Category: Emergency Preparedness

Use these road trip emergency prep checklists to get happily and safely on your way, whether you’re headed cross-state or cross-country. Tip: Print this page and keep it in your car’s glove compartment, if there’s room in addition to your driving gloves :-).   Give Your Car a Once-Over Air conditioner Anti freeze/coolant Battery Brakes Defroster Fuel & air filters Headlights & hazard lights Heater Oil Tires Windshield washers & fluid Update Your Car Emergency Kit Blankets Cell phone charger Emergency info (Tip: If you use Habitudes’ Emergency Info template, delete sensitive details from printout.) Car keys, extra set Charging station map Fire extinguisher First aid kit Flashlight & extra batteries Food, non-perishable Ice scraper Jumper cables Maps (Tip: Think maps are a thing of the past? Google “What can make GPS not work?”) Roadside assistance member card (Tip: If you don’t have one, see AAA.) Tire repair kit and inflator Rain poncho Reflective triangle or flares Safety vest (reflective or bright color) Spare tire, jack & lug wrench Tire repair kit & inflator Water Window breaker & seat belt cutter Work gloves Where to Find More Road Trip Emergency Prep and Safety Tips The most useful info I’ve found […]

These days, it seems like there’s a natural disaster or emergency every day. I live in California, earthquake and wild fire country. Every time there’s a little jolt or a wildfire sparks, the media implores us to get our emergency supply lists and kits together. This time I really did it. Knowing our family will be as prepared as possible when “the big one” comes, gives me peace of mind. I hope these lists and the other useful info in the Emergency Preparedness category at HabiLinks will do the same for you. Before making your emergency supply lists, make a plan. Lots of resources offer to help with emergency plans for you and your family. But I find the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) site the most up-to-date and useful. Before customizing and printing your emergency supply lists, visit the FEMA site for help creating a plan for your family. At the very least Determine where family members will meet if you’re not together. Ask an out-of-state friend or family member to serve as a central contact point in case local cellular or phone services aren’t working. Create and practice an evacuation plan with your family in case of a home fire. Learn […]

If you have an electric garage door opener it’s important to read the instructions. If there’s a power outage you may have to lift the garage door manually. Most systems have a pull cord to disconnect the door from the opener. Make sure you know where it is and how use it. I learned the hard way one day when there was an outage and it was my turn to drive the soccer carpool. When I went to get the car I couldn’t open the garage door. Another mom came to my rescue, but I wish I’d known about the pull cord. It’s a good idea to try it before you need it. After you disconnect the door make sure you’re physically able to lift it. Garage doors can weigh 600 pounds or more! If the opener doesn’t have battery backup consider replacing it. Many of the new electronic garage door openers come with backup batteries. A new California law, effective July 1, 2019, requires homeowners installing new electronically operated garage doors to have openers with battery backup technology. Whether it’s the law or not, openers with battery backup are a good idea. Make sure all the adults in your […]

In San Francisco we’re having a hard time believing that spring arrives soon! It seems like we haven’t seen the sun in months and rainfall records are broken almost every day. But the calendar doesn’t lie. And along with spring comes Daylight Saving Time. The only U.S. states that don’t change their clocks twice a year are Hawaii and Arizona. Here are a few timely tips (pun intended) to help get your spring off to a good start. Clocks “spring forward” one hour Sunday at 2 AM. Change the clocks before you go to bed Saturday night. Don’t forget your watches…including the ones you keep in the dresser drawer. Remember to change the clock on your car dashboard. While you’re at it, change the smoke alarm batteries. Replace the batteries in hard wired smoke alarms, too. The batteries in hard wired alarms provide backup in case of a power outage caused by things like fire or natural disasters. Check the year your smoke alarm was manufactured. It should be shown on the unit. If it’s close to ten years old, it’s time to replace it. Make sure you have the right kind of replacement batteries for your smoke alarms. And […]