I just paid $24 dollars for 12 quart-sized cardboard containers of water. WHAT??? The Bargain Queens paid that? WHY?
I paid $24 dollars for those 12 containers because I was in San Diego a couple of weeks ago when the south western section of the country lost all power. I was lucky enough to be in a hotel that was prepared for emergencies. They had a back up diesel generator that kept lights on in the hallways and a flashlight for each room.
I was with a group of some of the calmest and “go with the flow” people in the world – unschoolers. The kids had a major pool party until the sun went down and then had get-togethers in the hallways until the staff told us we had to go into our rooms. There WERE some people who were trying to sleep.
Even though there was a laid back attitude toward to the power outage; there was an underlying concern about what would happen if the lights didn’t come on in a timely fashion.
This is not a doom and gloom piece, it is just a “hey, are you prepared to handle a couple days of power outage?” I learned that my answer was “no.” And my major downfall was my lack of water.
It’s not like I haven’t thought of this. I have. Come on, I live in the land of yearly fires and feared earthquakes. We all have emergency bags. Bargain Babe put her emergency kit together for $22. I am always on the look out for items for my emergency kit and have found items at a yard sale, a flint fire starter at the Army Navy store, 99 Cents Only Store, and an estate sale.
A few years ago, I purchased eight 5-gallon plastic water containers and stacked them in my garage. Later I discovered a pool of water forming on my concrete floor. I was soooo glad that I had stored these in the garage and not somewhere that would have received water damage. Asking around, I discovered that many people have made this same mistake. Plastic water containers start to leak within a year. Plus the plastic starts to leach into the water.
The human body can last for quite some time without food, but will start to feel the effects of no water within a day. Water is an essential part of anyone’s survival kit.
Knowing that water is an essential survival kit item and then having my recent experience with a power outage, I realized that I was going to have to bite the bullet and spend some money on water that is packaged in a way that it will store to a long period of time. So, when I saw these quart sized containers, I grabbed them.
Did I pay too much? Comparison shopping online has proved that what I paid is even or cheaper than most places. Will it be worth it if I ever need them? Absolutely!
I too splurged on little boxes of emergency water. They have a 5 year shelf life and can withstand hot and cold temperatures, unlike plastic water bottles.
@Bobbi ~ Where does one go to buy boxes of water, and what is the average cost? I’m one of those who’s purchased plastic bottles of water, which had to be tossed. Fortunately, I always kept them in the garage. Since I don’t have an electric door opener, I don’t have to worry so much about electricity outages. We were without power for 3 days due to the ’94 quake, so I’m usually prepared for more.
@EllieD – I have seen people selling emergency supplies at several farmer’s markets. You can get all the basic stuff there. You will pay more than if you go to a store like SOS, but of course, you are saving the gas or postage price when you buy from a vendor at a farmer’s market. I personally really like to support vendors at farmer’s markets because I want to keep the markets there.
The best place to contact for any emergency supplies is S.O.S. in Van Nuys CA. They carry anything you might need .
@baba – Yes, I have heard that SOS is in Van Nuys is the place to go. I’m going to check them out. Thanks for posting this.
We made the same mistake with those plastic containers, too! Not only do we keep drinking water, but also non-drinking water. Taking empty plastic juice bottles, we have filled up many in case of an earthquake to use for washing hands, flushing the toilet, whatever we may need water for other than consuming! Not many people remember to keep water for things like that. And I always carry extra in my car, just in case. Even if it tastes gross, I know I have it!