Taking a trip, on a plane #2

You've made it to the hotel, plugged your phone in and are now sitting down for a second. Reach over and find the sheet, binder or folder with the information the hotel provides guest. If the room does not have any information in it maybe we should talk about your choice of hotels?

These little packets are full of useful information but most of us ignore them and toss them out of the way. Information on emergency services, laundry and local eating options are always covered. Since we are staying somewhere we are not familiar with it would make sense to locate the emergency exits. Especially if we are not staying on the ground floor! The maps provided of the hotel grounds is a great way to orientate yourself to your surroundings. If you are staying in a new state, most of these information packets contain local emergency threats. In tornado areas they tell you where the shelters are, same for hurricane areas or if you are staying in California they just tell you to hold on for the ride!

By now you probably need to get up and move around from sitting during the trip. Take the time to walk around the hotel and see what there is to see. Find the nearest fire exit, see if there is a fire extinguisher near your room, find the soda machines and the ice machine. If the hotel has a store see what items they carry. Check the brochures in the lobby and see if there is a map of the immediate area you can have and ask the people at the front desk what good restaurants are within walking distance. Ask them what other stores are within walking distance from the hotel and see if they offer a shuttle to any local areas. If you forgot your phone charger or toothbrush ask the front desk before you go and spend money. Some hotels will let you borrow a charger or even provide you with a small hygiene kit. Walk around the outside of the hotel grounds and see what is around you. Can not hurt to become familiar with the area and it would be better to have an idea of what is around prior to the smoke alarm going off at three in the morning.

During your stay take advantage of the stuff you paid for. If you do not use them collect the soap, shampoo and other items in your room. Toss them into your bag the maid should replace them the next day. Take them home with you, now you have stuff to give any guest when they stay over. The coffee and teas in the room are for your use collect them if your not going to use them. Now you have some more stuff for any guest who come over. You are paying for the stuff if you use it or not.

If the hotel offers a free breakfast take advantage of it! Again you are paying for it in the cost of the room. Eat till your full and encourage the kids to do the same. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Do not make a nuisance of yourself but grab a banana for later and maybe another packet or two of tea. If you have a fridge in your room maybe bring one carton of milk or juice back to your room for later. See if there are any little packets of salt and pepper, if so grab a couple of those. You now have a little starter kit if something bad happens.

Enjoy your stay!

When it is time to go remember to prepare for security. Empty out your carry on, put all the stuff you collected into your checked baggage. If during your stay you bought to much stuff to move effectively through the airport consider mailing some stuff home. Almost all hotels can help you send stuff home and in most cases sending the stuff home is cheaper than paying for the extra bag or weight!

Just a few ideas for your next trip. The stuff you bring home from the hotel can now be put into a bucket or some other container and be part of your personal emergency kit. As always,

Stay safe!!!

Taking a trip, on a plane

Couple of thoughts or suggestions for when you are going to be taking a trip and specifically flying somewhere. (I just returned from trip and this is why I'm thinking about this situation). A little forethought helps out a long way in you enjoying a hassle free experience.

Make sure everything at home is taken care of. Don't leave something unfinished you can knock out in a minute or two. If the laundry needs to be folded, fold it. Got dishes, do them! All those little things will matter when you come home to a clean house and you can take the extra time to unwind from the trip.

If not everyone in the house is going on the trip make sure they know the 'who, what, when, where and why' of your trip. Now days you can simply forward all the information, confirmation e-mails and reservation information. Maybe just printing the stuff out and leaving it on the table or posted on the refrigerator is enough? Heck you can go 'old school' and use a pen and paper to write down the information! If you do go old school make sure and write a quick note at the bottom with plenty of "XOXOXOXOX". A cool thing you can do with most airlines now days is get live updates on where the flight is! Even if you are rushing to get through security or somthing else your loved ones can find out if you have left yet or if the times have changed. Works great for people who might be meeting you at the other end of the flight.

Packing to travel on a plane is a bit of a chore now days with all the security issues involved with flying. Keep It Simple Smuck! Don't try and bring anything on the plane which might cause you an issue. You really do not need everything you own with you. If you are taking your purse or bag you carry everyday with you find a table or somewhere else and dump out everything. Open all the pockets, open every zippered compartment, turn the bag inside out and shake the bag upside down to make sure everything falls out. Remember someone is going to be searching your bag and the one thing you forgot to take out might cause you an issue. I know I carry things on a daily basis which would cause the TSA to have a fit if I tried to get on a plane with the stuff.

