on my Pinterest Board: Preparedness

Disclaimer: *Affiliate links for products.

Hope this helps. Let me know if you guys have any more ideas.

It started out with a almost-missed meeting. Then for a week I dressed my daughter in specific colored clothes as per her daycare ‘summer fun’ schedule. And on Thursday I realized I was looking at the next week, instead of the current. God forbid, I rescheduled her swim schedule. I would always dread forgetting her newly scheduled class. Finally, I accepted that I can no longer keep everything in my head. I just couldn’t keep track of it all. So, I turned to trusty Pinterest to see what other people do when it comes to organizing/planning needs. And I encountered a whole new world of planners!

And I realized this was one of those things that was different growing up in a different country. Apparently, it’s super common here in the US for students to start using planners when they start college, or earlier in some cases if they see their parents/older siblings use it. On the other hand, I never had any kind of solid success with my scribbled todo lists at crunch times like a day before exams. But over the past few years, I’ve tried a bunch of things and realized that I don’t have one silver bullet to address this issue. I’ve tried a bunch of apps on my phone, Any.do, Wunderlist, etc. And I was kind of shocked that they didn’t really work for me. Surprisingly when it came to digital solutions, for everyday task lists, Gmail’s Tasks, which is a digital version of pen-and-paper list, worked. But I couldn’t replicate the success for tasks spanning more than 2-3 days. And what about reminder appointments etc? What I was able to figure out though was that pen and paper with some kind of calendar solution works.

Over the past 2 weeks, I’ve looked at multiple blogs, youtube videos to look at other people’s ‘systems’. And I fell through this amazing rabbithole that is the world of planners, filofaxes, travel notebooks et al. And color me impressed! There’s a bunch of options. And the best part about is that people have tweaked it to make it work for them. And it has taken them quite a few tries to get a single solution to work for all or at least most of their needs.

For my first foray into this world I’ve ordered the Webster Pages’s Color Crush planner. It’s not super expensive and it comes with the month and week on 2 pages view (don’t worry, this is terminology you just pick up along the way). It’s on preorder right now, but I can’t wait to get my hands on it. Apparently, Webster’s Pages doesn’t sell planners on their website anymore. You can get them from other sources though. Jennifer from My Purpley Life has a great post about where to find them.

One more product that I’m super excited about is the Midori Traveler’s Notebook (MTN). They look just so clean. And the fact that you can customize it fit your needs exactly is great. This also seems to be the goto option for people who are into journaling. There are some excellent sources for how people have customized their Midoris:

• The Daily Roe
• Plannerisms
• Lime Doodle Design
• The Zeitgeist of Zoe (Fauxdori)

And, then there’s the whole Filofax world! They offer tons of options in terms of size, colors, inserts. I wanted to try planners as a concept since filofaxes are quite pricey. A good resource for all things filofax is Philofaxy. Zulily has a great sale on Filofaxes right now http://www.zulily.com/e/filofax-139549.html?ref=search_carousel (note: if the link doesn’t work, the sale has probably ended).

Honorable mentions for planners: MAMBI’s Create 365 planner, Kikki-k planners (so pretty), Erin Condren Life Planners to name a few. I’ve created a new Pinterest board for all things planners.

Search for hashtags #planneraddict, filofax, #midoritravelersnotebook for more ideas and inspiration.

Update: I was going to publish this post along with pictures of my new Color Crush planner, but unfortunately, the seller said that it isn’t going to be here till sept/oct. I realized I couldn’t wait that long to start using a planner. So I cancelled my order. For now, I’m back to square one, better informed though.

~Preeti