Prepare for emergencies before they strike

[disneysteve]

I wasn't exactly sure what to title this thread but having just lived through Hurricane Sandy, I was once again struck by how unprepared most people are for even the most basic things. Every time there is a storm approaching, the news is filled with coverage of people rushing to the stores to buy supplies that I think everyone should have on hand all the time. If the forecast calls for snow, Home Depot is swamped with people buying every last shovel in stock. We live in NJ. It snows every year, multiple times. What did all of these people do last year and the year before? We own a few shovels, some of which have been in my family for 20 or more years. I did buy one new one about 5-6 years ago when another one broke, but I didn't wait for the next approaching storm to do so. I went out and replaced it right after it broke so I'd be prepared.

Of course, the supermarkets get overrun with people clearing off the shelves of canned goods, bread, milk, eggs, and toilet paper. Now I realize some of those things are perishable, but could you really not get by for a day or two with no milk? Do you wait until you use your last sheet of toilet paper before you buy more. At any given moment, there are typically a dozen or more rolls in our closet. We buy one of those 36 or 48 roll packs. When it gets down to about 12, we buy more.

For the hurricane, it was flashlights and batteries and bottled water. Don't you have a flashlight or two or three in the house. I bet if we searched around, we could easily find 10-15 flashlights in the house. All work. All have batteries. And the hall closet has a bag with fresh batteries. And we have candles, lighters, matches, etc. As for bottled water, we never buy that. I wouldn't do it normally and I certainly have no need to do it in an emergency. What did we do? We took a few empty half-gallon bottles that we've washed out and saved from juice and we filled those with water. We have a 5-gallon water cooler and made sure that was filled. We filled a couple of picnic thermoses.

I just don't get the mad rush to stock up before a storm when most of what people are buying is things that they should already have at home. And I think it is the same mentality that affects their finances. No emergency fund because they don't think ahead. They don't think they need to prepare for anything. They just figure they'll somehow deal with it when it happens.

[bjl584]

Agreed.

I work part time in retail and it's amazing to watch the level of panic that sets in. I've often wondered about the snow shovel thing too. I've had the same snow shovel for about 7 years. When it snows I take it out of the garage and I use it. I don't go to the store and buy another one. Living in the north east, I find it near impossible to believe that every household doesn't already own a snow shovel.

[Joan.of.the.Arch]

I imagine some of those shoppers do have the supplies they need; they are just afraid of the event being longer lasting than a few days so they want to be supplied for even more days.

The snow shovel thing is wierd. Maybe some throw away their shovel after winter, prefering to have the tidier looking empty space and to buy another the next year. I don't know. I really like those plastic snow shovels, but they do wear out...Around here it seems to be ice melting salt that people put off buying until the last moment. We get a fair amount of ice, so it is something every household responsible for cleaing sidewalks needs.

[disneysteve]

Around here it seems to be ice melting salt that people put off buying until the last moment.

I can kind of understand that one. That's simple procrastination. I don't expect people to stock up on that, especially if space is limited. We always have some in the garage but not enough for the season. We'll be fine for the first snow or two but after that we'll need to restock - but I won't wait until a storm is imminent to do so.

The shovels baffle me though.

[bjl584]

I can kind of understand that one. That's simple procrastination. I don't expect people to stock up on that

It's hard to stock pile salt anyway unless you keep it indoors in an area of constant temperature and humidity. More than once I've gotten out a bag of salt from the year before only to have it turn into a large block of salt. So, I too can understand buying salt only when you need it.

[Like2Plan]

I can kind of understand that one. That's simple procrastination. I don't expect people to stock up on that, especially if space is limited. We always have some in the garage but not enough for the season. We'll be fine for the first snow or two but after that we'll need to restock - but I won't wait until a storm is imminent to do so.

The shovels baffle me though.

I like to get a product called Prestone Driveway Heat (concentrated Calcium Chloride )--it disolves so you don't have to sweep it up afterwards and melts to -25. That product disappears from the shelves (for the season it seems) as soon as the first forecast of snow. I like to stock up when the weather is still nice and there is plenty in stock.

