Once you get your home prepared, encourage your neighbors and family members to get ready, too.  

• Trade phone numbers with your neighbors.
• Share a key with a trusted neighbor
• Help them build their kit
• Share your plan with them, particularly if they are part of your plan
• Discuss best practices, including where and how to store their emergency kit
• Ascertain if anyone has special needs and would need assistance
• Offer to help an elderly neighbor or differently-abled neighbor get prepared.
  • The Red Cross recommends having a small group of 3-4 people periodically check in with elderly or differently-abled neighbors. That way there is always a back-up in the event one caregiver is unable to respond.
  • It’s important that these people communicate the person’s status to each other.  

You have 10 minutes to evacuate your home – what do you take?

A well-organized home office can be very helpful if this should ever happen to you. A home office doesn’t necessarily need to be a dedicated room.  On the contrary, a home office can be carved out of a corner of the kitchen or family room, or it can be a room that does double duty as home office and guest bedroom.  Closet Tailors can design a space that will allow you to pull together all those important, must have papers in a snap

• Create a Grab and Go Kit. See our blog post about what goes into a Grab and Go Kit.
  
• Have a charging station in your home office so cell phones, headsets and other communication devices have a full battery.
• Add a charging station for rechargeable batteries.
• Include an emergency flashlight that illuminates when power is cut. This will help you find your way and your evacuation kit. 
• Back up your computer files. House back-up copies offsite or online. 
• Keep scans of important papers on a flash drive that can fit into your pocket. 
• Keep a copy of your home’s emergency plan in your home office. Include contact numbers, meeting locations, communications plans, etc. 
• Dedicate one spot for communication. Post notes for family members here in the event electronics fail or aren’t available.  If everyone knows to look in that spot, you can let family members know where you are and how to find you. Include intended travel routes on all communications.

We’ve invested a lot of electrons encouraging folks to prepare to take care of themselves and their families, but we haven’t addressed pets, yet.  Associated Press reported in June 2009 that nearly half of the respondents to a recent survey considered their pets as much as part of the family as humans.  Whichever half you’re in, it’s important to include your pets in your planning and make sure you take them with you if you’re asked to evacuate. The event will be less traumatic for them if they are with you. Plus, the situation will be safer for the emergency and rescue workers responding to your area if they don’t have to deal with a dog defending its home.

Here are some things to include in your pet’s kit:

• Leashes or crates
• Food
• Water
• Bowls
• Bed
• Favorite toy
• Treats
• Clean up kit, e.g. plastic bags, sanitizing liquid or wipes.
• Veterinary Records, e.g. vaccinations
• Medications
• Copy of Training Completion. This may help sway a hotel manager to loosen pet policies after a disaster.
• Temporary Tags –  This can be as simple as a piece of tape or a key ring that you can write your temporary contact information on.
• Collar with Tags
• Some Counties require pets to be licensed. Have copies of your license
• Current photo of your pet and description should you become separated.

A Prepared Home knows what types of disasters they may face, has an assembled emergency kit that is regularly replenished and has a plan that every member of the household knows and has been drilled on once a year.

One step towards preparation is organization. Having a place for everything and everything in its place is helpful when it comes time to evacuate or shelter in place, assess damage and make insurance claims.

Decluttering your home of unnecessary papers and unwanted items will also make it easier to evacuate when called upon to do so. Getting rid of clutter also removes fuel for fires making it easier for firefighters to defend your home and rescue you or your loved ones.

Contain and Maintain

Once you decide on the items you choose to keep, it’s important to assign a spot to each piece so you can maintain the order. Closet Tailors has a variety of shelves, bins, rods, cabinets that they will use in a space designed specifically for the unique needs of your household.

Hopefully, you and your family have purchased or assembled items for your emergency kit.   If you haven’t, you can purchase a kit or assemble a kit using online resources like Ready.gov, RedCross.org, RedCross.ca, and GetPrepared.ca.  Remember, most emergency and relief agencies warn that citizens need to be prepared to fend for themselves for 3 days. Some agencies have extended that timeframe to 5 days.

Every kit should have basic essentials such as:

• 1 gallon or 4 litres of water per day per person. For a family of four, the kit will need 12 gallons or 48 litres of water.
• Ready-to-eat canned or packaged goods that your family will eat, e.g. fruit, vegetables, and meats. Remember, you may not have access to stoves or be unable to light grills or fires.
• Can Opener and Knife
• Season-appropriate clothing
• Medications
• First Aid Kit
• Radio & Batteries, or opt for a hand crank version.
• Flashlight & Batteries, or opt for a hand crank version.
• Copy of your household’s plan, including contact numbers, numbers to pet shelters/hotels with pet friendly policies and meeting locations.

Additional items can be added based upon your family’s needs, e.g. elderly, differently abled, pets, small children.  Once the basics are taken care of, add comfort items. Make it a family affair and ask each family member what they absolutely can’t live without that should go in the kit.

What’s Holding Your Kit?
What you choose to store your kit in will depend on the type of disaster you’ll likely face. If you need to evacuate, portable storage containers, like bins and duffle bags, may be easier to load into a car trunk than a 33-gallon rubber trashcan.  

Bear in mind, your emergency kit will be heavy.  A gallon of water weighs 8 lbs. or 3.6 kg. So a three-day supply of water for a family of four weighs about 100 lbs or 45 kg.  You may wish to split up your kit into packs for each member of the family.

Storing your Kit
Keep your kit near an exit of your home so you can grab it on the way out if you are ordered to evacuate.  Some families choose to keep their kit in the garage where they can put it into the back of the car and drive out.

Closet Tailors can design your custom storage solution to include a home for your Emergency Kit.  Having a dedicated spot for you kit will ensure that you can find your kit quickly when it’s needed. Additionally, knowing where your kit is will encourage you to replenish your kit regularly to ensure freshness.

Having a fully-stocked emergency kit and knowing where it is will give you and your family a little more peace of mind in the event of a disaster.