Hurricane Season supply checklist – be prepared!

Basic Hurricane and Safety Preparedness Kits

June 1, marked the beginning of   National Safety Month, so we’ve put together a short video on what you can do to be prepared in case of an emergency, as well as a few helpful tips.   If you live near the coast, you are well aware that hurricane season is here!!   Stock up and stay safe:

Hurricane Preparedness Kit from Schipul – The Web Marketing Co. on Vimeo.

  • Water – at least 3 days of drinking water for everyone in your family including pets (about 1 gallon per person per day). Have a week on hand if possible. Backup sterilization devices (Steripen or Katadyn Extream) and water   enhancers like powdered mixes that replenish electrolytes are handy to have as well.
    • Food – at least 3 days of food per person and pet. We recommend foods that are easy to prepare and don’t require a lot of clean-up like peanut butter, Freeze dried/ dehydrated foods (available at camping stores0, and sweet treats and comfort foods. Don’t forget a can opener for shelf stable canned goods.
    • Lighting– a standard flashlight with extra batteries is a good start. Since lighting is as much a need as a sense of comfort, fun lighting ideas include Glowsticks and Glow-In-the-Dark Stickers.
    • First Aid Kit – extra allergy or   prescription medication is a good idea.   You may want to add   old prescription glasses, sunscreen, and mosquito spray to your basic first-aid kit.
    • Communication – weather and battery operated radio, power inverter that plugs into you car, cell phone backup battery, and online wireless system (in case your phone is damaged), a wireless air card (for laptop) and a USB to back up documents and keep them safe.
    • Atlas – It’s important to follow the secure hurricane routes recommended by officials. An atlas will help you navigate in case you need to go off the beaten path.
    • Storage – keep everything in one safe place and don’t cheat and use it in the meantime. A nice backpack or storage bin is easy to grab and go and make sure items (like batteries or canned goods) are rotated out for freshness.

    How can we help you stay safe during hurricane season?

    Feel free to contact us (info@tendenci.com or   281-497-6567) for additional information or for help putting together your Hurricane Preparedness Kit.

    Helpful Emergency and Hurricane Preparedness Sites

    USB Flash- Don’t leave home without it, and leave one at a friends

    Pink Tokidoki Flash  DriveFlash drives – cheap and easy backup can save on Vacation Stress

    They fit in your pocket, on your key chain and just look cool. With all the phones and portable devices we carry these days, we forget about these flash drives at the bottom of our desk drawers. The USB drive still has a couple of great features for traveling. Even if you are settled in for a nice staycation, add this little packing and preparedness tip to your travel plans or todo list. Snag a USB drive on sale in a multi-pack as the prices continue to fall on these little jewels. Or, pick up one of Happy Katies favorite designer Flash drives by MimoBot. Now, get ready for some scanning.

    Files, documents and every important document you would ever need, all in your pocket. Scan personal documents and records in case you lose your wallet or passport and you will have a digital image of all your registrations. But, but… WAIT! What if the wrong person finds it when it drops out of the pocket of your shorts? No worries, you should encrypt the contents with TrueCrypt or your favorite security feature.

    These little tech toys have some crazy cool options besides just a backup. Don’t want to carry a laptop or computer with you? Portable Apps Platform ScreenshotCan’t spring for the iPad yet? You can save all your bookmarks, favorite email settings, and doc settings on a FlashDrive and launch your profile from any public computer without fear of leaving your crumbs all over the desktop. Portable Apps is an open source software platform you install on your flashdrive or other backup device, adjust your settings, then plug it into a computer and run your programs from your own drive. You have access to all your software and personal data just like on your own PC.

    What to save on your USB Drive

    Losing important documents can ruin what should be a happy vacation. A little safety and planning can eliminate much of the stress. Before you pack up and leave, take the time to scan copies of important documents and save the files on to a secure area of the flash drive. Here are some examples of important documents:

    • Vacation Plans: Itinerary, Maps and receipts of deposits for reservations.
    • Personal documents: Drivers license, passport, birth certificate, Insurance cards (health and auto), Credit Cards and CC phone numbers for lost cards.
    • Home Documents: Home Insurance, Auto Titles, Registrations, photos of big purchase items for insurance documentation, and documents that would be hard to replace if you came back home and they weren’t there. Yikes! My next plan is to scan old family photos for safekeeping before they detoriate or get wet in the next hurricane.
    • Medical Records: List of medications for each family member, immunizations, List of family doctor and dentist contacts.
    • School and Work Records: Nice to have everything in one place while you are at it. Include copies of your transcripts, diplomas, Resume, licenses, permits, Wills, and any other items you may want to keep all organized.

    Now, your life is basically in one place if you ever have to recreate your history or need to hide it Bourne style. This is a cheap and easy way to travel light, backup photos off the camera while on vacation for processing later, and use software programs securely when on public machines. In fact, buy a couple of the drives, make copies of the drive and give one to a friend to put in their safe deposit box or mail one to a family member in another part of the country in case of emergency.

    Enjoy your trip, be safe, and tell us how you use your Flash Drive for your vacation!

    Houston Humane Society’s 1st Annual Suds-n-Safety: Are you and Chauncy prepared?

    BathtimeWhether you have been tuning in to KPRC’s beloved Frank Billingsly…or the hairs on your arm are suddenly pointing due east, you are well aware that hurricane season is vastly approaching. Not only that, but you are beginning to realize that the wretched smell radiating off of your furry friend Chauncy can no longer be succumbed with five squirts of Febreeze.

    Come on people…cleaning the dog with air freshener? That’s so pedestrian.

    But alas! You no longer need to fret my little angora rabbits…the wonderful folks at the Houston Humane Society are at it again! This Saturday from 10-2, bring your rats nest…that’s you Chauncy, down to the 1st Annual Pet Paradise Suds-n-Safety, a dog wash benefiting the Houston Humane Society.

    Suds-n-Safety will offer information on how to get you and your tail-wagger ready for hurricane season. The event is also featuring $20 microchips for those pups who yearn for the taste of adventure and a vaccination clinic for those pups who…I guess you can say also yearn for the taste of adventure.

    So come on out to Suds-n-Safety this Saturday…Chauncys’ all over the world will thank you.

    Location:
    Pet Paradise
    7511 Monroe Rd.
    Houston, TX 77061

    For more information:
    Lisa Pogue at 713-341-3311 or e-mail lpogue@houstonhumane.org

    If you would like even more information about disaster preparedness, check out Schipul’s recent blog post, ‘Preparing for disaster at home and in the office’ are you ready?”

    Thanks Jenah Crump Photography for the adorable   photo!

    Happy Safety Month from Schipul!

    eaglescout
    Photo thanks to Tuttletree

    The arrival of June kicks off National Safety Month and, if you live near the Gulf as we do, it also marks the first day of Hurricane Season.   A pretty good combo if you ask us!

    Given that our CEO, Ed Schipul, is an Eagle Scout and that we have a crazy culture of Security and preparedness, we’ve decided to make June our very own Schipul Month of Safety!!

    Stick around for the next month as we feature some great guest Blog posts, great tips and tricks on safety, security and preparedness.   Whether surfing on the Web, in your office or around your house we’ll be sharing useful tidbits to keep you and your’s safe and sound.

    In the meantime, here are some handy safety-focused links to check out: