September Week 1: office supplies, contact info, copies of documents

Since we have wrapped up August, I always go back through my comprehensive inventory sheets and check to be sure I've had a chance to update each of the items for August, which would be the light purple color. It's easy to scan the list for that color, and check to make sure each item is current and inventoried. Now, on to September...

This week's food storage/emergency supply items are:

September Week 1: Back to School -- 12 pencils with erasers, pencil sharpener, rubber bands, Super Glue, copies of important documents, contact information for family, friends, doctors, etc.

This week is pretty basic, and inexpensive. Once you have it gathered, you shouldn't have to do too much when this same week comes around next year. You might need to update the contact information, or documents that you have gathered, but that is about it. Easy stuff.

Keep the pencils, sharpener, rubber bands, Super Glue, and documents in a bin on your emergency supply shelves.

There are many resources online on what to keep track of as far as important documents go. Since I haven't done a really stellar job of gathering important documents in the past, that's what I'll be doing this week to complete my "September Week 1" items.  As far as what to gather for important documents, I like the list I found on iwillprepare.com (the list is shown below). It is pretty comprehensive and may take a while to gather each of the items, but I think it will be a worthwhile project. One thing I would add to the list, is to make a note next to the information that may need to be updated from year to year so that I can run down the list in the years to come, and know exactly which things I need to update. The author of the original website says that they keep their documents in a fire-proof safe, which is an excellent idea, if you have one in your home. You can buy these fairly inexpensively at office supply stores, Amazon, and I have seen them at Costco, too. If you don't have a safe, keep it in a very safe place. With all of the information you have in the binder, it could be detrimental for it to get into the wrong hands!

You can go to their website and download or print off the pdf version.

Also, you may think it unnecessary to make a list of the contact information of family and friends. If your cell phone was incapacitated (maybe out of batteries, or ruined because of fire or water), would you have the phone numbers of family members, friends, doctors, police, fire, etc? Think of anyone you might need to call during an emergency, and write their names and numbers on the list. Keep the list with your emergency supply items and also keep a list posted inside a cabinet door in your kitchen for emergency reference.

If you would like the full info on the Week-By-Week Food Storage Plan, just click on the tab at the top of the page. You can then click on any single week and it will take you to the most up-to-date post that featured that week's items. It also has the information as to how you can get a copy of the weekly schedule as well as the complete inventory sheets.