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As Hurricane Earl makes his descent on the East Coast, many are faced with unexpected expenses to prepare for his possible destruction.  From the looks of it this morning, there are three more behind him, so frugal preparations are of the essence.  In the midwest, we are fortunate enough not to bear the brunt of a hurricane, but have experienced flooding in recent years due to some of the larger storms.  Our main threats here are tornadoes and ice storms.  Both can leave quite an impact, a tornado (usually) leaves a concentrated path of destruction, and an ice storm can cripple several states. 

In 2007, we were without power for 17 days due to an ice storm. While we thought out everything and assumed we had prepared accordingly, many preparations could not be made without having experienced such a disaster.  Disaster preparation can be very costly, especially if you are stuck purchasing items at inflated prices in the aftermath.

I wanted to share some things that I personally learned in hopes that you can utilize them, regardless of what type of disaster you may face.

1.  Buy an inverter for your car. You can then charge/run small appliances off of your car batteries. Look in the camping AND automotive sections of your store (walmart sells them).  You can also find them in the computer section, near the  laptop accessories.

2.  There are some clips that attach directly to a car battery’s posts that hold a car adapter. (ours came with our electric filet knife) You can then bring your car battery inside and run fans, coffee pots, laptops, portable DVD, etc. if you use it with an inverter (mentioned in step 1.)  Just remember to stick it back in the car to charge it occasionally. 

3.  Stock up on some card games and board games. You won’t need those movies if you don’t have power! Hasbro has some really neat card games out now, and there are plenty of coupons to match. Stock up on these at when the coupons are out and hold onto for a power outage.

4.  Take a trip to the library to check out some books.  Try some audio books- they can entertain the entire family.

5.  Purchase extra charcoal/firewood if you have a charcoal grill. You can keep a running fire in a charcoal grill with firewood to sterilize water and warm things up.

6.  If you use a charcoal grill and commonly use starter fluid, look into a ‘fire starter’.  This is an aluminum cylinder that you fill with your charcoal.  Just wad up a piece of newspaper and stick it in the bottom and light it.  Your charcoal will be ready in minutes- perfect every time.  These are less than $10 at Walmart and Lowes.

7.  Clean and fill your bathtubs with water just in case you run low on drinking water

8.  Don’t forget a manual can opener.

9.  Make sure every last piece of clothing is washed and put away.  If you’re without power for long, you’ll be wishing for clean underwear!

10. Kerosene lamps or lanterns (in addition to flashlights).  I recommend a rechargable LED lantern, as you can recharge them in your vehicle and won’t have to worry about costly fuel and fumes.  These make great outdoor lighting for other events, so you will be able to reuse it.

11. Make sure you have a couple of small flashlights for each child. They break and get lost easily. Walmart has some for $1 that come with extra batteries.  Also, look for headlamps for your children.  These will free up their hands to read and will provide entertainment for YEARS to come. 

12. Avoid generic batteries.  Although they initially seem cheaper, you will find that they last about 1/10th the time as the more expensive ones (that only cost about 3x as much).  You’ll get more bang for your buck if you purchase name brand.

13. Buy large packages of glow sticks in the dollar section at Michael’s or your dollar store.  There are normally 20 to a package. Around Halloween, these pop up everywhere.  They will provide great entertainment for the kids and also allow you to keep your eyes on them in the dark.

14. Refill your prescriptions.  Ask your pharmacist for coupons, or keep your eye out for other promotions.  Many pharmacies accept competitor’s coupons (including CVS and Kroger).  Also, check out the medicine’s website and call your doctor to see if there are coupons available.  Many offer coupons that work in addition to your co-pay.

15. Take inventory of your kitchen gadgets.  Did you know that you can use a Pampered Chef stoneware bowl and a 9" round pan to make a dutch oven that will bake bread on your grill? 

16. Grab some paper plates and utensils.  This will help keep clutter under control and is much less expensive than running the dishwasher.

What types of preparations do you make when presented with a disaster?  Do you have any cost saving tips?

Tagged as: Disaster Preparation

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