December is a busy month when it is difficult to focus on emergency preparedness, but I still remember the Great Wind Storm in Farmington, Utah on December 1, 2011, the Indian Ocean Tsunami on December 26, 2004 which killed 230,000 people, and the Haiti earthquake on January 12, 2010 which killed 159,000 people. So we can never put preparedness aside. So take some time this month to do something. I will try to make it easy for you.
The food storage items I gather this month are inexpensive baking ingredients you can buy in one shopping trip to the store along with your regular holiday shopping. Things like vanilla, cooking spray, brownie or cake mix, frosting, cornstarch, salt, baking powder or baking soda. Super easy to stock up on! And they all store well and have at least a 1 year shelf life. I have a complete printable list of food storage items including amounts, preparedness goals and other suggestions for the month of December right here:
December Food Storage Shopping List.pdf
(you are free to print and share with others, but please refer them to my site)
My emergency focus this month is power and light items such as batteries, matches or lighters, flashlights and lanterns. During the winter we could experience a power outage, so having these items on hand are a blessing. Add a flashlight to your child's stocking so they have one to keep in a drawer by their bed. And you will probably be buying batteries for toys anyway, right? Just get some extra. Or put a gift basket together for your college student, married children or other relatives and toss in a food storage or emergency preparedness book from my Resources Page.
I also like to buy a more expensive preparedness item each year for Christmas. I usually have more success convincing my husband to get something around Christmas than any other time of the year. Some suggestions might be a chain saw, a snow blower, a solar phone charger, a bread machine or that wheat grinder (grain mill) you've had your eye on. I have some grain mill suggestions listed on the bottom of my blog or on the Resources Page. If you have some emergency preparedness items you've purchased for Christmas gifts in the past, please share them with us.
So, print the December Food Storage Shopping List and hang it on your refrigerator, or jot a few ideas down on your Christmas list. You will be glad you did. Anything you do is one step forward. "I think I can, I think I can, I know I CAN!"
I am thankful for my Savior, Jesus Christ, for his never-ending love and encouragement through my busy year. May we each focus on his birth and be more Christlike.
Best wishes and Merry Christmas!
Valerie
“When thou risest in the morning let thy heart be full of thanks unto God;
and if ye do these things, ye shall be lifted up at the last day.”
Alma 37:37
