How to Survive a Tropical Storm: Journal of Hurricane Survivors

Make the Fridge and Freezer VERY Cold

If I have extra room, I bag up my ice, and should I lose power, stash it in the fridge right away, and only open the fridge when needed once the power goes out.

Buy Some Pizza Dough or Have the Items Needed to Make It by Hand

You can grill a pizza and throw all kinds of canned items on it. You can also throw your dutch oven on the grill and make soup that way. Breakfast potatoes can also be made in a skillet on the grill as well, scrambled eggs, etc... Buy a Loaf of Bread for Sandwiches I’ll either make up a batch of chicken salad just before the storm hits, or get cold cuts, neither needs to be cooked, and as long as the fridge stays cold a bit or you have a cooler you’re good.

Breakfast

Hard boil eggs for breakfasts. They make great ready-to-eat food!

Always Remember to Use Up the Cold, Already-Prepared Foods First

Then the cold goods that need to be cooked and are in the fridge, then the freezer stuff, then the non perishables.

Juice that Doesn't Need Refrigerated

If you go to a bulk club like BJ’s, Sam's or Costco you can get a case of individual serving size bottles of Tropicana that do not need to be refrigerated. It’s not fresh OJ, but it’s juice, and the Tropicana doesn’t taste weird like the minute made does.

Grilled Coffee Anyone? Some percolators can go on the grill. If the stores are out of small bottles of water, look to see if they have the water cooler jugs of water, and then just pour or ladle it out and you’ve got coffee. If you don’t have a percolator you can boil water and use a french press (you can get one of those at TJ Maxx or Homegoods even)

Make Sure You Have a Corded Phone (Old School Push Buttons)

That way you still have a land line even if you lose power. Cell phones usually won’t work in a hurricane.

Getting News From the Outside World

Have an old school walkman or CD player laying around? The kind with a RADIO in it? If so, then your set to be able to stay tuned into what’s going on outside!

Capture the Moment

The most beautiful skies you will ever see are just before and just after a storm, take pictures.

Laundry Preparations

I get my laundry done ahead of time. When you’ve gone two weeks without power you realize these things.

Charge Your Chargeables!!!! 

Cell phones, toothbrush, RAZOR, iPad, Laptops and any other things you use that need to be charged. Keep an extra battery bank (over 10k maH around. And a solar charges to keep it charged after the storm. 
Cell service will be one of the first things on line. Probably LONG before electric. So be prepares with ulternate power. 

Water, Water, Water...

Water probably is not going to work after a large scale natural disaster so be reach with a generator (for wells), and FILL YOUR TUB!!!!!!!!! This will give you “flushing water” as well as water you can use with a washcloth to “wash the vitals”, and have a large bowl or bucket you can use to scoop it into your toilet tank. Don’t flush every time. If it’s yellow let it mellow, if it’s brown flush it down... oh yea, this is getting personal!!!

Secure Outdoor Items

Outdoor items, anything that looks like it could be a prop on “final destination”, if you wouldn’t want to see it flying at your face, or coming through the window, put it in your shed or garage

A Few Other Items... Candles (provided you aren’t an idiot), flashlights, hand crank or battery-powered radio or TV (the news will still air and this is helpful)

BOARD GAMES!!!!!!! Monopoly, Scattagories, Clue, Trivial Pursuit; don’t go buy them, dig them out of that closet they are buried in now, you don’t want to have to bother with it later, trust me, you’ll be glad you did.

Windows Taping your windows is pointless, don’t bother.

Organizing for Efficiency Go through your freezer ahead of time and know what is in there. Move things around so it is easy to reach items. Once you loose power, you don’t want to be in there for long looking for things; just get in and get out. Put the items you think you might use first in the front of the freezer, and other items you think you might use lastly, toward the back or underneath other items.

Keep It Clean Pick up some handwipes. If loosing power means you loose water, hand washing becomes a luxury. Flushing water takes priority over hand washing water. If you have old terra cotta pots, they make lovely lanterns/candle holders. Coffee mugs could work as well, and they have handles for easy carrying! Check out the pictures here of the beautiful terra cotta “lamps...

”A Few More Excellent Tips From Readers!

Stephanie added: You can also fill your washing machine with water! And don’t forget , no grills or camp stoves indoors!

Valerie added: While making your storm preps, fill your dishpan with soapy water; you can use this to rinse dishes to then put in your dishwasher until the power comes back; once this “dish” water gets too yucky pour it into your toilet-flushing buckets to use in the toilet and ladle some of the bathtub water into your dishpan to continue rinsing your dishes. Rather than fill your freezer with ice cubes, just fill some gallon storage bags and plastic containers with water TODAY and by the time the power goes out they should be big solid blocks of ice that will stay frozen a lot longer than your ice cubes – you, in effect, have turned your freezer into a cooler.

Jean says: Don’t forget the Peanut Butter…if all else fails!

Brandi added: My big tip for dealing with a no water situation (which unfortunately has been an issue for us more times than I can count) ..is GLOVES!! Buy a box of vinyl or latex gloves..you can get 100 for like $10 – they come in VERY handy when you have to do things you would normally want to wash your hands after..like use the bathroom, change diapers, handle meats/eggs, etc…it’s not ideal (particularly from an environmental standpoint) but it’s temporary..and a great added protection from spreading God knows what all over your house when proper hand washing isn’t an option – AND helps protect your skin from the over-use of hand sanitizers!

Chef Tim says: Don’t forget you can always charge your cell phones in the car. Buy a power inverter for the car and plug in our crock pot and make something yummy!

David added: If you want a massive storage of drinking water - consider getting a WaterBob. It's a 100 gallon, fresh drinking water storage system that fits in any tub. Check out this video...