Every week I go out and bring something back home . some gadget or piece of equipment , extra food to store away, anything that catches my eye or fills a need. I'm pretty new to this preparedness thinking, but i'm embracing it and having a ball learning everything i can. (love this forum) My wife thinks i've gone over the hill. (I did, looking for a good place to pratice making a fire, can't wait for my MAGFIRE to come)she really thinks i've lost it. the other day a box arrived from amazon " my flash lights arrived" !!!!! i try to give her my mini mag to keep in her purse ,I up graded, and she rolled her eyes and said "if it will make me happy." so I asked her "what if " and went through all the usual disasters and asked her what are you going to do if something happens and she looked at me , straight faced and said " make sure I'm standing next to you" <img src="/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

Start slow with her. Mabye you could both come up with scenarios that she might find herself in.

I'm guessing she won't likely find herself lost in the wilderness while hunting, but she could find herself trying to find something in the dark or trying to figure out which way is north.

Some potential purse items:
-Cell phone - this is probably the most important survival tool for everyday life
-Doug Ritter Photon Freedom micro-light (very tiny and cute, but really gets the job done); if she is willing to carry something a bit bigger, buy a River Rock AAA 0.5 Watt LED light from Target
-Leatherman Micra - yes it is a knife, but it looks more like a pair of folding scissors.
-Suunto Gem (tiny) or Comet (w/ thermometer) compass - goes on a key chain.
-Fox-40 whistle - most women are very willing to carry a whistle - maybe combine it with the compasses.
-Bic mini-lighter - it is tiny and works great for lighting candles at home too.
-A tiny home-made first aid kit containing a few bandaids and a few self-stick gauze pads. She won't need much more.
-A small bottle of sunscreen and a lip balm with higher SPF. Most women know the effects of sun on their face.
-In all seasons but winter, find one of the Totes unbrellas that collapses really really small or a simple poncho (Campmor.com sells a really cute silicone-impregnated nylon poncho that is very light and back real small)
-In cold weather, put a blanket, hat, gloves in her car (and your's too)

I suggest you sit down and prepare an emergency contact list. This discussion is always good, necessary and free.

Once you establish this then work on a basic scenario that could apply to your daily life...what you expect to do, what she should expect you to do, what she expects to do and what you expect her to do.

A CERT class can also make the crazy aspect go away. I recommend them for this aspect alone.

A reasonable discussion of the news disasters which we have an abundance this year should also play a part of the intro to getting prepared...question back "what if I am not standing next to you"?

Much of getting prepared is not the stuff, but the plan. The stuff is fun but stuff alone will not get the job done.

Scenarios:

1) She is stuck, by herself, in a modern day air conditioned facility, it is around 8pm. The sun has set, and there are no windows. The batteries on the emergency lights have failed. The property owner didn't keep up with the maintenance. Luckily, she has that flashlight you gave her. She leads others that are unprepared out of the building.

2) Her vehicle is stranded on the side of the road, for some reason, she decides to walk back. Luckily, she has that flashlight you gave her, and now is a little more visible along the darkened highway.

3) She thinks she lost something behind the bookcase at work, the lights don't adequately light the area. She uses the flashlight you gave her, and finds out what she was looking for is not there.

That's just a great story.

Now I'll share a spouse story.
It was back before we were married, and we were in Doylestown, PA.
There's this cool place called the Font Hill Museum, made by Henry Mercer an eccentric genius (aren't they all). His home was a castle made of cement.
(link: http://www.mercermuseum.org/fonthill/index.html ).

One evening, we were walking in the park by the museum and we noticed that it was open. We went over, and asked what was going on, as usually the museum was closed at night.

There was a once-a-year tour of all the furthest reaches of the home, but in order to participate, you had to have a flashlight because there was no lighting in the far reaches of the building.. Paula (then my girlfriend, now my wife of 9 happy years), said, "Oh, well, maybe next year" and I said "I have a flashlight!" and from my pocket came an "AA" Maglight and we went on the tour. To this day, I feel naked without a flashlight.

That is without a doubt, one of the neatest places in the world. Henry Mercer, had the foresight to see that with the advancing industrial revolution, that many of the tools associated with traditional trades and crafts, were becoming quickly obsolete and becoming scare. He collected everything and setup his museum by trades/crafts, as well as items associated with everyday living. The place is truly unique and worthwhile visiting, especially if you have children, as they get to see many of the actual tools used for many trades/arts, which are rarely practiced today. From a survival/self-reliance point of view, they can see how tools were constructed, so if the need arises they may have a visual memory of how to build the tool.

Martin, if you hear of the extended tour coming up, could you please post the date(s) and time(s).

Thanks
Pete