{I originally wrote this post in March 2012, but have since updated it.}

So here’s the thing. I’m a freak about storms.

Like a total spaz. Border line nutty house kinda spaz. Probably need medication. Could possibly be committed.

Ever since we lived through the May 8th “inland hurricane” in 2009 I have been TERRIFIED.

The weather man says “rain”…and I say “GET IN THE BASEMENT”.

Pretty sure my husband thinks I’m one sandwich short of a picnic on days that we have bad weather. If you don’t believe me, just read this post and watch how my husband wasn’t sure if I was preparing for a storm or conducting a seance.

I decided that in order to keep my self from having an anxiety attack calm myself about all these tornados we have been having lately I would do a post on how to be prepared for a storm.

Unfortunately, with the recent events in Oklahoma it’s made me want to re-evaluate our storm readiness plan.

We finished our basement this year and so a lot of the items that I had down there and in our “ready” spot…got moved and misplaced. 

Here are a few tips on what you can do to be prepared during a storm:

1. Have a weather radio

Yes, the annoying weather radios that will go off in the middle of the night and wake you. Those annoying little things can save your life.

We keep ours on our nightstand right next to the baby monitor. How else will you know if you need to take shelter in the middle of the night?

You can also go to nixle.com and download the free weather box-alert app.

2. Have a safe spot.

Luckily we have a basement. However, when we lived in our old house we weren’t so lucky.

We designated the bathroom in the middle of the house as our safe spot. We would camp out in the bathtub with a crib mattress over us.

If you don’t have a basement make sure you choose a windowless bathroom on the lowest level of your home. If you don’t have a crib mattress, a thick blanket will work too. You will just want something to help protect you from flying debris.

One of our favorite things to use to protect our heads? Bike helmets.

Or any type of hard helmet. My kids automatically know that if we go to the basement to take cover…they MUST put on their helmet.

3. Keep an emergency kit

I have a bin full of our “storm stuff” that I keep in the basement. Some of the things you can stock your bin with…

A first aid kit

Candles, a lighter, toilet paper {you don’t want to be trapped in your safe spot without a way to wipe my friends}, flashlights, batteries, and paper towels

Bottled water, food, food, and more food.

You may laugh, but along with the canned goods and peanut butter I usually keep skittles. My kids love skittles. It’s one thing that I know would put a smile on their face.

And I’m thinking that if we were trapped in our basement and needed food…I would definitely be in need of smiles too.

We actually just ordered some MRE’s {military meals} to put in our storm bin. I can not imagine having to eat an MRE…but if worst came to worst and we needed food, MRE’s have a very long shelf life.

Some other things you may want to throw in a bag and have ready would be: extra blankets, prescription medication, glasses, infant formula, diapers, personal hygiene products, and important family documents.

And for pete’s sake…DO NOT FORGET shoes. I have seen countless images of people walking out of the rumble in Oklahoma without shoes. It’s truly never something I thought about until now.

A tip that someone gave me on my facebook page was to also include work gloves in your safety bin. Brillant!

4. Keep your kids occupied and distracted

We have a designated play area in the basement for our kids. The more things they have to do, the less scared they will be.

Our kids actually look forward to going down to the basement because they get to play with a whole new set of toys that they rarely see.

Again, if you don’t have a basement you can still bring things to your safe spot that will keep your kids distracted from the chaos:  books, puzzles, games, etc.

5. Make sure your phone is fully charged.

Usually when you have a bad storm the power goes out…which means you will not be able turn the tv on for weather updates or charge your phone if it goes dead.

Keeping a battery operated radio is always a great idea, but 9 times out of 10 when I am stuck in the basement without power, I get my information via social media. Facebook. Twitter. Text.

It could be days {and I do mean days…we have been without power for 6 days straight} so you will want to start this journey with a full battery on your phone. Keep your phone turned off when you are not using it.

If you have an iphone you may also want to think about purchasing this, which will give you DOUBLE the battery life.

I would really encourage you to have a plan in place when there is a threat of severe weather. So many people in our area are dealing with devastation right now. If you think it can’t happen to you, you are wrong. It can. So be prepared.

One final thought…practice your plan.

As in…teach your kids what to do in an event of a tornado {or any natural disaster}. We have quarterly tornado and fire drills at our house. It was prompted by our adoption counselor, but has been so helpful in keeping our kids up to date with how to react in the event of bad weather or a fire.

My hubby also wrote a post on how to be prepared for a storm back during the 2009 storm that damaged our home.

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