Speaking of stuff you carry everyday. If your everyday carry consist of items TSA would have fit over do not try to take the stuff in the bag you are going to keep with you on the plane. You will get stopped at security and have to deal with a situation you really should not have to deal with. Keep only the essentials with you on the plane. Items such as your identification, wallet and maybe your keys. In the bag you are bringing on the plane maybe a book, laptop or your kindle. You are not going to need to bring on your 8oz bottle of shampoo or your 12" bowie knife. Those things can be packed in your checked bag. Yes you can check bags! Trying to work the system by having a rolling bag, backpack and another 'carry on item' which is just another bag full of stuff does not make you smarter than the rest of us. Doing this makes you an ass and shows how little you think about the rest of us when you take up more than your allotted space in the storage bins, do not be an ass.

Make sure you pack the charger for your phone, laptop and any other electrical device you have with you. Nothing is more annoying then landing with a dead phone and no way to charge it. If you are leaving the U.S. make sure you brought adapters for the stuff. Plugs are different in other countries!!!! Stuff a jacket into your bag and maybe a hat. Be sure and have stuff with you to dress for the weather where you are going!

If you have anything questionable pack the item in your checked bag. For some of you your questionable item is better left at home????? Yes "it" might be legal where you live at but the TSA is a Federal Agency and they still view "it" as an illegal substance.....

Getting through security is not that big of deal with a little forethought and planning. First, you do not have anything in your bag or on your person they are going to be concerned with, which then just turns the process into a dance for you.

"One and two, take off your shoes, three and four, put your laptop in a bin with nothing else, five and six, put your shoes and jacket in a separate bin. One and two, pat yourself down real quick and make sure you took your belt off, three and four, push your bins forward, five and six, wait till the TSA Agent tells you to step forward. One and two, smile at the agent as you go through, three and four, get your bins, five and six, get out of the way. One and two, get your shoes on, two and three, put your laptop away, five and six, check to make sure you have not left anything behind."

A little note on the security folks at the airport.... THEY ARE PEOPLE.... treat them the way you want to be treated if you were doing their job. Do not assume they are all idiots or ass clowns and do not give them an attitude. Why? Because how hard is it really to pass through security? Not really that hard and if you can not dance through the checkpoint who is the idiot and/or the assclown really?

When you land phone home. Let people know you made it that far and all is well. Keeps them from wondering if your alright or not and cuts down on their stress.

Check into your hotel you are staying at and set up your room. Look around the room and see what there is in the room. Make sure things work and they are the way you want them. Changing rooms is easy at this point but becomes a pain later if you want to change rooms for some reason. Plug in your chargers, unpack some of your stuff and settle in. Getting to your destination should not be but in most cases is the hardest part.

In part two we will cover some ideas you should think about once you have arrived. As always;

Stay safe!

Gett'in home.

When something bad happens what is the first thing everyone wants to do? Get home! Everyone wants to go to their 'safe spot' and for almost all of us this is home. We have an urge to get inside our 'cave', surround ourselves with our loved ones and our stuff. Everything will be better once we are home!

Most folks commute one to ten miles to and from work everyday. This is not a long drive in the car. Most of us travel the distance without really thinking about how far we have traveled. We figure the distance in minutes we spend in the car, not how far we have traveled if we had to hoof it. Besides work all of us have other places we regularly travel to, the mall, the beach, camping and grandma's house. How far are these places from your home? Remember think about this not in minutes spent in the car but in miles you might have to walk?

Walking home would be the extreme. What if your regular route home is not an option? How many other routes do you know home?

Most people I talk to know only one way home! Some might know two but the second route is usually a surface street which basically follows the same route as their main route home. Few know a completely different route home and even fewer have driven the alternative route. When you get a chance, leave work early, route out a second way home and drive the route to see if it works. Then find a third way home. The last route should be a longer way home which takes you around, away from and has nothing to do with your regular route home as much as possible. Look at your routes, any portion of the routes which overlap is an area you could have a problem with. What if that intersection, road or whatever is blocked? Do you know a way around?

Can you catch a train, ferry or subway to get you home? Without using your car how could you get home? Do you have some cash on you incase the power is out and you have to pay for a different way home?

For those of us who take a train or some other way home everyday, anything besides your personal vehicle, are you ready to walk? I know your suit, tie, skirt and heels are great for working in an office but have you ever walked 1 to 10 miles dressed in your work clothes? Most dress shoes are not made to be walked in that far. Especially if the weather is bad. A three mile walk through the rain is a lot different in a pair of tennis shoes then in dress shoes. I've watched all you young ladies out there take your heels off after ten minutes of dancing, no way you would want to walk ten miles in those things!!!

