First Day of Spring as a Springboard for Preparedness

I love lists, calendars, and routines.  My crazy, busy, hectic schedule, as I'm sure many of you experience, creates the need for reminders to keep me on track.  I like to use the first day of spring as a "springboard" for my own emergency preparedness. (It falls six months before and after September, which is National Emergency Preparedness month.) It also serves as a great pivot point between cold weather and warm weather preparedness. (Not forgetting, of course, that we still have the potential for severe cold weather depending on where you live.)

Here are a few springtime preparedness activities that I'll be working on:

• Check my emergency kit for expiring food items, medications and other updates. Exchange stored batteries for newer ones.  Add a new item, such as: a weather radio, spare shoes, or additional first aid items.
• Change the batteries in my home's smoke detectors.  (The ones that aren't 10 year batteries, at least.) I'm looking to purchase an LED flashlight that runs on those 9V batteries I pull out of the smoke detectors.
• Visually inspect the outside of my house and yard for any maintenance needs like: chipped paint, concrete cracks, broken glass, sunken soil, roof damage, damaged fencing, damaged wires, broken tree limbs, loose gutters, etc.
•  Have a safety inspection performed on my car.  (You can do it yourself if you're mechanically inclined.) Brakes, wipers, fluids, tires, lights and more occasionally need a quick check to keep your car running at optimum safety levels.
• Update my family emergency and communications plans.  Check phone numbers, contact information, and locations are correct for each family member and out-of-town contact. Update banking, insurance, and other important document and information in each kit and plan.
• I also look for opportunities to update and expand my training.  This week-end I'm taking a Skywarn Weather Spotter training class.