Preparedness Challenge #10

This week my preparedness has focused a lot more on my daughter's trip to East Asia rather than a lot at home. However, I did get some attachments for my Roma Tomato Strainer to make items from the garden later in the summer. And I picked up 50 pounds of sugar for the bees. After my mishap last week with them, I'll be feeding them longer than I had hoped. My goal for them now is to get them strong enough to make it through next winter. Apparently the pollen here is high, but the nectar flow is low. 

Since my daughter is traveling to a third world country in less than 2 weeks, we needed to finish getting her packed with essentials. Food isn't so much an issue because she'll be at an organic farm most of the time. We did decide to purchase her a Berkey Sport Water Bottle that will filter just about anything and make it clean. That way if she is out and about sight seeing or shopping, she can know that her water is safe to drink. This would be a great item to add to a 72-Hour Kit or to keep in your car.


Because the risks for mosquito borne diseases are so high, we had to get her vaccinated for things like Typhoid and a prescription for Malaria. But there are some things which have no preventative measures other than insect repellent with DEET. Normally, I would not let her use this stuff, but we're talking about bad diseases that must be avoided at all costs. Her immune system isn't that great anyway, due to an illness when she was about 15, so my plan is to super-detox her when she gets home. And in the meantime, we bought a Costco size package of insect repellent.

Another item I'm looking into is a natural repellent for lice and bed bugs. I'm hoping it deters mosquitoes as well! Call me a clean freak, but this girl has long thick hair and getting lice would be a real pain! 


She'll be carrying a lot of first aid items as well as medications and immune support items. Traveling with homemade products... well, we've opted not to go that route this time. The last thing we want is for her to flag her bag as suspicious. Fortunately, we've checked into some items that she can purchase once she's there, such as baking soda, which she can use to make a few items. 


Her experiment with no-poo shampoo (baking soda and an apple cider rinse) has turned out to be excellent. There was a week her scalp and hair were very oily, but it soon passed and now her scalp is no longer itchy and scaly. Since her shower's there will consist of a cup of water poured over herself, the baking soda will be much easier to rinse out than shampoo. I'm really glad we planned for this in advance! Her plan is to use the baking soda to brush her teeth as well. Baking soda is another item that would be great for anyone prepping to have on hand in bulk.!


Thank you to those who contributed to her trip this past month! We're aware that some of you gave and we want you to know how grateful we are for your gifts that will allow her to go and serve overseas. All her expenses have now been met and she'll be on her way soon. To follow along on their adventures, you can read here.


I'd love to hear from everyone, but especially anyone who has traveled in a similar situation that can give us any tips or ideas we might not have considered.  And if you've done something this week to be prepared, be sure to leave a comment or link up!