madmumbler
Storm Tracker
Reged:
Posts: 324
Loc: SWFL
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Two months and counting. There's plenty of time to start preparations. If you don't have plywood, buy a sheet a week instead of trying to buy it all at once. Buy a bag of Plylox if you're going to use them. Or tapcon screws or whatever. Start buying batteries, food, etc.
You can spend an extra $15 - 20 a week NOW, and be totally prepared when the time comes. And it won't kill your budget.
It's also time to go through your left-over food and check it. Check that peanut butter!! Make sure it wasn't part of the recall. (Mine was.)
I like getting those small canned hams, because I can use them after season chopped up in things like mac n cheese.
Check any medicines or first-aid supplies to make sure they didn't expire. Take out bottled water and start using it, replace it with fresh. (It gets old and funky tasting if it sits too long.)
Check batteries. If you kept your kit in the hot garage, they might not be good. Go through them and use any that are old, make notes of what you need. Replace the ones in your smoke detectors if you haven't lately!!!
Make a list. Start checking off things as you go along NOW.
Make CD backups of computer files NOW. Make copies of insurance papers, auto titles, mortgage papers, etc. NOW. Store them in a "go kit" -- I use one of those plastic file boxes with a handle -- in zipper top plastic storage bags to keep them waterproof. Store the originals -- in zipper top plastic bags -- in a safety deposit box. Make copies of your credit cards (front and back), social security cards, birth certificates, military papers, public assistance papers -- anything you will need to put your life back together -- and store it in a safety deposit box. If you want, scan it in and keep copies on CD in a safe place.
Review insurance coverage amounts. I upped mine when I renewed in December because I realized I was underinsured. Make SURE you have flood insurance!!! Even if you don't think you "need" it, GET IT. Once storms are active, companies freeze all new policies and upping amounts on existing policies. Do it NOW, while you can.
Have your pets had their shots? Now, in Florida, counties are starting pet-friendly shelters in many areas, but your pets MUST have proof of immunization to be admitted. Again, start NOW. Get them up to date, have copies of all paperwork, make sure their collars have tags on them. Get them microchipped, or if they are microchipped, make sure the information is up to date with the manufacturer. Make sure you have crates/carriers for ALL animals. I keep those cheap disposable aluminum baking pans for a portable litter pan for my cat. Fits in a small dog crate perfectly and I can toss it before going home. Have pictures -- GOOD pictures -- of YOU with your pets for proof of ID. If you have exotic animals/birds, make sure to have secure travel cages for them. I use a cat carrier for guinea pigs, and small bird cages for travel cages for my two birds. I have crates for my dogs. If you have exotic animals (reptiles, etc.) most of those are not allowed in public shelters, even pet-friendly ones. Don't risk leaving your pet at a vet in the storm area -- many pets being boarded at vet offices lost their lives in the storm surge along the Gulf coast.
If you have large animals (horses, etc.) make plans for them now. Will you have to evacuate them? Make your plans now, not at the last minute.
Make sure if you will evacuate you have enough plastic storage tubs to carry your stuff. Buy an extra one a week at the store when you go to Sprawl Mart.
Start thinking about what you'll need in the way of car maintenance. Keep an eye on tires, oil changes, etc. Make sure you have everything current before the season starts so you aren't trying to evacuate on bald tires.
Get trees trimmed, any debris removed from your yard. Clean out your garage (Freecycle.org is a GREAT way to get rid of [Email]cr@p[/Email] you don't want to haul off.) so you can fit stuff inside it. Look and see if there are any loose shingles/tiles on your roof that need fixing, etc.
There is plenty of time NOW, if you do it all NOW, before season and storms hit. Make a list and chip away at it a little each week. Hopefully you won't need any of it, but if you don't do it NOW, you will be scrambling around later when you have to evacuate/prepare.
If you are caught every year swearing you're going to do it differently next year, now's the time to start.
Not a bad list at all! Thank You for the details and reminders... also don't forget to let a relative know where you have gone to also!
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Lesli in SWFL.
Friends help you move. Real friends help you move bodies.
Edited by Storm Cooper (Mon Mar 26 2007 12:03 AM)
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Robert A
Verified CFHC User
Reged:
Posts: 12
Loc: Central Florida
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I have two lists, one for home & one for my office. Each list gives a month-by-month--for all 12 months of the year--of things to be done that particular month.
Portable generators, for instance, need to be run UNDER LOAD about once each month (permanent/standby generators are normally set to cycle/test on/off each week or each month). This is obviously more crucial for businesses, but if you have a portable generator at home, either test it/run it monthly, or use it for other purposes, which accomplishes the same thing as "testing". They also need oil-level checks, oil/oil filter/air filter/spark plug changes. And unless you run it periodically, you NEED fuel stabilizer in the tank (emptying the tank isn't as good a practice as you are lead to believe).
At the office we give away unused food to food banks and/or social-/religious-service organizations each November, which helps them stock for the holidays. We use a water cooler at the office, but at home we cycle that water out in November (plants, wash cars, etc.).
I have plywood labelled for location, which end is up/out/etc., and I seal/coat it before I put it away. I just put batteries into normal household use, and buy new ones the following March or April.
Unused gas goes in cars/tools/lawnmowers.
It really is a year-round activity. Hurricanes are NOT the only calamity that can befall us, as recent ice storms, snow storms, freezes, tornadoes, floods, etc., bear out.
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Erin, Charley, Frances, Jeanne, plus several other TSs
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