Prepare for an Emergency Now!

This blog is longer than most but it is all vital information!

You never know when it will happen.  When I opened my office six years ago, I hung a flashlight on the corner of a shelf.  It has been untouched all that time.  Well, last night while I was working, we had a major storm. The electricity went out - and stayed out.  I used my computer for awhile until I realized the battery was going to quit.

Thank heavens for the flashlight, because it was pitch black outside!  I was so grateful that I had had the forethought to store it on that shelf.  I was able to get down the steps, weave through my cottage garden path and reach the house without falling or tripping on something.

So what do you have prepared for an emergency?  Do you have enough water and “easy” food on hand in case you have to spend several days in your house without electricity?  Are your important papers easy to locate?  Do you have a grab-and-go bag so you could leave in minutes?  My Florida friends have to think of hurricanes.  Here in Tennessee we have tornados and floods. The West has forest fires.  The list of reasons to be prepared to handle a crisis could go on, but the point is - are you prepared?

A resource I like is http://www.ready.gov/. Even children are encouraged to be involved with emergency planning on this site. There are fun games and activities that can help your family build an emergency supply kit that keeps everything you might need during an emergency in one place! Printable versions of lists of necessary items are easy to find here.  There is even a section on emergency preparation for your pets.  And you’ll also find instructions to show you how to prepare your business for an emergency.

Another good resource is a book written by professional organizer Judith Kolberg.  Its title is Organize for Disaster: Prepare Your Family and Your Home for Any Natural or Unnatural Disaster. She considers subjects ranging from Family Communication, Evacuation, and First Aid, to Avoiding the Disaster after the Disaster.  A good read.

A key to surviving any disaster is having your paperwork in order for your home and business. For your home papers I recommend Homefiles. It is quick and easy to use and takes all the guesswork out of what to put where. When you order Homefiles from my website http://www.clutterfree.biz/other-products-mary-loves, I’ll include a tips sheet that tells you exactly how to go about using the filing system as if I were standing next to you.  It is important for your business that you have an off-site back up for your computer files.  I use Carbonite for my backup.

If you know you will not be one to get a “grab and go bag” together I recommend you order one from www.guardiansurvivalgear.com  It really is complete! Each bag has everything you need for a disaster and they come in a variety of sizes.  Knowing I put things off like everyone else I found it a relief to know I have one to grab in an emergency. The one I ordered has supplies for two people. If you fill out the Homefile record book and put it in your grab and go bag you will have every important number you need with you (for example the number of your house insurance policy.

Throw out the “it’ll never happen to me” thinking.  The Boy Scouts say “Be Prepared”.  Before the 16th century, the saying “forewarned, forearmed” was already in use.  And Ben Franklin quoted an earlier writer who penned “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure”.  Don’t become a statistic or a sad story on the news.  Prepare for emergencies now!