My Hurricane Tips
A couple of things learned from experience: First of all, take your position in the cone of possibility seriously. If you are being told that you may be impacted by Hurricane Irene, prepare now.
Fill your freezer with bottles of water. If you lose power, the extra ice will help keep your frozen food cool. Cook now! Make a cake or too, depending on how many people are in your house, and how close you are to your neighbors. Roast meat of your choice, you can use it later to make sandwiches – canned food, which you cannot heat gets old very fast. Make a pasta dish, something light with olive oil and herbs, you can add a few vegetables, but nothing with tomato or cream sauce, you want pasta you can eat at room temperature. By all means, cans of tuna, a jar of peanut butter, and a tin of crackers are all good ideas.
As H hour gets closer, fill up a thermos with hot coffee, and boil several pots of water, keeping a lid on them – this water can be used for oh so many things from cooking to cleaning up. Do your laundry now! Run the dishwasher now! Change your sheets now! You get the idea, clean up your house and environment – it is all so much harder to do without power, and if you are without power for more than a few days, you will be very happy you cleaned house.
Do not count on candles, they are a fire danger. Make sure your flashlights have batteries. Also, buy charcoal, I actually baked an apple pie over the barbeque, I do not recommend it – but once you have been without power for two weeks, the food in the freezer must be cooked or fed to the ducks.
Pack a bag. Even if you are not evacuating, pack a small overnight bag, which you will keep with you in the room you ride the storm out, which should be an inner hallway, bathroom, or room with the fewest windows. You should place overnight things, change of clothes, valuables, and important papers – make sure you have your purse and wallet with you. Have your first aid kid with you as well, and a few bottles of water. It is always a good idea to have an evacuation plan, and that someone outside of your household knows your plan. By the way, do not leave valuable is your car.
Get cash, and fill your car up with gas now. Finally, go take a nice, long, hot shower. Cold showers are a drag; you will be happy you washed your hair and shaved your legs before the storm hit.
After the storm, remember that downed power lines are one of the biggest and most dangerous hazards. Once you know you are safe, check in on your neighbors.
If you are not impacted, thank God! You have a clean house, dinner cooked, laundry done, cash on hand, and a full tank of gas – you are all set – enjoy the fruits of your labor! That is all for now.