If you drive your own car everyday toss a pair of old shoes in the trunk. Mass transit rider, find a place at work to stash a pair shoes. Going to the beach? Take a pair of tennis shoes along to wear. If you don't have a place to keep a pair of shoes, can you find a thick pair of long socks and jam them into your bag, purse or backpack. Put on the pair of thick socks then stuff your feet back into your dress shoes. The added protection afforded by the socks just might be enough to stop blisters from forming and help you make it home.

Simple things can and will make the difference should you find yourself in a 'bad day' situation. Already having a different way home cuts down on stress. While others might be struggling to figure out how to get home you are already heading there. Having some extra cash with you might be just the fix you need to keep moving toward home. Being able to comfortably walk home, although hopefully a last resort, might be the difference in how long it takes you to get home.

As always,

Stay Safe

$20 and the Dollar Store

Driving home today I realized traffic was being kind to me and I was going to be home about a half hour early. On a whim I decided to try something. I gave myself about twenty minutes and twenty dollars to see what I could pick up at the dollar store. I went in with the mindset of having nothing and I was just starting to prepare.

I purposely did not bring my wallet so I would not be tempted to spend more but I did bring an extra twenty just in case. Grabbing a cart I went down each isle only once and did not go back. This gave me just one chance to find stuff. Here is what I came home with.

I did not take a list with me and went off the top of my head. As I went along I tried to grab one or more item from several groupings. These groupings would be water, fire/light, first aid, hygiene and food. This is not a list of stuff you have to go buy just what I grabbed as I went along.

Water

I picked up two six packs of water and a container of bleach. The bottles are obvious and with the bleach more water can be disinfected for drinking, cooking or bathing. The bottles can be used again and keeping the lids when you open them will allow you to carry water with you if need be.

Treating water with household bleach containing 5.25-8.25 percent chlorine

Volume of Water to be Treated Bleach Solution to Add
1 quart/1 liter 5 drops
1/2 gallon/2 quarts/2 liters 10 drops
1 gallon 1/4 teaspoon
5 gallons 1 teaspoon
10 gallons 2 teaspoons

Fire/light

At first I found tea lamp candles, a pack of eight, as I went along I found these emergency candles. According to the burn time on the box and the obvious size difference I put the tea lamps down and took these. Doing some quick math the total number of matches bought in the smaller boxes was higher then if I bought one big box. By twenty matches. Might not sound like much yet twenty matches could be the deciding factor between being warm, having light and even a hot meal. The glow sticks are rated to last several hours and could just be the trick to keep the kids happy!

First Aid and Hygiene

Looking through what was in the aisle I bought the box of band aids which had the largest variety and amount. The Hydrogen Peroxide is a good multipurpose item. The wipes are good for hygiene and first aid when dealing with minor cuts. Also looking through the medication I found the largest number of doses for pain killer I could find. You would be surprised, there are the exact same type in two different boxes. One can have six doses and the one right next to it can have three times that amount. You have to read the containers and get the most you can. The last item, toilet paper. If you have ever run out you will understand the importance of this item!!!!

Food

These might not be the first items you would pick but their is a limited amount of choices. I picked with the idea of one days worth of food in mind. The pancake mix can be breakfast and the batter can be used to also make biscuits or other items. The batter is basically flour and you can use it in the same way to make things. When picking cans, look for the ones with the furthest best by dates, check for dents and if they are dented DO NOT BUY THE CAN! The same thing if you find rust on the can. I grabbed one container of garlic salt to add some flavor. The candy is for the kids or dessert! The Top Ramen has six packets and can easily last longer then one day for one person. Yes that is instant coffee, no it is not a necessity to survive. Well for you coffee might not be, for me it is!!!!!

All together this took about fifteen minutes to gather. Total price was $21.07. Good thing I brought the extra twenty! I did not add in taxes or the CRV fees for the bottled water when I figured I could buy twenty items for twenty dollars. One item I would have added is a flashlight but I did not see one. Odds are I walked right by them.

Although getting started might seem a daunting task, you can see it really is not. A couple of dollars spent on the right items can go along way in making sure your family and you are able to take care of yourself if something bad happens!!!!

Stay Safe!

Stuff in my pockets (E.D.C.)

Friend of mine asked me what I carry for my E.D.C., Every Day Carry items. EDC is shorthand for what you have with you all the time which could help you in an emergency. All of us carry things which would help us in an emergency. Some of us just don't realize it.

