Simple Home Organization» Be Prepared

Stock up on school supplies

Melinda — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 04:01:34 +0000

Stock up on school supplies while they are cheap

Purchase extra crayons, pens, glue sticks, pencils, paper, and other supplies that need to be restocked/replaced throughout the year.

Organize the supplies

Assign an area (drawer, container, or cabinet) to store the extra supplies. Make it easy for the kids to get what they need.

I prefer to use a spare drawer (pictured) so everything is easily visible. Drawer dividers are great for keeping like items together.

In my house, three-ring binders seem to fall apart halfway through the year, and there is a significant price difference after the back-to-school sales are over. Since I use them for my business, too, I like to keep a good stock of them.

The cost of a pack of crayons can jump from $.50 to over $2 when they return to normal price.

By planning ahead, you can stretch your school supply dollar.

Storm preparation guide – assemble a disaster supplies kit

Melinda — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 22:56:05 +0000

Floods, hurricanes, tornados, etc. are becoming regular news stories, and this year is expected to be a busy hurricane season.

A disaster supplies kit isn’t just for hurricane-prone areas.

It is a good idea for everyone to keep some basic supplies on hand in case of any type of natural disaster.

I experienced two hurricanes where I had no power or water for about a week. I learned my lesson the hard way the first time, so I make sure my disaster supplies are restocked. I also experienced ice storms with similar results, so it isn’t just hurricanes you need to worry about.

My first experience was with hurricane Fran which was still a category 1 when it reached the middle of the state of North Carolina. The disaster was not something Raleigh saw coming at all. We were trapped in our neighborhood for 3-4 days due to downed trees and power lines. Living way out in the “boonies”, we were the last area to get help with clearing roads. I was completely unprepared, and my oldest child was just a small baby.

My second experience was in Florida in 2005, the most active Atlantic hurricane season on record. I was eight months pregnant when we were forced to board up our inland home due to a fast-approaching category 5 heading right for us. Assuming it could still be a 3 or 4 when it hit our area, we didn’t take any chances. It was terrifying. However, this time I was better prepared, and we weathered the aftermath with ease.

Along with the usual items, I included my own tips based on my experiences dealing with power/water outages.

Disaster Kit contents:

Each June 1st, the start of hurricane season, I check the supplies and switch out the batteries and food so they don’t get old. I use a large plastic tub to hold everything since it is waterproof.

Items to include:

Flashlights and batteries. One per person.
Batteries for other items. The kids’ DS handhelds were a life saver in keeping them happy and entertained.
1 battery-powered lantern with several backup batteries. When you are without power, the lantern will light up a whole room in a way the handheld flashlights can’t. The kids and I were able to play board games at the table. Having two is even better.
Deck of cards – A pack of cards is priceless for killing boredom!
Battery-powered radio
First-aid kit
Several plastic tarps – Use these to cover a broken window or leak due to house damage. You also should have one for each bathtub in your home so you can fill them with water for bathing, flushing toilets, hand washing etc.
Paper plates and utensils – You don’t want to waste water washing dishes.
Matches/lighter – Keep several for lighting candles.
Can opener

Other items to have on hand:

Drinking water – 1 gallon per person per day for several days. That is a lot of water to store, but I can tell you from experience you can’t have enough water on hand when you have no working water and it’s 105 degrees inside. I prefer the 24 packs of bottled water and placed them in the cooler 10 at a time to cool off.
Car cell phone charger – My cell phone was my lifeline during the hurricanes. With no power, you can only charge your cell phone in the car. Thank goodness for 3G/4G phones these days which help stay abreast of what is going on in the world with internet access. It is your only communication with the rest of the world…that is if the cell towers are still standing.
Cash – Have $200 in cash for emergencies because ATMs don’t work without power. If you do find a store open, chances are they won’t have power either but will be accepting cash.
Prescription/non prescription medicine: Make sure you have all medications filled and some aspirin, anti-diarrhea medication, and antacid (for stomach upset). The heat from no A/C and stress can take a toll on your body.