[disneysteve]

I like to get a product called Prestone Driveway Heat (concentrated Calcium Chloride )--it disolves so you don't have to sweep it up afterwards and melts to -25. That product disappears from the shelves (for the season it seems) as soon as the first forecast of snow. I like to stock up when the weather is still nice and there is plenty in stock.

We actually use regular old Kosher salt. It comes in 1 or 2 pound boxes with a pouring spout. Easy to carry and use. In stock at your local supermarket all year. Even when there is a mad rush before a storm, it rarely sells out because most people go for the specialized products.

[Like2Plan]

I
I just don't get the mad rush to stock up before a storm when most of what people are buying is things that they should already have at home.

In our case, we just returned from an 12 day road trip and our fridge was pretty empty. But, we didn't want to stock up on perishable items that might go bad if we lost power.
So, we just bought the essentials: ice in case we dropped power (luckily, we didn't need it), peanut butter, bananas, stuff to make salads for a couple of days and Halloween candy.

[disneysteve]

we just bought the essentials: ice

We keep our basement freezer stocked with reusable ice packs that I get at work. They use them to ship vaccines and I have dozens of them (only a dozen or so in the freezers). As the storm started approaching, we packed two coolers with perishable healthy stuff - milk, juice, fruit, cheese, yogurt - using those cold packs. They will keep things cold for 2-3 days like that. Fortunately, we didn't lose power but we were all set if we did.

[phantom]

For all the times I've heard news reports about coming major storms and seen the mad rushes of people stocking up, I don't think I've ever actually been in a situation where weather stopped me from getting to the store to buy things when I needed to. Sure I've been snowed in for a day or two, but I only go grocery shopping about once or twice a week anyway. So, even a few days stuck at home doesn't have much of a noticeable impact on my ability to buy food and other supplies.

For that reason, I like to assume that I am just as likely to get stuck at home, unable to go shopping when I've heard warnings of coming storms as I am when I haven't. Maybe the borough will suddenly decide they need to tear up the street in front of my house or maybe aliens will blow up all the grocery stores. I have to admit that I have a hard time thinking of things that might keep me from shopping. But, my point is that things that I can't anticipate could suddenly prevent me from getting to a store to buy things at any time. So, I figure that if I'm going to be prepared for such an event, I might as well always be prepared.

[SnoopyCool]

We're in Florida, where hurricane season lasts 6 months. All year long we store and rotate water, food, batteries, flashlights, and gas grill with a couple of tanks of propane. We also have a generator with fuel. I imagine we have enough food to last 6 months or so.

In addition to that, we have backpacks ready to go in event of evacuation. They have cash, food, water, whistles, glo sticks, first aid kits, and other things that I can't think of right now.

Wilderness survival is kind of a hobby of DHs, so we also have the necessary tools/supplies to get out and primitive camp if we'd like.

I realize that we're not the norm, but I like this sort of peace-of-mind; even if we never need some of these supplies (though we pretty much use them all). I also like that we're not caught up in the rush of mad shoppers when a storm comes.

[disneysteve]

I figure that if I'm going to be prepared for such an event, I might as well always be prepared.

I also like that we're not caught up in the rush of mad shoppers when a storm comes.

My feelings exactly. It isn't like preparing involves buying things you wouldn't buy anyway. I didn't buy or use a single thing to get ready and ride out the hurricane that we wouldn't have in the house normally, so why scramble at the last minute? I just don't see the appeal of doing that.

[moneybags]

I bet if we searched around, we could easily find 10-15 flashlights in the house. All work. All have batteries.

Way too many flashlights, time to declutter.

[maat55]

After our ice storm a few years back, I now keep extra gas stored in the shed. I could actually survive for a few months without leaving the house(with exception to a flood which is not possible in my area) if necessary.

[Redraidernurse]

10-15 flashlights? Really? We have maybe 3 or 4.