My wallet is the first thing I carry which could help me if something bad happens. Inside of the wallet I carry survival tools all of us should have. The number one item is my bank card. With this I can handle anything from running out of gas to needing a hotel room for the night. I can buy water, food and shelter. For 99% of the situations I could find myself in plastic would be my first response. What the bank card can't cover the credit cards in my wallet should be able to cover. My medical insurance card would be the next important item in my wallet. The reason for this is obvious, if you have insurance you can go to the doctor's office, hospital or urgent care without being hassled about how to pay for it! Driver's license would be next. In case I need to prove who I am or to gain entry into my neighborhood if it is restricted to residents only. Should I be unconscious for some reason having my ID with me will help those trying to locate my family. Triple A card has come in handy several times when my truck has had a flat or just broke down. They can change a flat faster and safer on a busy freeway with their equipment then I can with the jack in the truck. Why risk it if you can have a professional come do it? Twice now I have had to have my truck put on a flatbed and driven off the freeway. The membership fees have paid for themselves at this point.

"This does not read like a list of emergency items to have?" Yes I can hear you! All of us are more prepared than we think we are, we just need to see what we have in a slightly different light. Dealing with emergencies is not just about stuffing a closet full of MREs it starts with simple things like realizing having your wallet with you all the time is important. Ladies you are way ahead of us men, your purse is already a stocked emergency kit! I have yet to see the inside of a regular purse, not the tiny one you use when dressed up, which did not have enough stuff to qualify for an emergency kit and if you are a mother you have enough in there for two or more!

Lighter would be the most used item I carry on me all the time. Doing this is easy since I'm a smoker. Which means I always have a pack of cigarettes with me. Smokes are great for making friends, calming nerves, starting fires and sealing sucking chest wounds during an emergency. Yes I know smoking is bad for me..... yada yada yada.......

Next would be a pocket knife. There are all kinds of daily uses for a pocket knife and in an emergency having a tool with you could be the difference between being a statistic and making it home. A good quality clip on or old school pocket knife is all you need to carry, this is a tool not the giant bowie knife you fight off zombies with. Of course if a self defense situation arises you could use the knife to defend yourself but this is not the primary use of the knife.

I carry two flashlights, a small one connected to my key ring and another flashlight in my pocket. Both are used mostly to find dropped items under tables at restaurants or to make shadow puppets on the ceiling. They also get used more rarely to see what is making noise in the middle of the night.

Sunglasses are the last thing I would add to my personal everyday carry list.

These are the items I always seem to have on me. The expanded list changes depending on what I am doing that day and who is going with me. With these items I can deal with a large spectrum of incidents I could be faced with.

Keep in mind this is just the stuff in my pockets on most days.

Stay Safe!

9/11 and multipurpose items

Thinking about that day, 9/11, I started to make a mental list of things which could have helped people on that day. Then I realized some things could help people no matter what day becomes a "bad day" for them. There seems to be a few things in common with any emergency situation and some things we can do to help ourselves. Let's look at a few common issues and ways to mitigate them.

Debris

Terrorist attack, flood, earthquake, hurricane and other situations seem to all have debris in common? One item we can ensure we have to help us in a lot of situations is good footwear. Not tennis or running shoes, flip flops or sandals but a good pair of boots. In a situation movement could be a very important ability to have. Broken glass, wood, metal and other items sticking into your feet could quickly take away your ability to move away from danger, move toward help or help others.

These boots should be sturdy, high topped and broken in. Last thing you want to do in an emergency is try to walk to safety in a pair of boots you did not break in. Breaking in the boots also gives you a reason to go take a hike or two or three which will also help you if you have to walk somewhere during an emergency. Wearing boots while walking over unstable and broken terrain helps to protect your feet and aids in supporting your ankles. Wearing good boots while walking through flood waters is a good idea if you are forced to. Getting a cut or scrape on your feet from unseen obstacles or debris while walking in polluted water is just asking to get an infection. Something you do not want to deal with in an emergency.

Along with a pair of good boots a pair of good gloves seems to be something everyone could use during several types of emergencies. The ability to pick things up without a risk of cutting yourself would be a bonus. Also if you do not do a lot of physical labor on a daily basis, the gloves will help you cut down on blisters you'll have if you are suddenly forced to work more with your hands. Gloves should be thick and made of leather. Packs of these can be picked up at almost any hardware store. Gardening gloves might be good for youngsters during an emergency but any adults or older children realy need to have a pair of work gloves to use.

