As hurricane season approaches, it’s crucial for parents to ensure their families are safe and prepared. The cost of hurricane supplies, however, can be difficult to incorporate into a family budget, so we gathered these six tips to help all our families prepare for storms without breaking the bank.
1. Start making ice now
Shoppers scramble for ice just before and after a storm. Start making your own ice now, bag it, and store it in the freezer. You can also fill plastic containers with water and freeze, just leave room for the water to expand as it cools.
2. Stock up early
To ease the burden on your budget, start stocking up on dry goods, bottled water, and other necessities now. Buying a little each time you do your normal shopping spreads out the cost over the season and helps you avoid the last-minute rush when shelves empty quickly.
3. Stash some cash
After a storm, digital payments might not be an option. Start putting a little cash in your supply kit. You’ll want to have enough to cover tolls and gas if you need to evacuate. If you leave the state, inform your bank to avoid your card being frozen for suspicious activity.
3. Protect important documents
You don’t need a hard drive. Screenshot and email all important documents to yourself. This can be home or renters insurance, pet medical records (you’ll need those if you need to shelter them during the storm). Place the originals in sealed bags or plastic bins to protect them from water damage.
4. Prepare your home
If you have shutters for your windows, use them. It’s a lot more expensive to recover when your windows break. Sometimes windows leak, too. Place old rags and beach towels on your windowsills to prevent water seeping into your drywall.
5. Prepare for boredom
Of course, you’ll charge all your electronics before the storm. But digital entertainment drains batteries quickly, and service is spotty at best after a storm. Put together an old-school entertainment kit for the kids: board games, playing cards, coloring books, a dollar-store flashlight, and so on. Don’t have any? Pick some up cheap at a local thrift store.
6. Plan ahead
Having a plan helps us avoid costly mistakes. Write out your hurricane plan. Where will you go if a Category 5 is coming? How about a Category 2 that suddenly turns into a 5? Having a plan helps you keep your wits about you. Know the locations, addresses, and telephone numbers of emergency shelters near you. List non-emergency phone numbers for utilities, hospitals, police and fire departments. Write down the phone numbers of family and friends outside of your area.
The state provides a disaster supply checklist and other helpful information at floridadisaster.org.
Most importantly, stay safe. During and after Hurricane Ian, Better Together was able to host children temporarily for parents who needed some support, like a first responder suddenly without child care and a single mom who went into labor as the storm approached. After the storm, our volunteers were boots on the ground getting much needed supplies to families in need. If you’d like to help families weather the next storm, we encourage you to volunteer:
Sign up to be a host family
Sign up to deliver supplies after a storm
