Grain Storehouse

The very first thing that most families in the USA did when the attack on 9-11 happened was to contact each other. Phone lines were jammed. Information was bottle-necked. Planes were grounded and many were frustrated at trying to contact others in their families.

Our kids were younger, and we were outside playing when it all happened, and my husband was working in a neighboring county several miles away. We knew nothing until we came in and found there had been SEVERAL calls left on the voice mail of him trying to get in touch with us.

It’s natural in a disaster, attack or emergency to want to locate (or even huddle) our family together. The sad thing is, many of us are not prepared with that information before the tragedy happens and then we scramble.

In the past few centuries, with the aid cars and airplanes,  families have spread farther and farther in geographical  location. Contact information is absolutely vital in this day and age.

Do you know your adult son’s extension at work? What about his wife’s contact information if you can’t reach him? If you do, does anyone else if you were incapacitated?

Now, while life is peaceful (or at least relatively) is a good time to get this info on each person.

Remember that this information is not always just for you! Make it clear and easy for another family member or someone that is coming to your aid to see and use.

Feel free to copy and paste this into your own document file to make a sheet for each person that is important to keep current contact information:

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

HOME PHONE: (_______)_______________________

HOME PHYSICAL ADDRESS:__________________________________________

CITY,__________________________STATE:_____________ZIP_____________

WORK PHONE: (_______)_______________________EXTENSION_____________

WORK PHYSICAL ADDRESS: ___________________________________________

CITY,__________________________STATE:_____________ZIP_____________

HIS/HER SPOUSE’S NAME:____________________________________________

SPOUSES’S WORK PHONE: (______)__________________EXTENSION_________

SPOUSES’S WORK ADDRESS:__________________________________________

CITY,___________________________STATE:_____________ZIP____________

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Make one page for EACH of your relatives and/or close friends that would need immediate contact in case of an emergency. Alphabetize in the front section of your RED book.

Keeping cool in an emergency situation is vital. Keeping contact with loved-ones helps calm the storm. Set up your RED book so you can do both!

Best Blessings and enJOY the journey!

The Millers

Technorati Tags: 911, address, book, contact, disaster, emergency, family, phone, Preparation, RED, relatives

Some people say they think clearer in a real emergency. Others are overwhelmed and do more than needed. Still others are frozen by fear and do little to nothing in a real emergency situation.

I’ve been in them before and handled them calmly, fine and thought I had done okay. Occasionally looking back, I only *thought* I had done well and in reality, there were many things that, had I been more prepared, I may have done better.

We are going to help you, step by step, to build your RED book.

What is your RED book? It stands for Real Emergency Directions.

Why the acronymn of RED? Easily spotted, stands out as an emergency and, well, the Bat-Phone of course. Duh.

No, actually it is a color that stands out as an important book for you (or others) to grab in an emergency situation to help you think clearly.

Even if all is chaotic around you and your emotions and thought process have checked out, you have something you’ve prepared while in relative calm to help guide and direct you through.

So, gather your few items needed until the next post and we’ll get started helping you make your own RED (Real Emergency Directions) book.

• A RED hard-covered 3 ring binder
• A three-hole punch or
• *Plastic sleeves to slide sheets in to keep water resistant
• Lined paper if you prefer to write or
• *White paper for your computer printer
• Color Highlighters (at least 3 colors)
• The rest will be your knowledge and information you will need to find.

*These are our preferences and can be purchased in any office supply store or area. 

Then start perusing a place that you can keep your RED book in plain sight for both updating and easy access for an emergency. I’d also like to suggest keeping a Bible next to your RED book! (o:

Until next time, with step one of the process of making your RED book – Happy Preparation!

The Millers

Grain buckets, Bosch Mixers, the NutriMill, instructional tutorials, recipes and more.

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Technorati Tags: Bible, directions, emergency, Preparation, prepare, RED

Freezing grain and four first is not a ‘cure all’ for future bug infestation, but if you have good, food grade storage pails and would like to take extra measures jut to be more sure, then freezing is a great option to add to the security of your dry food stock.

If your grain buckets are stored in the garage for winter, the freezing temperatures will probably kill any weevil that may be present.  This is not advisable though if your garage also tends to get HOT in the summer (over 70 degrees).  So other options may be something you can persue.

You can also deep freeze grain in five or ten pound bags and leave it for at least week to ward off any potential pest infestation that may be present when the grain was purchased. This may or may not be a time efficient option for you.

The cost effectiveness of freezing is obvious and thus makes this an appealing method to add that extra bit of security to your long-term dry goods, grain and flour storage. No matter which method you choose, you’re in good company with other people who choose and stick with thier tried and true method for storage.

Just give at least ONE of these 7 methods a try! You’ll be glad you did!

Happy  Preparation!

Donna Miller is an author, teacher and entrepreneur. Her favorite roles are that of wife and mother to three home-school graduates. The Millers own and operate Millers Grain House which offers Chemical Free and Organic Grains, Grain Mills, Bread Machines, Grain buckets,  Bosch Mixers, the NutriMill, instructional tutorials, recipes and more.

Technorati Tags: bucket, flour, food storage, freeze, grain, grain mill, method, pails

Quite frankly – this is NOT one of our personal favorites when it comes to methods of keeping infestation at bay for food storage.  Please do not take this (solely or any other recommendation) as the end all authority. We are hoping to share options with you – for you to draw conclusions and decide the best plan for your family. With that said, on to the other method option:  Using Diatomaceous Earth

There are several different types of Diatomaceous Earth . Make sure you get the kind that is approved for human consumption, and not the swimming pool or other types.

From those who have used this, we understand that Diatomaceous Earth can be mixed into your stored grains and beans to control insects without the need of removing the dust before consuming it.  We do not know this for first hand fact.

For every forty pounds of grains or beans, you mix a total of only one cup of diatomaceous earth with it.  The plan is to mix it in small batches in order to coat every kernel. Wear protective respiratory gear/mask to cover your mouth so you don’t breath the dust in, it can irritate your lungs.  The diatomaceous earth you want to use is sold as an organic garden insecticide.

There are several different types of Diatomaceous Earth. Make sure you get the kind that is approved for human consumption, and not the swimming pool or other types.

Again – this is our least favorite option. It is however a method sworn by others to work. We have not used nor do we promote it as a choice we plan to use.

Happy (and well researched) Preparation!

Donna Miller is an author, teacher and entrepreneur. Her favorite roles are that of wife and mother to three home-school graduates. The Millers own and operate Millers Grain House which offers Chemical Free and Organic Grains, Grain Mills, Bread Machines, Grain buckets, Bosch Mixers, the NutriMill, instructional tutorials, recipes and more.

Technorati Tags: beans, diatomaceous earth, food, food grade, grains, human consumption, infestation, kernel, Preparation, storage