End-of-Month Preparedness Checklist

Emergency Preparedness Month wraps up in October, which makes it a good moment to take stock of what's been done and what's still worth tackling before next year. None of what follows costs a dime — just time.

Document Everything You Own

Walk through every room of the house with your phone recording video, scanning slowly and pausing on anything worth noting in detail. Do the same for the garage, barn, shed, and the rest of the property. Once it's done, back it up in more than one place: upload it to the cloud, and keep a copy on a thumb drive in a lockbox, another in a glovebox, and another on a keychain or at work. Encrypt them if you'd like, and date each copy so you know when it was recorded.

Back Up Your Important Papers

While those thumb drives are out, copy the documents that would be hardest to replace in a hurry: titles, birth certificates, deeds, marriage licenses (and divorce paperwork, if applicable), and insurance information.

Store Water Safely

Water access can become unreliable during an emergency, whether from a city system or a private well. Save clean soda, juice, or tea bottles, rinse them well, fill with water, and date them. For longer-term storage, treat the water with plain, unscented household bleach — about 1/8 teaspoon (roughly 8 drops) per gallon for clear water, doubled if the water looks cloudy — and let it stand for about 30 minutes before use. Pouring the water between two containers afterward helps aerate it, since stored water often just tastes flat rather than actually stale. A person can go days without food but only a few without water, so this is one of the most important basics to get right — and if you own a Harvest Right, you'll need that water on hand anyway to rehydrate your stored food.

Small Steps Add Up

None of this requires a big budget or a single weekend to finish. Each step — documenting belongings, backing up papers, storing water safely — is one more piece of real peace of mind for when things get harder.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much bleach should be used to purify a gallon of water in an emergency?
About 1/8 teaspoon (roughly 8 drops) of plain, unscented household bleach per gallon of clear water, doubled for cloudy water, left to stand for about 30 minutes before use.

Why document household belongings on video?
A room-by-room video walkthrough creates a record that can help with insurance claims if belongings are ever lost or damaged, and it costs nothing beyond the time it takes.

What documents are most important to back up before an emergency?
Titles, birth certificates, deeds, marriage licenses, divorce paperwork if applicable, and insurance information — anything that would be difficult to replace quickly.