Hurricane season is in full swing here in Florida. Beginning in June we are reminded to prepare for an active hurricane season. This is the time that I check the pantry for water bottles, batteries, and flashlights. Having a hurricane emergency kit and an emergency plan is a must when you live in the Sunshine State.
As I write this post Tropical Storm Bertha (only the second in the season) skirted Puerto Rico as it targeted itself for the Dominion Republic.
The U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami said the storm was likely to curve to the northeast and move parallel to the U.S. eastern seaboard without hitting the mainland.
After a year of living in South Florida, we were introduced to natures force during the 2004 hurricane season, which was one of the costliest seasons, until 2005. We saw Jeanne trick us all by heading out into the Atlantic only to loop around and return. In 2005 I was out of work for a week, this week happened to be my last week of work before maternity leave. Thankfully we were only without power for 18 hours. However, I can tell you I was a little worried about going into labor during this chaotic time.
Hurricane Aftermath Photos
One thing we learned after two very active hurricane seasons was being prepared is the key. During our first hurricane we were without power for 3 days and lost everything in our refrigerator. We spent hundreds of dollars when the supermarkets opened buying dry food. We did not have enough candles, a radio, or really much of anything. This is why I vowed to create a hurricane emergency kit.
Hurricane Emergency Kit from Boltwell
I just recently received an emergency preparedness kit from Boltwell. While we want to make sure we have an emergency kit for hurricane seasons it is really for any type of emergency. It would be great to take camping or on road trips.
I was intrigued when I was approached to review a kit and thought the idea of what this company offered was unique and perfect for people like me who always “say” they are going to be prepared the next time but are always one step behind. Boltwell’s Kits and Add-On Supplies are compiled of gotta-have-it gadgets and gizmos so that you can easily check “keep my family prepared” off your to-do list without thinking too much about the scary stuff. Boltwell is all about simplified solutions toward purposeful prepping. There’s no camouflage or doom-and-gloom here!
My Kit Included:
- WEATHER RADIO: Stay connected to what’s going on without having to hunt for batteries
- HAND SANI PEN: Helps clean away an ick that could make you sick
- MULTI TOOL: Cuts, saws, screws, unscrews, opens, files and make you a hero when nobody else has a bottle opener
- FOOD BAR: Don’t let a hunger zap get you down
- ULTIBRUSH
- TOILET KIT: Sometimes nature calls when a toilet isn’t around
- QUICK DRY CHAMOIS TOWEL: Absorbent enough to dry your hair and collect water from a puddle (preferably, not at the same time)
- DRY SHAMPOO: Keeps hair clean and fresh on days you skipped the whole showering thing
- POCKET LANTERN: Let there be light!
- FIRST AID KIT
The great thing is you can order the kit that is perfect for you. For example if you live in the middle of the US I doubt you are threatened by hurricanes. The best thing to do is to start with the B*72 kit which is “the bomb” of kits and the basis for any emergency situation. From there you can add on supplies based on your needs
Add-On Boltwell Supplies
- Tornado/Hurricane (b*5)
- Germie Warfare (b*18)
- Earthquake (b*9)
- Flood (b*100)
- Power Outage (b*120)
- Winter Storm (b*32)
In addition to these add-ons, Boltwell realizes that not every kit or add-on is going to fit your needs and has created additional kits to address your specific situations such as
Boltwell Additional Kits
- Pet Emergency
- Car Emergency
- Grab n Go
- 2-Week Meals
- Fire Kit
With all the different kits you can pick and choose which kits you feel you might need the most. For example, looking through all the kits and add-ons I would say for our family the hurricane, flood, and power outage kits would be the most useful. When a Hurricane, or even a Tropical Storm hits, it almost always causes power outages and flooding. A couple of years ago we had a Tropical Storm just skirting the US and this is what our neighborhood looked like when I was finally able to make it home from work.
The stop sign is at the corner where my house was located, and below is what we had to go through to get to our house.
Hopefully the hurricane predictions this year will be accurate and we will simply get a little rain here and there. In either case, it is great to have the Boltwell kit ready if I need it.
Update 05/22/24: It looks like this company is no longer in business however this is a great post to help you create your own emergency kit, or we recommend these hurricane emergency kits.
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