Task 17: Date Night

images (32)Today’s task should be pretty simple if you are taking our Day 16 challenge of 3-Days Without. Now I am not one that goes out and buys specialized food items for my preparedness kit. I buy items that I will use routinely, so most items get rotated out regularly.  I usually grab a couple extra dollars worth of these items about every other time I go grocery shopping, so I never really run out.  There are always at least 4 cans of this, and 4-5 cans of that in my pantry.  I also watch when there is a sale on certain items and I will buy an additional case. I have on occasion purchased items I know I can eat, but don’t often and keep them on hand also for an emergency.

It’s surprising what you find in your cupboards when you clean them out.  A few weeks back, I had a little burst of energy on a weekend, and the next thing you know, I had cleaned out, wiped down everyone of my kitchen cupboards.  I threw out a few dry goods, I just didn’t trust any longer as I realized they had been open for a while. As I went through the different items, I found myself noticing the expiration dates… Some were easy to spot, while others not so easy.

DAY 17 ACTIVITY:  

2 Pts – Take a marker pen and go through your pantry and clearly mark the expiration dates on your items!

Bonus:   Honestly share what you found or any revelations you stumbled upon as you completed this task.

LETS START A CONVERSATION!  Add the following “Twibbon” to your Facebook, or Twitter Profile Picture!!  Thanks to our friends at Sacramento County Office  Emergency Services, with a couple clicks you can show your support for National Preparedness Month!!  Click the picture to add the Twibbon to your accounts!!

Twibbon

PROOF OF COMPLETION:  There are 4 ways you can complete this task:

  1. Leave a comment with your answer in it on our blog below
  2. Email us at info@30Days30ways.com
  3. Put your answer on our Facebook Fan Page or
  4. Provide the answer on Twitter (Please include @30Days_30ways or hashtag #30Days30Ways in any tweets.

You Have until MIDNIGHT on September 30th to complete this task. Contest rules and more information on the #30Days30WaysChallenge  can be found here:

Note:  If you are receiving this via email, go to www.30days30ways.com to answer

Task 16: 3 Days Without

images (31)How many of you have ever tasted the foods in your emergency kit?  Have you tested cooking a meal without that electric can opener or the electric range?  The Microwave?  For a good portion of those taking this challenge, we have already created our emergency kits, but I am guessing very few of us have ever had to “survive” off of our emergency kit. That is until now…  We do not want the first time you need your emergency gear, to be the first time you’ve ever used it!!   Last year OPB in Portland, OR actually asked a few couples to take that challenge.  Some of what they learned can be found in this article.  Today’s challenge will take some extra effort, and days to complete.  Because of that, we are also awarding extra points for this challenge!!

DAY 16 ACTIVITY:  

25 Pts – Take the 3 day challenge for yourself and your family.   Record your findings throughout the three days and share that small video or blog posting as your challenge answer.

Bonus:  Share 4 lessons or things you learned about your emergency kit during the three days!

LETS START A CONVERSATION!  Add the following “Twibbon” to your Facebook, or Twitter Profile Picture!!  Thanks to our friends at Sacramento County Office  Emergency Services, with a couple clicks you can show your support for National Preparedness Month!!  Click the picture to add the Twibbon to your accounts!!

Twibbon

PROOF OF COMPLETION:  There are 4 ways you can complete this task:

  1. Leave a comment with your answer in it on our blog below
  2. Email us at info@30Days30ways.com
  3. Put your answer on our Facebook Fan Page or
  4. Provide the answer on Twitter (Please include @30Days_30ways or hashtag #30Days30Ways in any tweets.

