Dish Gets Prepared
Earlier in the month, Dish and Caroline were discussing the fact that Dish discovered over Christmas that she can still fit into the girl guide uniform she wore when she was eleven. Dish still hasn’t decided whether this is an entirely positive discovery.
In any case, the topic turned to how Dish was a stellar girl guide who even earned her all-round cord and how she then went on to earn all of her Personal Progress medallions in Young Women’s. What a little goal setter she was! From this conversation, Dish realized that she used to set an abundance of goals back in the day but really hasn’t had any truly measurable goals that don't involve vague things like "graduate from university" (completed a few times over) or "make a Tetris blanket" (still in progress) since that time.
So, for this year, Dish has decided to once again attempt be a dedicated goal setter. Given that Dish's church and the Canadian government both advocate having a 72-hour emergency kit, she has decided that this year she will work on getting one together and on starting food storage using information obtained from the Charlottetown Branch Relief Society via her dearest mother. She also vows that this year she will FINALLY finish the Tetris blanket.
Apparently, one of the keys to successfully accomplishing goals is to tell other people about them, so here we go. Dish will give a report each month of items purchased, cost, etc. to see just how well this goes over the course of the year and how prepared she feels at the end of it. :o)
Emergency Kit Requirements for January
Matches - Dish purchased two boxes of 250 matches each for a bargain price of $1.99.
Candles - Dish purchased five glow bright candles for $1.50 plus a candle holder (seemed only logical) for $1.00
Lighters - Dish purchased 3 Bic mini lighters for $3.28 (she figures that if she has 500 matches, she should be ok in terms of lighting a fire.
Toothpaste - Dish purchased one tube of Crest with Scope for $2.00.
Toothbrush - Dish got a free toothbrush this month at the dentist (!) and floss as well. Dish is wondering why floss is not on this list. It is very important, especially for people with braces.
Comb - Dish had a spare one.
Brush - Dish bought a spare brush for $3.00 (thank you Dollarama)
Mirror - $1.29
Rubber Bands - Dish is still wondering about this. It’s on the list near the hair supplies. So is she supposed to include hair elastics? All-purpose elastics? What are these elastics supposed to be used for? She threw in a couple of hair elastics since she had them already. Surely, if an elastic is needed, any sort of elastic will do. If McGyver could make it work, then so can Dish.
Can opener - $2.97
Knife - Again Dish is confused. What kind of knife? What will Dish be doing with said knife in any given emergency? Will she need it to cut rope? Kill zombie enemies? Who knows. Dish threw her Swiss Army knife purchased in Switzerland in there since she can't keep it in on her key chain anymore as it may get confiscated at the airport. Also, she figured for safety purposes it is best not to have an open blade loose in your kitbag.
Total - $17.03
Food Storage Requirements for January
Powdered milk - Dish hemmed and hawed over this one. What on earth is she going to do with powered milk in the event that no emergency situation arises? The recommended amount for one adult for one year is 17 pounds. 17 pounds?! That seems like a lot of powdered milk. In the end, Dish bought a 1.5 kg bag. So, if 17 lbs = approximately 7.7 kg and that is good for 365 days, Dish calculates she can now remain osteoporosis-free in an emergency for about 71 days. Cost - $16.49
Hand/bath soap - Dish bought a 950 mL container of antibacterial soap for $2.33 and threw in about four bars of regular soap that she already had. Granted, Dish does not really ever use bar soap, since she is more of a shower gel kind of girl, but in an emergency, she is willing to give it a try.
Total - $18.82
Grand Total for the month - $35.85 (plus tax on some items). Not too shabby.
So, there we have January’s attempt at becoming more prepared/self-sufficient. Oh wait. Apparently, Dish is also supposed to set aside $20 in small bills and coins for emergency use, bringing the actual grand total for the month up to $55.85.
Stayed tuned for more exciting monthly updates to come! ;o)
posted by Dish @ 3:45 PM
7 Comments:
Methinks Dish is getting a wee bit desperate for blog topics. :)
This was really just for my own reference. I've lost the will to blog. I think it died when my hotdog cooker got stolen. ;o)
Thanks for posting that list. I want to do the whole emergency thing too this year...post again next month so I can use your list to get mine done.
Hi Trish: I signed up as anonymous but it's me, your mother. Looks like you are going to have to complete this goal because you have other people depending on you.
I can't believe someone stole the hotdog cooker. That's the essential item in this emergency kit.
I don't believe the hotdog cooker is stolen. It's simply being run through some comprehensive verification tests before being returned.
Anonymous Coward
I never knew you had a blog, but now I'm tuned in! How very riveting! But where is February's list?!? ;-)
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