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 Emergency Supplies Kit challenge.
- 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. - 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? Now, for food, how many days of nonperishable meals would you need? And, 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. - 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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When I was pregnant back in 2011 we lost power for almost a week due to Storm Sandy. Thankfully we have city water, a gas stove and a fireplace so we got by. Since then we invested in a generator which has been a good investment. You just never know when something will strike!
Great investment, Sarah! It only takes one storm to change your viewpoint, doesn't it.
Thank you for the reminder about getting prepared for emergencies. You're right that I don't like to think about the bad "what ifs," but I know it's a smart thing to do.
My husband, is really great about doing the emergency thinking and planning. I think it's his Boy Scout background. We actually had a conversation just this week about making some tweaks to our preparedness plan.
While you never know what can happen, it IS comforting to have certain things in place so that you can function better during the emergency. The times we've lost power, heat or water during storms, it's been helpful and less stressful to have extra batteries, emergency lights, water, and food.
Good idea to get prepared. Tropical storm Hermine ended up passing us by, but what usually happens is a storm that we heard very little about ends up being the "big one." All it takes is one tree through your roof or on your power lines to completely upset your life. I always recommend the firesafe box.
Anytime we go up to the mountains in any season we take our emergency backpack as well as putting other necessary items in our trunk organizer plus plenty of water! My motto for the mountains is always be prepared! Thoughtful post Sabrina!
We aren't prone to national disasters here, but we had a severe ice storm in December 2013 and some folks were without power for days. Fortunately, ours was only off for a few hours and were able to put something together to eat that didn't require heating, but after that we'd have been hungry. No option to order in either, as we're on the 7th floor so no one would want to walk up the stairs to deliver it. I don't know where we'd have gone if it became necessary to leave, as we have a cat and a dog. It would probably be wise to think about these things, as hard as it is, just in case we're not so lucky next time.
I agree. Even if you don't need an emergency supply kit, it's good to think about where you would go if you needed to leave and what would you take with you.
Great post to remind us how important it is to prepare. I'm always surprised at how many folks in my area (Middle Tennessee - where tornados and floods are issues) haven't thought about having a kit ready. I like that you mention making it a part of your yearly clean up, because emergency supplies expire too!
Here in North Carolina our emergencies tend to be hurricanes. We live far enough inland that mostly this results in a large amount of rain and days without power if winds reach high enough speeds. As this season approaches we make sure our cell phones are charged at all times, our portable charges are ready to go, that our cars have gas, and that we have plenty of food in the pantry to eat so we do not have to open the refrigerator or freezer. We also keep our important documents in a fire safe box. It is hard to think about emergencies but having a plan makes me feel calmer.
Great tips, Daria! Thanks for sharing.