Light

Be it a tropical storm or a heat wave one thing several emergencies have in common is the lack of electricity. Without electricity we don't have the lights we are all accustomed to. Tonight look around and see how many sources of light you are using or are on around you. Take in to account the street lights, your neighbors lights and all other sources of light powered by the electricity being brought into the area. Even a simple car wreck can cause the power to go off in an area. Having a flashlight is a very good idea and can help you greatly during many situations.

Inexpensive flashlights can be bought at almost any grocery store and in many you can pick them up in packs of two or more. Battery powered camping lanterns can also be picked up at sporting good stores or anywhere else camping equipment is sold. Having one flashlight for each family member is a good idea especially for the younger kids. Having there own light gives them a sense of protection from the dark they don't understand. If you can pick up packs which have a handheld flashlight and a hands free, headlamp included. Having the ability to shine a light without using your hands is almost always a bonus. Plus when bought together the two lights almost always us the same type of batteries.

Candles and oil lamps are old, tried and proven tools to use during a blackout. Simple tea lamp candles can be picked up in bags of twenty or more. I've even bought these at the dollar store with five or more included together for a buck. We must remember if we are using these to light our home these use real fire to work. Fire which if not contained properly and watched could cause a fire and make a bad situation much worse!!! Never leave a flame unattended and always have a means of fire fighting at hand.


Money

If buildings have been damaged, flooding has occurred and especially if the power has gone out it is a good idea to have some cash on hand. How many stores are going to accept credit cards if the power is out. How will you be able to purchase items for your family? What if you need diapers for the baby and the store will not accept your debit or credit cards? Cash is king when things go bad!

Of course you could wait for someone else to bring you free diapers or even loot a store to get those diapers. What happens to your family if the government can not get to you in time? What happens if you get injured, arrested or killed while trying to loot what you need? Having a small stash of cash could go a long way during the early part of an emergency. Everyone's budget is different, having around $100.00 per family member is a good round number to shoot for. This emergency fund could be the difference between your family having what they need and you having to risk exposure to violence, injury and prison time to get what you need.


We could make a list a mile long of items we need and try to cover every situation we might face. For this entry I wanted to keep the 'list' to things we can pick up tomorrow or might already have around the house.

A few other items you want to consider, wearing long denim pants, wearing long sleeve shirts, having a hat for each family member is a good idea and wearing these during a crisis could be the difference between being exposed to the elements or being injured in some way. If your collection of tools counts on electric power try picking up tools which work off of good old fashion muscle power. A hand saw or axe might be the tool you need to rescue a trapped family member, friend or neighbor.

Stay Safe!

Now what? Plan ahead.

How do we organize our thoughts to make sense of what we hope is a decent plan? We want to make sure the rest of the family can understand what the plan is if something bad happens. The best way to make sure we can do this is to stick to a simple idea when writing stuff down. The first acronym and probably the most important one to remember and apply is........

K.I.S.S.

KEEP
IT
SIMPLE
STUPID

You can replace stupid with Silly or another word you find more appealing. :)

The point is we do not want to make things too difficult, especially if we are involved in a bad day. You and those with you will already have enough to deal with and adding a complicated response to the situation will cause you to react slower when you can at least afford it. Also the more parts you add to the plan the more room you are allowing Mr. Murphy, of Murphy's Law fame, to move in. Let's take our fire plan from the last post.

Using the KISS principle the plan comes out like this.

FIRE!
Put out.
No?
Get out!
Rally everyone, Headcount.
All safe?
Good!!

Remember if a caveman can understand the plan you will be able to understand the plan when the adrenaline is pumping, fear has come along for the ride and you find yourself in a situation you never wanted to be in. Alright let's up the vocabulary level a bit.

The next acronym we need is S.M.E.A.C.. For some of you this is a familiar set of letters. For this it will be a frame work we use to hang our plan on. The letters stand for;

SITUATION
MISSION
EXECUTION
ADMINISTRATIVE AND LOGISTICS
COMMAND AND CONTROL

Now we fill in the Fire Plan to see how this works..............

Situation: fire in the house
Mission: everyone in the house is safe
Execution: Utilize fire extinguisher, pull pin, point at base of fire and use sweeping motion. If needed evacuate home, utilize any opening, if on second floor use ladder.
Administrative and Logistics: Where is the fire extinguisher located? Where is the ladder, if needed, located?
Command and Control: Everyone meets at the mailbox. Account for everyone.

Another simple way to do some planning (KISS) is to ask;

What?
When?
Why?
How?

