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Prepare Kansas

Category: Week 1

What are your plans for this weekend, how about working on your household inventory?

Posted on by dekiss4

September is National Preparedness Month. It is also our annual Prepare Kansas online challenge. Prepare Kansas 2017 will provide tips on getting financially prepared ahead of disasters and emergencies. This year’s program will be conducted through the K-State Research and Extension Facebook page. No registration is required, so Kansans and anyone interested in planning ahead for emergencies can follow on Facebook and this blog at any time during September, pick up handy information and interact with K-State extension specialists and agents. Today’s post includes a link to a video by Jamie Rathbun, Midway District Family and Consumer Sciences Agent.

TGIF and happy weekend! While it might not be the first item on your weekend to-do list, how about starting or updating a household inventory this weekend?

Not sure how to get started? This video from Jamie Rathbun, K-State Research and Extension Midway District family and consumers agent walks you through the process step-by-step with lots of helpful information.

Starting from scratch can be a big job. Start small and break it down room-by-room. Here is a link to the Kansas Insurance Commissioner’s Personal Home Inventory that Jamie talks about in the video http://www.ksinsurance.org/documents/department/publications/personal-home-inventory.pdf

#PrepareKansas – Week 1 Challenge, Preparing a Household Inventory

Posted on by dekiss4

September is National Preparedness Month. It is also our annual Prepare Kansas online challenge. Prepare Kansas 2017 will provide tips on getting financially prepared ahead of disasters and emergencies. This year’s program will be conducted through the K-State Research and Extension Facebook page. No registration is required, so Kansans and anyone interested in planning ahead for emergencies can follow on Facebook and this blog at any time during September, pick up handy information and interact with K-State extension specialists and agents. Today’s post is written by Elizabeth Kiss, Family Resource Management Specialist.

Disasters don’t plan ahead. You can. Prepare Kansas this year will help you take steps to be more financially prepared to weather any challenges, plus it’s a good way to stay organized.

You don’t know where to get back to if you don’t know where you started, right? This week’s challenge takes you step by step through preparing a household inventory. Why does this matter?

Emergencies and disasters may result in insurance claims. Your insurance company will likely require a listing of items lost or destroyed in order to document the claim. A household inventory is an itemized list of the contents of your home, including basement, attic, and garage. If you have sheds or storage areas on your property or if you rent a storage unit somewhere else, be sure to include a list of the contents of those too.

While it is true that there is an initial investment of time and effort in preparing the inventory from scratch, once completed it will be useful into the future with regular updating. Your challenge this week is to prepare, or update, a household inventory, include storage areas. Here are some tips to get started:

  • Household inventories can take many forms. Use the format that best suits your needs. Don’t get hung up on being perfect, if you are starting from scratch focus on the big ticket and hard to replace items.
  • When describing furnishing and equipment, be as specific and accurate as possible.
    • Include the original cost, date purchased, any alternations or repairs done on the item, and corresponding cost.
    • Photograph or videotape every wall in each room of your home and storage areas.
    • Include open closets, cabinets, cupboards, and drawers.
    • Take close-ups of unique or expensive items to document their condition
    • Date photographs; when videotaping verbally describe the contents as you move around the room
  • Don’t forget to include personal items that might not always be stored at home and items that are in your vehicles.
  • Save copies in more than format and more than one place. For example, keep a paper copy and store copies of the document, video inventory and pictures to a flash drive and the cloud.

Here are links to two examples of household inventory forms.

Personal Home Inventory (Kansas Insurance Department) http://www.ksinsurance.org/documents/department/publications/personal-home-inventory.pdf

Household Inventory (eXtension.org Financial Security for All) http://articles.extension.org/pages/11274/household-inventory

Want to learn more? Download this fact sheet from the K-State Research and Extension bookstore https://www.bookstore.ksre.k-state.edu/pubs/MF3055.pdf

Please tell us what challenges you completed!

Posted on by dekiss4

We’ve turned the calendar from September to October and that means our annual #PrepareKS challenge has concluded. For a re-cap of the weekly challenges, visit this page.

Did you participate in our weekly challenges? Please complete this short survey and tell us what challenges you completed! #KSRE http://bit.ly/2ddeZUJ

2016 #PrepareKS challenge concludes but every day is good day to prepare

Posted on by dekiss4

Starting Sept. 1, Prepare Kansas 2016 provided tips on keeping food safe in emergency situations. This year’s program was conducted through the K-State Research and Extension Facebook page and here on the blog. Also, each week Jamie Vineyard Rathbun was live on Facebook talking about the weekly challenges.

Here’s a re-cap of the weekly themes and challenges.

ksre-poweroutageWeek 1: What can you do ahead of a power outage? This week we focused on activities that all of us can do before the power goes out. We challenged folks to put a thermometer in each of their refrigerators and freezers. We asked folks to post of picture on the K-State Research and Extension Facebook page

prepareks-powerout-mag-3x5_finalWeek 2: What you can you do when the power goes out? The week we focused on making sure folks know that when the power goes out it is important to keep the refrigerator and freezer doors closed as much as possible. We also talked about how to keep food safe. We challenged folks to find out where they can obtain block or dry ice in their communities. We asked folks to share what they learned via social media.

when-in-doubt-throw-it-out

Week 3: What can you do after a power outage? This week we focused on how to decide if food is safe to keep or not after an extended power outage. Never taste food to determine if it is safe or not! We challenged folks go through their refrigerators and freezers and throw items out that have been there longer than the recommended storage time. After doing that,we challenged folks to clean the inside of their refrigerators. We asked folks to share one thing they learn about keeping food safe when the power goes out.

wash-your-handsWeek 4: What can you do after a flood? This week we focused on how to handle food that has come into contact with flood water. We also talked about the importance of handwashing after coming into contact with flood water. We challenged folks to make sure they were not storing any food, cooking utensils, or pans directly on the floor. We asked folks to take a picture of a cooking utensil or pan and say whether or not it would be safe to keep after coming into contact with flood water.

The 2016 challenge is complete but we post to blog year-round. Look for information about the 2017 #PrepareKS challenge beginning late July.