8 Ways to Be Proactive for Emergencies

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Last month we talked in-depthly about emergency preparedness. As they say, “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” The inconvenience now of being proactive about things can save lots of headaches, pain, and maybe even worse, later on.

Here are 8 ways I’ve been thinking about to be more proactive, more prepared:

1. Store ICE contact numbers in your phone.

What would happen to you if you were hurt while away from work, home, or anyone you knew? “In case of emergency” phone numbers can be programmed into your cell phone so that if something were to happen to you, emergency personnel would know who to contact. The Happy Housewife has the details as well as info on an app for your smart phone to help you be better prepared.

2. Fill an emergency supply closet.

I’ve slowly been building my stockpile of water, but this emergency supply closet just blew me out of the water. Brilliant. We even have some storage cupboards in our garage that I could repurpose this way.

3. Get a full medical physical.

Yes, really. I know it’s a total pain. But, most of us moms don’t do this very often. And all too often, there can be little things that get overlooked. But, regular check-ups can be helpful in diagnosing issues early enough to be treated successfully. Make sure to check your skin and do monthly breast exams as well.

4. Inventory your home.

Last Spring my friend Lynn‘s home was hit by a tornado. Thankfully, they were all safe, but there was a fair degree of damage to the house and property. Lynn went through the process of recreating lists of the items that were damaged for the insurance claims adjuster.

While I may not live in tornado country anymore, we aren’t immune to fire or theft. Having a list of the big ticket items, their purchase prices, and date of purchase would be helpful later during what would surely be a stressful time.

Now, you might not think you have anything valuable. That’s what I thought, too. But, then I just thought about all my kitchen appliances! I would hate to have to replace my food processor, stand mixer, bread machine, and so on. While I can certainly live without them, I’d honestly rather not have to.

5. Pack go bags for your kids and you.

Lauren shared some great tips last month for how to pack emergency evacuation bags for your kids. Check out the post and then think about the supplies you can gather in one place to be better prepared.

6. Stock your car with a small on-the-go emergency kit.

We never know when an emergency situation will hit. So, while you’re packing go bags, make an extra one for the car filled with general supplies, like water, non-perishable food, and first aid kit.

7. Think about life insurance and then do something about it.

We think about it, but we’ve yet to do anything about it. Life insurance is really not that expensive, and it can be a good cushion for your family to land on if the worst happens.

8. Store valuables in a fireproof safe.

While most of us aren’t worried about protecting the Hope diamond, we are concerned about more important things: birth certificates, family photos, contracts, and property documents. A good way to protect these items is to store them in a fireproof safe.

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197 Comments

  1. in my phone it says mom and husband next to both of those numbers so that if something happened someone would know who to call.

  2. When we opened our small business last year, we decided we’d better get life insurance. But many of the other items listed are on my to do list. This week I’ll be getting together an emergency bag for the car, as snow could come any time. We need a safe desperately, though, since I gave up the safety deposit box.

  3. Hmmm, I don’t suppose flu shots count? What about the smoke and gas detectors? (I think I might need to work on this one a bit…..)

  4. When have a couple back packs with some essentials in the basement ready to go if we need to.

  5. I feel like I have so much to accomplish in this area – I had actually wanted to get a ton of Prepardness done for my family over the summer, but didn’t. I have started a Prepardness binder which includes lists (to help me in organizing), emergency cash, etc. Now I need to take these lists and actually implement them all to actually be more prepared for a disaster! Thanks for the opportunity to win this safe – I would love to win this!

  6. We have ICE phone numbers on our cell phones, and I have recently had a physical. A sentry box for important documents might be just the motivation needed to update those documents! 🙂

  7. One way we’re proactive for the safety of our family is by having a plan laid out with our children in case of fire (very possible here w/ the severe drought), and just using common sense with locking our doors, keeping working smoke alarms in our house, keeping an eye out for severe weather or other dangers, etc. creedamy [at] yahoo [dot] com

  8. I have important stuff in a safe, but know I should add more. I plan to get emergency go kits made up before long. Would love to have another safe!!

  9. ive got bottled water, candles, canned goods, a radio, some toys, books and blankets and a radio all packed downstairs if we should ever get stuck with no hydro or something like that!

