Seven Steps Week 3
Well…how are you doing? Take a deep breath and pat yourself on the back. Even if you have only completed 2 or 3 things a week just think how much more prepared you have become in only 2 weeks! Pat yourself on the back and keep moving. How do you eat an elephant?…one bite at a time. Keep taking those small bites.
1. Call your child’s school(s) and ask for a copy of the school emergency plan. If they don’t have one ask some specific questions. For some help in writing a list of questions copy the article Is Your School Prepared at www.TotallyReady.com If your school has no plan to notify parents in case of an emergency or to provide for a student’s needs during a lock down, now is the time to get involved in the parent club or to get a group of friends together to go and ask some questions of your school administration and school board. This is very important. Every day in the United States there are at least a few schools locked down. I experienced a lock down several years ago at our high school. I was in the counseling office when the signal came and the doors were locked. I immediately thought of my son and realized he was in band. Thank goodness. There were restrooms in the band room. Several months ago a teacher was fired because he had allowed his students to use the waste paper basket as a potty during a lock down. He was told he should have called the office and someone would have some to escort the child to the restroom. What kind of lock down is that? In our case and in the majority of lock down cases there is someone around with a weapon. Who would want their child escorted anywhere when someone with a gun was wandering around? If there is an earthquake or fire or tornado, what is the plan? Be sure to set aside some time to discuss this plan with your children.
2. With your family, make a list of your 10 favorite meals. These should be the ones you could eat over and over again. They should include meals that would be appropriate for breakfast as well as lunch and dinner. Next compile a list of their 5 favorite desserts. This is a fun topic for around the dinner table. We will use these in coming weeks and months to accumulate your food storage. Place the list in your binder.
3. Copy the blog post Seasonal Bargains and place in your binder. This week is a great time to purchase all things red and with hearts as they are marked down for and after Valentines Day. Red socks with hearts are great stocking stuffers. Think creatively about future gifts.
4. Add whistles and clothing to your 72 hour kits. (refer to the checklist you printed off and placed in your binder) For infants and young children make sure the clothing and diapers you add are at least a size too big. You can make too big work but too small is a huge headache during a crisis. And, yes diapers are clothing for an infant or toddler. Check them off the checklist in your binder when you are finished and note anything you may need to purchase on this weeks shopping list. If you don’t have backpacks place items for each person in their own large trash bag for now. Make sure you label the bag so it is not accidentally thrown away.
5. Get out your list of items that use electricity. Purchase the items you will need to replace the use of your stove, (matches,charcoal, camp stove…) and dish washer (liquid detergent, paper plates, cups and bowls, plastic utensils…).
6. Find out which radio and TV stations are part of the emergency broadcast system for your local area. Be sure to find out which stations will handle emergency broadcasts for school emergencies. Place this list in your binder where you can find it quickly when the need arises.
7. Contact a friend or family member living at least 100 miles away and ask them if they would be willing to be your family “Out of Area Contact”. They are agreeing to let you come to their home if you need to evacuate, make phone calls on your behalf to your extended family and to store copies of important paper and photos. Get a large manila envelope and write their name and address on the front. We will use this next week.
Have a great week!
I am loving this! There are so many things that I hadn’t thought of doing. Last week my husband and I rearranged some things in our home to make room for more food storage. What foods do you recommend keeping in the garage? Where we live it gets to be over 100 degrees in the summer time.
Thanks for the question. I would recommend you store all your paper products, household cleaners, laundry and dish detergents,bars of soap and water in the garage. Beans, pasta, rice, sugar, oats, cream of wheat, wheat, or other non liquid items which have been sealed in cans using oxygen packs will store well in a garage. Of course the best place is still in a cooler location. Home canned foods, jams, juices, oil,food containing oil such as peanut butter,and condiments such as catsup and salad dressing are the worst items to store in a hot garage. Remember you can store food in the laundry room or linen closet if the items normally kept there are stored in the garage.
This week I had my 4year old and 2 year old help put diapers and clothes in there packs. They were so excited and now they say mine when they see their kits. I know if we have to use them it will be easier for them because they will get to use their own kits! Good idea. I would never have thought of it.
We made a list of our favorite meals last night at dinner. I was surprised at how involved everyone was in the conversation. I guess food is one thing that everyone has an opinion on. I hadn’t really thought to consider what everyone would eat in an emergency. Thanks for getting us on track with all of this!