Red Cross Staffers Chat – Top things to have in a kit

Red Cross staffers, Ginger, Crystal and Erin, talk about the top 9 things you should have in your survival kit.  (Apologies in advance to those of you who like Spam.)

Water – 3 gallons per person for 3 days

• Erin – Okay, so I am going to say this straight – that’s a lot of water.
• Ginger – Yeah it is, but you need this for everything from drinking to flushing toilets.
• Erin – Point taken. I could put it in a big rolling garbage can in my basement, I guess.
• Ginger – What if you need to get the heck out of your house?  How are you going to get that out? You can put a bunch of individuals waters in a backpack for each person in your house.
• Crystal – Okay so, little miss pansy, right here can’t carry around 3 gallons of water on her back.
• Ginger – Well you could do both… have individual ones and also some gallons in Erin’s rolling garbage can.
• Crystal – That’s a good idea.
• Erin – And I think it is a good idea for us to start taking you to the gym.

Winter is coming

Game of Thrones… This is a show that I avoided watching for three years because I somehow knew that I would love it.  I bit the bullet one night last month when I was trying my hand at insomnia.  I have now watched all three seasons.  Sadly, I joined the motley crew of GoT junkies that have Pinterest boards dedicated to the show because they cannot wait for HBO to premiere season 4 in the spring.

But what to do now? It’s September and spring is so far off! Well, you can think like a Tully… “Family. Duty. Honor.”

During the month of September, the Red Cross suggests that you think of your family preparedness because the Starks were very right… “Winter is coming”.  It is time to make a disaster kit and to get your family ready for potential “Ice and Fire” situations like winter storms and power outages.  But what actually goes in a kit?

FYI, nothing “level 4” is required in a disaster kit, though I suppose the “Red Wedding” wouldn’t have been so red if Robb Stark had some level 4 nun-chucks.

If you have never watched Game of Thrones, you probably have no idea what I am talking about with all these quotation marks so lets just cut to the chase, here’s the list of items you need to have readily available should the unexpected happen.  And if you are really feeling motivated, go to redcross.org/prepare to make a disaster plan for your home.   Once you have your plan, you will have the peace of mind knowing that you are prepared for winter, ice, fire (and other non Game of Thrones disasters).

I am cold

Yeah, yeah… I live in Illinois and it is technically winter, but I think this cold is a bit much. Right now, with the sun shining, it is 6 degrees and the “real feel” is -4.  I must say I really feel like being at home in my sweat pants, but then it is colder there than in the office.

Ye ole farmhouse

I live in an old farmhouse in the middle of a field with horrible insulation, so when the wind blows in from the north the bathroom is frigid to say the least.  I rolled out of bed this morning and made my way to the bathroom, where I literally had ice bergs in my toilet. We have a little space heater that we put in there, but it was stolen last night.  (The kid was apparently cold despite his electric mattress pad and electric blanket.) I quickly turned on the shower (please lord, don’t be frozen) and thankfully the water came on.

A couple weeks ago when we had our first super cold snap, the pipes froze, and let me tell you that was a mess you never want to deal with.  We had to go into the dungeon basement and manage a mess of ice and water.  It was definitely not a fun way to spend a Sunday. We took some extra time insulating the pipes, which at the time I didn’t think would work. But today (after I finished my hot shower) I was very thankful that I was wrong.

I type all this, not only to make you thankful you don’t live in an old house, but also to remind you to prepare for cold and the potential snow tomorrow. I won’t bore you with endless tips, but below are a few things to do today…

• Avoid frozen pipes by leaving a trickle on in the sink before you go to bed and make sure your pipes are
  

  I got this hat yesterday. I am totally wearing it today!

  insulated. More in-depth info, especially for you old farmhouse live-ers, is here.

• Don’t get caught at home without the essentials. It is supposed to snow tomorrow, so make sure you are stocked up with food, water, shovels and salt. I don’t think that there is reason to go overboard in this situation, but if the power goes out or you are stuck at home for a few days, you will be glad you have a full cupboard.
• Restock the kit.  I know that Red Cross people harp about disaster kits in your home and in your car, but we know how important it is.  If you have it then you are prepared for anything.
• Dress for the weather when it is this cold. Cute shoes and stylish clothes should stay at home for the next couple days and be replaced by warm layers.  Also, be sure to wear a coat, gloves and hat.

