May's Provident Living Challenge!

May is a great time to do your spring cleaning!  This month's goal is to get your cleaning supplies stocked up to last through an emergency.  When there is an emergency, hygiene and sanitation can be challenging because of a lack of clean water.  You might consider stocking up on both cleaning supplies and personal hygiene supplies for you family.  See how quickly they go through a product and figure out how much you'd need for a year supply.  For example, lets say my husband and I go through a tube of toothpaste every 6 weeks.  That means a year supply is about 9 tubes of toothpaste.  When you see toothpaste on sale, buy a few more than you normally would and you won't have to worry about it for a while.  This personally decreases my stress level and those frequent emergency trips to the store in which you end up spending much more than you really need to. Peace of mind is well worth it. Being clean during an emergency will make difficult circumstances more pleasant for the entire family.  

Happy Prepping and Spring Cleaning!

Heather Riet

It's hard to give amounts for any of this stuff but I will at least give you a list of things you might want to make sure you have.

Cleaning Supplies:

bleach - I will recommend having at least 1 extra gallon of bleach around that house that isn't currently being used as bleach is a great way to disinfect anything including your water supply

laundry detergent

dish washing soap (emergency = no power)

dishwasher soap

hand soap

hand sanitizer - especially if the water is out

alcohol/bleach/lysol wipes

Personal Hygiene Items:

tooth brushes 

toothpaste

mouth wash

isoproply alcohol / hydrogen peroxide

deodorant -  necessary if no showers

shampoo

conditioner

body wash

soap bars

contact solution

Sanitary napkins/tampons

baby diapers, wipes etc.  

toilet paper - you don't ever want to run out!

paper towels

paper products like plates, napkins etc.

kleenex/tissues

medicines - presciptions, aspirin, cold meds, etc. (pill and liquid if you have kids)

lotion

chapstick

From President Joseph F Smith's dream:

I knocked and the door opened, and the man who stood there was the Prophet Joseph Smith. He looked at me a little reprovingly, and the first words he said: ‘Joseph, you are late.’ Yet I took confidence and replied:

“‘Yes, but I am clean—I am clean!’

“Be ye clean that bear the vessels of the Lord” (D&C 133:5). Thus has He spoken to us in modern revelation. Be clean in body. Be clean in mind. Be clean in language. Be clean in dress and manner.  ~President Hinckley, Be Ye Clean, GC, April 96