Food - Ready-to-eat canned meats, fruits and vegetables

Canned juices, milk, soup (if powdered, store extra water)
Staples–sugar, salt, pepper
Boxed mac & cheese and ramen noodles – if you have a camping grill
High energy foods–peanut butter, jelly, crackers, granola bars, trail mix
Vitamins
Foods for infants, elderly persons or persons with special dietary needs
Comfort/stress foods–cookies, hard candy, sweetened cereals, lollipops, instant coffee, tea bags.
At the last minute, I also bought a couple of loaves of bread to make peanut butter sandwiches.

Items around the house that become handy:

Candles. I prefer the jar-kind that aren’t at risk for falling over. Warning: if they are scented, don’t mix too many or you will find yourself with a strange smell in the house. We discovered pumpkin, vanilla, cranberry and cinnamon don’t mix too well.
Camping grill or a gas grille. They come in handy for eating up the food that will be bad in just a couple of days. Cook everything you can while it is still good.

If you are a coffee drinker, get a camping coffee maker so you aren’t boiling water and pathetically trying to pour it into a paper filter of coffee hanging over a coffee mug out of desperation.

The back porch became the kitchen, and the grill was worth every penny. If you are using a camping grill, be sure to have backup propane for it.
Cooler - Several large coolers become your refrigerator. Use one to hold drinks and one to hold any food you can save from the refrigerator. Having some sodas and juice drinks, too, is nice because water gets old fast. A little variety helps make your situation a bit more bearable.

If you know in advance, preparations you can take

If you know you may encounter some problems, here are a few things to do ahead of time. Unfortunately, hurricanes are about the only natural disaster you have time to prepare for.

Amazing photo courtesy of Melissa at ContemporaryCaptures.com from her iPhone

Fill your car with gas – I used to wonder why we were supposed to do this with a hurricane approaching. One reason is so you can run your car and cool down with some A/C occasionally while charging your cell phone. Also, gas pumps don’t run if there is no electricity.

During the Raleigh experience, trees where blocking roads everywhere. On my desperate trip out to find some ice, I had to keep turning around and trying a different route in search of an open store. Due to the lack of gas in my car, I was forced to give up. Lesson learned.
Fill the bathtub with water – Line the tub with a shower curtain to prevent any from leaking out. Fill it with water. You can use this to wash your hands and flush toilets (not to drink). After a week you become a pro taking a shower with a bucket of ice cold water and finding it refreshing.
Containers of water – I filled as many pitchers and containers with water as I could and put them in the refrigerator. This water was used up before using the bottled water.
Make ice – Make as much ice as possible and store in the freezer. I just kept bagging what the ice maker made so it could keep making more. Also, use some plastic containers to freeze huge blocks of ice. They will take longer to melt, so they are better to use in the coolers. Ice becomes extremely important in saving some food in the refrigerator and keeping your drinks a little cold. After a couple of days, you are left with pantry food and warm drinks.
Crank up the refrigerator settings and the A/C a little – This will help keep the refrigerator and house cooler longer. If you lose power, cover the windows with blankets to help keep the sun from heating the house.
Bring all outside items inside – Lawn furniture, potted plants, etc. Bring them all into your garage or home so they don’t become projectiles in the wind and break your windows. I moved the gas grill into the garage during the storm to protect it, knowing it would be handy for cooking with no power.
Clean your house – I can’t emphasize this enough. Get all the laundry done, clean your bathrooms, mop, vacuum, run the dishwasher so it is empty, etc. Mold grows fast in a warm home, and you will be glad everything was clean to start.

If 3-4 days have passed without power and your food is going bad in the refrigerator, bag it up and get it out of the house before it starts to stink. Wipe down the refrigerator.

With better preparation the second time around, we were able to cook decent meals and weathered the outages with ease.

However, after five days of eating peanut butter and crackers and dealing with the unbearable heat, sitting in an air-conditioned restaurant eating a hot freshly-cooked hamburger was pure heaven!

