* TIPS & GIVEAWAY * Building an Emergency Preparedness Kit & Clorox - $25 Visa Gift Card Giveaway (ends 9/20 at 11:59 PM CDT)

Being in the Midwest, we are sometimes prone to severe weather, like snowstorms, flooding, tornadoes and other natural disasters.  For the next few weeks, I'll be sharing tips with you on how to prepare your household in case one of these emergencies happen to you.  Read last week's post about how to create an emergency preparedness plan.

It’s National Preparedness Month - Building an Emergency Preparedness Kit with your family

• An important component of emergency preparedness is building a comprehensive emergency preparedness kit. Feel free to use this emergency preparedness checklist as a start to your kit:

o Water (minimum three day supply for evacuations, two week supply for home)washing and drinking)
o Non-perishable foods (minimum three day supply for evacuations, two week supply for home)
o Assorted battery pack (purchase the pack that provides a variety of battery sizes so that you’re prepared no matter the need)
o Flashlight
o Multipurpose tool
o First aid kit
o Medications (at least a 7 day supply)
o Battery-powered or hand-crank radio (NOAA Weather Radio if possible)
o Extra clothing
o Sanitation and personal hygiene items
o Cell phone with chargers
o Family and emergency contact information
o Extra cash
o Emergency blanket
o Map(s) of the area
o Household liquid bleach. Did you know bleach, like Clorox Liquid Bleach, can not only disinfect surfaces but also can be used to create drinkable water? Here’s how:

     - To Disinfect Surfaces: Use 1/4 cup bleach to 1 gallon of water, or as directed on the label, to disinfect hard, non-porous surfaces in your home.

     - To Disinfect Water: If you need to purify water during an emergency, (and do not have the means to boil it for 3-5 minutes), you may disinfect your water using bleach. If water is clear, add 8 drops (1/8 tsp.) of bleach per gallon of water. If water is cloudy, add 16 drops (1/4 tsp.) of bleach per gallon of water. Mix the solution thoroughly and let it stand for about 30 minutes before using it. Properly treated water should have a slight chlorine odor. If it doesn’t, repeat dosage and allow water to stand an additional 15 minutes. The treated water can be made drinkable by pouring it between clean containers several times.

o Copies of important documents – In case of emergency, you’ll need copies of birth records, household lease or deed, medications list, passports and insurance policies

• Check out your local home supply store. Many of them sell pre-assembled emergency preparedness supplies that provide a great foundation for the full kit you will need to build.

• When disaster strikes you could be ANYWHERE, so make sure you have either a full or abbreviated emergency preparedness kit (i.e. food, water and change of clothes) at work and in your vehicles.

• Make sure the members of you household are aware of each kit, its content and its location. In the event of an emergency, it’s essential to make sure everyone, even the children, are prepared.

• Are your pets included in your preparedness plan? If not, they should be! See next week’s blog post to create a plan for your pets.

• For more information please visit Clorox & Red Cross' website and download the preparedness guide: Prepare Yourself Now for Peace of Mind Later.

We are happy to be able to give one (1) lucky My Chicago Mommy reader a $25 Visa gift card to start your own Emergency Preparedness Kit!

Entries to the giveaway will be accepted until Monday, September 20th at 11:59 pm CDT. Here's how to enter:

Fill out the form below & hit "Submit" for each entry (i.e., submit your entry twice if you do the BONUS action).

Here are the ACTION CODES to use (one entry for each):

* Fill out your name & email address - use code: INFO

* Subscribe to the newsletter (do not need to be a new subscriber) - use code: SUBSCRIBE

* E-mail the giveaway to friends (cc: mychicagomommies@gmail.com & get 1 entry per friend up to 5 entries) - use code: EMAIL

* Follow MyChicagoMommy on Twitter - use code: TWITTER & enter your Twitter name after the code

* Tweet it out "Enter @mychicagomommy http://bit.ly/mcmclorox2 Clorox Giveaway" - use code: TWEET - please leave a comment with the link to your Tweet
* Leave a comment on My Chicago Mommy's Facebook Page saying "I want the gift card from Clorox!" - use code: FACEBOOK
* Follow Clorox on Twitter - use code: CLORTWIT & enter your Twitter name after the code
* Leave a comment on Clorox's Facebook Page saying "My Chicago Mommy sent me!" - use code: CLORFB 

* BONUS (2 entries): Visit Clorox & The Red Cross' website and answer the question "What is something you learned from visiting the site?” - use code: BONUS + comment on this post with your first name, last initial, & your answer.

Disclosure: As a blog tour participant, I received information and giveaways from The Clorox Company and Consumer Queen at no cost to me. I was compensated for my time by The Clorox Company for participating in this project. All views are my own.

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