National Preparedness Month - Emergency Kit #4 - First Aid Kit

Being foster parents, we are required to have a first aid kit in each car and one in our house. However, Homeland Security suggests we have one in our emergency kit, which makes sense. Should we have an emergency and we shelter in our basement closet, we may not be able to get to the first floor where our first aid kit is located.

If you’re like me, you have extras in your medicine cabinets. I decided to clean out the cabinet that houses my meds, vitamins, and first aid supplies. I was able to put several duplicates into my emergency kit.

These are the items Homeland Security advises us to have in our first aid kits.

- two pairs of Latex (I put in more), or other sterile gloves (if you are allergic to Latex)
- sterile dressings to stop bleeding
- cleansing agent/soap and antibiotic towelettes to disinfect
- antibiotic ointment to prevent infection
- burn ointment to prevent infection
- adhesive bandages in a variety of sizes
- eye wash solution to flush the eyes or as a general decontaminant
- a thermometer
- scissors
- tweezers
- petroleum jelly or other lubricant
- aspirin or nonaspirin pain reliever
- anti-diarrhea medication
- antacid
- laxative
- prescription drugs you take every day such as insulin, heart medicine and asthma inhalers. They suggest periodically rotating medicines to keep expiration dates current. (I, however, have started a list of things to grab in case of an emergency, with medicine included. I’m going to keep my list in my drawer with my landline phone and radio info.)
- prescribed medical supplies such as glucose and blood pressure monitoring equipment and supplies.

With these basic supplies you can prevent loss of blood or infection and care for burns or cuts. I was able to find a lot of the above at the dollar store.

As foster parents, we are also required to take first aid and CPR classes. If you haven’t taken either of these, you might consider contacting your local Red Cross to do so. They are usually around four hours long, and if you pass the test, you get your very own card saying you’ve received that training.

In either case, I would suggest having a First Aid book on hand. I’m adding that to my list of things to grab out of my first floor medicine cabinet.

I gathered a couple of those tins that you get cookies or candies in at Christmas and am using them for my first aid kit. They are waterproof and somewhat sturdy.

There are more items we’ll want to add to our emergency kit, but we’ll cover those in the next couple of days so as to not overwhelm you.

Anything else you have in your first aid kit?


Related Posts: National Preparedness Month - Making a Plan, National Preparedness Month - Determining Potential Emergencies, National Preparedness Month - Emergency Kit #1: NOAA Radio, National Preparedness Month - Emergency Kit #2: Landline Phone, National Preparedness Month - Emergency Kit #3 - Water

Celebration Giveaway #8 - Last One!

In celebration of #17 of my 1-2-3...Get Organized series, I'm hosting a week of giveaways from September 2-9. #17 is a manual called Three Step to Becoming a Downsizing Professional - a blueprint for people who want to help people downsize to a smaller residence. It tells you all you need to know to start your own business, market it, and how to do the nuts and bolts of downsizing. There are several bonus items in the package, as well.

Today is the last giveaway - all entries need to be made by midnight tonight, eastern time: Three Steps to Decluttering. Just leave a comment below to enter. Make sure you leave your email address so I can notify you if you win.

Don't forget that if you blog, tweet, etc. about my giveaway, you get another entry by coming back and commenting that you did so. See Celebration Giveaways September 2-9, 2008 for more ways to win.

Related posts: Celebration Giveaways September 2-9, 2008!, Celebration Giveaway #1 and More Giveaways!, Celebration Giveaway #2 and Another Giveaway!, Celebration Giveaway #3, Celebration Giveaway #4, Celebration Giveaway #5, Celebration Giveaway #6, Celebration Giveaway #7

Celebration Giveaway #7

In celebration of #17 of my 1-2-3...Get Organized series, I'm hosting a week of giveaways from September 2-9. #17 is a manual called Three Step to Becoming a Downsizing Professional - a blueprint for people who want to help people downsize to a smaller residence. It tells you all you need to know to start your own business, market it, and how to do the nuts and bolts of downsizing. There are several bonus items in the package, as well.

Today's giveaway: Three Steps to Time Management at the Office. Just leave a comment below to enter. Make sure you leave your email address so I can notify you if you win.

Don't forget that if you blog, tweet, etc. about my giveaway, you get another entry by coming back and commenting that you did so. See Celebration Giveaways September 2-9, 2008 for more ways to win.

