Are You Prepared to Evacuate?

Hurricane Irene is coming. Millions of people along the East Coast could potentially be ordered to evacuate their homes this weekend. If you live in that area, are you prepared to evacuate? Here are some simple tips for evacuation suitable for any emergency situation from Marla Cilley aka FlyLady. You can learn more about FlyLady here.

East Coast Friends, please be alert this weekend and take every precaution necessary to be safe!

Here it is that time of year again when we are faced with the threat of Evacuation from our homes. We never know when this could happen because of fire, tornadoes, storms, floods, earthquakes or hurricanes. It is up to us to be prepared! Don't wait and think this can't happen to you. We have seen power outages from earthquakes, ice storms, thunderstorms and raging fires. Please take this plan and pull it together to help you stay calm in a storm.

1. PEOPLE: Have a plan for getting out of the house and make sure everyone knows it. Have an emergency bag of food and water for your family. Include wholesome snacks and treats for the children: dried fruit, nuts, peanut butter, crackers and granola bars.

2. PETS: Keep pet carriers and leashes readily available to lead pets to safety. Also take pet food with you.

3. PICTURES: Keep negatives or CDs of pictures in a lock box or at a family member's home. Have picture albums in one place ready to grab and go at a moments notice. Or keep copies on an Online storage place like Picasa or other photo website. Or a back up drive.

4. PAPERS: Have all your important papers in a lock box at a bank and only keep copies at the house. This keeps you from panicking. If you have them at home then put them in a folder that you can easily grab if you have to move fast. Color code it so you can find it!

5. PRESCRIPTIONS: Take your medications with you. Don't forget the ones that have to be refrigerated like insulin. Have small ice chest and cold packs readily accessible to pack and go. If you have babies; remember their formula or medications.

6. PURSES and PETROL: This is where you keep your identification, credit cards and cash. Keep a stash of cash for emergencies and grab it. You may not be able to use an ATM in the event of a power outage. Make sure your car always has a half a tank of gas.

7. PROPER CLOTHES and COMFORT ITEMS: According to the weather conditions; gather up a change of clothes along with outer clothing: coats, rain gear, boots, gloves and hats. If you have babies remember diapers. Remember to grab your children's favorite blanket, stuffed animal or toy. A game or a deck of cards could keep them occupied and calm too.

8. PLANNER/CALENDAR/CONTROL JOURNAL: These documents have all the information you will need from phone numbers, insurance numbers and important dates. They are small and filled with things you don't have to try to remember.

9. PERSONAL PROTECTION: Many of us still have that time of the month. Be sure and grab a box of your preferred protection. It may be hard to find if you have been evacuated. Stress can cause our bodies to do strange things too. So be prepared. Take medication for cramps too.

10. PHONES, RADIOS, FUEL FOR THE CAR: Many of us have cell phones now. Always keep them charged up and have a charger in the car or an extra battery. They may not work in the event of power outages, but then they might. Know which local radio station has emergency bulletins. Keep your battery powered radio tuned to that local station and have plenty of batteries for it. Also keep a old type regular phone that does not operate with electricity. GAS PUMPS don't work without power either. You can't leave if your car is on empty. So keep your car fuel tank topped off when it hits a half of tank. This way you will have gas to drive at least a couple of hours. Evacuation routes are usually bumper to bumper traffic. Having a tank filled will keep you less stressed.

11. PATIENCE: This is one of the most important things to pack. Keep it inside of you so that you have a clear calm head. Having your P's to Preparedness list guiding you will keep you patient. In the event of an evacuation there will be lots of displaced people. Being patient will make things less stressful. Your children need to see you calm and collected. This will help keep them calm too.

Don't wait till you are being asked to evacuate. Everyone thinks that it could not happen to them. Well it could and it is up to you to make sure you are prepared.

Too Much Stuff

My house is out of control. Note: I was going to say a "little" out of control, but then I realized that doesn't really make any sense. Either it's in control or out of control, there's no middle ground.

I would like to blame it on the fact that our house is very small and has no closets and no where for me to work on projects. That's my normal excuse. And it may have some validity. But the truth of the matter is that I am to blame. I have a terrible history of starting projects and then not finishing them. I also tackle projects that are way too big for the amount of time I have to give to them. I don't want to put anything away once I've pulled it out and got it organized, so then it just sits. For days. Sometimes weeks. OK, maybe for a month or two. Until I come to my senses, realize I'm not going to get it done this time around and pack it all up. Until the next time I feel inspired.

This is where I find myself today. I started a photo project. The only place I have to work on it is our dining table. We ate off of folding tables in the living room for two weeks so I could work on the project. Then, it happened. I lost interest. Or I lost my momentum. Or my motivation. Or all three. So now, the project sits on half the table, spilling over onto the unused chairs around the table. Even I'm sick of looking at it!

So today, I will pack it up. Berating myself the entire time for my lack of discipline in completing a task. For creating chaos in my home instead of peace and serenity. For being human.

I tell myself that I'm not the only one. That other people fall off the wagon into clutter from time to time. But I really believe that everyone else is perfect while I'm... not.

Good thing I have some peanut clusters in the house to console myself with.