Prepare Early!
Peak Hurricane Season in Central Virginia starts mid-August and ends mid-October. Most people are more concerned about Back-to-School and Labor Day and keep hurricanes in the back of the mind. In addition to our Emergency Preparedness List, here are a few other ways that we prepared for hurricanes before we started Hale’s Electrical Service, Inc. In 2003.
Long before the storm, we would check our spare freezer and make sure it was filled with foods that we could cook on the grill easily; hamburger, hot dogs, lunch meats, chicken, pork chops, sausage links, bulk sausage and kielbasa. Summer in central Virginia is hot and so we would stuff extra bags of ice from our kitchen freezer into the extra freezer to keep the open space full, this also acted as an insulator during power outage events in the summer. During a major outage event, we knew that we had a few days to clear out the freezer and get things cooked and into coolers to use throughout the outage. If it was burger, we made burgers, tacos, browned burger for hamburger gravy later, etc. Many of these things we cooked could be refrozen, even though the uncooked meats could not. Having the spare ice in the freezer allowed us the opportunity to cook things and then possibly, depending on the length of the outage, refreeze them once the power was restored. Many times we would run out long before the storms were predicted to hit land along the east coast and stock up on the ice before the stores were bombarded.
Storms making landfall also meant that the stores would be overrun with people getting that last minute bread and milk. We would freeze bread so that we had some buns, bread and the like for when the power went out. We would double bag the bread to ensure its freshness and not get freezer burnt. Once storm season passed, we would either use the bread for toasted cheese sandwiches, egg casserole or for bread crumbs for winter dish toppings. We always keep powdered milk on hand in the fall, and after the storm season, we keep a little for winter outages, knowing that storing milk in winter outages is much easier. What powdered milk isn’t used, we turn into our favorite hot chocolate recipe for Christmas gifts and Mid-Winter snow day treats.
Being raised by post depression parents, we always had plenty of toilet paper, paper towels and the daily paper products on hand with a back up supply ready at any time. We still use this method of stocking our home. Likewise, our pantry is filled with canned goods that quickly turn into impromptu meals during power outages and late nights home from work. Even with our Generac standby generator, we always keep these practices in place, as you never know what might go wrong with mechanical equipment.
Being prepared in the event of outages, with or without a Generac Residential Home Standby Generator, it is still wise to have certain things in place to keep your stress levels to a minimum and be able to continue a somewhat normal life while facing the storm. These are just a few ideas that we can share. Comment on how you prepare for the storm. For more great information and other great storm prep ideas, recipes and fun, visit our Beat the Storm page for the newest links!