Some information was obtained from FEMA’s site.

Have any other tips for weathering a storm?

Now you can have company and your sanity

Melinda — Thu, 03 Jun 2010 16:54:20 +0000

Got friends or family coming to visit?

Don’t stress

With a little planning you and your home will be ready without much disruption to your regular schedule.

Spread out your preparations over a 5-day period.

The 5-day plan

4-5 days before

Get some big stuff out of the way that doesn’t have to be done at the last minute.

If you are lucky enough to have a guest room that isn’t being used, wash the sheets so they are freshly laundered and straighten up the room, if needed.
Steam cleaning – If you own a steam cleaner, freshen up the main room.
Declutter the house – Make sure everything is where it belongs.

3 days before:

Get the outside work done so you aren’t tracking dirt into a clean house.

Mow
Weed and trim
Tend to flower beds, if needed

2 days before:

Dust
Clean windows/sliding glass doors
Catch up the laundry
Prepare a meal plan for the days you have company and a grocery list so it is ready to go on grocery shopping day. Don’t forget your coupons! Think about what you will be doing (like sightseeing all day) and plan quick and easy meals for those days.

1 day before:

Clean floors – vacuum and mop
Clean kitchen – wipe down counters and appliances and clean the sink
Clean bathrooms – restock your soaps at the sink and in the shower/tub. Make sure you have shampoo/conditioner available for your guests in case they forgot theirs. Refill your vanity containers such as Q-Tips, cotton balls, etc.

The arrival day:

Touch up bathrooms, if needed
Grocery shop using your list you created days ago
Cook a few things in advance, if you can, so you can spend your time with your guests, not in the kitchen.
Bake a cake. Don’t you love arriving at your destination to the delicious smell of a freshly baked cake?

Enjoy your guests

By the time they arrive, you will have everything done and can relax and enjoy the time with friends/family.

Protect your valuable papers

Melinda — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 14:21:43 +0000

Are your papers safely stored?

If there were a disaster and your home were destroyed, what information would you need to rebuild your life? This is the purpose of the safe deposit box – to protect your valuables in case of a disaster.

The safe deposit box – it’s not just for jewelry

Important papers that can’t easily be replaced can be stored safely at the bank in a safe deposit box.

Make copies of everything for your home records.
Keep a list of all the contents in your safe deposit box in your filing system so you know what is in there.
Update the list as you add and remove items.

Important documents include:

Wills
Titles (home, car, etc.)
Passports – unless you use them frequently
Family records: birth certificates, death certificates, marriage certificates
Social security cards
Insurance policies
Stock/Bond certificates
Health history – vaccination records
A list of credit cards and their information

Other items to include:

Video of your home for insurance purposes
Backups for your computer files
CDs or negatives of photos
Coin collections
Jewelry

Video tape your home for insurance records

Videotape your home for insurance

Melinda — Tue, 20 Apr 2010 13:47:27 +0000

Do you know what you own?

No one wants to think about being in a situation where their home is destroyed, but being prepared is important.

Would you be able to give the insurance company a list of items you have in your home if something happened tomorrow?

Chances are you would forget many items if you were listing them from memory. Video tape the contents of your home every few years for insurance purposes.

Record the contents of your home

Use a video camera to scan each room. Make sure you record all major electronics, appliances, and furniture. Open closets and cabinets and scan the contents. Don’t forget the contents in your garage.

Talk as you scan

Give verbal descriptions of items such as “Dell M1210 laptop” as you scan the room. It would be nearly impossible to read model numbers from the video, so use your voice to add the details or make a list of the more expensive items to store with the video tape.

Include valuable collections

Have a large jewelry collection or coin collection? Lay it on a table and record each piece. Don’t forget tools and supplies for hobbies you have,as they can be expensive to replace.

Keep the video in a safe place

Burn your video to a DVD if you can. Store the DVD or tape in your safe deposit box at the bank.

Don’t have a video camera?

Borrow one from a friend, or take lots of pictures and write information on the back of the photo, noting details such as the brand and model.