National Preparedness Month - I'm Overwhelmed!

I don't know about you, but I'm a bit overwhelmed by all the National Preparedness Month lists! I was tempted to take a break from it, but felt I should probably plow through the whole thing. However, when my daughter said that she was overwhelmed, too, she convinced me that maybe we should take a breather. We'll start again next week. If you're feeling the need to have closure, go to National Preparedness Month. I'm going to use the break to get caught up on all those lists.

National Preparedness Month - Emergency Kit #7 - Medications and Medical Supplies

It's easy to put off getting perscriptions filled until the last minute. As I've been researching National Preparedness Month, however, I've seen the importance of having at least a week's supply of medications (both over the counter and perscriptions) on hand at all times. We never know when we might encounter an emergency, and we want to be preapred!

Think about all who are evacuating for Hurricane Ike in Texas. The last thing they need is to have to stop by the pharmacy to get their perscriptions filled! Imagine the lines!

Homeland Security also suggests:

- Making a list of prescription medicines including dosage, treatment and allergy information, and putting that list in your emergency kit.

- Talking to your pharmacist or doctor about what else you need to prepare. I would recommend writing it down and keeping it in your emergency kit.

- Talking to your care providers if you undergo routine treatments administered by a clinic or hospital or if you receive regular services such as home health care, treatment or transportation. Find out what their emergency plans entail. And obtain a list of back-up service providers and incorporate them into your personal support network. (We'll talk more about your personal support network in a few days.)

- Making sure you have extra batteries for hearing aids and wheelchairs in your emergency kit.

I would add eyeglasses, hearing aids, walkers, wheelchairs, oxygen and any other medical devices you (or family memebers) use to your emergency list of things to grab (those things you use each day and can't keep in your emergency kit).

Isn't it amazing to think about all the details we need to get together for an emergency? It shows that we don't want to do it at the last-minute!

Do you have medical items in your emergency kit that I haven't mentioned?


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, National Preparedness Month - Emergency Kit #4 - First Aid Kit, National Preparedness Month - Emergency Kit #5 - Additional Supplies, National Preparedness Month - Emergency Kit #6 - Food

Source: National Preparedness Month

National Preparedness Month - Emergency Kit #6 - Food

Here’s what Homeland Security suggests for your food supply for your emergency kit:
"Store at least a three-day supply of non-perishable food.

- Select foods that require no refrigeration, preparation or cooking and little or no water.
- Pack a manual can opener and eating utensils.
- Avoid salty foods, as they will make you thirsty.
- Choose foods your family will eat.
- Ready-to-eat canned meats, fruits and vegetables
- Protein or fruit bars
- Dry cereal or granola
- Peanut butter
- Dried fruit
- Nuts
- Crackers
- Canned juices
- Non-perishable pasteurized milk
- High energy foods
- Vitamins
- Food for infants
- Comfort/stress foods."

As I’ve said before, our designated shelter is in a closet in our basement. I’m storing my food in dishpans on shelves: easy to pull out and easy to transport, if necessary.

The food I included in my emergency kit: granola bars, cans of ready-to-eat soup, tuna, peanut butter, crackers, beef jerky (even though it’s salty), canned fruit, canned veggies, canned drinks, juice boxes, cookies, and water.

What foods do you have in your emergency 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, National Preparedness Month - Emergency Kit #4 - First Aid Kit, National Preparedness Month - Emergency Kit #5 - Additional Supplies

Source: National Preparedness Month

My Guest Blog at Working Moms Against Guilt

I'm a guest blogger at Working Moms Against Guilt on the topic of Cheating Time. They're also offering my book, Three Steps to Time Management for the Working Mom as a giveaway. Drop by for a visit!

Celebration Giveaway Winners!

Thanks so much for those who entered my Celebration Giveaways! Here are the winners, chosen randomly by number by my foster daughters. :-)

Celebration Giveaway #1 - Three Steps to Organizing Your Child's Room - Sandy
Celebration Giveaway #2 - Three Steps to Organizing Your Kitchen - Janne
Celebration Giveaway #3 - Hassle Free Dinners - Parker Family
Celebration Giveaway #4 - Three Steps to Organizing Your Office - Dolls123
Celebration Giveaway #5 - Three Steps to Time Management for the Stay-at-Home Mom - Shannon
Celebration Giveaway #6 - Three Steps to Clever Cleaning - A Happy Heart at Home
Celebration Giveaway #7 - Three Steps to Time Management at the Office - Chi
Celebration Giveaway #8 - Three Steps to Decluttering - Nicol

Hope you had fun - I sure did!

Please let me know if you'd like to review one of my books or if you'd like me to offer one as a giveaway for your contests/giveaways!

National Preparedness Month - Emergency Kit #5 - Additional Supplies

So we have our NOAA Radio and SAME list, our landline phone, water, and a first aid kit in our emergency kit. Here are some other items Homeland Security recommends for our emergency supply kit:

· Flashlight and extra batteries (I put mine in my emergency drawer)
· Whistle to signal for help
· Dust mask to help filter contaminated air
· Plastic sheeting and duct tape to shelter-in-place
· Moist towelettes, garbage bags and plastic ties for personal sanitation
· Wrench or pliers to turn off utilities
· Local maps
· Sleeping bag or warm blanket for each person. Consider additional bedding if you live in a cold-weather climate.
· Complete change of clothing including a long sleeved shirt, long pants and sturdy shoes. Consider additional clothing if you live in a cold-weather climate.
· Matches in a waterproof container
· Mess kits, paper cups, plates and plastic utensils, paper towels
· Feminine supplies and personal hygiene items
· Paper and pencil
· Books, games, puzzles or other activities for children.

I found a flashlight, dust masks, plastic sheeting, duct tape, and towelettes at my local dollar store.

These are the things I suggest you add to your list of things to grab if an emergency is eminent:

· Emergency reference material such as a first aid book or information from www.ready.gov
· Prescription medications and glasses
· Infant formula and diapers
· Pet food and extra water for your pet
· Cash or traveler's checks and change
· Fire Extinguisher
· Cell phone.

These items are ones you will be using daily or are located in other places in your home. By having a list, you will be able to grab important items without having to think.

We'll talk about food tomorrow.


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

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