We’ve been having a lot of smoke in the air lately. It’s pretty bad.
When people realized a giant smoke cloud was on the way up from Oregon, I started getting alerts from everybody with advice to go out and get a filter and a box fan.
Well, I had a box fan, but not a filter. But my problem with things like this is the whole notion of panic buying. Like when the flour disappeared from the grocery store shelves at the end of February. Or when everyone wanted a Teddy Ruxpin, for that matter.
I am a rebel at heart and am loathe to follow the crowd.
So this filter thing forced me to have a whole conversation with myself about magical thinking, procrastination and maybe not being so stubborn about really important things when I live in an earthquake zone with lots of forests, near a dormant volcano.
Maybe I need to get serious about being a little more prepared, just in case. After all it looks like I needed the filter.
So if I must do this, I need a plan, but first maybe more information.
Of course, the problem with this is that it’s terrifying and overwhelming. And one wrong click can take you into crazy survivalist territory. Don’t go there!
So I did some research and here is my to-do list:
- Make sure I have contact information for everyone I will need to check on in my phone. Make a special group setting on my phone for those people. Also maybe get a serious rechargable power bank.
- Talk to my family about who we should use for contact person who is outside our area, and where we should try to meet if something happens.
- Make a emergency contact card to keep in my wallet.
- Make copies of all my important papers and put them in a fireproof box. Maybe one with room for a few precious items, too.
- And start putting together an emergency kit. I’m going to use this list because it seems doable and doesn’t make me think of huddling in a tiny shelter in the rain fending off marauders with a knife like this Bug Out Bag list does. Although Bug Out Bag sounds cooler than Emergency Kit.
Most importantly I think that it is important to stay as healthy and fit as possible, not only in case of a disaster where being mobile can make all the difference, but because healthy and fit makes it possible to do a lot more thing with your life during the normal times.
May we have normal times.