Related posts: Celebration Giveaways September 2-9, 2008!, Celebration Giveaway #1 and More Giveaways!, Celebration Giveaway #2 and Another Giveaway!, Celebration Giveaway #3, Celebration Giveaway #4, Celebration Giveaway #5, Celebration Giveaway #6

National Preparedness Month - Emergency Kit #3 - Water

How are you doing on your emergengy kit? I'm really feeling good doing this - feeling like a responsible mom! I've got my NOAA radio on and my SAME list stored in a drawer with my landline phone. Most of the other things we'll talk about are stored on shelves in the closet where we'll take shelter.

One key element you’ll want to have in your emergency kit is water. Homeland Security is recommending one gallon of water per person per day, for drinking and sanitation purposes. They urge a minimum of a three-day supply per person.

Extra water is suggested for children, nursing mothers, and those who are ill. And if you live in a warm area, more water is advised as well.

Homeland Security’s counsel is to store water in clean plastic containers – soft drink bottles, for example. I have been filling 2-litre soft drink bottles as well as individual water and soft drink bottles for sanitation purposes. I also have new individual water bottles stored for drinking.

If you are wanting to make your emergency kit portable, you will not be able to store all your water in it, obviously. If you think you might need to transport your emergency kit, fill your crate, box, or whatever you're using for your emergency kit with the other items we’ll talk about, and bring the water separately.

Household chlorine bleach and a medicine dropper are also recommended for your emergency kit. Chlorine bleach (unscented – not color safe or with added cleaners) treats water when 16 drops of bleach is added to a gallon of water.

If you mix one part of bleach to nine parts of water, the mixture can be used as a disinfectant.

We'll talk about more items to include in our emergency kits for the next couple of days.

What container are you using for your emergency kit?


Resource: National Preparedness Month

Related Posts: National Preparedness Month - Making a Plan, National Preparedness Month - Determining Potential Emergencies, National Preparedness Month - Emergency Kit #1: NOAA Radio, National Preparedness Month - Emergency Kit #2: Landline Phone

Celebration Giveaway #6

In celebration of #17 of my 1-2-3...Get Organized series, I'm hosting a week of giveaways from September 2-9. #17 is a manual called Three Step to Becoming a Downsizing Professional - a blueprint for people who want to help people downsize to a smaller residence. It tells you all you need to know to start your own business, market it, and how to do the nuts and bolts of downsizing. There are several bonus items in the package, as well.

Today's giveaway: Clever Clearning. Just leave a comment below to enter. Make sure you leave your email address so I can notify you if you win.

Don't forget that if you blog, tweet, etc. about my giveaway, you get another entry by coming back and commenting that you did so. See Celebration Giveaways September 2-9, 2008 for more ways to win.

Related posts: Celebration Giveaways September 2-9, 2008!, Celebration Giveaway #1 and More Giveaways!, Celebration Giveaway #2 and Another Giveaway!, Celebration Giveaway #3, Celebration Giveaway #4, Celebration Giveaway #5

Celebration Giveaway #5

In celebration of #17 of my 1-2-3...Get Organized series, I'm hosting a week of giveaways from September 2-9. #17 is a manual called Three Step to Becoming a Downsizing Professional - a blueprint for people who want to help people downsize to a smaller residence. It tells you all you need to know to start your own business, market it, and how to do the nuts and bolts of downsizing. There are several bonus items in the package, as well.

Today's giveaway: Three Steps to Time Management for the Stay-at-Home Mom. Just leave a comment below to enter. See Celebration Giveaways September 2-9, 2008! to find out how you can submit more entries.

By the way, several of you have commented at Celebration Giveaways September 2-9, 2008!, which is not offering a giveaway. In order to make sure you enter a valid giveaway, go to the blogs designated Giveaway #1, #2, etc.

Related posts: Celebration Giveaways September 2-9, 2008!, Celebration Giveaway #1 and More Giveaways!, Celebration Giveaway #2 and Another Giveaway!, Celebration Giveaway #3, Celebration Giveaway #4

National Preparedness Month - Emergency Kit #2: Landline Phone

An emergency may mean that you have no phone capabilities, especially if you have only walk-about models that must be recharged in their consoles. Just because the electricity goes out, doesn’t necessarily mean that you will lose phone service. But, if your phone must be plugged into an electrical outlet, it will lose power if the electricity is off.

