Living in South Louisiana, it would be silly to not have a fairly crunk hurricane season emergency kit. And I know that now. We’ve always had a little something in the back of a closet but this past year taught us that a little something in the back of the closet will no longer cut it. I refuse to get caught off guard again, so I have been reading and researching and buying and prepping. Hurricane season is now but basically always so…may the odds ever be in our favor.
Supplies for a power outage:
- Unscented Candles
- Lighters, Matches
- Flashlights
- Lanterns (We picked up these Duracell lanterns from Costco)
- Power Banks (Don’t forget to check the battery life regularly, just to make sure they are prepped and ready when needed.) (I just ordered this one from Amazon. It’s solar powered which makes me super excited.)
- Wind Up Radio (This one from Amazon basically saved us last year!)
- Battery Operated Fans (Just ordered these small ones from Amazon and I feel good about it!)
- Batteries (The organizer linked is one of my favorite things to gift…so handy!)
- Solar Lights (I saw an interesting hack that someone put the outdoor solar lights in jars of rocks in their windows to charge during the day so they could offer light at night. Will be trying this season.)
Supplies & Plans for Food/Drinks:
- Disposable Plates, Cutlery, & Cups
- French Press Coffee & Fixin’s (We have a gas stove so we can typically heat up water to make this work. If you don’t, switch this to instant coffee.)
- Coolers (Whilst in hurricane season, making sure these are accessible and cleaned.)
- Ziploc Bags of Ice (When we know the storm is coming, we fill ziploc bags with water and freeze them for the cooler, etc.)
- Fill up all of your reusable water bottles with drinking water and get them in the fridge. (skip rushing to the store for single use bottles of water)
- Manual Can Opener (yes, like a savage)
- Plenty of canned food, non-perishable snacks, pet food, etc.
Supplies & Plans for Entertainment:
- Puzzles, Board Games, Cards
- Books (as a digital book reader this is hard to remember!)
Supplies for Evacuating:
- Full tanks of Gas (Whilst in hurricane season, we don’t let the gas tanks get too low. You just never know…)
- Pet Carrier (Lola hates it, but she’ll hate being abandoned even more, so suck it up buttercup.)
- Important Documents in a Fire Safe Carrier (birth certificates, social security cards, insurance documents, marriage license,
- Cash Money Honey
- First Aid Kit (basic – always in the car but I wanted to mention it)
- Plenty of water, snacks, and even flotation devices (just in case we get stuck in traffic for a long period of time or we get stuck in a flash flood)
- Rain coats & boots (again, because you just never know)
- Go-Bags (Just in case you need to leave in a hurry, go ahead and pack an overnight bag (clothes, toiletries, etc.) for everyone in the house.
- Whistle (Again, worst case scenario…but a whistle can often be heard better than a voice screaming “help”)
Supplies & Plans for House Damage:
- Work Gloves & Clean Up Tools (tarps, chain saw, etc.)
- Also, keep an eye on tree limbs that look particularly weak and proactively cut those down.
- When the notice comes that the storm is on it’s way, put away any outdoor items so they don’t fly off and cause any damage (i.e. furniture, potted plants, etc.). Also, tying down any large items or structures.
- Take pictures of house and any expensive items…just in case you need to share these for insurance purposes later.
Other To-do’s:
- When you see the storm is coming, knock out as much laundry as possible before it hits, just in case an extended power outage is on the horizon.
- Also, quickly clean as much of the house as reasonable…nothing will drive me nuts faster than being hot in a dirty home. Don’t forget to run the garbage disposal…because ew.
- Pre-place candles, lighters, and flashlights in areas like bathrooms, just in case the lights go out unexpectedly.
- Turn the AC down and pull the shades to keep the house as cool as possible, just in case the power goes out.
- Double check any medications or necessary items to ensure you can go at least a week.
- We move our cars into the garage to prevent limbs or items from causing damage.
This is going to sound so cheesy but when we lost power for an extended time earlier this year, I found the best thing to have in the emergency kit is…drum roll please…a positive attitude. Ok, I see your eye rolls but hear me out…hurricane season can be stressful, triggering, and overwhelming. Whoever you shelter with, please remember to give each other grace and space to feel those big and valid feelings.
Additionally, I love the adage that if you are blessed, be a blessing. If you fare a storm well but your neighbors aren’t as lucky, find a way to lend a helping hand. Believe me, it makes all the difference!
Now, I am confident that this is not a comprehensive list so PLEASE (and I mean that genuinely) add comments of things you have on hand or actions you take before the storm to be prepared. Seriously, I welcome the additions!