  10. Thank you for the reminder to be proactive. We live in hurricane country so I generally have the supplies on hand, but those were some great ideas. I’ve been putting off my physical, but I will work on finding a doctor and getting that scheduled : )

  11. We have life insurance, and I’m planning on doing #2, 3, and 5 soon. Would love to win this safe too!

  12. We have emergency contacts in our phones and life insurance. We don’t have a safe! 🙂

  13. First aid kits, fresh batteries for our smoke alarms, an updated life insurance policy, and a …..pressure canner! I am learning a new way of cooking and storing foood

  14. Have Ice numbers in my cell phone. Just realized I needed to put Ice numbers in his cell pone as well. Ordering medical alert bracelet for both my son and I. Have researed and found several we like. This is long overdue and extremely important to do.

  15. I keep first aid kits in both cars, the diaper bag and both bathrooms in the house…just in case!

  16. We have life insurance on all members of our family and our safe is over flowing at the moment!

  17. I love the idea of documenting your valuables. Right now I’m going to gather up our birth and marriage certificates and passports and put them together. A safe would be perfect for these important documents. Thanks for the nudge!

  18. I stockpile grocery items & formula when it goes on sale & I also carry emergency only food in our vehicles.

  19. This year we have purchased life insurance for my husband and myself. Next up on the list is a will! But also on our list is purchasing a fire safe. 🙂

  20. I have been being proactive about my family’s health by cutting out processed foods and really looking at nutrition labels and at non-GMO foods. It is on my to-do list to have emergency preparedness backpacks made, though!

  21. My kids are 4 and 6, so I’ve been teaching them about what they should do in an emergency (i.e. fire escape plans, stranger danger, etc.) Its not easy, but I know I’ll feel better knowing they know what to do if something happens.

  22. We have extra shoes, socks and a bin of some supplies in the basement next to my grocery stockpile. We probably could use more things, but this is a start!

  23. I just stored the ICE numbers in my phone yesterday, and insisted that my husband and parents do the same. They grumbled about it, but at least they did it. 🙂

  24. Well-ness checks for family each year, life insurance for family. Need to repack car emergency bags (make sure the right size diapers are included as well as the correct seasonal clothing). Replacing batteries in smoke detectors is on the list for this week since we change the clocks next weekend.

  25. I feel, food wise, we are fairly prepared for an emergency. I do a lot of home canning, and ever since a three day power outage a few years ago, I always keep tons of water on hand – it’s kinda hard to mix up powder formula without water (that was my eye opener!)! I was thinking the other day we could easily go a month, probably two without shopping. Whether it be a car breakdown, a job loss or natural disaster. Did I mention my husband is a firefighter? We are always aware of the suddeness of life. Thanks for posting this Jessica!

  26. We’ve been working on our general emergency preparedness kit for quite some time and have an emergency kit in the car, but this last month we finally got and packed our “bug out bags.” We have life insurance and ICE # in our phones. My husband actually has an ICE button on his phone. I do not, however, have an inventory of my home. Do we need to claim specific items if we have serious damage or is it just a lump sum for household goods?

  27. Something that I have done is the Vehicle Emergency Kit. I love it, and it has come in handy for so many small ’emergencies’.

    We don’t have a safe at home, and I would love to have one for documents and our priceless pictures.
    Thanks!

  28. My family is really into emergency preparedness. We just had an extended family meeting planning what to do in case of disaster or emergency. It’s a lot to think about, but we’ll be glad we did!

  29. We have go bags for our ready for our family.
    I’m almost up to a 3-month supply of food and necessities in my home.

  30. We keep our 72 hr. emergency kits in a closet right by our back door. Great to have!

  31. We are getting rid of the junk in our lives, thereby allowing us to breathe a bit better and be aware of what we have. It also allows me to get to other projects like … 72-hour kits and year supply of food.

  32. I have ICE numbers programed and we have life insurance for both my husband and myself.

  33. My husband and I are proactive by having life insurance for BOTH of us.

  34. we are getting all our important documents together to put in a safe type thing and making sure that we have wills and other things in order. not to mention, we have begun food storage in earnest to we have food here if needed.

