by Eileen Roth
Travel
If you want to take a trip with a pet, check out the variables first. Take a cruise around town before trying a major car trip. Make plane travel arrangements well in advance and find out what kind of cage you need. Pets can’t travel in plane cargo holds in cold weather, so take the season into account. Some pets can’t travel in planes at all because of the air pressure, as my daughter discovered when she wanted to bring her pet turtles home from college for the summer.
If you’re traveling without your animal companion, leave plenty of time to set upboarding or pet-sitting, or you may find yourself with a needy animal on your hands the morning of your departure.
Chapter 26
911! Emergency Strategies
In This Chapter
Stopping emergencies before they start
Stepping up to the plate with supplies and knowledge
Strategies for medical, fire, snow, and car emergencies
Empowering yourself against power outages
N obody likes emergencies, but those who are unprepared like them the least. You never think it could happen to you, but it does and they do. I’ve driven through certifiable blizzards to give organizing workshops and powered through more power failures and floods than I can count. Elizabeth, the coauthor of this book, survived the Northridge, California, earthquake and lived to complain about it. Emergency preparedness is as important to your peace of mind as it is to your basic health and safety, so here are ten ways to be prepared.
Money
Money can’t buy love or happiness but it can solve a host of problems if you find yourself in urgent circumstances. Always, always carry a spare twenty-dollar bill in a separate compartment in your wallet for the unexpected moments you need cash, from being stranded on the freeway to dashing out of a house on fire. If you spend it, replace it that day. My father taught me this trick the day I started driving, and it can bail you out of countless jams.
Keep a charge card, even if you prefer not to, so you can always order what you need over the phone and have it delivered. Whether you’re sick in bed and need a prescription or you’re suddenly attending to an emergency and can’t get out to the grocery store, you need an electronic money supply.
Hate credit? Get a debit card instead. It works the same way, but instantly pays the balance from your bank account.
Medical
Make a list of phone numbers of the closest emergency room covered by your insurance, the pharmacy, and the poison center in your area. Post it in a prominent spot. If you have children, give them a copy when they become teenagers and be sure they know where to find the one in the house.
Put together two first aid kits, one for the house and one for the car. See Chapter 7 for basic necessities. Add a first aid book for quick reference so you don’t have to think hard under pressure. Try First Aid & Safety For Dummies by Inlander and Norwood (IDG Books Worldwide, Inc.)
Communication
Carry a calling card, a few quarters, or a cell phone everywhere you go, even if you’re hiking in the mountains, working out at the gym, or driving your usual commute. The phone is your lifeline. Stay connected!
Car
You’re as likely to be in your car as anywhere when emergencies strike, so be sure your basic needs are covered by keeping a warm blanket, bottled water, packaged snacks, a flashlight, and a pair of comfortable shoes in the trunk at all times. That new pair of formal dress shoes may dazzle on the dance floor but “dapper” doesn’t cut it if you find yourself fixing a flat in a rainstorm.
No amount of car preparedness can help if you can’t get into the car, so prevent lockouts with one or two tactics. Hit the hardware or auto supply store for a small, magnetized box that holds an extra car and/or house key and sits just inside the front or rear bumper of your car. Another option is to carry a spare car key, separate from your key ring, in your wallet or purse. Now you’re covered when the front or trunk door slams shut with your key ring inside.
Use preventive maintenance to keep your car in good running order and head off freeway meltdowns. Check the tires regularly, making sure they’re in good shape and filled with air. Rotate them for even wear, and always carry a spare. Even if you don’t know how to change it, someone else will. Ditto for jumper cables.
Keep your insurance card and registration in the glove compartment, along with a pad and pen for noting all details in case of an accident. A disposable camera can document the scene after an accident and facilitate your insurance claim. Add a coin purse with at least $3 in change, which will cover everything from tolls and meters to emergency pay-phone calls.
Fire
Flames can burst forth anytime, anywhere, so install smoke detectors on every floor of your home and keep the batteries fresh. Have at least one fire extinguisher on hand, including in the kitchen where most fires start. You also want a box of baking soda there, for a less-mess quench to smaller kitchen fires.
If you should find yourself in a fire, the basic lifesaving procedure is to stop, drop, and roll. Stay under the smoke. If you have kids, teach them the steps and make it a game.
Keep a fireproof box in the house for valuables such as jewelry or legal documents while not in the safe deposit box at a bank. Have a pet? Alert firefighters by putting a special sticker in your window.
Children’s Safety
As early as possible, teach your children that strangers may be dangerous, but police and firefighters are their friends. As soon as they’re using the phone, teach them to call 911 in an emergency and clearly state the problem. Try a practice session with a toy phone. Children should also know their home phone number in case they get lost or have an emergency.
When ordering a new phone number, ask for a pattern, such as 962-1616, to make it easier for kids to memorize.
Create a babysitter’s information sheet including your cell phone or pager number, all the emergency numbers, including poison control, and the name, number, and address of a helpful adult neighbor. Leave a house key with a neighbor and tell your kids who to get it from if they should ever be locked out.
Power Failures
Keep a flashlight in every bedroom, the kitchen, and the basement, stoked with working batteries, where you can easily find them in pitch darkness if the lights should suddenly go out. Have a supply of extra batteries and replace them annually. Also keep candles and matches on every floor, but don’t light them if you suspect a gas leak (as after an earthquake).
Keep firewood on hand if you have a working fireplace. Get a Sterno camp stove and keep a cache of canned and packaged foods that can be eaten with little or no cooking.
Snow Emergencies
Every winter, stock your trunk with a snowbrush, shovel, and rock salt, as well as tire chains for heavy snowfall areas. At home, clean and prepare the snowblower before the season begins and empty it of gas when it ends. Have a snow shovel in case the snowblower breaks down.
Valuables
Keep originals of important legal documents in a safe deposit box at the bank. This includes birth and marriage certificates, passports, divorce agreements, real estate closing papers, wills, trusts, stock certificates, CD notes, car titles, etc. Keep copies at home for quick reference. This is also the place to store computer backups and valuable jewelry.
Get birth certificates as soon after kids are born as you can manage. Renew your passport; it’s easier than starting all over again.
Insurance
Take out replacement, not regular, insurance on your household possessions. A replacement policy pays for lost items at today’s prices, not the original purchase price, which can make a world of difference if you get wiped out by disaster.
Have your valuables appraised so you have ready proof if you need to make an insurance claim. These include jewelry, crystal, good silver, and artwork. Add equipment and appliances such as computers, VCRs, cameras, and so forth to the list and keep it in your safe deposit box.
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