Here comes the rain!

Hurricane Irene is heading right for us. This will be our 3rd hurricane since J joined the Navy.

We are ready. But, it's sad to say that others are not. People are just now(2 days before it hits) heading out to stock up. Stores have no bread, no water and no batteries. These are things I keep stocked in my home at all times(bread is a little iffy...but I try to always have it). Another crazy thing is people are calling TODAY to try to get renters insurance! TODAY! Of course they are being told that all new policies are on hold until late next week. I know not everyone knows what to do to prepare for a storm so I'm going to give a little run down on supplies to have and "tricks" i know.

Supplies
Water(they say 1 gallon for each person for every day. I don't have that much. But I do have 3 gallon jugs, a pack of water bottles, every pitcher and bottle filled then ice for the cooler.
Flashlights and Lanterns! I have 3 lanterns and 3 flash lights.
Extra batteries! I can't stress this one enough! Have every kind of battery at all times! You never know when the power will go out and you will need them! I always have AA, AAA and D on hand.
Food. You need food that won't go bad. Soup is a great one! Even if the power is out, soup has pre-cooked meat and veggies(and sometimes grain) in them. Make sure you have a can opener if needed. We also have about 4-5 boxes of granola bars in our kit. We have can veggies and fruits also along with bread, PB&J and dry cereal.
First aid kit. Ours just has the basics: band aids, neosporin, cleaning wipes and gauze.
Plastic cutlery. We keep a bunch of spoons, forks, knives and paper plates in our kit along with a few trash bags.
Whistle. My Dad told me this and I never would have thought about it! Keep a whistle in there so if you happen to get trapped you can make noise.
Blankets & clothes. Our kit sits in the linen closet in the hall so along with the blankets and towels I have a bag of clothes for little and I. Just in case something happens everything comes out of the closet and into our "safe room" AKA the hall bathroom.
Pet supplies. We have 5 days worth of food for both our pets in the kit(I admit I added it last night). But I need to make sure they are taken care of also!
Candles and lighters. Batteries die and you can only have so much of a backup stock.

"Tricks"
Have a safe room! Pick a room in your house that is strong and has no windows(or not many windows). Have your supplies in there or close enough to grab quickly. For us, ours is the hall bathroom. It's in the middle of the house, a decent size and has no windows.
Get renters insurance. This can save you in the end! Everything we have is covered! If Little's swing set doesn't make it, that bad boy is covered! It's a huge piece of mind knowing we won't suffer a huge loss.(we do have a fire box that the really important stuff goes into though).
Fill the tub with water. If the power goes out you can't flush the toilet(water pumps won't work)! If you pour water in the back it will flush! It also gives you water to bathe with if needed.
Walkie-talkies. My neighbors and I are all going to have a set just in case we lose cell service, then we will know if everyone is alright.
Have the car packed and ready to go. If you need to evacuate, you will need to go fast. You don't want to take the time trying to get everything together.
Take out cash and fill the car. If the power goes out you won't be able to get either.
Ice. Fill zip-lock bags with water and freeze if you don't have an ice maker. I'm going to have a cooler for ice and one for water(for toilet flushing in the "safe room"(the tub we are filling is the master since we will be in the hall tub if it gets bad.)
Pull blinds and curtains(tape if needed). This will prevent glass from going everywhere(or help it from going everywhere)
Charge all electronics. My cell phone and DVD player are charging as we speak. Little will get bored and I will need my phone, so it's pretty self explanatory.

I hope everyone who is going to be or has been hit stays safe! Keep us in your thoughts! It's times like this that I wish J was home! But at least I know he's safe under the sea.