  35. We live in earthquake country so I make sure to keep plenty of bottled water and non-perishable food on hand in case we had to go without power.

  36. We have life insurance and try to take care of our health. We really need to take the time to do a full home inventory.

  37. One way that I have been proactive about the safety of my family is coming up for a place where we’d meet if we ever had to get out of our house seperately. I even taught my son how to unlock the window and even kick out the screen if he had to do it.

  38. Life insurance, yearly physicals for us, my 1st mammogram (wow, can’t believe it), new carbon monoxide detector this month.

  39. I am being proactive about our healthy and safety in many ways. I have several ICE contacts stored in my phone. My husband and I have life insurance policies. We have our cupboards stocked up with emergency supplies and lots of flashlights throughout the house. I am feeding the boys healthier and making them drink plenty of water.

    Veronica Hamilton

  40. I’m prepared in case of water loss by the large stock of water I’ve built up. The stock is in glass bottles to keep the plastics out of our water. Thanks for the other ideas.

  41. Love this post…in the past few months we have been through an earthquake, a flood that resulted in 2 feet of water in our basement(wiping out our playroom) and today a freak snowstorm with 6 inches of heavy wet snow that downed a few trees-you NEVER can be too prepared!!!!

  42. we have one fireproof safe, but another would be great for all the negatives I have from pre digital photos!

  43. We have water stored .. its a start but we have a long way to go with emergency preparedness, esp. since we live in an earthquake prone area.

  44. My parents have copies of all important documents in their saftey deposir box.

  45. We took a video of the contents of our house in case something were to happen. This also doubles as our “insurance” since we are military and move quite a bit.

  46. Be sure to add some filtering face masks to your emergency kit. We might be “digging out” here in California. My “shelter” is set up in our RV and I have two empty wheeled trash cans ready to go for evacuation. My next big prep project is to scan precious photos onto a USB drive…would be nice to have a safe to store that USB in!

  47. My husband and I now have life insurance policies on ourselves as well as our children.

  48. We have life insurance. Also, we recently started a Special Needs Trust for our son who has autism, to help provide for his future. I’m going to put in the ICE numbers right now — thanks for all the good tips! : )

  49. This is definitely an area I am working on. Right now we have food, water, and a first aid kit. This safe would be another great step!

  50. We have an emergency bin filled with supplies and a 3 month supply of MRE’s.

  51. I have had ICE programmed into our cellular telephones for several years now. We also have an emergency kit in all of our vehicles.

  52. I have ICE numbers in my phone, set up a will and important medical documents and have them in a safe/easy to grab place.

  53. We took the video camera and taped each room in the house and its contents. If there was something more valuable, it had a visual closeup and explanation.

  54. I store ICE contacts in my phone and we each have a life insurance policy that we just switched because we’d never heard from the agent since we’d got the policy. So our homeowner/car insurance company just started offering life insurance and we saved more for starting a policy with them.

  55. I keep a tote with flashlights, first aid, food, water, blanket ect. in my car at all times.

  56. We just moved and are adding some food for stockup each week. We have a file with important papers including marriage certificate, which would be needed if something happened to one of us.

  57. Finally ordered a tent for shelter if need be in case if emergency or if our home is damaged in a natural disaster.

  58. We have emergency kits, and go bags packed. All family members have our emergency info, including doctors names, numbers of other relatives, and I have emergency provisions, such as diapers, wipes, clothing stored at each grandparents house. Every three months i switch the clothes out for weather changes or size.

  59. i am starting to stock my basement with extra water and canned goods. thanks so much for the info, sometimes we just don’t think about this kind of stuff until it is too late. good reminder!

  60. I am, admittedly, not great about this stuff. But I do now have flashlights with working batteries within reach! Probably good with all the snow that’s falling…

  61. Well, it has been on our list a LONG time. But, we really need a generator (electric tends to go out alot and in the worst of heat and/or cold). So, I am putting on our November to do.

  62. I am slowly working through a lot of things, better, systematic stocking of the pantry, cold and flu supplies, building the first aid drawer up, water, gatorade, etc. But the big thing I need is another fireproof lock box for our tech back up drive – the lock box we currently have is loaded with immigration paper work and the negatives to our wedding pictures!

