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There are a lot of things we SHOULD be doing every 6 months or so. Some of them can be yearly, but a lot of things should be happening about every 6 months if you want to have success at emergency preparedness.
Some of these things include:
I like to use the first weekend that the time changes and then add 6 months from then and put it on our calendar for the fall. It’s a natural reminder for me. Also, there is usually less competition for time in the spring and fall, compared to holidays in the winter and vacations in the summer.
Be realistic about your family’s typical rhythm for the year and set yourself up for success. If you have four birthdays in the month of March then you probably need to put it on the April calendar.
There are several ways you can tackle this list:
I prefer to do a mixture of the weekend/week idea. Here’s what ours looks like:
I like to get a head start on our Emergency Preparedness weekend on Friday while the kids are at school and my husband is at work.
I like to do the bigger tasks on Saturday (especially the ones where it’s helpful to have more than one person).
Then we wrap it up with a day of Family Chats on Sunday (or spread them out throughout that following week and do one each night).
All of this is accomplished with the direction of a fantastic printable checklist. I would never give you a pep talk without equipping you with the tools. Scroll to the bottom of this post to get yourself the FREE printable checklist!
There may be several things on this list that don’t apply to you.
For example: if you don’t have 72-hour kits, you have nothing to rotate, and the same goes for water storage.
Don’t stress out about the things you might not have. Just take care of the things that you DO have. The point of this list is to help you…not overwhelm you.
Do what works for YOU and your family – you can move any of the tasks around to fit on the day that works best for you!
If this is a bad weekend, just do what you can over the next few days, and make a plan to get it done. Or pick a different weekend.
The important thing is, that you DO IT!
All of these topics are boiled down to one page per topic as part of the Quick & Easy Preparedness Challenge. They are in the supporting printables file.
These preparedness weekends are SO IMPORTANT to protect your home and loved ones. You’ve already invested the time and money in these things, so put it on the calendar and make it a priority!
If you look at this list and feel totally overwhelmed, I would HIGHLY recommend joining the Quick & Easy Preparedness Challenge. We cover every single thing on this list except for the bigger things that I have listed under Saturday. So if you are seeing things like fire extinguishers, smoke alarms, family chats, etc., and wondering what you’re missing, come knock out the basics in just one short month! We’ll get you whipped into shape with all the easy, yet incredibly impactful parts of your emergency preparedness that are often overlooked!
If you are totally overwhelmed this simple 72-hour kit schedule will keep you focused so you can actually finish your family’s emergency kits.
Storing important documents in a fireproof waterproof file safe is the best way to keep them organized and protected from theft, fire and flood.
House Fire Preparation: Step-by-step instructions for smoke alarm maintenance, fire extinguishers, fire escape ladders for 2 story homes, fire escape plans, and protecting important documents in a fireproof box.