How Many Flashlights Do You Have?

March 31, 2012

In our house, we have too many flashlights to count.  Long flashlights with a stack of C batteries in each, tiny flashlights on key rings, a flashlight magneted to the fridge, flashlights with strobe settings, a crank-powered flashlight, black flashlights, silver flashlights, colorful flashlights, and of course my super hero flashlight.  The list goes on and on.

We may have gotten a bit carried away, but how many might someone actually need?  I’d like to offer a simple equation that you can use to determine the minimum number of flashlights that I’d recommend for your household.

FL = P + C + T + D, where

  • FL = the minimum number of flashlights
  • P = the number of people in the household, and so the number of bedsides for a flashlight.  Who wants to wake up in the the middle of a storm with no electricity and have to track down a flashlight?  Not me.
  • C = the number of cars.  Put a flashlight in each car, probably a reasonably heavy duty one, maybe with a strobe option.
  • T = number  of travellers in the household.  Those trips might be around the world or simply to school.  Having a small flashlight in each person’s purse, briefcase, or backpack could be very helpful if the power goes out in the hotel, office, or school.
  • D = the number of doors in your home through which family members generally enter.  Put a flashlight close to the main family entrances.  Then, if someone who doesn’t have a flashlight in their purse, briefcase, or car comes home to a power-deprived house, a flashlight will be within easy reach.  They won’t have to stumble through a dark house looking for one.

If your collection of flashlights doesn’t add up to your household’s FL, you might want to purchase more.  Having a safe, dependable source of light in any situation can be a very reassuring thing, helping you keep your cool in an emergency and helping you to avoid any hazards that may be lurking in the dark.

Where else might you like to have a flashlight stashed?

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Cool Tip – Got Charcoal?

March 30, 2012

Your grill can be a very handy for cooking and boiling water when you don’t have gas or electricity.  The supplies and equipment needed are simple and readily available.  Charcoal is the least expensive fuel per btu that the average family can store. Plus it’s fun to practice year-round. 

Remember – ALWAYS use your grill outside and a safe distance from your home. 

Here’s one source of info on heat, light, and cooking during an emergency:  http://www.nationalterroralert.com/heatlightcooking/

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Seek a Helpful Stranger

March 29, 2012

The hotel elevator opened on the 11th floor and a 4-year-old boy walked out.  Surprisingly, no one else was on the elevator.  A family of four boarded the elevator like nothing unusual had just happened. 

A man on his way to the gym and I stopped, watched the little guy go confidently down the hall, looked at each other, and chose not to board the elevator. “I’ll keep an eye on him,” I said.  “I’ll call the front desk,” said the gym guy. 

As I chatted with little Ryan in the hallway for a few minutes, a couple of security guards reached the 11th floor, followed quickly by Ryan’s panic-stricken dad.  It all ended well.

True story.  That really happened to me in LA two weeks ago. 

The quick resolution to Ryan’s challenge was aided by a couple of helpful strangers.  Teach your child that certain strangers can be helpful.  They can be in the form of police officers, security officers, moms with children, and store clerks.  And sometimes they take other forms, like the gym guy and me.

Teach your children what to do if they become separated from  you in a crowd or a store or in any public place. Teach them to look for a helpful stranger.  They’ll be there.

2 Comments | Kids/Youth, Safety/Security | Permalink
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If It Happens

March 28, 2012

If “the big one” does happen, stay calm. Keeping a clear head will help you make better decisions. Know that you’ve planned well, and bravely work your plan. And through it all, have hope. You will get through this.  That sense of normalcy is likely to return sooner than if you hadn’t taken steps to be more ready.

      —  Stay calm
      —  Be brave
      —  Have hope

(Note:  This mantra is paraphrased from a sermon given by Episcopal priest, Connie Jones.  Thanks, Connie!)

2 Comments | General Planning, Gratitude | Permalink
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Cool Tip – Lighting

March 25, 2012

From a Facebook post of an Oregon friend of mine:

“I have a friend who used her Solar Lights inside the house at night when the electric power went off during a hurricane. She stuck them in jars and bottles and said they gave off plenty of ‘free light’ in each room. She put them outside in the daytime and brought them back inside at night for several days while the power was off. They are safe to use and cheaper than batteries.”

I’m going to get some solar-powered path lights and try this out, especially given the fire hazard of using candles.  Cool tip.

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Spring Forward & Change Your Batteries

March 25, 2012

Just a couple of weeks ago, in most of the U.S. we moved the clocks forward an hour to begin Daylight Savings Time. You know – Spring forward!  Lots of people were late for church that Sunday.

Lots of people also changed the batteries in their home smoke detectors and carbon monoxide detectors (even those that are hard-wired).   The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission recommends that you change them twice a year.  That way you’re assured of having fresh batteries should your family’s lives depend upon those devices.  The beginning and end of Daylight Savings Time is simply a convenient time to jog your memory.

