Emergency Preparedness and What To Store : Easy 2 Step Guide

Do you know what to store in case of a natural disaster? In the last year, the world has seen many troubling natural disasters.  Texas, Puerto Rico and Mexico are just a few of the areas that have recently been devastatingly affected by storms, flooding and other natural disasters.

But Emergency Preparedness can be overwhelming.  What is the most important thing to focus on?  How can one do it all?   Follow the below easy 2 Step Guide to cover the most essential basics in emergency preparedness and get you going on what to store in case of a natural disaster.

1. If You Had 5 Minutes What Would You Grab: What To Store In Case of a Natural Disaster

Have you ever asked yourself in the case of a dangerous situation like a fire, what you would grab from your home after loved ones and pets?   If you haven’t - ask yourself that question now and the answer will become your new priority list.

In case of natural disaster, a home fire, flooding or evacuation making a simple plan ahead of time regarding what is important to grab will save you the stress and mistakes during the crisis.   One easy way to solve this problem is to invest in fire and flood proof safes that will keep documents, treasured photographs or family heirlooms and other items safe even if you are not able to get to them in time.

Another good idea is to have emergency kits for each family member that are ready to go at any moment. 

What To Include

The website ready.gov is a great resource on how to build a kit and what to include such as water, food and first aid kits.  Some other items you may not have thought of are: prescription medications or photocopies of prescriptions, photo copies of vital medical, insurance and government documents, written list of family phone numbers in case of cell phone battery loss, formula, diapers and other baby items and coloring books and games if you have children.

Pro Tip:  Pack a kit for your dog, too!  In a pinch, you're not going to want to worry about the dog.  Pack a small kit with extra leash, collar, food and any other necessary items for your dog.

With the most essential items, one of the best guarantees you can have is by storing at a storage unit.  While not immune from natural disasters or other kinds of risk, using self storage can provide you peace of mind. Consider storing things you wouldn’t have time to grab in a fire but would never want to lose.  Keylock Storage has a plethora of excellent climate controlled options if you’re storing climate-sensitive items such as wine or photographs.  Keylock Storage also offers extremely affordable self-storage insurance that may cover items your homeowners insurance wouldn’t.  Using self storage can help you with what to store in case of a natural disaster.

2. Make A Plan Ahead of Time

Your emergency situation doesn’t have to be dramatic to utilize emergency preparedness. Your emergency could be as simple as a prolonged power outage in your city.  If you ran out of power, what would you do to charge your phone, cook food or warm yourself?

Making a plan ahead of time for a variety of situations is the way to go. 

Tips:  

• Buy a crank power flashlight that double as cell phone charger
• Make a paper list of addresses, cell phone numbers of family and emergency services to have ready in case you cannot access your cell phone or computer
• Have a small propane camp stove or charcoal barbecue available to cook in case of loss of power
• Make sure you have enough blankets on hand if you live in a cold climate
• Make an emergency plan with family such as where to gather and what you plan on doing in a variety of situations in case you cannot communicate at the time

Visit the https://www.ready.gov/make-a-plan page for more information on how to prepare and organize ahead of time.

In conclusion the answer to what to store in case of a natural disaster is : the most important parts of your life!  Plan ahead and preserve the necessities. 

Check out the Keylock Storage Blog for more interesting articles about organization and lifestyle: keylockstorage.com/blogs