(Best of Celebrating Your Journey – March 13, 2016)
To all my readers: With 2019, the 14th year of my Celebrating Your Journey blog articles, “From the Heart” byline, I will be offering the “Best of the Best” articles you found helpful through the years. Many thanks to everyone who have given input and followed along w/ each month’s lifeskill—Relationships/Core Values, Time Mgt, Career/Money Mgt, Recordkeeping, Possessions, Housekeeping, Wellness, Meals, Childcare, Recreation/ Entertainment, Reflection, and Celebration. For my new readers, may these lifeskill articles offer you encouragement, insight, and commitment to seek, reach, and achieve your life dreams and goals in synergy.
With more storm predictions hovering us every week, here we go again on a few more tips on how to take care of your home and possessions for the “hail” of it! Be sure to check previous article for the first set of tips.
- Install Sewer Backflow Valve in a deluge to stop sewage from backing up into your homes through drainpipes.
- Protect HVAC Equipment and Appliances, particularly in flood prone areas. Install units above potential water level in a storm or inside a concrete or masonry block wall. This includes electrical system components, panels, meters, switches, outlets. Washers and driers located in a basement or on first floor should be elevated and secured above flood level.
- With the likelihood of increasing storms, hurricanes, and floods in the future; protecting your home from rising water and making sure your roof is in good condition are more important than ever.
- Protect your vehicles. Get them in the garage or purchase protective coverings for them, such as from http://www.hailprotector.com/. But check out their competition as well for what will work for you.
- In case you have to leave your home after storm damage, have clothes and toiletries already packed for your family; have insurance policy numbers, insurance phone, and agent’s phone number with you; and money in your pockets to cover you for a few days or week. Also, have your city, county, and state emergency services contacts in hand.
- You may want to consider having your prized possessions, photographs, artwork put in a safe place from any potential damage.
- Contact your insurance agent for tips on what to do preventatively. It just may reduce your premiums.
I am sure there are more tips to consider, but these two articles should hopefully get you motivated to protect yourself, your family, and maybe even your neighbors.
According to Patrick Danner, My San Antonio online, USAA scrambles to process 16,500 claims from hail storm (April 13, 2016), “State Farm reported last month that Texas had more hail and wind damage claims than any other state in 2015. Texas had 52,477 hail claims. Runner-up Illinois had 26,975. Texas also had the most wind claims, 11,183, finishing just ahead of Georgia, which had 11,018.”
So, as you can imagine we all need to do our due diligence and not just presume everything will be ok if you don’t do anything different that you always have. Talk with your neighbors to possibly get a prepared plan of action just in case. If you have a homeowner’s association, talk with them about an emergency plan that may already be in place. If a plan is not in place, help them create one.