No matter what format you use the important part is to do some sort of planning ahead of time. Everything you have an answer for before you are under stress is one less thing you have to think about! This is important during a crisis because having an answer allows you to move on to the next question faster. With enough planning you will not have any unanswered questions.

While you are still thinking about plans go ahead and write one. Start with the most obvious issue for your area. Being in California my obvious issue is going to be....... nope. Fires would be my obvious issue! In the last five or so years we have had to pack up the cars and be ready to leave on at least three occasions. Take fifteen minutes, write a plan and K.I.S.S..

Stay Safe!!!!!

Now What, Part 2.

Well you let your plan sit for a while but now that you have thought about it, ideas keep popping into your head. Maybe no ideas came and you just became worried if you thought to much about it!!! No big deal either way. People react differently when the subject of emergencies, disasters or a 'bad day' is brought up. Lets bring your thoughts either up to what is just some common things we all should do or back down from planning for the alien invasion.

For those of you on one end of the spectrum, "I don't want to think about this!", you are usually better at doing these things then you think. Why? Because you are not going to get online and buy three hundred military meals and call it a day. You tend to think things out a bit more than some of us. Let's address what you can do this coming week, which won't cause the "I don't want to think about it." reaction. We can plan for all kind of 'crazy' situations but let's focus on ones we might face tonight.

I know they remind us to check our smoke alarms twice a year. Have you done it? No really get up and go check, I'll wait............... Ok no big deal, right? Your smoke detector works and you know the family is a little bit more prepared if a fire happens. Do you have a fire extinguisher in the kitchen? A lot of fires in the home start in the kitchen when folks are cooking. Should one happen and you have some way of putting it out quickly you end up with a good story to tell at the next party. Just pick up a small one. Make sure you read the box it needs to be one you can use of grease fires!!!! Remember, water and oil do not mix! You could spread the fire using water!

Here is a link to amazon where you can get one.
http://www.amazon.com/Kidde-FX10K-Kitchen-Fire-Extinguisher/dp/B000IHUR58

Now you have done the basics of planning for a home fire!!!!!!! See not a big deal and you should have just a little bit more piece of mind knowing you have insured your family is a little safer. Let's add to this.

How do we get everyone out if there is a fire? How many exits are there from your home? Do you live on the second floor?

For this plan every opening in a wall counts as an exit. Kids need to know it is ok to use a window as an exit if there is a fire. This is real important if they are old enough and big enough to get out on their own. You do not want them afraid of getting into trouble for climbing out an window during a emergency!!!

If you sleep on a second story or live in an apartment on anything other than the ground floor do you have a safe way to get to the ground? Jumping down if you do not know how to do it is not a very good idea. You become a casualty and could add to the problem. A simple ladder which attaches to the window will do the trick and help make sure everyone is in one piece when they reach the ground.

Here is link, yes on amazon. I love amazon!!!
http://www.amazon.com/FIRST-ALERT-EL52-2-Escape-Ladder/dp/B0069HG97Q/ref=sr_1_6?s=hi&ie=UTF8&qid=undefined&sr=1-6&keywords=fire+escape+ladder+2+story

Now let's review. We have made sure we have an early warning system incase something bad is happening while we are asleep, we have a way to stop a small problem from becoming a larger one and we have a plan with the means to get everyone out if there is a fire in the home. Good to go!!!! All that for just some brain using and costing under a hundred bucks!

Now what?

Where does everyone met to get a head count? Maybe the mailbox can serve this purpose? Everyone knows where it is and in most cases the mailbox will be a relatively safe distance away to allow you the time needed to get a head count. With everyone out and accounted for whatever happens to your house or apartment does not matter! Let it burn, heck ask the neighbors if they got stuff to make smores with! All that is in there is stuff and stuff can be replaced.

Let's take this out to the next step. Do you have insurance? Is it up to date and paid? Do you have friends or family you can stay with for a day or two? Who would you call?

Now take a moment, open a blank document or the one you were using to write down ideas after reading the prior post and write down your answers to everything we just read about. Then go back and write down your answers to each of the items brought up. Guess what? You just wrote your plan for a house fire!!!!

For the other end of the spectrum.............. slow down on buying 300 MREs and 20,000 rounds of ammo! We need to focus on this first

Before we worry about this!!!!!

Take note of the burning buildings people would have to get out of before they could lay waste to the alien invaders!!!

Now that you have a good idea on how to start making plans I'll try and show you a way to organize the planning in a format to make sense in the next post. Till then, as always

Stay Safe!!!