Several years ago when we lived in Maryland, we had an ice storm that left much of the area without power for over a week. Our power lines were underground, so thankfully, we didn't lose power. One of our neighbors, though, thought the phones were out because she only had phones that had to be plugged into an electrical outlet.

It is important to have at least one landline phone in the location where you will take shelter in an emergency. A landline phone is one that doesn’t have to be plugged into an electrical outlet in any way – only a phone jack.

We have a landline phone on the third floor of our house, but we would not likely shelter on the third floor, but in the basement. I bought an inexpensive (around $11) landline phone that I keep in our basement to be plugged into the phone jack should we need it. In the meantime, I prefer to use my walk-around phone.

I thought I had a brilliant idea, but I was wrong. I got a y-adapter that plugs into my phone jack. The y-adapter allows two phones to be plugged into one phone jack. I thought I could just leave both phones plugged in all the time. However, when I did that, my DSL on my computer stopped working.

I’m sure my nephew Jeff (our family tech guru) could tell me why, but it doesn’t make sense to me. As I said yesterday, I may be organized, but I don’t think I’ll be applying to become one of the Geek Squad any time soon!.

Having a landline phone is just one less thing to think about in an emergency! Keep it in your emergency kit or stored near your phone jack. I have designated a drawer in my basement to keep my phone and my SAME list for my NOAA radio. I keep my radio plugged in and on so we will be alerted in a time of emergency.

Resource: National Preparedness Month

Related Posts: National Preparedness Month - Making a Plan, National Preparedness Month - Determining Potential Emergencies, National Preparedness Month - Emergency Kit #1: NOAA Radio

Celebration Giveaway #4

In celebration of #17 of my 1-2-3...Get Organized series, I'm hosting a week of giveaways from September 2-9. #17 is a manual called Three Step to Becoming a Downsizing Professional - a blueprint for people who want to help people downsize to a smaller residence. It tells you all you need to know to start your own business, market it, and how to do the nuts and bolts of downsizing. There are several bonus items in the package, as well.

Today's giveaway: Three Steps to Organizing Your Office. Just leave a comment below to enter. See Celebration Giveaways September 2-9, 2008! to find out how you can submit more entries.

By the way, several of you have commented at Celebration Giveaways September 2-9, 2008!, which is not offering a giveaway. In order to make sure you enter a valid giveaway, go to the blogs designated Giveaway #1, #2, etc.

Related posts: Celebration Giveaways September 2-9, 2008!, Celebration Giveaway #1 and More Giveaways!, Celebration Giveaway #2 and Another Giveaway!, Celebration Giveaway #3

National Preparedness Month - Emergency Kit #1: NOAA Radio

If I’m going to prepare for an emergency, I want to prepare for one of the worst case scenarios – no power. This means no TV, no computer, eventually no laptop, possibly no phone, and eventually no cell phone. In an emergency, it will be very important to have communication with the outside world to stay informed of valuable information.

Homeland Security recommends an NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) weather radio. This type radio needs to be a combination of plug-in/battery operated type with a hand crank feature. Radios that have specific area message encoding (SAME) technology alert you when weather threats are specific to your area. This means that if there is an eminent or present disaster in your area, a tone will sound to alert you of danger.

The National Weather Service will continuously update emergency and disaster information. This information is available 24/7, repeating pertinent information every four to six minutes.

You will want to print a list of your local SAME codes where you can find broadcast information for your locality. Keep this list with your radio in your emergency kit. The National Weather Service states:

“NWR service to a county depends on reliable signal reception, which typically extends in about a 40 mile radius from the transmitter, assuming level terrain. Counties without NWR coverage or partial NWR coverage will be so indicated. Some counties or parts thereof, especially in mountainous areas, that are listed as having NWR coverage, may not have reliable reception in some locations due to signal blockages and/or excessive distance from the transmitter.”

Where to find such radios?

I got my radio at Best Buy. I went to Best Buy’s website, and typed in NOAA radio onto the search window. I found five radios ranging from $39.99 to $69.99, one which is available online only. I could have ordered online to pick up the radio. But I wanted to go into the store to see the radios.

