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I originally wrote and posted this on my old site in 2019.  Most of the information is the same but I have made a few updates.  So…

In case you haven’t heard, June 1st is the start of hurricane season. Start preparing and put your kit together now. I know when a storm is coming, the things you need are VERY hard to find. We tent camped for years so we usually put a kit together as if we’re going rustic camping. Think about it, if you have no power or potable water, it’s rustic. You don’t have to do it all at once – pick up a few things every time you go to the store. Start now – don’t wait until a storm has already formed and looks like it is heading straight for your area.  Anything you don’t use this year can be kept for next year. If you have an RV that is set up to “boon dock”, get it prepared. Sanitize the fresh water holding tank and fill it, fill the propane tank, fill the gas tank, empty the gray and black tanks, put clothes and personal items in it, and stock it with non-perishable food. Don’t forget food for your pets too if you have them.

Cooking

If you have a camp stove, get fuel for it. If you have a gas grill, do the same – fill up the propane. You can always cook on these. You’ll need to make sure your cookware will stand up to the heat too. We have used the Jet Boil (or similar) sets and even though they’re small, they work well. These may be an option if you don’t have a camp stove or, in addition to a camp stove. Things like Jet Boil burn hot though, so be prepared. Camping cookware is always good to have on hand for this. Depending on the kind you get, it’s usually inexpensive. You can also use these to make coffee. Just be careful, it will boil over quickly. All you need is to put some coffee grounds in the pot and start your burner. Bring it almost or just to a boil and then turn off the flame – remember it will boil over quickly so keep an eye on it. Let it steep until you have gotten the strength you desire and then strain it into a cup. It’s basically the same as a French Press but just a bit more primitive. Of course, if you have a French Press, use it. You can also buy a camp percolator, but they can sometimes be a little pricey and don’t always work well.

Food

Non-perishable food is a must. I like to get “ready to eat” soup – you know the kind you don’t have to add water to. Not all cans have a pull-top, so, get a cheap can opener. You don’t need water to prepare these types of soup and if you don’t need them because of a storm, you’ll have them for later. Also, stock up on canned fruit, crackers, peanut butter, and even jelly. I said crackers because bread will spoil. Crackers will stay fresher, longer. You may want to have some shelf-stable milk too. If you get canned evaporated milk, it will need to be mixed with equal parts of water to “reconstitute” it for drinking. It might be better to just get the cartons of shelf-stable milk. It is usually ready to drink and only needs refrigeration after it’s opened. Small containers would be best since you may not be able to keep it cool.

If a storm is imminent, try to eat or prepare all your perishables before the storm arrives. If that isn’t possible, these foods should be the first you eat after the storm. A good rule of thumb is to eat what’s in the refrigerator first, then the freezer. You can make meals with your perishables and freeze them ahead of time too.  If you have things you need to discard, do it before the storm with your regular trash pick-up. Spoiled food you discard after a storm will smell and could be dangerous. It could contaminate water supplies making you or others ill.

Water

Water! Don’t wait until the last minute to try and get water. Remember, you have water now – use it. Get some gallon zip top bags, fill them, and put them in the freezer. You’ll not only have water when needed, you’ll have ice to keep your refrigerator and freezer colder, longer. One word of advice though (and I get this from experience) remember water expands when it freezes.  So, if you stuff the water bags in the freezer, they’ll be difficult to get out.  I did that a few years ago and luckily didn’t need them. However, when I tried to remove them, they were frozen together and so tight, I had to turn off the freezer and let them melt some just to get them out. If you have gallon jugs, fill them as well. If you’re planning to use them for drinking water, you may want to rinse them with some bleach water to sanitize them before filling.  Just make sure you rinse them well before filling them. You can sanitize the water before drinking too (how is in the next section).  Before the storm hits, fill your bathtub with water to use to flush the toilet.  It might be a good idea to only flush a couple times a day until you get running water again. I know, it sounds nasty but if you run out of flushing water, it will be worse. Also, if you have more than one bathroom, fill all bathtubs with water and only use one toilet. You’ll use less water that way. You can also put several containers out to catch rainwater. You’ll just need to have a way to keep them secured so they don’t blow away with the high winds you may encounter.

Sanitize

Get a couple of gallons of unscented bleach. You can use it to sanitize water for washing dishes. You’ll also need to think about how to bathe since you may not have access to running water. Designate a large container to hold water to use for washing dishes and bathing. Dip out just enough water to wash dishes or bathe and add the bleach to that – don’t add bleach to the entire container. Use 2-4 drops of bleach in a quart of water and let it stand for at least 30 minutes. This will sanitize water for drinking so you should be able to use the same ratio for dishes and bathing.  If you add just a bit more bleach to your bath water, you could probably just use that without added soap. It shouldn’t hurt, just think how much chlorine is in a pool or hot tub. If you have a pool with chlorine, go swimming every day as long as the water is not contaminated.  If you swim with your clothes on, you’re “killing two birds with one stone”. Bathing and laundry!

