Water Storage

I just recently listened to this segment of Judge Jeanine's:

Now, I'm not one of those Dooms Day Preppers, but I do believe in being prepared.  And even though things like Solar flares are real and could cause havoc, I think I'm more afraid of other countries with their nukes, like North Korea or Iran.  Theo and I have had discussions about what we would do if they ever were capable of firing off one of those nukes at us, but he assured me that the U.S. has deflector missiles that would destroy them before they got to U.S. land.  But with this new revelation that they could just shoot it up into the atmosphere and disrupt our whole power grid has got me feeling those heebie jeebies all over again. 

The church that I belong to, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, has been pushing self efficiency and preparedness since the beginning of it's organization.  There are lots of helpful tips and food storage calculations to help you know what your family is going to need to survive any kind of catastrophe.  Even if you aren't worried about nukes, there is always some kind of weather element that could effect your life where you live (Sandy or Katrina for example) and you will have to survive on what you have laying around your home.

So this year for my New Year's Resolution I am going to be focusing on getting me and my family prepared in case of emergencies. 

My first priority today was my water storage.  I have a few bottles in my basement that I am adding to as I go along and I am slowly bulking up my water supply.  But what I really want is this:

Until I get enough money to buy some of these babies I'll have to make due with my empty soda and juice containers.

I read on a blog that you should rotate the water out every 6 months, and that you shouldn't use juice bottles either.  I did some research HERE, on the church website, but it didn't say anything about not using the juice bottles.  It only said to use bottles that are made with PETE plastic and that it was used for food storage.  So I went to check my bottles.

BAM!!  PETE right there on the bottom of the juice bottle, and all the soda bottles as well.  I was in the clear and proceeded to rotate the bottles out by pouring out the water, washing and refilling for the next 6 months.  Then I got to thinking, the church website didn't say anything about rotating them out.  I was almost done with all these before I came to that realization:

It does state to make sure your water is treated with chlorine, and if it isn't then to just add a few drops of clear bleach of your own.  A quick check to the Atlantic County water site assured me that our water is already treated.  I did swish a bottle caps worth of bleach in them after washing and before rinsing again to fill with water. 

I did label them with the month and year, just to be on the safe side in case I do read that it's a must to rotate water.  My stash is small, but hopefully it will multiply quickly, or even better, I'll get my drum! 

Please be aware of these kinds of things.  You never know when you might need something like this, whether it is a disaster, nature or man-made, or maybe you might fall on hard times in the future, it's always a good idea to be prepared.  Especially if you have a family where other people depend on you.  You can visit THIS site to give you all kinds of ideas, and while you're there stop in for some spiritual enlightening also!