Operation "Prepared for anything" - Part 2

So the first goal with prepping the family for emergencies was to prep a family first aid kit.  As my family consists of a 2-year-old, it was important to ensure the medicine was being stored in a safe location out if his reach.  We opted to split our stock into two places:  1) a long term storage for the seldom needed medication and 2) a easy to grab first aid kit with more emergency applications. 


We hit up the local target and picked up two plastic bins with locking lids.  We also opted for handles on top, making it easier to transport with one hand.  One was considerably larger than the other for the bulk of the medication.  The second was smaller as the easily transportable first aid kit.

Here they are pictured next to each other (yes, that is a heart themed table cloth for Valentine's Day) I used the big one to transport all the medication from the cabinet drawer in our bathroom to the kitchen table for sorting.  I rather liked the smaller one because it is actually comprised of three stack-able sections that lock together.  I could then do some segregation based on type of First Aid, which I will get into later.
  

The first thing i did was segregate all the medication.  I created several piles including:

 - Bean's medication 
 - Cold and flue season medication
 - Prescription medication
 - First aid items (e.g. - band aids, antiseptic wipes, Neosporin creams, etc.)

 

Once segregated, I began filling up the First Aid kit with various essentials.  Here is a picture of Bean's section of the kit.  All his children's medication is here along with his thermometer, suction bulb and dosing chart.  Note - I put the dosing chart in a Ziploc bag.  The last thing I want is for one of the medicine bottles to leak all over the dosing chart.  I also was sure to include the necessary measuring tools (the syringes are pictured, I added the tablespoon measures later).   

The other sections I included things like ointments, band-aids, antiseptic wipes, surgical tape, etc.  I then could click all the sections together and the final product looked like this:

The rest of the medication I segregated using gallon sized Ziploc bags to keep the larger bin a little more organized.  This is what we ended up with once finished.   

The final step was to put the First Aid kit where it would be readily available for adults, but away from Bean.  We opted for the cabinet under the sink in one of our bathrooms that had a child lock on it.  The bulk medication went on an upper shelf in our closet, well out of Bean's reach. 

With this first phase done, now it is time to move onto more emergency planning in the home.  Things I want to consider first is natural disaster: what to do in case of a fire, an earthquake, a severe storm, a tornado, etc. 

The core things I am going to do:

1) Take inventory of what important documents we have and consolidate them into a safe, portable case.  This is going to include things like Social Security Cards, Passports, Titles for our cars, bank account information, health insurance information, etc.  I will expand on this list in the next post.

2) Focus on the internal preparedness for the various natural disasters by prepping a home emergency kit.  This kit will need to include blankets, clothes, food, water, flashlights, emergency radio, cash, blankets, clothes, tools (for shutting off utilities, if necessary), work gloves (leather), matches, a utility knife, can opener, etc.  As with number 1, I will expand on this list with the next post.