Functional Friday: Preparedness Project - Phone List

What if the pizza guy can't find your house?  What if you need to call your neighbor to make sure everything is OK at 3:00 am?  What if your out-of-town guests call and need directions to your house from the interstate, and your teen-ager takes the call?  What if a 9-1-1 call to the fire department puts you at a loss to describe which house is yours?

This week's Preparedness Project will help you plan for these situations and more with a list of helpful information posted by the house phone, or in another conspicuous location.  My aunt has had this posted by her phone for as long as I can remember.  Honestly, as a kid I thought it was a little strange.  Now that my kids are old enough to make a phone call, but not old enough to have much to say :) I see the value in the phone list.  We have one posted by our kitchen phone. 

The phone numbers we included are:
Our home phone number
Mom and Dad's cell numbers and work numbers
The neighbor's name and number (with an arrow pointing to her house)
In town and out of town family names and numbers
Two local family friends' names and numbers
(Consider indicating which numbers are text-able.)

Along with you, I'll be adding those detailed directions this week-end.  Try to include all major routes into your neighborhood from major local routes.  Google Maps or Mapquest could help with that.

If your home includes children, pets, or household members with medical conditions or functional needs, include helpful information and contacts for these as well.  (Veterinarian number, food allergies, required medical equipment, service animals, etc.)

First responders (police officers, fire/EMS rescue and EMT's) are trained to look for this type of information in an emergency.  They also will search your cell phone for ICE (In Case of Emergency) information as an App (iPhone, Blackberry, Android) or as a listing in your contacts, so make sure you include some information there as well.

Week-end Preparedness Project   Time: Cost: Difficulty:  ☐  Type and print, or grab a paper and marker for clear readability.  ☐  Write detailed directions from major local routes to your house. (Include at least two routes.)  ☐  List the names, relationships, and phone numbers for important contacts.  ☐  Go ahead and include doctors and other medical numbers as well.  ☐  Post in one of more locations in your home.  Near phones?  In your wallet?  ☐  For extra credit: make sure you have at least two ICE contacts (ICE1, ICE 2) in your cell phone.