Hurricane Preparedness: Tips on Staying Ahead of the Mayhem

If you live on the East coast of the United States or border the Gulf of Mexico you are quite aware that you may have to prepare yourself for a major storm. You may also know how ridiculous lines can be for food, water and gas when a storm is projected to make land-fall close by. Everyone seems to like to procrastinate, waiting till the last possible minute. You can beat the lines and hassle of this hurricane season just by preparing little by little ahead of time. Here I will list for you a few tips to make this hurricane season less stressful.

When a storm is coming Gas seems to be the most demanded supply you need and the hardest to get last minute. Do yourself and your family a favor and have two or three 5 gallon containers of gas full and stored in your garage or shed. Take it from my own experience, you WILL have to wait sometimes hours for gas once a storm is projected to hit or has already hit. Having gas stored is huge time saver this hurricane season especially if you are expected to evacuate.

Have plywood cut and labeled before hurricane season. If you thought the line at the gas station was long wait till you see the line at the wood department in Home Depot. Measure your windows in the off season and take your measurements to your local wood supplier. Label the panels for each window and have them in order to make the mounting process easier. Putting the panels up is a time consuming process and the last thing you want in the wake of an emergency is to not have the supplies you need at all.

Food is another necessity when it comes to preparing for a hurricane. Most people go out and buy all their hurricane supplies in one shopping trip. This is time consuming and expensive. During the winter/spring season it is easier if you just buy a few extra canned goods, bottled water and other food items during regular grocery shopping trips. Label these items when you come home, so everyone knows they are hurricane supplies. You can also buy a plastic container to start collecting your hurricane items in.

When a storm is coming the last thing on your mind is the small personal items you may need. If local markets and stores are unable to accommodate you after a storm due to damage then you need to have personal items already available. Some items you may not think about are baby wipes, hand sanitizer, feminine napkins, baby diapers, formula or toilet paper. Some of these items may not be considered on a hurricane supplies list, but if you can't take a shower you will want to have those baby wipes to at least clean up a little bit. Hand sanitizer is great if the water is contaminated and not fit for using. Feminine napkins are a definite necessity, a hurricane will not wait for you to stop menstruating. Baby will need diapers and formula and in case you cannot get to a store or a store is not available plan ahead and pack these items away. Last but not least toilet paper, need I say more?

The two most important tips I can give you this hurricane season is to think ahead and buy a hand held can opener. Thinking ahead can save you so much time and money not to mention it's safer. And the manual can opener, well if you actually need to eat the can food you bought for this hurricane season, you will realize the importance of that later.