  63. I am trying to buy something for the emergency supply with each paycheck. I would also like to make the car pack this weekend-with kids an extra set of clothes is a good idea even if it isn’t an emergency:)

  64. My husband and I both have life insurance. I also just had my yearly physical.

  65. Thank you SO much for your post & links. So far I haven’t gotten much pass the stock pile of food & water for a few days & the ICE numbers…you gave me much more to think through & act on – THANKS! :o)

  66. I have lots of life insurance to ensure my babies will be taken care of. I have a supply of fresh water stored and am working on building up a canned goods stockpile. I need to still put the winter survival supplies in the van and make each family member a go bag.

  67. My husband and I just applied for life insurance. The medical application part was a great eye opener as to how to improve our health as well!

  68. We make sure family is aware of current insurance and medical information.

  69. You would think living in central florida I would be more prepared in case of an emergency especially because my first apartment got flooded in a hurricane but im not, I have most of our pictures on cd and a backup hard drive and we always have extra water and we have ice numbers stored but that’s about it I will definitely start getting a little more prepared

  70. We have life insurance for our family. I need to get on top of ICE contacts, small to go bags for my kids and a small emergency kit for the car!

  71. We purchased life insurance both my spouse and myself. Since I am at stay at home Mom, mine isn’t as high as my husband’s quantity. We chose enough to be sure that I would not have to return to work while raising our 8 children.

  72. Last year, my husband and I realized we really wanted our son to grow up healthy with both parents. We decided that in order to give him a better chance, both of us grown ups needed to lose weight. We got serious about diet and exercise, and have lost a combined total of 80 pounds, which we have now kept off for a year!
    We are also putting together our emergency car kit.

  73. Loved this article! We have our documents in a safe, have life insurance, but still need to do a home inventory!!

  74. We recently refreshed our ememrgency box. I need to work on getting a store of water as well.

  75. I have created a 72-hour kit for me and my son that includes a large rolling suitcase for me to lugg and a very sturdy backpack for him. Our kits include everything we’d need in an emergency along with copies and some originals of our important documents and cd’s of all of our pictures. I also keep a freshly rotated supply of enough water and food storage for up to 3 months. I’m working on taking this storage up to a 6 month, then 1 year supply. Slowly, but surely. 😀

  76. I just programed the ICE numbers in my phone. I too am recovering from the tornadoes in April. Right now I am just trying to get our house settled with the insurance and get ready for a big move. Once we move I will be getting new insurance, doing an inventory, and getting a safe (if I don’t win this one).

    One major tip I have is KNOW your insurance policies! Know where they are, know what they say, know what they cover, know what they don’t cover, and make sure your coverage is still what you need. If you don’t have a copy of your policy and declarations page GET ONE! Then put it in a fire proof safe.

  77. We have life insurance. We keep a pretty good stock of nonperishable foods around, and we have lots of heat-and-eat foods also. We have a small propane stove, and extra propane, and we have a generator that keeps our furnace, fridge, deep freeze, and lights on in case of power outages.

  78. My husband and I have had an emergency bag in the trunk of our car for a # yrs now. We also have a go-bag in the house, too. We are lacking go-bags for our cats, but I will put some cat food, bowls, etc. together in a smaller bin for them.

  79. Hubs and I are firefighter/emts. Our 6 y/o knows hands only CPR, fire exits, how to properly use an extinguisher and where they are. She also knows when to try and use the extinguisher (to get out, save yourself not the “stuff”). Our 14 month old mimics the CPR, so he may learn early.
    We also actively monitor our credit & “identities”. 6 y/o’s bio mom ruined her credit just after she and hubs split. When we caught it years later, she attempted meddling in our finances. We’re quite vigilant. As its said, its not paranoia if someone really is out to get you.

  80. I have been replacing all the items in our first aid kit and stocking up on water and canned goods. I never worried about this stuff before I had my daughter, but now I’m all for being prepared for an emergency!

  81. We have emergency kits and a safe room for when there is a tornado or hurricane.
    One thing that I read a long time ago that stuck with me is so easy & very much common sense, but it would be easily overlooked. When you’re getting into your safe room in the event of a tornado or hurricane, make sure to have sturdy shoes and socks for everyone; you never know what the outside will look like/what you’ll have to walk around or on once you come out so you don’t want to be barefoot or with just sandals.

