Water and food storm prep questions and other things to think about

Anyone know much about storing water? The hurricanes reminded me about prepping for storms. I'm in MO , so I'm thinking ice storms and tornadoes are the main things that could knock out our power for a while. My cousins were without powered for two weeks because of an ice storm. My brother was out for a week from a different storm. These storms were very local.  What happens if half the state gets hit?

I have 28 gallons of water stored in 4 jugs. It's a too old, a couple years old. I guess it's not safe without sterilizing? Can I just water my garden with it and refill the jugs or do the jugs need to be cleaned somehow?  I bought a couple barrels. I haven't filled them yet. I need to get too it.

I have a Steripen. I haven't ever used it. It's a few years old guess I need to make sure it works. I'm only a block from a pond.

I have a propane camping burner, but I'm low on fuel.

My generator probably needs the carburetor cleaned out.

I have canned food in the kitchen, but my supplies are lower than usual. I really hate shopping. Guess I need to get to it.

In case of a tornado, I'll be in the basement. I have the old water there but no food that doesn't need cooking, except vegetables in the freezer. That wouldn't be too convenient in case I got stuck down there a while. Some tuna and sardines might be a good idea.  I don't think it'd be likely to be trapped for long, but I saw what Joplin looked like after the tornado. It could happen, and putting some food in the basement that doesn't need cooking would be very easy.

I'm all for prepping for as long a term as you can, but everyone should have a least a few weeks of security.

One of the disaster preparations that I do about 2 to 3 times a year, is that I fast for a week. That teaches me that I don't have to have food to survive short term. Because I do it routinely, my body is perfectly attuned to be able to power itself from my stored fat whenever I want it to. For example, if I go on a trip, and don't want to eat what the natives have to offer, I don't have to eat for days at a time. No big deal. Psychologically, I'm used to not eating for long periods of time.

I'm afraid I'm not healthy enough to try that. I'm on the list for a donor kidney but not in dialysis yet. I think fasting that long might put me over the edge. I do think it's a great idea for healthier people.

hey...

just some basic thoughts:

just store what you eat and drink. and then rotate it aus you use it. first in goes first out.
just enlarge your normal pantry step by step

get stuff that is ready to eat, that you like and that stores well. canned stews, canned saucages, canned fish, canned nuts (salted peanuts), peanut butter etc.
get some dried dried fruit and berries. candy bars, granola bars etc.
stuff that you could eat for a few weeks without much preparation needed.

this saves you time in shopping. just by some more of the items, you would normally buy and eat.

storing water: if it s tight and out of sunlight, storebought bottled water will last for decaeds probably. if you fill your own, there are agents that hinder growth of bacteria. there s a well known brand here for that: micropur (i think by katadyn). it has silver ions something. it just preserves clean water, it does not kill germs if they re still presence. but in that case you still have steripen
cleaning jugs: i ve read about people using pool shock chlorine to desinfect water. so it should be safe for cleaning jugs and the rinsing. but read online about it, you ll find infos wether it s safe. i would go for saturated salt solution, or vinegar or high proof alcohol. should be safe enough.

what about heat?

it would be nice to have some electric energy stored. a car battery (not store in your living space) with a charger. hook a 12v USB plug for the car-cigarette-lighter jack to that and some simple led 12V household lights.

and have a plan to get out and or people to trust for help.

you could search for videos of jack spirko on youtube. i think they are called "modern survivalism" or " 6 planks of modern survivalism" or something. they re very basic and with good common stuff.

but ... i think that at the moment you re a big step better prepared than most folks are....