Organizing for a Disaster

September is disaster preparedness month. While no one likes to think a disaster might occur in their area, it is important to be prepared. Here in New England we get blizzards, hurricanes, and flooding. This week I heard a volunteer from the local Red Cross speak about this topic and how families can be prepared.

Here are some simple steps every family should take:

• Fires are the most common disaster in the home. Do you have a fire extinguisher and can you easily get it? Make sure it is it still has pressure, hasn’t been recalled, and is easily accessible.

• Important documents: Do you have important papers in a safe place that you could easily grab if you needed to leave your home? I have helped many clients set up an “important papers” file or even better, fireproof box, to store vital documents such as titles, wills, and passports. If you are using a fireproof box you may also want to include some family mementos or irreplaceable jewelry.

• Speaking of mementos, consider digitizing your photos so you have duplicates of your most important photos backed up to the cloud or offsite. Want o digitize them at home? Read my review of this gadget. I can also help you sort, organize and digitize your photos; I also have a great local resource for photo digitizing—no need to mail off precious photos!

• Do you have a safe deposit box? Here’s my blog post on how to organize your vital documents.

• Smoke/C02 detectors: Change your smoke detectors every 10 years. Be sure to change the batteries at least once a year. Do it when you change your clocks in the fall and spring, and they will always be up to date.

• Don’t forget to make an emergency plan for your pets. Get ideas from the Red Cross.

For more ideas on how to prepare your home and family in case of a disaster, read more ideas from my blog here and here.