You Have until MIDNIGHT on September 30th to complete this task. Contest rules and more information on the #30Days30WaysChallenge  can be found here:

Note:  If you are receiving this via email, go to www.30days30ways.com to answer

Task 15: Movie Fone

images (30)Each year we try to incorporate at least one Pop Culture challenge into our game, and today is that day!!  Recently someone shared movie releases for the month of September with me.  It didn’t take long to see a connection between the films and a preparedness message for several of those movies…

 

  • Sully – Pack Sully Style… pack your TSA friendly emergency kit.
  • Snowden – You seriously still are not using 2-factor authentication?
  • Deepwater Horizon – environmental disasters,impacts, and  long-term recovery

We all have a few favorite movies, and I’m sure at least a couple of those have a theme that could be tied back to preparedness and safety.  Today we want you to use your creativeness an link a favorite movie with a preparedness message….

 

DAY 15 ACTIVITY:  1

2 Pts –   Share a favorite movie and the preparedness tie in…. Create your campaign and take a pic and share it with us.

Bonus:   If you are in the Portland/Vancouver area, join us tonight for our Disaster Movie Night!!!  If you live outside the Portland metro region, we want you to attend a preparedness event in your community.  Take a selfie and share it with us from your event. Be sure to tag #30Days30Ways in your photo.

LETS START A CONVERSATION!  Add the following “Twibbon” to your Facebook, or Twitter Profile Picture!!  Thanks to our friends at Sacramento County Office  Emergency Services, with a couple clicks you can show your support for National Preparedness Month!!  Click the picture to add the Twibbon to your accounts!!

Twibbon

PROOF OF COMPLETION:  There are 4 ways you can complete this task:

  1. Leave a comment with your answer in it on our blog below
  2. Email us at info@30Days30ways.com
  3. Put your answer on our Facebook Fan Page or
  4. Provide the answer on Twitter (Please include @30Days_30ways or hashtag #30Days30Ways in any tweets.

You Have until MIDNIGHT on September 30th to complete this task. Contest rules and more information on the #30Days30WaysChallenge  can be found here:

Note:  If you are receiving this via email, go to www.30days30ways.com to answer

Task 14: You Made What?

images (29)I  grew up on a farm and ranch, and learned just enough skills to be a jack of all trades, master of none.  Growing up, one of my favorite TV shows was “McGyver.”  I was always amazed how someone could make a stick of gum, a button, and a toothpick jump start a vehicle or cause an explosive disruption to allow him to get away.   I will admit I have a fascination in seeing how ingenious some folks can be in finding new uses for ordinary items.  A couple years back, everyone was sharing the reaction mixing Mentos and Diet Coke.  It seems that in this digital age, we can go online and find videos in how to do just about anything.  Below are just two examples of a quick search and what can be found, but I know many of you are very resourceful yourselves, and I would bet many of you have added items to your kits from some clever use of another item you have stumbled upon.

In the meantime… We hop you enjoy the videos attached today.  A couple of these uses were pretty cool, and thought they could be valuable additions to any emergency kit!

DAY 14 ACTIVITY:  

2 Pts –  Share with us one creative item you have in your kit, or what one item in your kit has multiple uses.

Bonus:  To get today’s bonus, you not only need to tell us about the item, but show us.  Create a small video sharing how your item can be used by demonstrating.

LETS START A CONVERSATION!  Add the following “Twibbon” to your Facebook, or Twitter Profile Picture!!  Thanks to our friends at Sacramento County Office  Emergency Services, with a couple clicks you can show your support for National Preparedness Month!!  Click the picture to add the Twibbon to your accounts!!

Twibbon

PROOF OF COMPLETION:  There are 4 ways you can complete this task:

  1. Leave a comment with your answer in it on our blog below
  2. Email us at info@30Days30ways.com
  3. Put your answer on our Facebook Fan Page or
  4. Provide the answer on Twitter (Please include @30Days_30ways or hashtag #30Days30Ways in any tweets.

You Have until MIDNIGHT on September 30th to complete this task. Contest rules and more information on the #30Days30WaysChallenge  can be found here:

Note:  If you are receiving this via email, go to www.30days30ways.com to answer

Task 13: “Cooking It Outta the Park”

images (28)Over the years, today has been one of the most enjoyable tasks and partnerships we have created throughout the history of 30Days 30Ways.

