Fill gas tank at half empty rather than waiting for totally empty.

Baby wipes are good for keeping clean in a pinch.
Make sure you know where you keep your manual can opener.

Oh and dont underestimate the power of comfort food when power is out. Dutch ovens are great. Store a bag of self lighting charcoal. Four briquettes under the pot, Ten on the lid...with meat and veggies and soup mix...two hours later you have a hot delicious meal. '

We were threatened by wildfire a few weeks ago. My advice for that situation would be to know what you want to save and have it it organized and easy to reach. If you know you may be evacuated, get the animals and the family and have your car packed and ready to go before you are ready to evacuate. When you are told to evacuate, you leave immediately. You are out of time to gather possessions.

Also, get to know your neighbors and keep their phone numbers handy in case you need to call someone. We had several teenagers home alone while the parents were at work. There were some frantic parents trying to get home. Emergency crews were blocking traffic and denying access.

While it is nice to have the freezer packed (I do) Do not rely on it if your electricity is out for days. I like to keep a supply of those - just add water mixes - like rice and xxx or the teriyaki noodles as well as canned items.

Another good idea is to keep a stash of one dollar bills handy. They are good for tipping someone.

Also always keep a supply of pet food around, in case of disaster we don't want the critters to go hungry. :o)

Oh and dont underestimate the power of comfort food when power is out. Dutch ovens are great. Store a bag of self lighting charcoal. Four briquettes under the pot, Ten on the lid...with meat and veggies and soup mix...two hours later you have a hot delicious meal. '

Hu? Double post.

To save some foods, keep a couple of milk jugs of frozen water in the freezer. When power goes out put the jugs in the fridge to turn the fridge into a giant cooler

Keep lots of cash on hand. Keep all your car gas tanks as full as you can. And don't rely on a cell phone if your power goes out. Keep your cell phone charged but don't count on it long-term. Once the battery gets used up, it's worthless. When I was on dialysis, they told me to keep a supply of canned food and drinks on hand-including a can opener. Last year Hurricane Irene hit New York-we had no electricity for 2 days. My food stash came in very handy! Tuna, fruit, even canned beans.

Keep your cell phone charged. It's the one thing I am careful about.

Jannie had some very good advice. Make sure you have a full tank of gas in the car and plenty of cash. ATM's don't work if the electric is off.

Harry drinks Arizona green tea in the gallon jugs and I save some to fill in case of emergency. They say keep 1 gallon of water per person per day for drinking.

Update your homeowner's insurance if you haven't done so for a few years.

If you don't have one, buy a charger that will work in the cigarette lighter of your car for your cell phone.

Make a plan if you have to evacuate. We'll probably never have to do this, but you never know.

Hurricane Isaac is out there--haven't checked it lately because it's too early but I know we will have plenty of light and food if we get into a bind. Pray we don't lose the electric!

My advice is - don't WAIT if officials say to evacuate - don't try to 'wait it out' - just be prepared and GO!

Remember, as Ron White (comedian) says: 'it's not THAT the wind is blowing, it's WHAT the wind is blowing'!

Have your pets' vaccination records handy - they can't legally cross state lines without them.

Keep all your financial records (and other documents and medical records) in a fire-proof lock box and put the key on a key chain - DUCT TAPE it somewhere safe so it's handy if you need it.

If your car has two sets of keys, put the extra set in the safe place with your lock box keys.

Get a wind-up clock.

Get a GOOD transistor radio and fresh sets of batteries.

Get a GOOD fire extinguisher and learn how to use it.

Get a battery-operated lantern and fresh batteries.

Keep a map of the area handy.

Have your renter's or homeowner's insurance policy handy.

Get a Swiss Army-style pocket knive.

Invest in a WHISTLE, in case you get lost and need help.

Buy sleeping bags and pillows, in case you end up sleeping on the floor somewhere.

Keep a few pairs of safety goggles in your 'evacuation suitcases'.

Buy some leather work gloves.

Take a big roll of trash bags.

Take a couple of good books to read.

