Severe Weather Safety

With all of the crazy weather happening nowadays, we have been trying to be better prepared around here. So, I thought I would share ways for you to be prepared too!
We took a Storm Spotter Class the night before our last severe storms. Go here to see when there will be a class near you. Just click on your state.

Storm Shelter:
Not everyone has one or can afford a storm shelter. My brother has one we can use about 5 minutes away. However, if you can't purchase or build one yet, like us, then here are some basic things to do when severe storms are headed your way...particularly during a tornado warning.

• Get into the most interior room (no windows) on the lowest floor of your home. We don't have an interior bathroom, so we choose one of two interior hallways.
• Gather blankets, mattresses (air matress), pillows, etc to help shield you from any flying debris.
• Helmets!!! (maybe even protective goggles). These can be bicycle helmets. Anything is better than nothing.
• Have shoes on. If something happens, you probably won't be able to find them afterwards.
• Be prepared by keeping an eye on the weather and watching radar if it is supposed to be bad. Most local news channels will stream radar on their website!

If you are outside:

• Get into a ditch.
• If there is no ditch, get as low as you can..flat on your stomach on the ground. Protect your head with your hands.
• The idea is to get as low as possible incase of flying debris. Also, don't get near trees. They can be struck by lightning. If anything is taller than you, it can be struck.
• If driving and can't get to a safe place, don't get under an overpass. The winds are much higher under there. Pull over, turn on flashers, and dont get out of the car.

Items to keep on hand for easy retrieval:

• First Aid Kit- bandages (all sizes), alcohol swabs, pain medicine, etc
• Bottled water- We wash and re-fill our 2ltr bottles. We have taken about a dozen to my broter's storm shelter about 5 minutes away. We also have them stashed throughout the house.
• NOAA Weather Radio- try to get one that can run on power or batteries.
• Snacks
• Flashlights
• Batteries- ALL sizes
• Lockbox- For important papers, phones, etc. Ours is fire/water proof. We keep important papers and photos on an external hard drive that we purchased for under $100 at Wal-Mart.
• Instructions to turn off the home utilities.
• Anything else you would want with you.
• We keep all of our items in a large plastic storage bin. My husband can easily grab it and throw it in the car if we have enough warning to get to my brother's shelter.

Video from FEMA:

Helpful Links:
Lots of great info here on this site.
SkyWarn has a spotter training class (we took it a few weeks ago! Free!)
NOAA
NWS-National Weather Service
Codes to program your NOAA Weather Radio
My post with link to info on making a 72-hour preparedness kit.

~April

Let the organization begin!

Purchase from Amazon!

I purchased this book yesterday. (Clicking the photo will send you to Amazon. If you purchase this book, I receive a small amount of the sale)

 There wasn't much to choose from but, I like this book so far. It is broken down into sections of the house (kitchen, closets, living room,etc). The book has 317 tips to help you get organized. It also has 2 pages of all kinds of stickers to mark pages and ideas that you like to help you plan.

-Ever wondered how to fold a fitted sheet? Photo instructions are inside!

-Have to drag every pot & pan out to get to the cookie sheets on the bottom? Stacey has a great idea for vertical storage!

-Need to tackle the piles of random papers/tax papers? There's a whole section for them!


I also purchased a 2012 planner. This one is by Avalanche (Perfect Timing, Inc.) and includes:
-2012-2013 Holidays and calendars at a glance.
-Pages for birthdays, anniversary's, addresses, babysitters, restaurants, services, emergency contacts, and notes.
-A pocket in the front cover.
-Each week is divided by days and has a space for daily activities. The outside edge of the pages are perforated. Why? Because on the right side, you write out your menu for the week. On the left side is a grocery list where you will list everything you need for the weeks meals. You then tear this off and take it with you! There is also a 'To Do' section.

-In the back are two pages of stickers. One page is for school related activities: field trip, first day of school, practice, games, etc. The 2nd page has stickers like: dinner date, vet, doctor visit, vacation, haircut, party, dentist, etc.
I can already tell I am going to like this one a lot more than just those basic planners.
~April

54MDXUNVCKMD

Blog Hopping-Organization

I've been looking into better organizing our home. There are some awesome blogs out there so, I thought I'd share a few I came across today.

Echoes of Laughter



~April