When I selected a radio on the website, Best Buy’s website showed me which stores in my area carried that radio. However, when I went to the store, I didn’t find the radio I wanted. I found one that I thought had the same qualities as the one I wanted – plug-in and battery operated, as well as a crank feature. I also wanted a cell phone charging feature.

When I got my radio home, however, I found that it didn’t have a plug-in feature – only battery and crank features and the capability of charging my cell phone. I took it back to try to find an AC adapter. They couldn’t find one that fit. In the process, I met Rick, who confessed he was obsessed with these types of radios - just the kind of person I wanted to talk to! He pointed out to me that my Red Cross radio wasn’t even an NOAA radio – the whole reason why I wanted the radio – to be able to hear the emergency alerts!! I am organized, but obviously not a technical whiz at times.

I did end up buying an Eton Red Cross radio for $59.99, but it was clearly marked with NOAA on the cover, has an AC adapter included, battery options and a crank. In my package was a post card that instructed me to send it in or email the company to receive my phone adapter tip and charging cord for my particular cell phone.

In researching this blog, I’ve found that Radio Shack has pages of weather radios, also. I found one that is reasonably priced with both plug-in and battery options as well as a crank option. It also has a USB cord that allows you to charge electronic devices, such as cell phones. The Midland ER-102 Emergency Crank Radio with Weather Channels is only available from the web, though, and costs $49.99.

By searching for NOAA radios on your computer, I’m sure you can find other providers as well. Make sure to get extra batteries that fit your radio and store them with your radio.

Of course, you could always get a generator. Prices start at several hundred dollars and go up into the thousands. I think if I lived in a hurricane-prone area, I would consider it!

Resource: National Preparedness Month, NOAA’s National Weather Service.

How do you prepare for emergencies?


Related Posts: National Preparedness Month - Making a Plan, National Preparedness Month - Determining Potential Emergencies

Celebration Giveaway #3

Celebration Giveaways came about as a result of the release of my 17th book in the 1-2-3...Get Organized series. It is called Three Steps to Becoming a Downsizing Professional - a comprehensive manual for those who want to pursue helping people downisize to a smaller residence. It includes everything you need to know to start your own business, market it, and learn the nuts and bolts of downsizing.

Today's giveaway is a downloadable copy of my Hassle Free Dinners - 800+ pages of weekly dinner menus, instructions, and weekly grocery lists. It's a marriage of professional organization and dinnertime. The goal is to minimize the time you spend in the kitchen while preparing tasty, balanced and quick meals.

Just leave a comment below and you're entered for the giveaway! See the Related Posts below for more ways to win.

Related Posts: Celebration Giveaways September 2-9, 2008!, Celebration Giveaway #1 and More Giveaways!, Celebration Giveaway #2 and Another Giveaway!

National Preparedness Month - Determining Potential Emergencies

Before I get started on today's topic of determining potential emergencies, Marsha (see her comment on Giveaway #1) reminded me of something I forgot about on Making a Plan yesterday. And that is having a family password. If someone approaches your child saying you sent them, that person must give the password before your child will go with them. Our family used my maiden name as our password. Thanks, Marsha, for the reminder!

Determining Potential Emergencies

One of the first steps in preparing for an emergency is to find out what types of disasters are prevalent in your area. This includes both natural and man-made disasters. By knowing what emergencies may come your way, determines where you will keep your emergency kit.

For example, if tornadoes are a possibility in your area, a basement would be a likely place to keep your emergency kit. However, if flooding is a threat, a basement would not be an ideal location.

If you are new to an area, do some research to discover potential emergencies. You will need to know if you should stay in your home or evacuate. You will need to know where emergency shelters in your locale are located, if that is an option you should take.

We have tornadoes as a threat in our area, for example. We have designated a closet that is located under a staircase, which is away from windows. It is partially below ground and has a significant amount of piping that serves as additional support. In previous houses, however, our best protection was in a ground floor bathroom or closet.

Also, pay attention to how you will be notified of emergencies. We have a tornado siren in our area that sounds when a tornado watch turns into a tornado warning, which means to take cover. Other possible methods of alert are through emergency radio, TV broadcasts, computer weather alerts, or phone calls from local authorities.

I keep The Weather Channel on my desktop which has a temperature icon in the lower right corner of my computer screen. When there is a weather alert, it turns red.

