77F and humid at 6am, but I’ve spent too much time reading the news. Gotta get the kids up and ready, so more later….
Now it’s later!
Here comes the storm, now what?
If you’ve been listening and doing, then all you have to do is recheck your preps, and do the little last minute things. Top up your fresh veg- you can be sure THAT won’t be stripped from the store. BAKE a loaf of bread. Maybe pick up some dairy if your normal shopping hasn’t happened yet.
Remember that water is still coming out of your tap! No need to buy bottled water if there are crowds. Worst case, buy buckets and fill them. Locate your water filter, bleach, and maybe your Bob water bladder. Do laundry and wash dishes. Wash the bathtubs thoroughly and get your duct tape ready so you can fill the tub before the storm hits. Don’t forget a bucket for moving water from the tub to the toilet.
Charge up battery powered devices, and charge up all your power packs and rechargeable batteries. By now you should have some sort of lithium battery for your phone and tablet. The $80 jump pack from Costco has a USB port and works well according to my wife. If you don’t know where it is, locate your AC inverter and put it near your car for charging bigger things. Test flashlights and battery lanterns.
If you haven’t already, fill your extra gas cans, fuel your generator and test start the gennie.
Look to your property. Get ready to secure loose articles. If the predictions warrant, get ready to do your board up.
At this point, you haven’t done anything irrevocable, haven’t spent money you don’t have, and have basically just ‘freshened up.’ Time to watch the storm approach and make any adjustments to your plan.
If you HAVEN’T been prepping, you’ve got a lot more to do.
Start with the basics, food water shelter.
Food- hit the canned and boxed meal aisles of your store. Grab veg and beans, chili, and chicken or stew. Get some pouches of pasta with sauce. Get enough for a couple of weeks , at least ONE week. Since the ‘french toast people’ have probably stripped the bread, eggs, and milk, grab a big bag of tortillas. Grab some rice, instant or one minute rice is preferable in this case as it takes less to cook. Grab some oatmeal and sugar or syrup, again quick cooking is better. Grab some treats for the kids.
Water. If your store has bottled, get some. If not, then hit up Home Depot for buckets and lids. You can fill them at home for drinking water. Remember, water is still coming out of your faucets. You may prefer bottled water for drinking, but your municipal water won’t hurt you (unless you’re in Flint, and then you’re on your own.) You don’t NEED food safe buckets for this short time, but they are better for long term use. Worst case, buy 2 liter bottles of the store brand generic soda, pour it out, and use the bottles for water. You might want some koolaid or tea to flavor your water.
Shelter- your home should be fine unless the storm is huge. If you live in a shack, or in an area prone to flooding, think hard about going to a shelter. If you are going, better early than late. Pick up anything that the wind can turn into a missile. Secure all loose items. Seriously, put them away. Charge up all your things that need charging. Wash everything that needs washing. Tidy up. Fill bathtub with water for washing, cover the drain with duct tape first. Make sure you have some way to make light, battery powered is preferred to fire. Have at least a battery powered radio to listen for news and updates.
That’s about all you will be able to do in a couple of days, but it should be more than enough and it’s certainly more than 80% of your neighbors will be doing.
Chime in in comments if I missed anything appropriate for short term preps, or if you have questions.
nick