Island Preparedness

Living on a small island out in the middle of the pacific gives a whole new meaning to preparedness. Surrounded by water anything made of metal has a tendency to rust over time from the salt in the air. There's a lot of moisture here and we've got a pretty good dosage of humidity as well. Majority of the year it's sunny and hot. There's rain and thunder showers too, overall the weather isn't that bad. The weather conditions here though do make it somewhat difficult for food storage. Temperature's rarely drop below sixty degrees and that's depending on the elevation in where you live on the island. Usually its between the seventies and high eighties with occasional 91 or 92 degrees in the summer.


The state of Hawaii is made up of eight small islands, each island has a slightly different way of living. Food and supplies are shipped from the mainland to each island. In the event of a major strike or disaster we just might not receive shipments to the islands. There is agriculture farming here but it is and has been dwindling through the years. Mom and Pop's stores have become extinct. The population as of 2008 is at 1,288,198. Homes are so close to each other you can hear your neighbor fart fortunately you can't smell it.


Our lot sits on .1281 acreage of land, 5580 sf. Total living area 936 sf. We purchased this 3 bedroom fee simple home at $385,000 five years ago and saw it's value soar within a matter of months. It's value leaped to $100,000 more and kept climbing. Our home is located in the mountains on the leeward side of the island thus so it has spectacular views of several parts of the island. Our mortgage runs about $2000 a month and the property tax is $1750 a year which will be rising very soon.


My husband is a well seasoned trucker, he is also an experienced heavy equipment operator.
Trucking jobs here are quite different from the other states all due to the fact that places and corners here are tighter and trickier to maneuver an 18 wheeler or low-boy, slip-in as well as a flatbed depending on the job specs and where the job is located on the island.

The men that he works with have other trades under their belts in the event that jobs are scarce and few or have rained out. He has taken it upon himself to be versatile in many areas of construction so that he has options when it comes to making money and surviving. Knowing these few things I am very blessed and fortunate to have him as my partner in life.


I on the other hand, have made a decent living singing professionally locally and internationally for 20 years. I sing rarely now and made a slight change in my path, done some college going into commercial arts but nothing panned out there for me. I have a creative streak and craft things to sell. Currently I am employed by a big box company. My main focus at this time are in other areas of my life. We have no children except for pets.


Food storage and preparation is a constant ongoing process for me which has become a part of life. The shelf life on food items here vary because of the weather that we live by. I need to be knowledgeable of the temperatures, humidity and moisture here when it comes to storing foods and how to store them. If we had much colder weather here food wood have a longer shelf life, also homes built here do not have basements. If there is, I really don't know. As far as I know there is none.


Mormon's are the only one's that I know of that prepare and have food storage plans here in the islands.

Preparing is an important part of living especially in the times that we live in now. I am hoping to get others involved here in the islands by word of mouth, posting on other sites, as well as this site. I can only hope and pray for the best and inform others to the best of my abilities.