Today, we announce a wonderful partnership with our friends at the Arizona Department of Emergency and Military Affairs (DEMA), creators of the Emergency Kit Cook-Off.  We want you to create an Emergency Kit Cook-Off recipe around our “Take Me Out to the Ballgame” theme. So lets dust off those aprons, get creative, and lets cook!

** A reminder, today requires an extra step in submitting your responses.  Please be sure to read the entire entry. 

 

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DAY 13 ACTIVITY:  

Specifically, we challenge you to:

2 Pts –   1) create a recipe that uses at least one Featured Ingredient and only nonperishable pantry and kit items

AND

2) use manual tools (e.g., can openers and hand whisks) instead of modern appliances–especially microwaves–in the preparation. Use the oven and/or stovetop if you must, BUT we challenge you to use safe, alternative heating sources if possible.

This year’s Featured Ingredients are:

  • Cracker Jack
  • Peanuts (any variety)
  • Canned corn as in “can of corn” or a high, easy-to-catch fly ball.
  • Potato as in a “tater” or a homerun.
  • Pickled vegetables (any variety) as in “caught in a pickle” or a rundown between the bases.

PROOF OF COMPLETION:

There are TWO parts in completing today’s task:

PART 1:

  • Go to EmergencyKitCookoff.org
  • Click the “Submit a Recipe” button in the upper right corner of any webpage.
  • Submit a Recipe according to the guidelines outlined under the “Participate” tab at EmergencyKitCookoff.org/participate.
  • After submitting your recipe, you will be asked to tweet about your participation. Copy & paste the following into the message field:

 I created an Emergency #KitCookOff recipe for #30days30ways. Join the fun & submit your recipe to http://bit.ly/1lAavoG

PART 2:

EVERYONE who submits a recipe to www.EmergencyKitCookOff.org during National Preparedness Month and provides a mailing address will receive an Emergency Kit Cook-Off apron, while supplies last.

LETS START A CONVERSATION!  Add the following “Twibbon” to your Facebook, or Twitter Profile Picture!!  Thanks to our friends at Sacramento County Office  Emergency Services, with a couple clicks you can show your support for National Preparedness Month!!  Click the picture to add the Twibbon to your accounts!!

Twibbon

You have until 11:59 p.m. on Sept. 30 to complete this and all other tasks. Each day will have a separate theme topic and you may provide as many submissions as you would like. Thanks for playing along with us. We are so encouraged by seeing folks improving their readiness, which is the primary goal of this preparedness campaign.

30 Days, 30 Ways will award its prizes at the end of the September based on most points accumulated throughout the entire challenge. Gift cards will be awarded based on winners and donation funding. There will be at least 2 grand prizes awarded in October for best overall creative entries for the month.

Thanks for playing and supporting one of the wonderful partnerships we’ve established through this game!

Contest rules and more information on the #30Days30WaysChallenge  can be found here:

Note:  If you are receiving this via email, go to www.30days30ways.com to answer

Task 12: What’s in Your Cabinet?

images (27)

When was the last time you took an honest look at what is in your medicine cabinet?  It’s very easy to overlook and not realize things are outdated, and need to be disposed of properly.  But how do you do that?  What do you do with old leftover medications, both over the counter and prescription?  We also have medication and first aid items that we should have as part of our emergency kits.  When was the last time you checked those items, or if you take prescription medicationmedicine-cabinets, how do you ensure you keep enough on hand in case something happens?

 

DAY 12 ACTIVITY:  

2 Pts – Check your medicine cabinet for expired medications and remove them.  Share resources on how to properly dispose of out of date medications.

Bonus: Share what you have for medications and first aid in your emergency kit.  How do you keep them up to date and in supply?

