A Bath in a Box...

Years ago now I was at a multi-stake Boy Scout event called the "Son's of Liberty Encampment". Day after day the air was thick with dust that was being kicked up by 1000's of active Boy Scout feet as we baked in the hot summer sun. Although we were having fun on many levels...physically...we were miserable. The sun was draining us of energy...and we were filthy. We were all trying to become accustomed to or avoid each others stink and looked like Pig-pen from Peanuts.

The only water we had...we had brought in...and had stored it in a couple of 55 gallon drums. It was only to be used for drinking and to cook with. Not a drop was to be wasted. A bunch of boys loosely bathing themselves...dripping our life giving water....our precious beyond all worldly riches water...onto the ground was not an option.

We lay as a troop under a tarp tent in the hot shade festering in our grime when one Scout who had the foresight to bring a package of disposable baby wipes....brought them out. At first some of the boys scoffed at him...that he had a baby product in his supplies. But when they saw him wipe off the first layer of dirt from his face...with one wipe...and then actually get clean with a second wipe...they were all lining up wanting wipes. I too got in that line. Everyone frantically wiped down hands and feet...legs...everywhere. There was an audible sigh of relief from everyone as they became clean.

How long have you ever gone without a shower or bath? If you are accustomed to regularly bathing...just going for a few days can make you feel really gross.

Now what if you are unable to bathe for lack of a source of water...AND are in a dirty...sweaty environment like we were? Then how will you get clean?

When a disaster happens...and you are under great stress...being physically dirty can make an otherwise manageable challenge into a physical and mental hell. There is something that is so psychologically distressing about feeling grimy...and psychologically relieving about becoming clean.

A simple washcloth on which to put a little water on and wipe yourself down is a great thing to have. It can be reused many many times. Of course...after it get's too dirty...you will need to rinse it out...which will take more water.

In a preparedness video by Jim Phillips he talks about how he went for a month just wiping himself with baby wipes in lieu of taking a shower. He said that he felt fresh and clean. While that may sound extreme...in a severe drought situation (for example)...where you are relying on a meager portion of water to live on...you may wish you had baby wipes to bathe with! Hopefully you had the foresight to store them.

Now...just a bit on kinds of baby wipes. Understand that there are baby wipes that have really long ingredient lists. All kinds of chemicals that are aimed at making them smell fancy and keep really long. While the longer shelf life may be nice...just understand that you are rubbing a chemical on your skin that could be unhealthy for you.

I have never seen baby wipes go rancid...but I have seen them go dry. In that instance they need a little water to rejuvenate them.

While I do know that you can make your own baby wipes...and that may be a desirable skill to have in your efforts to be self reliant...but that takes time...and the product you make may not store as well as the store-bought. The cost is so reasonable that it shouldn't be a big investment to get a large box of baby wipes. We picked up a box of 704 Kirkland brand wipes from Costco for $16. That is a whole lot of bathing for the money.

If you are concerned about the rotation of the baby wipes...you shouldn't be. My guess is that you are invited to a baby shower several times a year. Ta-da! You already have a present!!! Then you just replenish your supply the next time you shop. And trust me...as the father of 4...baby wipes WILL be used...and appreciated.

Everyday Food Storage...

If you haven't ever checked out what they are doing over at everydayfoodstorage.net...you should take the time to check it out. They consistently have great ideas for recipes to make food storage more palatable. They also have great resources for 3 month supply planning...shelving ideas...etc..etc... I also like all of the comments from people who have tried the recipes and advice. They really take a lot of time to make it attractive to the eye as well. A great resource.

Poppy seeds...librarians...the new media and the gospel of preparedness...

Eating a poppy seed muffin...I began to wonder..."How do they harvest all of those poppy seeds!! They are so tiny...and there are sooo many of them!"..."Do the poppies they harvest from look like the California poppies...or are they like those big ones they grow in other countries for opiates? Do they have a machine that mechanically collects them?...HOW DO THEY DO IT?"

When I was a kid...such questions would more than likely go unanswered. Perhaps if I was lucky...I could persuade my parents to take me to the library to see if we could find the answer in an available book. We would speak with librarian to see if they had any books on the harvesting of poppy seeds...she would say "I don't think so...but let's look"...we would walk over to a big cabinet of cards where we would write down a bunch of numbers on a small piece of paper with a golf pencil...then we would make our way through a very confusing Dewey decimal system to see if any book was on hand. "We've got one on the harvesting of sugar beets." "No thank you" I'd reply. Exasperated she would say "I'm sorry...we don't have any books on poppy seeds." I'd walk over to the children's section and settle for a picture book...and then we'd go.

Nowadays...the question could have been answered in just a moment...without even leaving my home! I wouldn't have to get all dressed up and drive across town...and go through the above process...just to find out that there was no such book! I would simply have to put it into a search engine to get my answer...almost instantly! If I did want a book from the library...I could request it online...and have it delivered for free to the library that is closest to me! Our local library even has a system that allows for you to request books from other library systems. Right now...as I type this...I have a book checked out from a college library in San Jose...and I live in Sacramento!

The prophets have been clear that this advance in technology is inspired of God to advance His work. There has been a real thrust this past year...stressing that the saints should use the internet and "new media" to share the gospel. Preparedness is certainly a part of the gospel and we are being encouraged to share it.

The gospel of preparedness is ALL OVER THE INTERNET!!! It is being spread by people in and out of the church. Thousands and thousands of articles on every preparedness topic you could think of are online. A plethora of videos demonstrating how to do most every task you can think of is available for free online. Put a preparedness topic into http://www.youtube.com/ and see how many videos there are! The topic "food storage" brings up over 1,000 videos! Learn to cook with food storage...learn how to can...learn what to can...etc...etc...all online. Of course I would not be doing my job if I failed to mention that the church has a preparedness website!!!

The TV also has all kinds of shows on preparedness. You've got shows like "Survivorman" and "Man vs. Wild" that teach some wilderness survival skills (should I even mention the show "survivor"!?). Then there are shows on BYUtv like "Living Essentials" that is all about preparedness...or there is the show they have on gardening called "Homegrown".

Government agencies such as FEMA or the State of CA's Office of Emergency Services have stacks of emergency preparedness info that they will give to you for free...if you ask them.

Make no mistake my friends...if we don't know how to do something regarding preparedness....and we don't act because of that lack of information...it's our own fault! We are left without excuse. One can't say "If I only had access to the information I would have done something"...or "My ward didn't really have a good program for preparedness...so I didn't do anything."...such excuses no longer fly! (unless of course you live in a cave...but I've heard you can get the Internet there too!) I challenge you...if you have any question...to use any of the resources I mentioned above...or just to simply open up a search engine and type your question in. The answer is out there! It has NEVER been easier to prepare.