I have several styles of wind up radios. some have flashlights attached and connetions for powering up you phone.Scan the catalogs or do googles for items you cant find locally.
A small STERNO stove and cans of heat (like buffet warmers) savd me when w had an ice storm in 2000.
Dont forget cigarette lighters you can find 3-4in a pack for 1$

first two messages rejected for some reason, I hope it doesn't turn up in multiples. If you have a well and septic system, flushing becomes a big deal. We drag out the portapottie from the camp gear and set it up outside in a make shift room with a wash up table and put up shower curtains for privacy. Saves the bathroom for access to water as we fill the tub full with water for clean up and heating for washing. The tub will get full at the first sign of inclement weather, so easy to pull the plug if you don't need it but hard to get any if the power is off. A land line phone is a must as portables all need electricity to run and cells will loose battery power fast. I bought a small battery booster pack to boost your car when the battery is dead, it has three usb ports on the side of it ...great for cell phones, ipods and the five inch fan that comes with usb or a wall adapter. I keep it charged and in the suv. It can be recharged when the vehicle is running. Don't forget if you have solar panels they can keep battery operated items going for quite some time too. They are very cost efficient now and a pair of them can slide under a bed or in a closet for storage. Don't forget to check on a neighbor or two, you will be repaid three fold and they will appreciate your kindness.

i always keep frozen empty 2L pop bottles in my small chest freezer to move to a cooler that lasts 5 days. i also keep atleast 1 bag of ice in there too. we use a power inverter for outages less than 3 days, it's not worth the time & $$ to drag out the huge portable generator. if you do have a generator, everyone w/in 100 mi of a coastline should, use only 10 gauge extension cords to lessen the effect on large appliances which operate on a different oscillating wave pattern of electricity (constant back up generators use correct wave) and sustain damage over time on generators. always have a small window A/C on hand for generators, starting & stopping your house A/C while refilling the generator every 4 hours can take a toll on it. you can buy a battery operated air pump for freshwater fish tanks, wish i'd had one in 04' when i lost all the fish in a 75gal tank :-( salt tanks must be on generators. if you board up windows, we still have custom cut 5/8" plywood, you can piant the side facing in white w clouds and something cheerful LOL. we stayed boarded up for 20 days in 04 thou you should not do that for fire hazard reasons, we didn't have time to re-do it every 2 weeks. make sure EVERYTHING in your house had been cleaned ahead of time, once you are w/out power for more than a week & it's 120 inside you will appreciate it LOL! bathe pets ahead of time. stock up on paper plates, plastic cups & silverware who wants to do alot of dishes in 120 heat! we keep 2 tanks of propane for the grill at all times. trim trees ahead, cut grass 2 days ahead, loose clippings will be plastered on your house if you wait too late. most importantly cook & bake a bunch of food ahead...no one wants to waste time cooking in the immediate few days afterwards. it is nice to have food ready too after doing alot of repair & clean up work! + you will need it to bribe linesmen coming thru your neighborhood! it's true LOL! ~ liz

I took a series of classes a number of years ago ...CERT. Citizen Emergency Response Team. Think of it as ripples in the water. you and your family are one ripple, be prepared and know how to take care of yourself. Next would be any neighbors and so on . Classes are meant to possibly be a backup to first responders in a diaster but mainly if you learn how to take care of yourself ..there's less for the first responders to handle.

There's much information in the link and other places but if you have a place to store things ..be prepared for more than 3 days.

thanks for the thread, it reminds me I need a refresher

It seems that each weather cast about Isaac includes links to getting prepared sites. hope people pay attention.
thanks everyone for contributing

You said this

Have your pets' vaccination records handy - they can't legally cross state lines without them.

When did that law come into effect?
I drove all the way from Fl to Ca and back with my dog two years ago and drove back a different route and was never stopped or questioned in any state.

Did everyone get gas, water tp etc ? The weather stations and others are really telling people that they shouldn't wait any longer.

Wanted to add a link to lazypup's great post

Here is a link that might be useful: Emergerncy info in your disaster bailout kit -

Foundthis thread and wondered if anyone had anything to add after Sandy hit

My brother in NJ was without power for five days. He said his bicycle came in really handy for the four mile trip to the grocery store. He had plenty of food and water on hand, but wanted a few extras like ice. He only bought what he could carry in his back pack. Db and his wife did fill up with gasoline before the storm hit. They were conserving their gas to use when needed. I think he probably could have used an extra gas can. The bicycle wasn't absolutely necessary, but was helpful. It's great for everyday use too.

I read someplace else that one of the big fires was started by a candle. The recommendation was instead of candles to get a battery powered lantern and extra batteries for backup. Also get some glowsticks so you aren't in total darkness.

I also read that some people were able to have hot water because they had a Piezo-electric ignition on their water heater. I'm not sure what that is, but it'd be something to look into.

I'm sorry...no tips...

Can I crash this post...
I was going to start a post but there is no place to start a post on here for me today..only the posts already started have the place to reply.

Been having lots of trouble in here since my computer crashed.

What I was going to ask in my post was ....."does anyone have a link to get rid of the green words in the posts?"

That was one of the things I lost in the crash.

Can you scroll down to the bottom of this page to where it says
Click here to learn more about in-text links on this page.

If not I can copy and paste the info