Buy a $40 USB solar power battery bank to recharge your MP3 player or smartphone each day so you can listen to Emergency Broadcast System announcements and local news radio. Buy $10 USB rechargable mini-speakers to your whole family can listen.

Buy a portable camping gas stove for $20. Each gas bottle costs about $1.50 and will burn on high flame for 80 minutes. Six bottles will allow you to heat two months worth of simple meals.

Buy an $8 container of pool chlorine powder. One teaspoon will treat 60 gallons of river water. You'll need a HUGE container to store the water in so you can fill it and treat it without getting the tiny measurements wrong. Pass river water through cotton sheets to remove debris and silt. Normal tap water is chlorinated too - that's what water treatment plants use. Iodine pills are fantastic but extremely expensive. Bleach works well but has a very short shelf-life. Pool chlorine power will last forever if stored properly.

Tealights cost about $0.15 cents each and burn for about 3 hours. Taller tealights cost about $0.35 cents each and burn for about 7 hours. Put the tealights in short whiskey glasses for safety. Use coasters to prevent wooden tables from being marked by the heat. Solar lights are also a great option. Nighttime lighting is essential to boost your family's morale because otherwise they'll be sitting in the pitch darkness listening to the noises outside. Cover your windows because the light will attract joggers.

Buy a $40 USB solar power battery bank to recharge your MP3 player or smartphone each day so you can listen to Emergency Broadcast System announcements and local news radio. Buy $10 USB rechargable mini-speakers to your whole family can listen.

Buy a portable camping gas stove for $20. Each gas bottle costs about $1.50 and will burn on high flame for 80 minutes. Six bottles will allow you to heat two months worth of simple meals.

Buy an $8 container of pool chlorine powder. One teaspoon will treat 60 gallons of river water. You'll need a HUGE container to store the water in so you can fill it and treat it without getting the tiny measurements wrong. Pass river water through cotton sheets to remove debris and silt. Normal tap water is chlorinated too - that's what water treatment plants use. Iodine pills are fantastic but extremely expensive. Bleach works well but has a very short shelf-life. Pool chlorine power will last forever when stored properly.

Tealights cost about $0.15 cents each and burn for about 3 hours. Taller tealights cost about $0.35 cents each and burn for about 7 hours. Put the tealights in short whiskey glasses for safety. Use coasters to prevent wooden tables from being marked by the heat. Solar lights are also a great option. Nighttime lighting is essential to boost your family's morale because otherwise they'll be sitting in the pitch darkness listening to the noises outside. Cover your windows because the light will attract joggers.