I live in Florida and am just finishing my quarterly juice fast plan. Fasting always helps me organize and get things in order. We get slammed here by hurricanes and now is the time for me to get ready. There are many important steps to getting your home and family ready for hurricane season. If you want to be prepared will need food, water, and other supplies. For homeowners, hurricane season can be a particularly stressful time of year.
An emergency kit is good to have available all year round, just in case of a crisis. A first aid kit, flashlight, battery operated radio and extra batteries are all essential. This will be the one place rechargeable batteries are not helpful at all. It is a good idea to update your first aid kit every year to replace any expired products.
A general rule of thumb when getting your emergency water supply is one gallon per person, per day. A three day water supply is recommended. Sealed plastic water bottles are the best containers to store your water supply, in a pinch the plastic bottles have a variety of different uses. For food, a three day supply is also recommended. It is important to choose non-perishable foods, such as cans and glass jars. Freeze dried and dehydrated foods are good as well. Be sure to include a manual can opener, cooking pans, and strike anywhere matches in your hurricane kit.
Preparing your home is usually the hardest part of getting ready for hurricane season. The windows are of course the most vulnerable part of a home. If you do not already have shutters installed there are a number of options. Adding traditional shutters is of course the best option, but there are more cost efficient alternatives. Many people will simply attach plywood with screws over each window. This does work. It will, however, leave small holes in the side of your home. Another option is to use tape, duct or masking, on the inside of the glass. In the event a window does break, the tape will keep it from shattering into as many pieces.
Putting together an emergency kit before hurricane season can help, especially in the event there is a storm early in the season. It is much easier to be confident when coming up on a hurricane season if you are prepared beforehand.
