Challenge: Set Up Your Emergency Supplies

Happy September everyone! It is National Preparedness Month (NPM) here in the U.S. and it is also a great time to think about the “what if” scenarios that probably won’t happen but never the less we should be prepared for in our lives. So, this month’s challenge will be to get your emergency supplies in order for easy access, just in case you need it. For my visitors from outside the U.S., this is a great opportunity to determine your emergency plans too. After all, we all have emergencies pop up every so often.

What is National Preparedness Month (NPM)?

If you never heard of NPM, here is a brief background. National Preparedness Month(NPM) was created by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). It was established after 9/11/2001 and it’s the US government’s way to remind citizens to be prepared for any emergency that may occur. Feel free to check out NPM page by clicking here.

So, let’s begin this challenge.

1. Let’s figure out the “what if” scenarios that might happen in our home, community, etc…   Answer these questions: Where I live, do I get lots of rain or snow? When do the roads get impassable? What if my house was flooded? What if there was a hurricane? What if there was a fire in our home? Where would we go? What would we bring with us? It sounds scary, doesn’t it?  I know how you are feeling.  When we set up our emergency supplies right after 9/11 it was quite strange to think about these sad scenarios.  But, since then, we have made it a part of our yearly clear out and clean up. Now, write down the possible scenarios.

2. Next, it’s time to go and determine what items are needed for these scenarios? There may be service items that overlap the different scenarios.  That’s OK.  These are the items you definitely want to include in your emergency supplies. Make a list of these items. To figure out more emergency supplies that you will need, answer these questions: what would you need to take with you? For clothing, how many days of clothing will you need? For food, how many days of nonperishable meals would you need? For Cash, how much money would you need for those days? Would you need anything else? What important papers would you need? What items would you want to bring because you don’t want to lose them?  This will need to be a small list since you will not have that much room.

3. And, now it’s time to gather the supplies from your emergency list. People have used large trash cans and bins. I prefer smaller bins so I can carry them easily. After all, you want to be able to leave quickly and you only have so much room in your vehicles. The Red Cross has a list of all of the supplies that should be in your survival kit, check it out for some more help. Here is how we created our emergency kit. Remember to gather important papers and have them in one place.

I hope this helps you get your emergency supplies organized and ready to go.  If you want more assistance, feel free to check out my other emergency preparedness posts. I have FREE checklists to use to document other important information.

Now it’s your turn, do you have an emergency kit? Where do you store it? What do you think about doing this for your family?  Does it scare you to think this way?  Please leave a comment below.  If you have any questions while you are going through this challenge, please leave it in the comment section and I will be sure to reply to it.

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