LETS START A CONVERSATION!  Add the following “Twibbon” to your Facebook, or Twitter Profile Picture!!  Thanks to our friends at Sacramento County Office  Emergency Services, with a couple clicks you can show your support for National Preparedness Month!!  Click the picture to add the Twibbon to your accounts!!

Twibbon

PROOF OF COMPLETION:  There are 4 ways you can complete this task:

  1. Leave a comment with your answer in it on our blog below
  2. Email us at info@30Days30ways.com
  3. Put your answer on our Facebook Fan Page or
  4. Provide the answer on Twitter (Please include @30Days_30ways or hashtag #30Days30Ways in any tweets.

You Have until MIDNIGHT on September 30th to complete this task. Contest rules and more information on the #30Days30WaysChallenge  can be found here:

Note:  If you are receiving this via email, go to www.30days30ways.com to answer

Task 11: A Tribute

images (26)It still is hard to believe it’s been fifteen years since the attacks on the World Trade Centers in New York and the Pentagon.  To this day, I can still remember where I was when I first heard the news, and the images that were played over and over.  I also remember how after the attacks, we all seemed to be one.  Individuals helping one another, pulling together to help each other, and the support for first responders after that horrific scene.

Last fall I had the opportunity to see ground zero in person and tour the 9/11 museum and memorial.   As I roamed around the grounds, and looked at some of the pieces left from the original towers, I found myself getting a little choked up… As a former firefighter, I will admit, the wreckage of one of the ladder trucks brought tears to my eyes.   As I walked into one of the areas that paid tribute to those that lost their lives, and as I touched their names around the reflection pools, so many emotions felt 15 years earlier came flooding back.

Today, fifteen years later, the images we see on television and in social media seem to be much different.  The jobs first responders do are not always the most glamorous, and sometimes not even the most popular but most do their part to protect the rest of us without question and the risk to their own lives.

 

DAY 11 ACTIVITY:  

2 Pts –  Thank a First-Responder.  We will leave this up to you…. This could be in person, card, picture, video, or even baked goods.  Pay it forward in thanking those who risk their lives for us daily.

Bonus: Hopefully by now, you are catching on to how this years bonus works.  Take it to the next step as you thank First-Responders.  We cannot wait to see your tributes!!

LETS START A CONVERSATION!  Add the following “Twibbon” to your Facebook, or Twitter Profile Picture!!  Thanks to our friends at Sacramento County Office  Emergency Services, with a couple clicks you can show your support for National Preparedness Month!!  Click the picture to add the Twibbon to your accounts!!

Twibbon

PROOF OF COMPLETION:  There are 4 ways you can complete this task:

  1. Leave a comment with your answer in it on our blog below
  2. Email us at info@30Days30ways.com
  3. Put your answer on our Facebook Fan Page or
  4. Provide the answer on Twitter (Please include @30Days_30ways or hashtag #30Days30Ways in any tweets.

You Have until MIDNIGHT on September 30th to complete this task. Contest rules and more information on the #30Days30WaysChallenge  can be found here:

Note:  If you are receiving this via email, go to www.30days30ways.com to answer

Task 10: Kit in a Bottle

download (18)I’m a firm believer that to make a change regarding personal preparedness, we must do more than just talk about it.  Changing behaviors and attitudes regarding personal preparedness was the entire reason #30Days30Ways started seven years ago.  I have found one of the best techniques in changing attitudes of adults is by getting their kids on board.  Last year we introduced this challenge, and it was highly popular.  We asked you to create a kit in a bottle for a kiddo in your family.  This year we want to build on that.  If you happen to live in Vancouver, WA  this challenge should be super easy if you attend our annual CRESA EXPO today.

DAY 10 ACTIVITY:  

2 Pts –   Create a Water Bottle Emergency Kit for a kiddo in your family.  Even better if you create it with them together, explaining what it is and the uses for each item.

Bonus:  Pay it Forward.  Gift a bottle or two to neighborhood kiddos or at a local school.

