How to Prepare for a Power Outage/Hurricane

WARNING: This article is area-specific. I live in the woods and hills of Western Massachusetts, so what I would do to prepare for a hurricane is very different than what someone in Florida would do (or the people in New York city). Please research the ways to prepare for a storm for your specific area if you are facing a natural disaster. 

   Growing up in Flint, Michigan, the only natural disasters my siblings and I ever had to worry about were snow storms and tornadoes. We didn’t do much of anything to prepare for a snow storm (except pray that school would be closed) or for a tornado. When we’d hear the sirens go off, we’d gather up all of our important belongings into our pillowcases and go sit in the basement (Unless you were my dad, in which case he would be listening to his Ham Radio and running outside to watch the funnel clouds. Apparently, he had no fear.). That was pretty much it. So when I moved out east and into a location where I didn’t have city water, I wasn’t sure what I needed to do to prepare when a hurricane was predicted last week. 
   Last year, during the massive October snow storm, we lived in the city so we still had access to water and we had a gas stove in our apartment (which was very helpful). However, it was still chaotic when we finally lost power. We drove for an hour in search of coffee. We eventually found one McDonald’s with power and there were so many people there that a line had formed out of the parking lot and down the street. I’ve never seen people in such a state of panic! People were pretty much camping inside, sipping coffee and making use of the free Wi-Fi. Eventually, we had to drive to New Hampshire to find a hotel room. It was pretty nuts. Anyhow, after doing some research and talking to the people that live in my city, I created a list of things that I needed to do in case the power went out. Here’s what I did to prepare for the storm:

1. Bought extra water. I knew we’d need water for drinking, cooking, brushing our teeth and washing our hands, so I made sure that I had several gallons and bottles.
2. I also put a gallon of water in the freezer to freeze. I read that if you have a large, solid block of ice in your freezer, your frozen items will stay cold longer after the refrigerator shuts off.
3. Bought a bag of ice. If we needed to put items in a cooler to travel somewhere, I wanted to be prepared. Obviously, the ice would have eventually melted had we been without power for days, but the idea was that if we needed to leave, we would have a way to save a few items while we were traveling.
4. Filled two large plastic storage containers with water from the hose, as well as filled our bathtub with water. This water was going to be used to fill the tanks of the toilets if we had to go to the bathroom. We put one container of water in our half bathroom, next to the toilet, and the other container we kept out in the garage (and then we had the bathtub of water in our full bathroom). If the power stayed out for days and we ran out of water, we planned on putting the containers out in the driveway to collect rainwater.
5. Ground a few days worth of coffee and stored it in air tight containers in a dark place. We also cleaned our French Press and put everything near each other so that we could easily make coffee in the morning.
6. Did laundry. We wanted to make sure our clothes were clean ahead of time!
7. Stocked up on propane for the grill. Unfortunately, we no longer have a gas stove so we needed something to cook on. We also had a small burner for camping that we should have purchased some fuel for, but we ran out of time and the stores ran out of supplies.
8. Stocked up on candles, matches, flashlights, and batteries. Luckily, we have these items all of the time so this wasn’t really an issue.
9. Stocked up on wood for a camp fire. If it wasn’t raining and we needed to cook, we planned on making a fire in our pit to save propane.
10. Planned meals. We had a lot of meals already in the freezer (because that’s what we normally do any way) so we already had some soup, chili, and meatballs that we could have thrown in a pot and put on the burner on the grill. We also purchased some hot dogs and tofu because we knew these things wouldn’t spoil as fast as raw meat. 
11. Purchased snacks and food that wouldn’t require cooking. We had a lot of bread, peanut butter, beef jerky, nuts, and fruits for snacking on (or if we ran out of meals). 
12. Charged our phones, computers, and iPods. We probably should have purchased some battery operated chargers too, but we didn’t get a chance to do that.
13. Filled the cars with gas.
14. Parked facing the street in our driveway. That way, we didn’t have to worry about backing out.
15. Picked up small items from the yard. We had some flower pots and building materials that could have been blown around so we just made sure we picked it all up and put it in the shed.
16. Stocked up on paper products and plastic ware. That way we wouldn’t have to worry about doing dishes. We also wanted plenty of trash bags, toilet paper, and paper towel.
17. Made sure all prescriptions were filled. We didn’t want to run out of medicine if the pharmacy was closed. 
18. Picked up things from the basement floor in case of flooding. We live on the side of a hill, so we didn’t have to worry too much about flooding but we wanted to be prepared just in case. 
19 Took out some cash. We didn’t take out large amounts of cash but we had some paper money on hand in case we needed it.
20. Stocked up on toiletries. You'll want to make sure you enough of your soap, shampoo, face wash, feminine hygiene products, and all of that good stuff. 