Stay warm and safe all!

Finally Friday! We are still here!

Dwight Schrute NEVER lies… and Back to the Future could NEVER be wrong!

Well, today marks the end of the Mayan calendar, and in case you didn’t hear, the world is supposed to be ending right now.  If you are reading this post then the Mayans were off a bit in their estimations. Whew!

We had many calls from people who were concerned about whether or not we were prepared to respond to this event. Please see my first ever end of the world preparedness interview on WMBD-31. 

Now… lets break this down…

If the world ends then that would mean that it is the end of life on earth, right?  The Red Cross is prepared to respond to all disasters natural and manmade, but unfortunately there is a point that we cannot respond.  I would say the world ending would put a damper on us responding because well, you know, our volunteers and staff are alive.  Many groups and individuals wager guesses about when the world will end, but they are just guesses.  In truth, any number of things could wipe us out… meteors, climate change, super volcanos erupting. (Yep, I watch a lot of History Channel shows.  Which I don’t recommend doing too often because they can just plain freak you out. But everyone needs a healthy dose of Ancient Aliens every once in a while because the scientist with the super hair is on there… you know who I am talking about.  Good stuff!) But to be honest, no one really knows if or when the world will end. In my book, it is a good idea to focus less on cataclysm and more on disasters that are more likely to happen to you – house fire, flood, tornado.

So… on this Finally Friday, a day when the earth could have ended but really didn’t (silly Mayans), do something that makes you feel good.  Build a disaster kit for your home and give yourself the peace of mind in knowing that you are prepared for anything that comes your way!

Don’t forget about me!

I absolutely love my dog and oh goodness he can drive me crazy but I love him nonetheless.  He’s a beagle and everyone in the neighborhood knows his name, Jeb.  We’re not so sure that’s a good thing!  He likes to make a break for it almost every time we attempt to bring him back inside.  His little ears flop up and down as he runs down the block followed by a Bauer chasing him with a loaf of bread.  Jeb thinks it’s great fun while we just say, “Seriously?  Aren’t you way too old for this running away gig?”  Evidently not.

Yesterday I was reminded of all things I would miss about Jeb if we were to lose him in a fire.  We have a disaster plan and a fire escape plan for all us humans in the house but I need to make sure my poor Jebby is included in all of those
plans.

At a house fire yesterday afternoon the young family needed to find temporary housing for their two adorable dogs.  As we were providing food, clothing and a hotel to the family we completely forgot we needed a place to house the dogs.  Thankfully we were able to find a family friend who had space at their house for the Lab and our local emergency animal shelter took the Pit.  So all in all every member of their family (dogs included) had a place to stay following the fire.

Here are a few things we considered when including Jeb in our disaster plan:

• Food and water
• His harness and leash
• His medication
• Contact information for veterinarian
• List of family/friends willing to temporarily house Jeb

There are so many other things to consider when preparing your pets for disaster.  My dog is a HUGE part of my family and the last thing I want to do is forget about him while preparing the rest of my family to face a disaster.

The zombies are coming!

Ok, so I don’t necessarily believe a zombie apocalypse is coming, but I do believe you should be preparing for anything.

Our biggest threats here in central Illinois are thankfully not zombies… it would be more like tornadoes, floods and even earthquakes.  Here are a few things to think about to make sure you are prepared.

Do you have a disaster kit? This would include items like water, food, flashlights and batteries.  A full list can be found here. I have all these items in a rolling garbage can in the basement.  It is actually pretty nifty.

How often do you check your kit? Old batteries won’t do you much good when the lights go out. Once you have a kit together then make sure that you check it a couple times a year to remove outdated items.  When I checked my kit last spring, I realized I didn’t have a can opener… that kinda puts a damper on eating canned foods during a disaster.

How are you going to be notified in emergency situations? Make sure you monitor the weather when there is the potential for severe weather. We have the weather radio running 24/7 in the kitchen.  I also have a weather app on my phone with a very annoying alert notification buzzer.

No matter what you do… do something! Being prepared in your home makes for some priceless piece of mind.

What to do if the water’s rising…

How to prepare for potential shaking…

Auntie Emm! What to do before the twister…