National Preparedness Month Series:How to Organize for the Unexpected

Because September is National Preparedness Month, Stacks and Stacks Clutter Control Freak Blog has asked the American Red Cross to provide you with a series of tips on how to organize to make dealing with a disaster easier. This is the first of several posts that will be written by Ike Pigott, Director of Communications and Government Relations for the American Red Cross Southeast Region, over the next several weeks.

If I told you that you could only get three things out of your house before it disappeared forever, how long would you ponder that decision? Ten seconds? One minute? One day? The more time you spend thinking about questions like that, the better your answers become. There are no “universally right” answers because we all have different preferences and priorities.

The quality of your answers depends on planning, thinking, and preparation. Actually, planning for disaster is just another form of organization.

Throughout September, National Preparedness Month, we will provide you with tips on things you can do to get ready for disasters – big and small. There’s nothing more reassuring than knowing that you’ve already done the mental heavy-lifting for life-altering decisions at crucial moments. You may even save a life or two.

Three action steps
Some of the advice we offer over the next few weeks will be things you’ve heard before – some will be things you’ve heard but never heeded – and some will be questions you might never have asked. They all revolve around a simple theme, three action steps that encompass all notions of being ready:

   • Get a kit
   • Make a plan
   • Be Informed

There is no omnibus disaster kit that magically has every item you need tucked away. But disasters – while different – have enough things in common that you’ll find a small preparedness kit will make your life easier. And there are some general principles that will guide you in making the plans that cover your evacuation and communications needs.

To bridge that gap between the initial event and the return to “normal,” you need to know how to plug in to information that will organize your recovery – making it safer, shorter, and more effective.

Join us this month as we explore how to organize your way to being Red Cross Ready!

Posted September 4, 2007, filed in It's That Time, Organizeit Projects