How to have a weather drill at your house

Thanks to Energizer for sponsoring this post.   
Last year, on a rainy afternoon, we received a phone call..  THERE IS A TORNADO CLOSE BY.  GO TO THE SAFEST PLACE IN YOUR HOME.

When you get a call like this, and you have children (we have four kids ages 8, 6, 4 and 2) it is scary.   I never have been one to really worry about storms… I actually love storms.
Do our kids like storms?  “Not so much!”, as my friend Angela used to say.  

Right now storm drills and fire drills are happening everywhere.   Our 8 and 6 year old had them at elementary school.   Our 4 year old had one at his preschool.  They even had an intruder drill, but the kids thought that they were playing “hide & seek with Mrs. Lori” (the director).   Even the nursery at the gym had one!   When they had it at the gym, our four year old was there (he only goes to school three days a week, so he comes to the gym with me on the other days), he had a blast.   When I picked him up, he told me…

So, now that they have been through it with their classes, it was time to be prepared at home!  According to a recent Energizer® survey, only 36 percent of households have discussed a safety plan for weather related emergencies or power outages.

Here are some steps that we took:

1. Talk about it.  We talked about what we were going to do.   “So, if there is ever a bad storm, we have to hide in our house.   that will be really cool because we will ALL be together!”

2- Ease their fears:   They will probably be scared.  Our oldest boys are worriers, and a storm makes them worry more than anything else!   What I would say… “Now, there probably won’t be a storm bad enough to have to hide, but if there is, Daddy and I will be right here with you and we will hug you and kiss you and sing you silly songs until it is over!”

3- Create a plan about where you will meet–  Where are you going to go?  Do you have a basement?  A storm shelter?   A closet under stairs?  A room away from windows?   Just pick a place on the lowest floor.  (Even the laundry room closet could work!  My friend uses hers, because they live in a ranch style home.)

4- Be prepared in that area.   CLEAN IT UP!  It came to my attention, on the night that we actually had to put our plan into use, that our closet was NOT prepared.  It had the vacuum cleaner, shoes, bags, a soccer ball…   Yes, it was prepared for my day-to-day life, but not prepared to hold our family of six in case of a storm.   I threw it all into the hall on that night, but when we were done, I cleaned up!  I moved everything where it needed to be (soccer ball to the garage, vacuum cleaner to another closet and moved the shoes to our DIY mudroom bench) It is now clean and ready for us, if we should need it.

5- Make an emergency Kit:
Only 38 percent of American households keep an emergency kit at home for severe weather
Keep an emergency kit stocked with bottled water, canned food, copies of vital information, a first aid kit with prescriptions and an Energizer® Emergency Weather Station, which acts as a light, radio and charging station.
Here is a link to my DIY first aid kit – I keep this one in my car, but you can do another one for your house:

5- Get the materials that you need.   Do you have a portable light in that room or closet?   You need it!   Just grab one the next time that you are out and keep it in there.  A few to choose from: Weatheready®.  They last a long time and they offer practical solutions to  keep you and your family safe during a weather emergency.  You could try the Fusion Flashlights and Lanterns because they are really compact or you could try any Energizer® Light Fusion Technology products.
I love them because they are water resistant and the light shines bright for a really long time!   (Ps- in our car we also switched to  Energizer’s powerful LED headlights are lightweight and versatile – perfect for keeping your hands free!)
Here is the folding lantern that I mentioned above: 

Keep everything charged & ready!   Use batteries that are going to last.   We like Energizer® MAX® with Power Seal Technology because they really last long!

6– Take your phone with you and keep up with the social media updates on what is happening with the storm.   Remember that you still need a flashlight, even if your phone has one (in case your phone doesn’t work with the storm.)

 Find more weather kit ideas on Energizer’s Facebook page.