Laundry

What about laundry? No power, so no washer and dryer. Having a way to do laundry is not a necessity but your clothes will get nasty and smelly after a couple of days. You can designate a bin of water just for laundry. Don’t worry about filling it up today, use the running water you have at your home before the storm arrives. To prevent running out of water, don’t use a lot of water to wash clothes. You only need a little. Get a bucket – like a 5 gallon one from Lowes or Home Depot – that has a lid. You can use it to wash your clothes. Put your clothes in it with a little bit of detergent (about 1 tsp) and add just enough water from your container to cover the clothes and get them thoroughly wet. Put the lid on, lay the bucket on its side, and roll the bucket around for a while. How long is up to you. To rinse, squeeze out as much of the water as possible and repeat the process without detergent until your clothes are rinsed as much as you like. You can also “hand-agitate” the clothes if you don’t have a lid that doesn’t leak. There is also a thing called a “laundry plunger” you can buy for around $20.00. Honestly, if that’s the way you want to go, just get a new drain plunger, drill several ½ inch holes in it, and use it to agitate your clothes. Not matter what you decide, remember, the more detergent you use, the more rinsing will be needed so use it sparingly. There are some sites that state you don’t even need detergent. I don’t know about that because I have never washed clothes without using some type of detergent.

Another option may be to use soap nuts.  You can put a few in a mesh bag (tied in a sock works well too) and use them in your laundry. These have been used for centuries and work quite well.  These can be used multiple times because about 6 will wash around 15  full-sized loads.  They’re also usually left in for the rinse cycle as a natural fabric softener so, clothes washed with soap nuts don’t need to be rinsed multiple times to remove detergent, just once or twice to remove dirt. They’re very versatile because you can use them for more than just laundry. Pretty much anything you would normally use soap for (dishes, bathing, even pets) can be washed with soap nuts.  They work best in warm or hot water so you can put them in a pot with a little water and heat it.  Once hot, pour directly into your wash bucket and wash your clothes.  If you’re using them to bathe you or your pets, make sure you allow the liquid to cool off before use to prevent burns.

Using one of these methods isn’t perfect nor will your clothes be as clean as you normally get from a washer, but it’s better than nothing.  Hang your wet clothes on a line or drying rack. If you don’t have one now, get a clothesline to put in your kit. Think of a way to tie it off so your clothes will hang without their weight pulling down the line. You can usually find clothes lines at Walmart cheap.

Things to check off your list

  • First aid kit: Check your first aid kit now and replenish anything you may need. A ready-made kit can be purchased if you want one specifically for your hurricane kit. They aren’t expensive and may be less costly than trying to buy individual items needed.
  • Prescription medication(s):  If you need prescription medication, get some to have on hand – put it in your kit. Most insurances will let you get a 3-month supply.
  • Cash:  You’ll also need to have some cash on hand. Get a little every payday (or when you can) and put in your kit too. That way you won’t have to rush out and try to get a lot of cash at the last minute. Remember, your debit and credit cards will be useless if there is no power. 
  • Gas:  Since it’s likely power will be out, keep the gas tanks in your vehicles full. Gas pumps won’t work without power. Others will be trying to fill up at the last minute and lines may get long, or gas could run out at the stations.
  • Generator:  If you have a generator, fill it with the appropriate fuel too.  Test it to make sure it works before the storm. Remember – NEVER run a generator indoors.
  • Batteries, flashlights, and candles:  If you only need batteries for flashlights, try to find some of the LED mini flashlights. They aren’t expensive. Sometimes they are available in packs of 10 in the camping section at Walmart so each person in your family can have one. It might also be good to have a lantern of some type. Believe it or not, a gallon jug of water with a flashlight shining through it puts off a LOT of light. Get candles and have plenty of lighters too. Just be careful with an open flame. Get batteries for any of your electronics that need them. If you have something that is battery powered and has a USB port, you may be able to use that to charge your cell phones. You can also use your car to charge phones too.
  • Have a plan to let your family know you are safe. Have one person outside the damage zone designated as the contact. Texting may be the alternative to contact family to let them know you’re OK since the phone lines may be down or overloaded. If cell phone towers are not operational, have an alternative plan to let your loved ones know you are OK. Of course, that may be difficult if all the resources you would normally use are unavailable. If you have a satellite service in a vehicle (On Star, Bluelink, etc.), you may need to use that as a resource.

Pets

The last and one of the most important things is to have a plan for your pets. They are your family too. If you don’t want to prepare for them go ahead and find someone to take them that will. That may sound harsh but too many animals are left to fend for themselves and that is just not right. I’m sorry if that offends some, but our animals are our responsibility. Make sure you have water and food for them too. If they need medication, get it ahead of time and put it in your kit. You may even want to have an animal kit to make sure you don’t forget something they need.  Luckily you won’t have to worry about bathing them or doing their laundry so pretty much the only water they need is for drinking.

Conclusion

This is a lot of information and by no means all inclusive. The best resource to make sure you are as prepared as possible is to go to Ready.gov. There is a tremendous amount of information on that site to help you prepare. Think about what you need daily, make a list, and then make sure you get the things you can’t do without to put in your kit.  It’s better to be prepared and not need it than to wait and not be able to get what you need. After a storm will be difficult for everyone, not just you. After hurricane Michael in 2018, people were without power and water for weeks, not days. There may be thousands of people in a worse situation than you, so the better you can prepare, the better off you’ll be.

I hope this is helpful. If you can think of other things I have not mentioned, feel free to comment. Have a great day, live life, have fun, and please be safe and prepared.