When I asked my friend if she had a disaster kit, she just raised her eyebrows and responded “A Disaster kit? Don’t you know we live in a tiny apartment! Where would I put all of that stuff? I barely have room for the dog!”
The problem is, no matter how little room you’ve got, you, your family, your dog and any other creature that relies on you for its health and well-being still need to be taken care of in an emergency - and that is a whole lot more likely to happen if you have the supplies that you need. When a disaster strikes, you need some supplies to help you stay safe and healthy. Widespread power outages may cause the food in your refrigerator or refrigerated medicines to go bad - so you need to be sure that you have non-perishable foods on hand and a plan for what to do without access to refrigerated medicines. Issues with the water supply may make water undrinkable or make it stop running entirely - so you’ll need water for drinking and sanitation. Flooding or fallen debris might require some special equipment to clean up safely, like cleaning solutions and protective gloves. And disasters put a lot of stress on families - it can really help to have a game or two for the kids if the power is out.
It’s not as hard as you think - with a little guidance on what you really need in your disaster kit and a few creative storage solutions, putting together a disaster kit and finding a place to store it are totally do-able.
Surprise! It’s not a just a Coffee Table!
Most of my disaster kit sits in the middle of my living room - it’s not an eyesore or inconvenient, it’s just the coffee table. When my husband and I went out to get furniture for the living room, we got a coffee table that opens up. On the surface, it’s got all the normal stuff you find on a coffee table - coasters, flowers, and (more often than I’d like to admit) a layer of dust and dog hair. But open it up, and there’s water, extra batteries, peanut butter (if you’re planning to survive a disaster, make sure that some of your provisions make you really happy), canned dog food (one of the many ways that I love the Thunderpuppies), a radio, a first aid kit, important documents and other essential supplies. Not sure what to stock in yours? CDC and the American Red Cross have put a lot of thought into what you need - so check out their suggestions for a disaster kit.
On the Bottom Shelf, Back Corner….
As great as my flip-top coffee table is, it’s not quite big enough to fit everything, so I had to find a place for the rest. I cleaned out our closet. I don’t know about you, but it had been a couple of years since I looked in my closet and said “do I really need this?” And for the stuff that had migrated to the bottom left hand dark corner that I kind of have to reach to get to, the answer is “not so much”. In my case, the choice came down between a 1) shelf for supplies that would keep me and the whole family safe; or 2) a shelf to continue to store sheets for a bed I no longer own. I wish all of life’s decisions were this easy….
So, I cleared off a space that was big enough to fit the rest of the supplies. A disaster kit is a great thing to put in a fairly inconvenient spot - just don’t forget where you put it and remember to check it a couple of times a year to make sure that things haven’t gone out of date.
Look Around for More Advice
I’m definitely not the last word in creative storage solutions - tons of blogs and other resources are out there to help you think of where you can save a little space. Some will teach you how to fit that thing up between the joists in your ceiling or how to reorganize your closet so that more stuff just fits in there.
Take a few minutes and search out something that will fit your needs. When a disaster strikes, you’ll be glad that you and those you love have the supplies they need to stay safe and healthy. And if you’re ready for a disaster, your community is also a little more prepared and resilient, too.
Or maybe you've already found something that works for you. Got great ideas? Share them with the community by commenting on this blog.
