How can You Prepare for & Be Organized for a Disaster?

Perhaps you’ve thought about organizing a disaster preparedness plan for your family, but you never followed through. Maybe it hasn’t been a priority… As a Professional Organizer in NYC, I’m here to share that it will never be the right time, or make it to the top of your list of priorities, until it’s too late. You can’t prepare for a disaster while you’re in the midst of one – you must tackle this challenge head first, and that’s where this NYC Professional Organizer comes in, with help from Ready.gov, the national public service advertising campaign designed to educate and empower Americans to prepare for and respond to emergencies. In addition to offering you important paper filing tips, I’ll share how you can best prepare for and organize for a disaster in your area:

• Educate Yourself

  • By simply reading this NYC Professional Organizer’s blog post, you’re taking a step in the right direction and educating yourself in regards to disaster preparedness – good job! Unfortunately, disasters are totally unpredictable and can come in any shape and size, so knowing exactly what to do in a specific situation isn’t always realistic. Check out the “Be Informed” section of the Ready campaign where they offer general disaster preparedness tips.
  • Another item I’d like to add here is a paper organizing tip – if you don’t already have your family’s most important papers (birth certificates, insurance information, etc.) stored in a safe and secure environment, or, better yet, scanned and digitally stored, now’s the time to do so. Grabbing one file or flash stick in an emergency situation is a much smarter solution than digging through all of your belongings in a time of crisis.

• Create a Disaster Supply Kit

  • This excellent suggestion from the Ready campaign is one you can work on with your family immediately and you don’t have to be a Professional Organizer in NYC to build a kit that meets the needs of your family. Here are a few suggestions:
    • Make it portable – you may use this kit at home, or you may need it to travel
    • Include at least 72  hours’ worth of food and water
    • Ensure everyone in your family knows where to access the kit

• Plan for an Emergency

  • Sure, it’s not fun to think about, but the more you plan for a potential disaster, the better your family will be able to handle a crisis situation. As a NYC Professional Organizer, I pride myself on being prepared for many different situations, and a disaster situation is no exception, so here are a few of my tips:
    • Make it a family plan – be sure everyone in the family knows where to go and how to communicate in an emergency
    • Consider all of the places your family may be in a time of crisis (school, work, running errands, etc.) and discuss possible scenarios
    • If you have pets, consider them in your disaster preparedness plan; after all, they can be like family too!

I hope these suggestions on how to prepare for and be organized for a disaster help you and your family have peace of mind if an emergency situation were to arise in your local community. If you’d like additional assistance creating a disaster plan and supply kit, reach out to this Professional Organizer in NYC. We’re here to help you get organized, whether that means getting your office in order or preparing for unplanned emergencies.