Like many in the Northeast, we have spent the past few days preparing for Sandy. Most people know the basics, such as bottled water, food that doesn't require heating, and flashlights, but I am going to share some things that we have been doing that maybe some people haven't thought of!
-Frozen water: We filled as many gallon freezer bags as possible and laid them flat in the freezer. Filling the empty pockets with ice will help keep your food cold longer in case of a power outage. If the weather is too warm inside, the bags can also act as ice packs for coolers set outside. Most importantly, the ice can be melted for drinking water if you were to run out of bottled water.
-Water in containers: We filled every pitcher, empty juice bottle, and empty coffee can we could find with water. I wanted to have these containers of water set aside not only for cooking, but also for water for our dog. Many times people forget about their pets when they're trying to figure out how much water they should have on hand, don't forget about Fido!
-A packed overnight bag: Tonight I packed a bag with clothes, water, cash, and snacks. We are on a hill, so flooding will most likely not be an issue, and we are able to stay in our home with a power outage, but we are surrounded by over 500 trees. Many of the trees are now bare, so with the wind gusts reaching 60+MPH, falling trees are a very real fear.
-A place to go: In the event that we would need to evacuate our home, we have a plan. We have a list of 3 places to go, and we have multiple driving routes planned out for each, since we live around major rivers and streams.
During a major snowstorm in 2010 we were caught completely off guard- with a 3 month old to boot! We had to leave our house in 2 feet of snow because we didn't have a way to keep warm and we were unprepared with food and water. We certainly learned our lesson from that experience! I hope everyone stays war, dry, and safe during this storm!
Are you located in the path of this storm? Are you prepared? Do you have any other tips to add?
for those people with well water, fill up bathtubs ahead of time, you can use the water to flush!
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