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October 20, 2009

Are Hygiene Products in your Preps?

I went shopping this past weekend to tie a few loose ends in my preps. The main end that needed tying was my hygiene products. Depending on the severity of the disaster there's a chance you will and won't have running water. If the water was out and possibly going to be out for a long time, using your water storage for strictly drinking and cooking would be the best thing to do. There are ways to practice at least some level of hygiene in the absence of water. Good hygiene will keep moral up, and keep things a lot more comfortable.

Without running water you can still stay somewhat clean and smelling good in an emergency. Stocking up on baby wipes, deodorant, and wash rags will allow you to keep yourself for the most part pretty clean. Use the baby wipes to clean off the worst of the dirt, and spare a little water from your storage to wet a wash rag to wipe yourself down. The deodorant will keep your arm pits from smelling too bad, and if you're stuck in your home with your family keeping the body odor at a minimum would be important.

Keeping your teeth clean is another important part of your daily hygiene. In an emergency when a dentist might not be available, keeping your teeth brushed daily will hopefully prevent any major dental problems. I have a lot of toothbrushes stocked up along with the ingredients to make my Homemade Toothpaste Recipe. It was a lot cheaper for me to stock up the ingredients to make the toothpaste instead of stocking up pre-made toothpaste. Sparing some of your water for brushing your teeth would be acceptable considering the problems that might arise if you didn't brush your teeth.

Hand sanitizer is also something that's important to keep stocked whether you have running water or not. Without running water you wouldn't be able to wash your hands regularly so hand sanitizer would be your next best option. Hand sanitizer would at least allow you to kill the germs and remove some dirt from your hands. I have one of the large 40oz. bottles of hand sanitizer that would last most people a long time. Also keep plenty of hand soap stocked if you do have water you can continue to wash your hands regularly.

If you did still have running water in the event of a disaster then you want to be sure you have the necessary items to clean yourself. Soap and shampoo are both important to stock up on. You might have running water but if you don't have soap stocked up you won't be able to clean yourself. Keep at least 3 months worth of shampoo and soap stocked up so in the event of a disaster you can still take regular showers or baths and stay clean.

All of these things are very cheap and things most people use on a regular basis. Hygiene products can be purchased in bulk and on sale just as you purchase your food storage. They can also be rotated like your food storage so it's important to have these things stocked up along with your other preparedness items. Whether you have running water or not, it's important to practice good hygiene especially in a disaster. By stocking up on what you need you're going to be able to accomplish just that.

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