What We Learned From Being Home-Displaced:

I was going to publish this under Prepping, but (a) it was too long and (b) it deserves a front and center place in the archives.

Hopefully by the end of today we will be moving back into our house. I will be glad to get home. I have appreciated our friend letting us stay at her house in exchange for dog sitting while she was out of town. My friend is single, and runs a non-cooking household, which means the kitchen is devoid of such items as pots, cooking utensils, measuring utensils, (sharp) knives, etc. By contrast, I cook nearly everything from scratch.

It’s been quite the learning adventure. With the holidays on us, our budget was too tight to eat out at restaurants. I had planned on cooking one turkey and using it over three days, but no cutting board and no carving-type knife here made that nearly impossible. It turned out my daughter accidentally packed my carving knife set with us, but by the time I discovered it, I had altered our eating plans. It made me realize that although I prepared somewhat (we brought all of my cooking pantry with us) living “displaced” even for a short time requires adjustment.

Granted, I assumed that everyone keeps the same basic kitchen so I did not bring the same items I would have if we had been truly displaced in a disaster or emergency. This adventure made me keenly aware how important some basic elements are. My whole spirits were uplifted yesterday morning just by the discovery of the carving set! Here are some of the things I am rethinking:

1. 1.    Cooking/heating water & food. The BOBs I wrote about in previous posts have poor cooking stoves. I knew I had to replace them, now I really know it. In the short term, I will add sterno cans. In the long term, I really want a BioLite camp stove in each BOB. They are AWESOME! I like them because not only are they small and compact, and built on rocket stove type technology, but you could also charge reusable batteries for a flashlight (or something similar…see Issue #3 below.) View at http://biolitestove.com/campstove/camp-overview/features/ or a demo at http://youtu.be/-anFZdKDrBk

I’ve realized in a carry-what-you-can BOB situation, cooking is going to be difficult. Either I need to have nothing but no-heat-required foods (and a can opener) or freeze dried foods and a way to efficiently heat water. In any event, assuming that I will be hanging out with my large chef camp stove needs to be reworked. I purchased our BOBs this Christmas with the idea that my kids would take theirs with them to college et cetera so they would be protected in the event of an emergency.

Cooking utensils. You know, you throw a mess kit in a BOB and you think you’re handled. And, if you’re working with freeze dried or no-heat food, maybe that’s true. But it sure would have been nice these past few days (and in a BOB) to have a wooden spoon, a spatula, a cutting board (even a small one) and a decent sharp cutting knife (not a pocket knife) along with a standard knife, fork and spoon.

1. 2.    Shelter. I discovered over a year ago that one of our 15 year old 3-man tents had a leak in it (yeah that was fun for me)…the plastic had just thinned out at the seam due to age. We brought what turned out to be that same tent with us as a back up plan if my oldest son couldn’t stay in the house due to his animal allergies. My youngest son broke the tent zipper during his last campout, but didn’t mention it. In the summer time, a door flap which doesn’t close isn’t such a big deal. In the winter time (now) it’s a big deal, so basically this shelter became unusable. 

If we were in a true emergency would we have just dealt with it and used it? Sure. But how much better would it be to review your tenting and sleeping equipment on a regular basis so you are not caught out? Only two of my family have -0 degree sleeping bags, so a shoddy tent is a very big deal.

1. 3.    Stuff to Do. My friend has cable (we don’t) and we brought our small TV to hook up the kids’ Xbox and we homeschool, so you’d think that filling the hours wouldn’t be such a big deal. OK, it wasn’t, but it made me think: what if we had bugged out, and we didn’t have TV, or Xbox or all of my homeschool stuff? I have an awesome wilderness camping manual that I and my oldest son have been “meaning to read someday.” Yeah, it’s going in the BOB as soon as I get home. My 16yo daughter likewise is going to put a decent book in, ditto my youngest son. Being able to recharge batteries or a device like an iPod means I have access to eBooks and games. I know the standard line has been to throw a deck of cards in a BOB, but after three days? How long do you think it will take for that novelty to wear off?

1. 4.    Communication. We have FRS radios that my kids treat like toys instead of tools, so basically I have to replace them. They’re going in the BOBs as soon as I do. What I’d really like to do in the long term is get a small ham radio with rechargeable batteries (that BioLite camp stove is looking better all the time, isn’t it?) Not only would it enhance our safety, communication and allow us to assist others, it would provide an outlet for socializing. 

1. 5.    Lighting. I learned this when we were without power for 4 days, but it bears repeating. You need LIGHT at night, and I’m not talking a camp fire. It’s amazing how much our moods are light dependent. I have two solar LED lamps which really throw off a lot of light and have a very small footprint. Sure, they cost me $25 a piece, but you know what? I think I’m going to put them on my list so everyone has at least one of them in their BOB. Combined longer term with a BioLite stove, flashlight with reusable batteries and a battery charger, and a BOB will be sitting pretty. My friend’s house has no lighting in her garage-- guess where all our stuff was stored? By Day 2 I had adapted and pulled out what I needed, but that first day was fun in the dark with phone lights!

It’s been a fun learning adventure! I don’t envy those who have been displaced from natural disasters, but I sure see the value of their learning experiences. I’m glad our family has these little “mini” learning experiences which in the long run, will make us better prepared, come what may.