  82. We were recently able to upgrade our life insurance, do to our quitting smoking last year! I had wanted to quit for a long time, but never knew what a burden it would lift from me actually doing so.

  83. We have life insurance, keep up on all of our checkups, are very deliberate about what foes in our bodies(no artificial colors, meat with hormones, pesticides etc…). So much more to do though.

  84. I used to work at The Weather Channel & was there when Katrina hit. It was a huge wake up call. There was a large push internally for our employees to make sure they had a plan in place. So I immediately set about making an emergency plan for me & my future husband.

    Fast forward to our current lives – We have most of these items in place but I struggle to keep reviewing them at set times. We have a 2 year old now & I try to check his bag seasonally because he grows so quickly. The other challenge for us has been our 190-lb Great Dane. While we do have water for him we also purchased a filter than can be used by all of us. It just makes sense for the amount he needed. Add to all of that a recent move into tornado alley. We’ve needed to make some adjustments to our supplies & our safety plan.

    Even though we have the majority of documents (insurance, inventories, photos, etc) out on the cloud, a smaller safe would be great because our current one is bolted into the floor. It would survive theft or fire but I’d be worried the whole time that something might happen. I’d like to have those items with us but for now I’m confident in my super small 500gb external drives. I carry one with us in a waterproof case & there is a back up in the safe.

  85. Though I am a SAHM, my husband and I both have life insurance policies.

  86. Working on getting my emergency packs ready for my car. Thanks for reminding us to always be prepared!

  87. I have taken photos then give to a family member that is out of the area to put in a safe and I do the same for them. I also have a good supply on hand, and records on everything the big stuff does not change that often.

  88. Love the life insurance tip. It’s so easy to think about and not do it. Good reminder! 🙂

  89. We have an Emergency basket that is ready to go with flashlights, blankets, etc.

  90. We have life insurance, a water supply & get out of dodge bags for my husband, myself & our infant. Need to get an emergency car kit together however 🙂

  91. I think I have lots of work to do! And then to keep my family informed of where everything is.

  92. We are getting ready to add renters insurance to our policy (which we have never had before) and we are checking into additional life insurance (in addition to the insure my hubby gets from his work for him) for my hubby and myself.

  93. We have our ICE numbers in our phones. I should probably get onto doing those other things!!

  94. No matter where I go, when I leave the house, I bring the medications we take. I am diabetic, so my insulin in essential if something happened.

  95. We have ICE numbers and stuff in the car, but we’re lacking in lots of other categories, that’s for sure.

  96. I really need to get more water to store and to add the ICE in my phone. I have been expanding our canned food supply over several months and do store extra propane so we can cook in case of a power outage.

  97. I have ICE in my phone, my husband has life insurance, and I try to keep a stockpile of food for a while if we needed it. I know we need to do more…A safe would be a great addition!! 🙂

  98. We have life insurance. We need to update our inventory for the house though.

  99. We live in Southern California, earthquake territory. Have a Emergency prep kit is a must have. This safe would be great for birth certs, marriage cert, insurance policies and passports. I hope I win!

  100. Having been thru a house fire (where no one was hurt), I’ve learned to digitize my pics and have all important papers in one place. I usually keep the diaper bag well stocked, close to the door for easy escape, as well. I also have ICE numbers in my phone.

  101. Keep shoes by your bed also…in case of earthquake – fire – tornado – etc. while you are sleeping. Broken glass + bare feet …not good.
    I will be making some emergency kits after reading your blog. I think the car kit is so important.

  102. I do have life insurance!!!
    I think the inventory is SO important. We had a house fire and it would have made things so much easier. Also, I have heard of the idea of scanning all your important documents and storing it on a USB thumb drive at another location!

  103. I live in snow country, herein the Northeast, and this weekend we are supposed to get the first snow of the season. Thankfully I’m prepared with water, food and a generator, in case we lose power! I’m always looking for ways to make sure we will always havewhat we need, just in case…….

  104. I honestly have not been being very pro-active when it comes to emergency prep….I do however always have a ton of over stocked canned food items that would definitely come in handy in an emergency. Thanks so much for the give-away!