LETS START A CONVERSATION!  Add the following “Twibbon” to your Facebook, or Twitter Profile Picture!!  Thanks to our friends at Sacramento County Office  Emergency Services, with a couple clicks you can show your support for National Preparedness Month!!  Click the picture to add the Twibbon to your accounts!!

Twibbon

PROOF OF COMPLETION:  There are 4 ways you can complete this task:

  1. Leave a comment with your answer in it on our blog below
  2. Email us at info@30Days30ways.com
  3. Put your answer on our Facebook Fan Page or
  4. Provide the answer on Twitter (Please include @30Days_30ways or hashtag #30Days30Ways in any tweets.

You Have until MIDNIGHT on September 30th to complete this task. Contest rules and more information on the #30Days30WaysChallenge  can be found here:

Note:  If you are receiving this via email, go to www.30days30ways.com to answer

Task 9: Sanipoo

images (25)

Its something we all do, yet we all pretend we don’t.  It’s something no one talks about, yet it is something, no matter our age we all have in common.  When we talk about personal preparedness, we think about food, and water, but we rarely talk about what happens if the toilets don’t flush.  As I speak with folks about preparedness, I often bring up the earthquake in Christchurch New Zealand.  I use it as an example of how long some services take to return.  In some areas of the city, it took over 3 years to repair all of the services.  What would you do if you didn’t have flushing toilets for a week… let alone 3 years?

DAY 9 ACTIVITY:  

2 Pts –  Create or share what is in your sanitation preparedness kit.

Bonus:  Create a basic picture/video message around having something for sanitation in your emergency kit… include items, how many buckets, etc.

LETS START A CONVERSATION!  Add the following “Twibbon” to your Facebook, or Twitter Profile Picture!!  Thanks to our friends at Sacramento County Office  Emergency Services, with a couple clicks you can show your support for National Preparedness Month!!  Click the picture to add the Twibbon to your accounts!!

Twibbon

PROOF OF COMPLETION:  There are 4 ways you can complete this task:

  1. Leave a comment with your answer in it on our blog below
  2. Email us at info@30Days30ways.com
  3. Put your answer on our Facebook Fan Page or
  4. Provide the answer on Twitter (Please include @30Days_30ways or hashtag #30Days30Ways in any tweets.

You Have until MIDNIGHT on September 30th to complete this task. Contest rules and more information on the #30Days30WaysChallenge  can be found here:

Note:  If you are receiving this via email, go to www.30days30ways.com to answer

Task 8: Password Protection

images (24)Almost a day doesn’t go by without us hearing about some system that is suppose to keep our secure data… well secure, being hacked.  From major stores and companies to email servers, to social media accounts, the list goes on.  Identity theft cases are on the rise, as we become more and more accustom to hearing about  personal data being compromised.  So what an we do to help keep our information secure?

DAY 8 ACTIVITY:  

2 Pts – Update all of your online passwords. Share with us recommendations of what makes up a good password and how often you should change passwords.

Bonus: Do you use a password keeper?  Share suggestions for others in how to keep all the passwords we need secure OR Learn about 2-factor authentication, or take a class at the local PD on online safety.

LETS START A CONVERSATION!  Add the following “Twibbon” to your Facebook, or Twitter Profile Picture!!  Thanks to our friends at Sacramento County Office  Emergency Services, with a couple clicks you can show your support for National Preparedness Month!!  Click the picture to add the Twibbon to your accounts!!

Twibbon

PROOF OF COMPLETION:  There are 4 ways you can complete this task:

  1. Leave a comment with your answer in it on our blog below
  2. Email us at info@30Days30ways.com
  3. Put your answer on our Facebook Fan Page or
  4. Provide the answer on Twitter (Please include @30Days_30ways or hashtag #30Days30Ways in any tweets.

You Have until MIDNIGHT on September 30th to complete this task. Contest rules and more information on the #30Days30WaysChallenge  can be found here:

Note:  If you are receiving this via email, go to www.30days30ways.com to answer