Related Stories

Lost power? Read this before using your generator

House_Generator As Hurricane Irene crawled up the East Coast, many were left wondering whether they’d lose power — and the hasty run on...

Riding out the hurricane: Tips to keep your pets safe

Health_DepressedDoggy While you hunker down to ride out Hurricane Sandy, it’s important to keep in mind that there are family members who...

17 awesomely helpful moving tips

House_Moving Since many of you have probably moved more than a few times in your lives — and will probably move again — we’ve...

 

Be prepared with this hurricane season checklist

September 6, 2011
By Jaclyn Bertner

Hurricane Irene is not quite a distant memory yet. Some still are feeling its effects and dealing with whatever hand the storm dealt them. And your home tends to shoulder the worst that hurricanes have to offer. So to get you ready for any future hurricanes that are a-brewing, we consulted the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) for a list of steps to make sure you and your home are prepared.

• Make sure to follow the news;

• Close storm shutters, secure outdoor furniture or bring it inside;

• If told to do so, turn off utilities;

• Keep the refrigerator door closed as much as possible and turn the thermostat to the coldest setting;

• Turn off propane tanks;

• Fill the bathtub with water for cleaning and flushing the toilet;

• Follow instructions if you’re told to evacuate, especially if you live in a mobile home, on the coast or in a high-rise building;

• If you can’t evacuate, stay indoors and away from windows and glass doors. Close curtains, blinds and interior doors and secure external doors. Go to a small interior room, closet or hallway on the lowest level;

• Have on hand some essential hurricane supplies. Check out FEMA’s emergency kit list here; and

• Portable generators can be extremely helpful if you lose power. But they also pose a number of safety hazards. Click here for some helpful tips on how to use and store your generator.

Recently, the House Honcho heard a great tip: If you know a hurricane is coming, freeze some water in Ziploc bags. If you lose power, put the ice-filled bags in the fridge, which will help keep food colder longer. Comment below or on our Facebook page with any of your own tips.

Tags: , , , ,

 

Live it HellaWella. Sign up for our email.

 

Comments are closed.

Comments (2)
Barbara Gore
September 8th, 2011 at 11:27 am

I really like the water in the tub and the freezer bags of ice to go in the fridge suggestions!

Chas
September 8th, 2011 at 4:46 pm

We usually do lose power so we did a couple things that worked;
before the storm we refilled five empty 5 gallon water bottles and placed them beside the tub. We still had access to the shower until the power went out. Then we used them for flushing and refilling the toilet tank.
In the fridge four 1-3 gallon beverage containers were filled 3/4 full and frozen, as were empty food containers since I didn’t have freezer bags. I regularly reuse cold cut containers because most retail is oriented to square footage; so the assortment of smaller used cold cut containers are stackable and fit tightly throughout the frig. They also fit under and atop food coolers without punctures if you have to leave the house, and, they’ll provide drinking water. If the hurricane or event fails to materialize, 5 gal. jugs can be used to fill the washing machine without wasting it. The other frozen bottles of water can used in cooking and the containers are good to go as well for food again.

new site