   So there you have it! That was our hurricane preparation list. Most of these things were easy because we just live this way all of the time. My dream is to make the house more self-sufficient so that won’t have to do much to prepare in the future (like converting the fireplace back to a wood-burning fireplace, fixing the chimney, getting a gas stove or one that can run on propane, and purchasing a generator that runs on propane). I learned a lot this fall and preparing helped me feel like I had more control if disaster was to strike. My heart goes out to all of the people in New York and along the east coast who couldn’t do anything to prepare or had to evacuate their homes! Please donate to help out the Hurricane Sandy survivors if you can! 

DIY-Personalizing a Bulletin Board

   I thought this project was going to be so simple that it wouldn't be worth blogging about but I ran into a few snags that I didn't expect, so I thought I would share.

   My son recently attended a birthday party for a classmate whose family is from France. When we left the party, he opened up his goodie bag and found a little folded up piece of tissue paper with some small items inside. Inside the paper were tiny clips and ladybug push-pins. I absolutely loved it! It was such a cute, dainty and somewhat dangerous gift to put in a child's goodie bag. An American suburban mom would never even think to hand this out to children, but that's why I loved it so much! Why can't we trust our children to be able to handle push-pins? Are they really that irresponsible? We need to give them more credit. Anyhow, these little push-pins inspired me to buy a bulletin board for my son's room.

   My sister and I always had a bulletin board in our room (we shared a room) when we were growing up and I loved it. I was always hanging up awards, letters from friends, and artwork. I wanted my son to have a place to display all of the things that he creates.

   I happened to have an Amazon gift card so I decided to order the bulletin board from that website. I read several reviews and ended up picking one in the $15 price range.

   I was a little bit disappointed when it arrived because it was basically a piece of cardboard with a thin layer of cork over it. I remembered my childhood bulletin board being a metal frame with a very thick piece of cork board inside, very sturdy! But I decided to use what I had and perhaps I'll make another one out of a better quality board in the future. Anyhow, here are the steps for personalizing your bulletin board:

1. The back of the board seemed a little bit flimsy so I hot glued the corners of it. That way there was no chance of it popping out.

2. I sanded the frame with 100 grit sandpaper.

3. After sanding, I wiped down the frame with a damp cloth to remove any wood residue.

4. I put blue painter's tape on the cork around the inside of the frame to protect the cork from paint.

5. I propped the board on a book and painted a payer of primer on the frame. I used Sherwin Williams Premium Wall & Wood Primer.





6. After allowing a day for it to completely dry, I painted a coat of color. I used Sherwin Williams Proclassic Semi-Gloss in Lime Rickey.

7. After waiting a day for it to completely dry, I painted another coat of color.

8. (This step may not be necessary, but I did it for good measure.) After the final coat of color dried, I covered the cork with newspaper and sprayed the frame with a sealer to protect it. I used Folkart Acrylic Sealer.

9. I removed the newspaper and painter's tape. This is the part that I didn't anticipate. Be VERY careful when you remove the painter's tape. Some of the tape started to pull up the thin layer of cork from the cardboard backing. I ended up having to superglue parts of the cork back down.

10. Screw the hooks on the back of the board and hang on the wall.

   I was going to do a final step but ended up not doing it because I wanted to wait and see if I can find a better quality board. I was going to buy the letters of my son's name from Michael's Arts & Crafts and spray paint them and hot glue them along the top. Even without the letters though, I'm very happy with the color of the frame and the way it turned out. It goes perfectly in my son's room and he loves it! He also loves that I have trusted him with the oh-so-dangerous push-pins!

     

A Few Words About Art At Home

    Due to financial strain, many schools across the United States have cut their art programs. I find this news devastating! Art was my favorite class in both elementary and high school, as well as in college. The art classes I took throughout my life served many purposes. Not only did I learn about art history and the various techniques and processes for making art, but they helped me gain confidence. I gained confidence in both my work and in my relationships. Art class was the only class where I felt like I was surrounded by people who understood me, people who had similar interests and passions. I felt like I fit in and like I was accomplishing something great. When I think about today’s children not being able to experience that, it breaks my heart!

   That’s why I think it is so important that you give your children the opportunity to make art at home. I think every home should be well stocked with art supplies. Children should always have access to paint brushes, paint, paper, markers, crayons, glue, scissors, pipe cleaners, pom-poms, feathers, glitter glue, everything you could need or want to be creative (under adult supervision, of coarse).

    Some good places to find supplies in this area are Guild Art Supply (on Main Street in downtown Northampton), A2Z Science & Learning Store (also in Northampton), as well as larger chains such as Michaels, Target, Wal-Mart, and Dollar Tree. For my art supplies at home, I like to buy and label plastic shoe boxes to store and organize everything. It makes the supplies really easy to find for both me and my child.

    Having your own art supplies at home not only gives your little ones the opportunity to create art, but it also gives you a chance to bond, interact, and spend quality time with your children. I LOVE getting out the art supplies on a rainy Sunday afternoon when I’m looking for something to do with my son at home! I have a lot of fond memories of crafting with my own mom and I hope that my son will also fondly look back on the time we’ve spent together creating things. I also hope our time together will help to build his confidence in his work and accomplishments.

   So go home and create something with your family! You’ll never regret spending time with your children!