Preparing for Hurricane season... What to stock?

[texxie]

I live on the coast in South Texas. We evacuated for Ike and did'nt have power for 2 weeks after landfall. Luckily, no damage to our home, as we were on the "clean" side of the storm.

I am new to stockpiling. My DH has been helping me decide my strategy and what would be best for the family. He's concerned about losing it all in a hurricane. I had'nt even thought about that.

So, those that have been doing this for awhile AND live in a Hurricane/Tropical Storm proned area...any tips/suggestions for me?

Much thanks in advance.

[mum2hba]

I live on the coast of Alabama, so most definitely in hurricane land. I haven't had a stockpile during a major storm yet. The biggest concern I have is having a full freezer and loosing everything in it. My plan is to stock it up during the spring, then work through it in the summer during hurricane season not stocking up so much so I don't loose so much if we do have a major storm with no power.

Being well-stocked on batteries, water, and non-perishables means that during the craziness before the storm I don't have to worry about trying to run out and find things that I need. A good stockpile also means that if you have no power you still have something to eat.

Get a good stash of batteries for when the power goes out.
A good stash of bottled water.
Lots of canned goods, and a can opener that is not electric.
Energy bars, granola bars, cookies-things that are good for snacking on.
A charcoal or propane grill is great for cooking when you have no power (as long as you do it outside)
Some bleach for sterilizing water.
Hand sanitizer so that if you can't use the water, you can still clean you hands.
If you can get a generator, then you wouldn't even have to worry about loosing everything in your frig/freezer. If you get one before hurricane season, you don't have to beat the rush right before the hurricane.

We don't have a generator, it is something we will probably get, but we have friends with generators if we get into a situation where we are going to loose everything in the freezer.

I been through my share of hurricanes, the worst part is not having power, but if you have a good stockpile, and are ready for it. It is not quite so bad.

If you loose your house in a hurricane, the stockpile won't really matter.

[Castingbread]

Reading the pp's list made me think of something I read for an emergency kit that I hadn't thought of before. Wipes. Baby or otherwise. They would be great for "mini baths" if you didn't have any water. I hope you get a lot of response so you can make a good plan. (I am not in hurricane territory).

[love2save]

Castingbread, if you have any extra baby wipes, our military men and women would love to have them. My son is a Marine in Iraq and him and his buddies use them for many things with number 1 being " field showers" personal use. Nice when they dont have access to a real shower for weeks at a time.Just a thought.

[whawks]

I am in Louisiana - definitely Hurricane territory. My hurricane stockpile list is this:

bottled water and gatorate or powerade (a must when you are sweating in 90 plus degree weather)
extra plastic gas containers (there always seems to be a shortage of gas cans and containers right before and after a storm)
Lots and lots and lots of batteries especially C, D, & E
Portable radio that picks up AM/FM radio stations
Canned meats (tuna, spam, chicken, vienna sausage, corned beef)
Fruit cups and those small individual cups of jello that do not need to be refrigerated
Peanut butter
Jelly
Pretty much any food item that is non-perishable
Baby Wipes
Paper Towels
Baby powder - when you are sweating - helps with chaffing
First aid products - someone is always getting cut or scratched while removing debris
Trash bags - a lot of them
A length of rope that is long enough and strong enough to hang clothes on (if the power goes out your clothes will get wet from sweating and will mildew if not dried - so dry your clothes first and then put in a dirty clothes basket to really wash and dry once the power is back on)
Band aids
Deodorant
Toothbrushes

A generator - living where I do it is an essential.

And if you have a big enough generator - a small window ac unit.

HINTS:

If you have room in your freezer - once you empty out a gallon of milk thoroughly clean and rinse the jug. Fill with water. Place in freezer to freeze solid. Large blocks of ice thaw slower than ice purchased in bags. These jugs can be placed in a cooler to help keep drinks and other items cold.

If you have to evacuate - take all the items from your freezer and put them into garbage bags (keep notes of what you are putting in the bags and the cost of each item). If you do lose power for an extended period of time you only have to remove the trash bags and throw them away with the food in them. The freezer will still be good though. If you don't place the food in trash bags most of the time you can never get that rotten food smell out of your freezer. Also when it comes time to file a claim with your homeowners insurance you have a complete list of items you threw away with their value. If you wait until after the hurricane hits to try to compile the list it is very hard to think of everything that was in the freezer just due to the stress and anxiety of the hurricane.

[texxie]

thx to everyone for the great ideas (repped ya). I'm not sure i worded my first post correctly though. I have our hurricane kit in place. Its how to work my household stockpile without risking losing it all. However, some of the hurricane preparedness ideas listed above are some that i had'nt thought of and will definately put to use so thanks for that.

mum2hba-I think I'm going to go w/your plan on stocking up now, working through it through summer then backing off during hurricane season. Thanks for the advice!

[I'mASaver]

East Coast Central Florida here!

I got spanked hard by Frances and Jeanne, both within 3 weeks of each other, in 2004. I learned a very valuable "stockpiling" lesson. I was without power for 2+ weeks after Frances. Lost every thing in my fridge, freezer and small deep freeze. While Jeanne was out there twirling around we all figured there was NO WAY we'd take another direct hit so once power was restored I went to Publix and restocked EVERYTHING to the tune of over $800.00. Less than a week later she slammed us. I lost everything again for a second time.

My hurricane strategy is this...stockpile whatever perishables/freezer foods I want through the Fall and Winter. Come Spring, we start eating off it and work our way through it throughout the Summer. All the while...keeping our fingers crossed nothing comes our way until the freezers are empty!!

I also have another saving grace. My office is a "house" just a few blocks off the beach. After the storms of 2004 we installed one of those monstrous automatic generators. Last year, knowing the economy was going to tank, I started stockpiling huge amounts of meat. I completely took over the freezer section (actually still have a few pounds of chicken I need to bring home!) And if need be, can haul my small deep freeze to work and plug it in to help save my freezer goods.

It can be done. Just make a plan like you would with everything else that is storm-related!

[texxie]

thanks so much for the advice! We start getting nervous around here in aug. LOL and dont' breath a sigh of relief til halloween. this year i'll start Stockpiling Nov.1st I guess. I'm brand new to stockpiling so there is'nt much that would be lost at this point. I do, however, have enough laundry detergetnt to get me to possibly july LOL

[rswope]

Texxie, I live 10 minutes inland from Galveston and I got full frontal Ike, and you ask a valid question. You're right, you could lose part or all of a stockpile in a hurricane. However, if you're stockpiling right you probably won't have more invested in it than you would in a fully stocked pantry if you were paying full price. Others have posted how to handle freezer items, and if you're really concerned about it you could cycle it so your stockpile goes down during hurricane season. I keep a bunch of big Rubbermaid totes around for outgrown kids' clothes and stuff, and I could easily fit lots of stockpile items in there if I was worried about water getting that high up in the house. To be honest though, my stockpile was about the last thing on my mind during the storm! Bottom line, I think the savings are worth the risk, at least for us it is.

[texxie]

I agree that a stockpile would be the last thing on my mind at the time. that being said, one can't help but to think about it when outlining how and what to stockpile, how much, etc. I do LOVE the idea of basically "running low" around hurricane season. right now, i'm stockpiling with Aug. in mind. Around hurricane season, I'll just do a week to week type thing. Glad you're still with us, Ike was a monster!