Emergency Preparedness First 3 Minutes

Yeah, I know.  Emergency preparedness isn’t the most exciting topic, but nothing gets me worked up faster than feeling unprepared.  And last week, my husband and I were relaxing watching “The Office” after a long day of chasing kids. My baby wouldn’t go to sleep and was toddling around when our house started to shake. I grabbed the baby and ran under a door frame. The earth quake was only a 3.6, but we felt it.

Living in California, earthquakes happen a lot and I’m tired of feeling unprepared.

One of our family goals for this year is to get prepared for an emergency. My ward (local church group)  has instituted the Power of 3’s initiative. The Power of 3’s breaks down the times that we need to be prepared: first three minutes, first three hours, first three days, first three weeks and first three months. We are taking them one per month to make it manageable and this month we are making sure we have the first three minutes taken care of. To be prepared for this, we need a quick to-go bag that contains sturdy shoes, flashlight, leather gloves, whistle, and lightweight clothes.

We made a bag for each of the kids and explained what each item would be used for:

• Gloves: to protect their hands in case they needed to clear debris
• Whistle: if they get trapped and need to call for help, the whistle is a lot louder than yelling
• Flashlight: the power will be out and they are going to need to see to get out of the house
• Shoes: to protect their feet when they get out of the house
• Light weight clothes: in case they need extra clothing

I made one big purchase on Amazon and got everything that I needed.

Don’t forget the batteries for the flashlights

 

One month of emergency preparedness down, just a few more to go.

“Organize yourselves; prepare every needful thing…” D&C 88:119

Emergency Preparedness First 3 Minutes

Click here to see the power of 3’s complete pdf.