As I was working through the list of things that the government recommends you do before a large storm, http://www.fema.gov/hazard/hurricane/index.shtm a few extra things occurred to me that I thought I should share with my fellow “greenies“.
Take Out Window Fans
We have several wonderful window fans that help circulate air through our house. They’re convenient because they are just held in by putting the window down on them and they are very light. Remember to take these out of the windows before the storm gets strong!
Bikes May Not Be Safe Outside
We have a carport where we are putting things to be safe during the storm and prevent them from blowing around. However, things may blow around the carport and into the carport. Therefore, the kids bikes may not be safe in there. We’ll probably borrow space in a friend’s garage for them.
Harvest Fruits and Vegetables
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| Grape Tomatoes from our garden |
If the winds are high enough and the rains strong enough, they can ruin your garden. Therefore, harvest now anything that is edible or will ripen inside. We’ll be frying up some green tomatoes tomorrow! I’m taking a chance that most of our carrots will be just fine in the ground, even if the tops get beaten down.
Secure Potted Plants
Many people are growing gardens in pots these days. If you’re one of them, think about moving those pots inside, into a garage, shed, or even under a porch to protect them from becoming projectiles. Even if you don’t mind losing the pot or plant, you don’t want that pot going through someone’s living room window!
Charge Rechargeable Batteries and Equipment
You might lose power for an extended period of time. If you’re like us, you have rechargeable batteries, rechargeable lanterns and maybe even a rechargeable radio or blender (no, I’m not kidding). Batteries in storage lose their the charge after a while, so plug those things in now and get them charged up before the storm!
Plan Your Diaper Washing
We’re thinking about when we expect the storm to really hit here, and planning to have all clean diapers at that point, so if the power goes out, we will have clean cloth diapers to last us as long as possible. In our case it means doing a load Saturday evening to have clean, dry diapers when we wake up Sunday morning.
Cook Before The Storm
If you’re better than we are about avoiding pre-made and processed foods and make everything from scratch, think about whether you have a few days worth of meals that don’t need the stove or microwave. You may want to cook up a batch of something the day before to last you – I’m making beans. If you have a propane stove (for camping or grilling) make sure you have propane on hand!
Refresh Emergency Water Supplies
We have been keeping water in bottles that we filled ourselves. This seems like a good time to dump them and make sure we have fresh water in them.
Added Aug 27, 2011
Secure Compost and Recycling Bin Lids
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| Compost Bin Lid securely locked |
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| Recycling Bin Lid secured with bungee cords |
Be sure that you lock the compost bin lids down and secure your recycling bins. If you have a big 96 gallon totter for recycling like we do, you can bungee cord it down. Better yet, put it in a garage or shed.
Stay Safe and Be Prepared!
Alicia
What extra things have YOU needed to do to prepare for a disaster because you live a green lifestyle? Tell us!
One of our facebook friends provided the additional tips for dealing with cloth diapers after the power goes out:
Cloth diapers are great for emergancys. all you need is extra water. a few big barrals will do the trick and all but what you use for the last rimse will be fine comming from rain water. wash alll diape…rs before the storm and dryer dry so they can alll be ready to go. if you lose power soak diapers for about half a day the. wash by hand ring the best you can and hang to dry. reapeat twice a day so you do not get smells and if it ends up really humid they have more then enough time to dry and for you to work the stiffness from line drying out. beating and flexing diapers softens them to closser to the dryer softness. covers and liners/prefolds/flats are best for this as you can re use the cover a few times if theirs no poo. when we chose to cloth diaper one upside i found was when stores are closed in an emergancy situation. i wont have to worry about how to get my babys diapers.