Monday, September 19, 2011

Are you ready?

I'm not!  The other week we had a massive blackout.  It took out our area, all of San Diego, some of Arizona and even parts of northern Mexico.  The power was out for about 12 hours.  In that time, we realized we are NOT ready for an emergency.  We had to head north for dinner that night.  So did everyone else and we got home at 9 pm!  From there, we had to have Brooklyn stomp her feet to give us light to walk in.  Thank you Twinkle Toes!  I got a few candles up and running and we went to grab a flashlight only to find out the only working flashlight actually acted like a strobe light.  Awesome!  Don't worry, we survived. 

It wasn't bad, but I think it could have been easier if we were better prepared.  It is easy to brush things like this aside when you have little kids because they take up so much time, money and energy.  I realize that if I am investing this much effort into my family, I need to be able to protect them in an emergency, so I started making a list of what to get.  So far I have:

-clean out the hall closet to have a central location for emergency kit
-put in grab 'n go bags with emergency documents
-buy new flashlights
-have an emergency bag in the car:  blankets, bandages, clothes, snacks and water
-have a $20 in the glove box at all times
-get $100 in $1's to stash (I was told that in an emergency, people won't make change for you, so you better have the exact amount)
-solar chargers for cell phones
-First Aid kit
-work on food storage by buying one or two more items more at a time

That is all I have so far.  I am new to this though, so I would love any advice.  Hopefully, we will never have to use any of this, but it seems like natural disasters are going on around us all the time.  It's better to be safe than sorry, right?

3 Quick Thoughts:

Cecily said...

Now you're barking up my tree. Don't forget to add a "flee bag", attached to every person's bed frame. Include clothing (for those who sleep without:), shoes (broken glass causes most non-fatal after-earthquake injuries), leather work gloves, a whistle, and a flashlight. In case of nighttime earthquake you won't have to go searching for the supplies you'll need right away.

Sarah said...

You are awesome. I am def not ready. I'm glad it was a little reminder to get ready instead of BIG reminder :) I think I'll go get my 72 hours kits ready now

Mrs. Case said...

i didn't know solar cell chargers existed. im going to go buy one now!