A working smoke alarm will double your chances of surviving a home fire by giving you the critical time needed to escape.  More than 90 percent of all homes in the U.S. have smoke alarms, but as many as one-third of them don’t work because of old or missing batteries.  And two-thirds of fire deaths occur in homes where there are no smoke alarms or no working smoke alarms.

Here are a few more home-fire related tips:

  • Put a smoke alarms inside and outside every room where someone sleeps and at least one on each floor.
  • All residents should know how the alarm sounds and what it means.
  • Clean and maintain smoke alarms according to the manufacturer’s instructions.
  • Have a fire escape plan with two ways out of every room.  Teach it to everyone in the home, especially children.
  • When the smoke alarm sounds, get out of the home immediately and go to a pre-planned meeting place.

While you’re at it, go ahead and change the batteries in your emergency radio and flashlights.  That small pile of used batteries probably still has enough life left to power less life-critical devices for awhile.

U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission press release:  http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml12/12127.html

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Boy Scouts’ Motto

March 24, 2012

“Be Prepared . . . . The meaning of the motto is that a scout must prepare himself by previous thinking out and practicing how to act on any accident or emergency so that he is never taken by surprise.”

– Sir Robert Baden-Powell, Founder of the Boy Scouts, 1857-1941

2 Comments | Quotes & Inspiration | Permalink
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My Philosophy

March 24, 2012

Getting your family prepared for a big emergency situation like a hurricane or an earthquake or a tornado or an ice storm or . . . . . . can feel quite overwhelming.

Where do we begin?  And how can we possibly get ready for it?  There are so many possible scenarios.  There’s so much information out there.  Where should we start?  Lots of people get immobilized by the perceived magnitude of the effort.  It’s just too daunting to think about.  Others feel like it’s hopeless, that the odds are so stacked against us, there’s no reason to even try.

I hope to take the overwhelmedness out of it for you by providing an action plan that is tailored to your specific family.  And I hope to inspire you to start picking away at those actions by showing you how it can help your family be more comfortable, less stressed, and more self-sufficient in any emergency situation.

My preparedness philosophy is based on three basic principles:
1.  You will never be completely ready, but you can be much better prepared. (Hence, More Ready Today.)
2. Preparing for most any emergency situation helps you be better prepared for just about any other emergency, too.
3.  It’s important to start now. (Hence, More Ready Today.)

You won’t ever really be ready. No matter how much water, food, and supplies you put away.  No matter how many skills you learn.  No matter how many redundancies upon redundancies you have, there likely will be some aspect of the emergency situation that seems to trump your preparedness.  This is due to the unpredictable nature of such situations, and sometimes their sheer magnitude.

Just start.  With each small step that you take, you’ll make your life a whole lot easier and less stressful than if you do nothing.  I suggest that all families take the first two steps immediately.  Now.  Today.  Then pick away at other preparedness steps that you’ll read about in this blog and elsewhere.  You might be surprised how much of the plan you already have accomplished and didn’t even realize it.

This is Important – DO THIS TODAY!

I recommend that if you haven’t yet taken these first two steps, do them today.  These two actions cost little to no money and take very little time to implement.   What are those first two all-important steps?

  1. Store at least 3 gallons of water per person in unbreakable containers.  (And don’t forget water for your pets, too.)
  2. Develop a simple communication plan for your family.

No excuses.  Do it!  I don’t want to hear about the snow in your yard that can be melted or the lake a block away or the water in your toilet tanks.  Buy packaged water, or find or buy containers and fill them with water.  Fill them now.  Don’t wait until you find out how much chlorine to put in them in a future post.  Fill them now.

Your family communication plan should include:

  • A list (on paper, not just electronically) of all the important phone numbers for your family; with a copy for each family member
  • The phone number of an out-of-the-area person that everyone in the family agrees to call first in an emergency; this person will act as an information hub for you
  • A meet-up location outside your house in case you have to evacuate quickly
  • A meet-up location not in your neighborhood in case you can’t get home.

In future posts, I’ll share more on the why’s and how’s of these two steps, as well as loads of information on other actions and useful tips that will help your family to be more ready for the next big one.

Leave a Comment » | Communication, Safety/Security, Water | Permalink
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Acknowledgements

March 22, 2012

I have a blog!  Through this venue, I hope to advance my mission of helping the world to be better prepared for the “next big one” in whatever form it may hit.

There are two people who I’d like to thank for inspiring me and helping me to launch this blog.  Tyler Duswalt gave me lots of great tips in his book The Short Book on How To Become A Blogging Expert.

And the inspiration to do a blog came from Tyler’s dad, Craig Duswalt, when I participate in his awesome Rockstar Marketing Bootcamp last week (www.craigduswalt.com).

Thanks Craig and Tyler! 

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