Guest Blog By Florida Native: Sara Bailey

Hurricane season is well on its way. While many are aware of some of the more common steps to take when preparing for a hurricane, such as stocking up on non-perishable food, batteries, candles, a weather radio, etc, there are a few lesser known tricks to help you weather the storm. As a native Floridian I have gathered 3 things I do before hunkering down.

1. Kiddie Pool For Pets

Consider a kiddie pool in the garage with sod in it. We tend to prepare for ourselves to ride out the storm but we often forget about our four legged friends. Most pets will not and cannot go out during a hurricane to go to the bathroom. The sod will act as a safe and dry place for them to go to the bathroom.

2. The Coin Test

Freeze a tupperware of water and place a quarter on top of the ice. After the water is frozen, place a quarter on the top. This trick will let you know just how long your food was without proper temperature control. This is especially useful if you choose to evacuate. If your power goes off and comes back on before you get home you will be able to estimate just how long your food was exposed to unsafe temperatures by how far down the quarter made it before the water refroze.

3. Freezing Gallon Jugs of Water

Have a few clean gallon jugs to freeze water in. When a storm is expected to hit our area, I put a few gallon jugs of water in the freezer. This will help keep important things cold (such as medicine). You can move them to coolers or leave them in the freezer to keep the items near it cold. Bonus, If they thaw then you have extra drinking water.

While all of the well known preparedness ideas are important, I mean, they are well known for a reason, these are 3 that I find just as important. Hopefully these tricks will help prepare for the next storm a little easier.