Hurricane season is almost here! While living on the coast we have been through several hurricanes and I would like to give everyone a few tips about preparing.
Now is the time to prepare or update your GO BOX. A GO BOX is a box you keep in a place you see all the time – I recommend your laundry room – so you will see it every time you do laundry and you will remember where it is. This is your box you will take with you in the event of a storm coming your way or when an evacuation is being talked about.
Inside your box you need to have a zip-lock bag with a list of things you need to secure around your home and things you want to take with you if you have to leave. (Walking around in a panic at 3 am is not the time to decide these things. Trust Me.)
On that list – and placed in the bag – should be:
√ Passports, Birth and Marriage certificates and Social Security cards
√ Insurance papers and/or policy numbers. If your company has an app – use it.
√ Medicine, Prescription numbers and Doctor’s phone numbers. (If you have less than 10 days of a necessary medicine call and ask the Dr. to refill it to a different pharmacy)
√ Phone numbers of neighbors. (Nextdoor.com is a great way to keep up with your local weather and neighborhood if you have to leave. If you do not belong to Nextdoor.com you need a current member to invite you - here is a link that will work: https://nextdoor.com/invite/zmq2ea7nk3fv9ou4j0sw )
√ You should own a USB Flash Drive for each computer. Back them up and put the flash drive in the bag.
√ You should have a predetermined list of valuables and things you want to take with you. Anything you cannot take with you leave on top of a bed in case of a flood. Now would be the time to move all family mementos and baby pictures to plastic containers that seal well and could float if necessary.
Also in your GO BOX:
A change of clothes or two, extra Phone charger cords and wall plugs, toilet paper, a first aid kit, a few gallons of fresh drinking water, blankets and pillows. Pretend you are going to be camping in the wilderness for a week – because you may feel like it if you can’t get back to your house or if you are stuck in a parking lot for several days.
SNACKS!!! (Update them during the summer!) Have a large unopened jar of peanut butter, crackers, breakfast bars, granola, nuts, juice boxes, things your family likes that won’t melt. Keep an unopened case of bottled water under your go box.
If you have the space for a cooler, go through your fridge and take the cheese and any other things you can eat without cooking. If you have a chance to shop, get some fruit that’s not sticky and a couple of loaves of bread. throw some water bottles in the cooler and replace them as you use them.
KIDS & PETS – Don’t forget that kids and pets need special items as well – Pets will need space to be in a kennel so they will be safe if you have to stay somewhere there are other dogs or cats.
Kids will need extra attention because this will be scary. Think about this beforehand and try to have new items on hand to keep their attention if you have to be in the car for hours….and hours.
Tailor this list to fit your family – it takes some thought before hand for kids and pets and your go box needs to be kept up to date once a month.
ONE LAST THING – I try to tell everyone at Christmas that solar phone chargers make great gifts for emergencies but now would be a great time to look into them. They’re still not very fast and they need to stay charged, but they’re a great thing to have if you need to make lots of calls or texts to let everyone know you’re okay. A dead phone is not fun. If nothing else, buy a few battery powered phone chargers at Walmart to keep on hand but don’t forget the batteries!