It’s a good thing that my family has been prepped and informed about such things as evacuations, 72 Hour Kits, and when not to panic.  Yesterday we experienced a rare evacuation from our home, and I have to say, I was pretty darn proud of my kids.

The Paranoid Dad has taken on the massive project of acid staining our concrete floors.  Rather than hire a professional or go for the humdrum look of carpet, wood or tile, we chose the road less traveled, and the fumes nearly killed us!

With watery eyes and a slight stagger, Paranoid Dad emerged from the master bedroom where he had been using a sealant on the floors and choked, “We’ve got to get out of here!”  I swear, in under six minutes, my kids had their overnight bags packed and were standing by the back door.  I think the promise of a hotel swimming pool had a lot to do with it, but regardless, they were ready!

• Each kid has their own packing list.  They do their own packing for every vacation now, and all I do is double check to make sure a dozen stuffed animals aren’t hidden between underwear and pajamas.
• Each of us has our own pre-packed toiletry bag.  We literally grab these, shove them in a suitcase, and we’re ready to go.
• The kids have been trained how to behave in an emergency: obey immediately and no arguing!
• I’ve taught the kids to give extra food and water to our pets before an evacuation, so this was one detail I didn’t have to think about.  If you have pets, you may want to read my article, Evacuation Time? Don’t Forget Your Pets!
• The 72 Hour Kit was in the Tahoe, so no one was running around trying to grab basic supplies.  As it turned out, we didn’t need anything but a change of clothes and a few toiletries, but neither was precious time wasted in locating and packing essentials.

Yes, we had to leave the cat behind.

I wrote about organizing your family for evacuations here, and let me tell you, it’s worth the effort to put a few procedures on paper and teach the process to your family members.

I hope your July 4th was less eventful than mine!  We returned home to some very happy pets and a darn beautiful floor!  I’ll post pics of it when we’re completely finished.

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