  105. We have life insurance and have been stockpiling water and food. I also bought candles and an oil lamp, which we actually used when the electricity went off here. We have a kerosene heater in the event that the electricity goes off during cold weather.

    I don’t live in a tornado or hurricane prone area, and the area where I live doesn’t normally flood. However, I do live near chemical plants so we never know when we might have to shelter in place or evacuate.

    During a snow storm a few years back, my entire family didn’t have electricity for 3 weeks. We learned a lot about what we would need in an emergency.

  106. I have ICE numbers programmed and life insurance. But there are so many other things I need to do. Thanks for all of the great ideas!!

  107. Wow – this is so timely. I have an emergency kit for one car, and at a street fair, the city was giving away an important documents bag – one where you can load up your important documents as you flee . . .but – where are all those important documents??? I now have a project for the month of November!!

  108. I think this is something very proactive that I did. My two kids were going off to college here. One at the dorm and one in an apt with two other friends. I made sure they had a FULLY stocked medicine cabinet.

    It has come in handy because my 20 yr old VERY independent daughter just told me that she had a fever of 100 degrees last week and had taken all the theraflu and cough medicine I packed. She NEVER gets sick but apt life must have done it !

    I was like ” so that thermometer I packed you came in handy huh?” and she said “oh yes!”.

  109. A fireman visited my son’s class yesterday, so we followed my son’s suggestion and went through our fire safety plan, made sure the kids knew how to dial 911 and how to talk to the dispatcher. Today we are going to check our fire extinguishers and make sure they work.

  110. My husband and I have life insurance, shelf stable rations, and our important documents in a fire/ water proof safe.

  111. We have extra food and water usually in the house, we have go backs packed and emergency supplies in the car. I haven’t done a full inventory, but I did take pictures around my house and email them to myself. TIP** I found this tip out the hard way when my home was broken into a few years ago and the insurance adjuster kept asking for receipts or what credit card I bought things on to verify their existence–well I had bought many of my things while serving overseas and some were housewarming gifts, and I didn’t use a credit card at that time! I didn’t know what to do, they wanted proof these things existed (esp. my laptop that was taken)–then the adjuster asked if I had pictures of them. I did have a few pictures of myself working on the laptop, etc. So then I went around and took pictures of all the major items in my house!!

  112. My husband is checking into life insurance for the both of us. And I am starting to eat more a more healthy diet, because I have an extensive history of heart disease in my family. I have my husband & my 18-month-old son to take care of, & i need to be healthy for them.

  113. The home inventory is on my list to do, but I always put it off. I think November will be the month I complete that project.

    All steps are extremely important to be prepared.. Great info….

  114. I started a group on Facebook a while ago trying to spread the message about putting ICE contacts in their cell phones.

    Also, we are working on our “bags” this month.

  115. We are remodeling our 1880s home to remove old wiring -fire hazard, old paint-most likely has lead properties, among other projects. But for the upcoming winter predicted to be longer and colder with more snow (200 inches!) We keep emergency food stock in both the house and the car with a winter kit too!

  116. We have taken digital photos of the belongings in our home and emailed them to family members for safe keeping in case our home is destroyed.

  117. We’ve made sure that both my husband and I have insurance and that our will is all set up in case something should happen to the both of us. It’s a scary thought but knowing what would happen definitely helps ease the mind!

  118. We have life insurance on our whole family, pictures of the house on a USB that I carry in my purse and a small emergency kit in our basement.

  119. I have ICE numbers in my phone, and we keep a supply of water and non-perishable food. Time to start working on clothing, pets, and radio/batteries!

  120. I do appreciate your gentle reminders.

    I have plenty of food, and some water though still not enough

    DH has insurance and I need to get some for myself, and probably more for him – it’s a goal.

    Inspired by your recent post I have made bugout bags for myself and the kids – they are not complete but I’m working on it

  121. We’ve got life insurance – did that right before we started a family – and, I’ll be working on the rest of these in the next weeks. Awesome ideas. My brother told me I needed to inventory the house, and he’s right!

