Winter is coming are you ready c/o fly lady

[Guest guest]

Dear Friends,

Why do we let unexpected problems with weather, electricity, and other little

things, throw our routines in the trash?

I can tell you, It is not a perfect world. One little thing out of whack

throws a monkey wrench into our plan. In the northern hemispheres, we are

getting ready for fall and winter. With these seasons, come flooding, snow,

school closings, ice storms and power outages. Are you prepared with plan B?

Let's pretend for a minute(some of you will not have to pretend at all) You

have lived it. O.K. your power goes out and you have no heat, no hot water, no

stove, you can't stay home, because it is very cold. So you go to the

neighbors, because they have a fireplace, but the family is still running in

and out of the house. After the power comes back on, your home is trashed. WHY?

You have not been cooking, washing dishes, taking baths or watching TV. You

have not really even been at home, except to run in and out getting things.

Here is why your home became trashed! They thought that since there was on

power, there was no power(discipline in our home)! Routines are a discipline.

So without power, we didn't need routines, because we couldn't adhere to them

anyway. FREE FOR ALL. Well if your routines were a habit, you would not have

been able to toss them out into the snow so fast.

Our biggest problem is picking up after ourselves. Without our routines we do

not police our hotspots, keep our sink clean or keep the children on track with

their routines.

So when the storm hits, the kids are out of school, and you are without power,

you still have sunlight (during the day). Don't allow the fact that there is a

little problem to stand in your way of doing things like you have been doing

for months. You want a perfect world and most days is not like this at all. So

except the fact that plan B is more the norm than your regular routine and be

light on your feet. Enjoy the challenge of feeding your family with a buddy

burner. LOL If you were in scouts, you know what I am talking about. Play games

by flashlight, read to them, just remember to stay calm and don't let your home

get panicked. You are still in charge.

Plan B is like being on a camping trip for me. I love to make do with what

every I have. Since we live in the country and have our own water system, we

have to be prepared. So we have some bottles of water in the basement, for

making coffee, washing our hair, sponge baths, and cooking if needed. We also

have one fireplace, so we can keep warm, if needed. There are dutch ovens for

cooking in the fireplace and a real perk coffee maker. So we won't starve.

Knowing what you can do and how, is part of not getting panicked. We also have

a gas grill. So if the freezer was without power for more than 2 days, we would

have to start cooking up a storm.

Do you have an emergency backup plan in your home? Think about this for a little

while and see exactly what you would do in case of a power outage.

Do you know where your flashlights are?

Can you find them in the dark?

Do you have a weather radio, or battery operated radio for an emergency channel?

How about Extra water for drinking and minimal bathing? And a way to sterilize

it.

Do you have an alternate way to heat your home?

How about to cook? and the pot and pans to do it with?

Do you know about safety in the house with kerosene heaters, grills and candles?

Do you have a fire extinguisher handy?

Do you have plenty of Blankets? Hats and gloves?

Just a little planning can keep you from pulling your hair out after the

crisis is over. Learn to adapt and you will be so pleased the next time there

is a weather emergency.

Are you prepared for bad weather, power outages and evacuation

Go get an empty Rubbermaid Tub to start building your Emergency Supplies.

Label it! Only Use in Case of Emergency! You will be glad you did! I have a

section of my basement shelves that has my emergency stuff in it

Blessed be,

Ms.Katurah