Most people will gain an hour this weekend when they “fall back” early Sunday morning. While you are changing your clocks, it’s also a great time to change the batteries in detectors … and check and rotate items in disaster supplies kits since cooler weather is coming.
Use the following tips to make this a family project and include the kids so they can help choose items for kits and learn where things are, and it’s a good opportunity to discuss your Family Plan.
- Change the batteries in smoke alarms and carbon monoxide (CO) detectors around your home. Officials suggest you test them at least once a month and completely replace detectors every 10 years.
- Also test and change batteries in your Weather Radios.
- Pull out your home and vehicle kits and rotate stored water, food, medications and other items, and test and/or replace batteries if you stashed some in kits. Remember to pack items for all your pets … or better yet, make special kits for them so those are easy to grab & go during an emergency. Also include winter items in kits like warm clothes and other things described in our Winter driving tips post.
If you haven’t already, take some time to make an Escape Plan that includes two escape routes from every room in the house. Draw a floor plan of your home showing doors, windows and stairways. Mark locations of first aid and disaster kits, fire extinguishers, smoke detectors, ladders, and utility shut-off points. Next, use a colored pen to draw a broken line or arrow charting at least 2 escape routes from each room … and walk through the routes with your entire family. Then practice, practice, practice by running drills with the family either monthly or quarterly.
- Update your Family Emergency Plan (e.g. set up meeting places [esp with your children in case you are separated during an emergency], ensure all phone numbers are current, think about things for seniors, pets, etc.)
- Go through Important Family Documents and keep below items in a waterproof, portable safe container and update as needed. Keep copies of papers off-site in safety deposit box or with a family member — or scan all to a flash drive or CD or save to a secure cloud backup service.
— Extra set of car keys, cash, traveler’s checks and credit card
— Will, insurance policies, contracts, deeds, stocks and bonds
— Passports, social security #s/cards, immunization records
— Bank account numbers
— Credit card numbers, card companies + phone numbers
— Inventory of valuable household goods
— Family records (birth, marriage, death certificates, photo IDs)
— Recent pictures of all family members and pets for i.d. needs
Download a free 56-page portion of our IT’S A DISASTER! book to help you with the above steps and learn more about our customizable products and funding ideas at www.fedhealth.net.
Stay safe and have a great weekend, j & B
Fedhealth blog 
Reblogged this on Tim Riecker.