  122. Living in hurricand country, we always have an emergency plan ready to go. One of the easiest ways to do a home inventory is to take photographs of our home, inside and out. When we lost our fence and shed a few years ago, the insurance agent knew exactly what type of structures we needed to replace.

  123. I have ICE programmed into my phone and had my husband do the same.

  124. Fill an emergency supply closet. We need to be doing more though! Thank you for the chance to win.

  125. We have life insurance on my husband- but have not really done any of the others. I will do the ICE numbers today!

  126. ***if something should happen to HIM*** Duh…haven’t finished my coffee yet obviously!

  127. Sadly I haven’t really done much of this stuff although I do know exactly where the birth certificates, etc are in case I would have to grab them quickly.

  128. I keep a good stockpile of non perishable foods and toiletries. I actually have a “storm closet” where I keep extra batteries, flashlights, and radios. I live in central NC. We’ve had snow storms, hurricanes, tornadoes, and even a small earthquake this year. It definitely keeps you on your toes! We have good life insurance as well. My husband is a bit older than me and has a dangerous profession. We feel that I should be prepared, God forbid, if something should happen to me.

  129. I do have emergency supplies and life insurance but some of the other things I need to work on.

  130. We have insurance and have made plans for our children’s care if something happens to my husband and me. It is so comforting to know that they’ll be well cared for.

  131. Recently we reviewed all our financial items as well as life insurance. We were concerned as I am disabled and would be very vulnerable if my husband were to pass away. This is a great article as I never thought of a home inventory.

  132. We just had a few close calls this hurricane season and with 3 small kids, the idea of an emergency evacuation was very scary! We always made sure to have gas tanks filled, enough formula, diapers for a week, and I finally made picture CDs of the tens of thousands of photos I’ve taken of them the past 3 years without worry of losing the precious memories.

  133. Living in northern ND means I’ll be packing a winter survival kit for our car. (the hardest part is not eating the candy bar that’s suppose to be included in the kit) I think the “go bags” are a great idea as I’ve often wondered what state I would appear in if we had to evacuate the house in the middle of the night. This solves that worry!

  134. Have the ICE numbers programmed in my phone, life insurance on both hubs and me. Need to work on gathering all important papers in one central spot – the safe would be perfect for this!

  135. I need to get an emergency kit ready for the car. We are on the road a bit with activities & such, and with the winter season coming… I need to do this.

  136. I have an emergency bag (snacks and drinks to be added last minute) with flashlights, etc. and our emergency phone list- besides family and friends it also lists all major co.s we deal with (mortgage, utilities, insurances, schools…) and corresponding account #s.

  137. I am definitely being proactive with the dive in income for my family. I am more health conscious, as well as more frugal with our grocery shopping. We invested in a life insurance plan recently. We are expecting a new baby and have saved (in spite of the squeeze) in order to pay out of pocket expenses.

  138. I have an emergency kit in my car but that is one of the few things that I gotten prepared for. Thanks for all of the tips. I plan to implement many of them.

  139. I need to start doing something proactive! These are great suggestions.

  140. i have life insurance for me and my husband….praying we never have to use it because we have 4 children!!!

  141. We have done several things to prepare for an emergency- we have a small safe, we are stocking up on water and canned goods, we have ICE in our cell phones and a first aid kit in both cars. I have been thinking about packing each of us a bag like you had suggested earlier but haven’t done that yet.
    We could use another safe as I know there are documents that I should have in a safe but we are out of room!
    Thanks for the giveaway!

  142. I have an emergency kit for my family daycare, but since that i in my dd’s house now, I need to get things prepared for my house and car. Great post!

  143. I LOVE this giveaway! When I was 22, I received the very same personal safe (in boring gray…) as a wedding shower gift. I couldn’t have been less thrilled. Today, 24 years later, it still holds every important document we need. This year, I considered buying an additional one, or a larger one as it really isn’t big enough anymore.

    Instead, I bought TWO and gave them as gifts: one for a bridal shower, and one for a college graduation. I replaced monogrammed towels and broken crystal long ago, but the firesafe box with the treasures it holds is a truly lasting gift.

    Thanks for the giveaway, and good luck to everyone getting your emergency plans in order.

