Is your house as prepared as Waffle House?

Is the Waffle House open?

This article reminded me of arriving in Beaumont, TX. after Hurricane Ike and finding Waffle House, IHOP, McDonald's as the only open restaurants.  Why not the local restaurants?  Supply Lines!  The large chains have supply lines (ordering process, warehouses, trucks,etc) that operate almost automatically.  So how can we as individuals take this example from big business and make ourselves more resilient?

1. Don't have an empty pantry/refrigerator!  If something happened and you were told to "shelter in place" how much food do you have? Toilet Paper? Water? Medication? Cat Food? (nothing like a whiny cat to make the disaster worse)
2. Don't let your car's fuel tank ride below 1/2 tank. How far can you drive on that 1/2 tank?  If the power is out and you are leaving how far could you get? Or imagine a snow storm at 5PM on a week night and the freeway home is crowded and you have 1/8 of a tank.  How long will it be before you are out of gas...
3. Know where your "supply points" are You may have a favorite grocery you stop at on the way home. What else is near you where you may be able to pick up supplies? 7-11, independent grocer, independent gas station.  It may not be your first choice, but back-up plans are needed.

Do one thing today to become more prepared

Disaster Dave