Yes, I'm Not Invincible - But I'm Preparing

As part of September being National Preparedness Month, I'd like to talk more about general preparedness overall.

By just already discussing being prepared with your family, you've already taken a very important step: you've come to terms that yes, I'm not invincible. It sounds funny saying (or thinking) that, but usually it means you've already looked around your house and said alright - if a fire happens, this is the window or door that I will probably use to get out of my home. Or if it's tornado, you've already thought where your family would take shelter until the sky is clear. There are lots of other scenarios, but you get the idea.

For most disasters or emergencies, you'll end up with one of two scenarios- one: you're taking shelter in your home, which could be from something such as a major snowstorm or torrential downpour; and two: you'll have to evacuate, which could be a fire or incoming severe hurricane.

The good part about scenarios number one? You've probably had advance notice. You'll be able to stay at home, which means you have access to extra clothing, toys, and generally your most important worry is whether or not the electricity will stay on. If you have enough food in your pantry, and an alternate source of heating and cooking, you're set for several weeks if necessary.

Scenario two is much more worrisome. In case of a fire, you won't have time to prepare at all. You will have less than 60 seconds to get your family out of the home and to safety. With a hurricane or other natural disaster, you may have a bit of advance notice, but you will still need to get everything important and get out as quickly as you can.

So if you haven't already, sit down with your spouse or significant other, and talk about both scenarios. Make it your goal this week to come up with an evacuation plan for your family in case of fire this week. Have you checked your smoke alarms recently? Chose a spot away from the house where all family members should meet in case of fire - maybe the neighbor across the street's big tree, or if you have a longer driveway, your mailbox. Do all the windows in the bedrooms open easily? Can your children open the door alright if they need to during the night?

My husband and I have learned over the years that is better to be safe than sorry. We would rather spend a little bit of time preparing for things that sound impossible in advance, than to be caught off guard. In fact, it helped us just last week when we needed paperwork for something. It could have been filed away, or stuck in a box somewhere, but because I have sorted all my papers out for emergencies, I was able to have the papers ready right away. In an emergency, if I needed papers for the insurance company, it would have been fairly easy to have everything right at hand to give to the person in charge.

For more random preparedness thoughts from my blog, click here.