We’ll talk about emergency radios tomorrow.

We had some great suggestions yesterday - take a look. What do you do to prepare for emergencies?

Resource: National Preparedness Month

Related Posts: National Preparedness Month - Making a Plan

Celebration Giveaway #2 and Another Giveaway!

I'm celebrating #17 of my 1-2-3...Get Organized series - Three Steps to Becoming a Downsizing Professional. It's a manual for those who want to pursue a career in helping people downsize to a smaller residence.

My giveaway for today is Three Steps to Organizing Your Kitchen. To win, leave a comment below. To find out how you can submit more entries, go to Celebration Giveaways September 2-9, 2008!

Visit Sweet 'n Sassy Girls for another giveaway. See Giveaway #1 for others going on this week.

Related Posts: Celebration Giveaway #1 and More Giveaways!, Celebration Giveaways September 2-9, 2008!

National Preparedness Month - Making a Plan

Hurricane Gustav is a good reminder that we need to be prepared in emergencies! September is National Preparedness Month, so we’re going to take some time to get ready for potential emergencies. I’ll do it in short segments so as not to overwhelm you!

Homeland Security has a site dedicated to National Preparedness Month if you want to make faster progress or get an overview of the steps of preparation. Homeland Security Suggests: Get a Kit, Make a Plan, and Be Informed. I think we’ll start with Making a Plan first.

Create an Emergency Plan

Designate a family or friend to be your contact person(s). It may be better to choose a person outside your local area, as it may be easier to make a long distance call than a local call if your town is experiencing an emergency.

Make sure your children, siblings, parents, and other important people have the phone number(s) of the contact person(s). For example, I have chosen my parents who live in another state to be our contact people. My siblings are our alternative contact people. I have given our children the phone numbers for each one.

Those phone numbers should be placed in a wallet or on a cell phone so they are available at all times. Each person should have a cell phone, pre-paid calling card, or coins for a pay phone (are there such things anymore?) with them at all times, as well.

You may also want to designate a local location to meet should your home be destroyed or unavailable – a local school, church, or friend’s home within walking distance. The police station would be a good check-in spot as well. If your city designates check-in locations, heed those.

Create a plan for various scenarios: you're at work, you're at home, your family members are at work/school/day care/other events. Will you or your spouse pick your children up from school? Will they ride the bus home? Talk through these plans with your family members. Review periodically.

Resource: National Preparedness Month

What have you done to prepare for emergencies?

Celebration Giveaway #1 and More Giveaways!

Today is the beginning of Celebration Giveaways, celebrating #17 of my 1-2-3...Get Organized series - Three Steps to Becoming a Downsizing Professional. It's a comprehensive manual for those who'd like to launch out on this wonderful career of helping people downsizing to a smaller residence.

Today's Giveaway: Three Steps to Organizing Your Child's Room. To win, leave a comment below. To obtain more entries, check out our rules posted in Celebration Giveaways September 2-9, 2008!

More Giveaways around the Blogosphere:

- Laurel Wreath's Fall Giveaway, September 1-5

- Mommy Meryl's Blogging Road Trip, September 1-5

- Mommy Community's Blogging Road Trip, September 1-5. Mommy Community wants me to give a little blurb about who I am: I'm a professional organizer, speaker and author of the 1-2-3...Get Organized series. I'm a mother of two grown daughters and a foster mom to teenage girls. I'm delightfully married to my husband of 33 years.

Related Posts: Celebration Giveaways September 2-9, 2008!

Laurel Wreath's "I Love Fall Giveaway

Laurel Wreath is the Christian Women Online Magazine's book reviewer. She also has her own delightful blog called Laurel Wreath's Reflections.

Laurel loves the fall, and to celebrate the season, she is sponsoring a giveaway from September 1-5. Not only will she give away something each day, but she has asked five women to offer their own giveaways during that time, with me being one of those women.

"Joining me are CWO’s Editor Darlene Schacht, Author and Speaker Lysa TerKeurst, Professional Organizer Beverly Coggins, jewelry maker Crystal at Two Belles & a Bead, and “Down on the Farm” Mrs. Deedra. They will be offering up some wonderful prizes you will NOT want to miss!" Laurel writes.

So drop by Laurel Wreath's Reflections September 1-5 and win yourself some fun stuff!