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By: Patty Brooks

Patty Brooks — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 02:34:31 +0000

Having a plan is very important, but you must practice your plan to leak proof it,
Make it,
Know it,
Test it.
You won’t really know if it truly works unless you try it. Take a day or two and live without running water and electricity. Try getting by only on what you have stored away for an emergency. Because supplies need to be rotated anyway, use it in a test and then replace what you need to. Keep a note pad, take notes on what you needed and didn’t have.

By: Roger

Roger — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 16:25:15 +0000

Hi Gilbert,

Good point about the batteries. That was one thing I did leave out of my suggestion – tape a small piece of paper over the battery connectors so that they are not running and expending energy.

I believe, however, that go-bag contents should be checked regularly, at least twice a year to swap out materials relevant for winter and summer. During those checks, batteries should be tested and swapped out if necessary. Time should not pass long enough where you don’t review go-bag contents that the batteries become corroded.

By: Gilbert

Gilbert — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 19:57:54 +0000

I disagree with Roger Ma’s advice to put batteries in all your go bag devices so they are ready. Have you ever opened up a flashlight you haven’t used for a while with the batteries in it? The batteries have leaked and the insides are all corroded from acid. Keep the batteries in a separate watertight container but also buy a battery tester (cost less than $10) to make sure you put good batteries into critical devices.