  144. We have a food storage that will get us though a disaster if one where to arise.

  145. We’ve just gotten on the life insurance train. 🙂 And my phone does have ICE numbers in it… Getting there!

  146. I have three weeks of food items that do not need to be cooked, just heated. We went a week without power after the AL tornadoes in April. I also have emergency supplies, medicines, and toiletries.

  147. I recently bought life insurance – as a single parent, that is something I think is really important.

  148. We have life insurance for both my husband and I. When we lived back east, I had all sorts of great emergency supplies, including a savings of cash because when the lights all go out, there is no accessing your money if it’s all in the bank. But now we’ve moved out to So. CA and I have nothing prepared in case of earthquakes or fires. It’s on my “project” list and this post helped with some great ideas!

  149. We’ve started to store more long term emergency supplies as well as we started building our “bug-out” bags.

  150. I have ICE programmed into my phone and had my husband do the same.

  151. I’ve stocked up on bottled water for just in case and hidden it in my kids closet so its there when/if we need it.

  152. Wow, a lot of great things! I recently moved to the southern east coast and this info really helps if a Hurricane hits. I never thought of inventory for my house before! I went around and took pictures of everything and wrote a list of items in each room after I read your post. We did do recently to go bags for my family and we have an emergency box in our car for the off chance we would ever have to evacuate. So I feel good that I though of that! Thanks for all the useful info!

  153. I have ICE programmed in my cell phone and I also have them posted on our bulletin board where the kids’ calendar and such are for homeschool. That way it’s easy to access for the babysitter who comes in now and then, as well as my daughter who is now old enough to stay home alone for a bit while I run errands.

    We also have life insurance through the military’s programs, so that’s a huge help. Because we live in an area with hurricanes, we have our supplies for those such as bottled water, flashlights, and the like.

    I really need to get on doing a home inventory though – you’re right about how easy it is to think there’s nothing that valuable, but when you mentioned kitchen appliances – yes, so true! We would be in the same boat.

  154. A safe! I never thought of that. I have our documents all together in one manilla envelope in order to grab on the go, but that certainly isn’t fireproof.

  155. well insurance plans r going to change majorly next year…this year the entire family is going to be taking those yearly exams and whatever else to be proactive and in a position to get covered for issues that happen right through the year…

  156. I keep a big supply of canned foods and water but really should do more. Thank you for the post. I LOVE pink 🙂

  157. I do have life insurance on all of us and I have put ICE numbers into my phone. There are notes available in the ICE section as well as spots for the phone numbers of my contacts. The notes would be ideal for listing the medical conditions I have (including drug allergies) and medications I take daily. In addition, you could list basic medical information for your kids.

  158. I make sure to have enough food for few days without electricity (it has happened here). I also make sure in the winter that we have enough food in case we are snowed in for many days.

  159. I store emergency supplies, but a lot of them double as camping equipment, so no problem storing them together 🙂

  160. We have life insurance for both of us. Have been talking about getting emergency supplies ready and need to actually do it!

  161. I think that life insurance is very important. Having a fireproof safe for documents is an excellent idea. What a pain it would be to replace them all!

  162. I have to be proactive with taking care of my own health. Why? I am rearing a 12 year old grandson who has autism. This keeps me aware of my need to stay fit so as to meet his needs.

  163. We have life insurance for my husband, but that’s about it!

  164. I took the time and took pictures of everything to go along with my home inventory. I have also saved all receipts for big purchase items. That way if disaster strikes I do have a pretty good record of our household inventory. Living in Texas this is important as hurricanes are a common occurence.

  165. Just put the ICE numbers in my phone. We have life insurance for my husband and are just now looking at getting it for me as well.

  166. Wow – I’m really not doing any of this. We’ve been talking about getting a safe for years, and still haven’t done it. I do have “emergency contact” numbers in my phone and PDA, but that’s about it.

  167. #4 is so important. I remember thinking about how we should do it but never getting that “around to it.”

    Then came hurricane Irene. We ended up having to evacuate so there I was in my wheelchair, mobile in hand, recording as much as I could in a rush. In listening back, you could hear the panic in my voice. Take it from me, this is something you wish you’d done beforehand.

    One thing we’ve done? Purchase a small encrypt-able thumb drive to contain scanned copies of all of our important documents.

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