Top 10 Hurricane Stupidity

So, the lady at the plant store mentioned hurricanes this morning and how next season is supposed to be worse, etc. So, I came up with a stupid top 10 list.

The Top 10 Things People FORGET to do BEFORE a Hurricane:
10. Buy paper plates, cups and plastiware - ummm...you're not going to have electricity OR water that is clean to run your dishwasher.
9. Laundry - see note about about electricity and water. Clothes get pretty nasty after being worn for two week with no way to do laundry. Let's not even discuss underwear.....
8. Radio - oh sure, we all get BATTERIES, but most people are too stupid to realize that they do not have an actual radio that will take batteries.
7. Vacuum - again, see note on electricity. I have to vacuum 3-4 times per week. A week without power and a dirty floor really sucks.
6. Pet food - yes, people are actually dumb enough to forget that their pets need food as well as them.
5. Cook meat in the fridge/freezer - this goes bad VERY quickly. Cook it, store it, then heat it back up on the grill.
4. Eat meltables - this includes ice cream.
3. Mow - it's going to be wet for several days, if you don't mow before the storm, you'll kill yourself doing it a week later.
2. Phone access - most people don't have a land line phone that has an actual cord attached to it - again, the lack of electricity means your portable phone will no longer function.
And the #1 think people forget to do BEFORE a hurricane hits.....
Charge their cell phone. It's a stupid, silly little thing. But, most likely, everything will be out, including land based phones. Having a cell phone for emergencies (and we are encouraged NOT to use them to keep the towers open for emergency personnel) is crucial - again, you may not have power for a while. Turning it OFF when you don't need it to conserve the battery is also a really, really good idea.