My library has been handing out free N95 masks and Covid antigen tests. 

I had something like this last night but with some barley, carrots, and canned tomatoes.

That sounds heavenly! And totally something that could be done with food storage.

You can try plugging what you have into websites like myfridgefood.com of supercook.com.  On those websites you tell them what you have, and they link you to recipes you can make with those items.

Those stimulus checks sure were helpful. 

Have current pictures of your pets with you in your wallet or phone in case they go missing and you can identify markings. Have a collar on them with a tag containing your phone number. Microchiping is also a good backup. Things happen and you may be separated from your pet. My cat loves to sneak outside whenever he can to explore. The little stinker. I’ve tried to walk him with a harness before but he just flops over and doesn’t know what to do. There’s the balance I want to have of bringing him outside on a harness to desensitize him to the outside world and not make it too stressful on him, but at the same time doesn’t that tell him it’s okay to go outside and I don’t want him to get the idea that he can be out there on his own. I’m not sure what to do.

Ah, the stain remover pen! That is something I haven’t used in years but was very handy when I did have one. Is that still easy to find at stores?

I agree with the fox, I can’t control what so and so company does but I can control what me and my family does. And maybe if every family did a little bit better it would make a bit of a difference.  Same with all this covid stuff going on. I can’t control people getting vaccinated or wearing a mask, but I can get vaccinated myself and wear a mask in hopes that I am not the one spreading things around. Hopefully my little actions will do a little bit of good in this world.

Thank you The Prepared for compiling this list. I bought a couple Life Straws to give to some family members for Christmas presents.  Happy holidays!

I have the TRUE lemon packets as well because of the simple ingredients and good taste. I’ll look out for some of their other flavors.  How does powdered vinegar and soy sauce work and where can you buy it?

Technically it is a trap, I’ve caught many mice with mouse traps before.  What does a bird trap look like?

I will look into increasing my budget for physical goods and build up my supplies here more than I currently have. Thank you for bringing this to my attention, even if we don’t go down the road of hyperinflation, it will be good to be more secure in that way.

If I had an extra $1000, would it be better to stick it into physical supplies like food, water, and medical supplies or into stocks and a retirement account with hyperinflation? 

It’s always frustrating to deal with customer service when you don’t feel like you are being heard. Why were you contacting them, was the food bad?

I like that bottom gray option the best. It looks form fitting and has a large capacity.

I only carry 5 poop bags in my emergency bag. Like you say, a solid roll is very heavy. I carry these for if I am bugging out to something like a hotel or a friends house and still want to be courteous. After 5 days of pooping, I can scavenge and ask around for some alternative way to pick up after my dog. It buys me some time. If you are bugging out to the woods or something similar, you just kick some dirt over it. You are in a disaster/emergency setting and heck with the rules and good customs of picking up after your dog. Now what to do with my cat. He’s litterbox trained, but I don’t know how he would react and if I could get him to poop outside if there were no litterbox.

I am not going to fully rely on FEMA to notify me and will keep up with current events and incoming storms, but as an additional layer of preparedness and notification, it doesn’t hurt. It just might be the notification that saves you from that chemical spill or wild fire that popped up in the middle of the night as you were sleeping. Even if it buys me five minutes, that is an entire five minutes more I could be loading up my car with emergency supplies for evacuation. 

I did not get any sort of emergency notification this week, and didn’t know that FEMA offered these alerts as a service. Thank you for teaching me and I have now set it up.