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Planning For A Home Evacuation

Flooding, Hurricanes, Fire, Landslides, Chemicals - These things are causing homeowners to evacuate their homes regularly.

What can we do as serious homeowners to prepare for an urgent evacuation order?

Here are two lists. One with items to keep in your car at all times, and the second with items to keep together in one location in your home for easy loading into the car. Remember 1 is none, and 2 is one!

Items to keep in your car at all times:

1. Warm Blanket.

2. Phone chargers.

3. Cash.

4. Roadside Assistance Phone #.

5. Paper Towels, Windex, RainX.

6. Windshield Washer Fluid.

7. Jumper Cables.

8. First Aid Kit.

9. Flashlight and Extra Batteries.

10. Maps.

11. Extra Clothing.

12. Backpack.

13. Fire Extinguisher.

14. Work Gloves.

15. Emergency medical guidebook.

Items to keep in one place in your home for easy loading into the car:

1. Two five-gallon gas cans, filled with gas, and preserved with a fuel stabilizer.

2. Important paperwork (passports, birth certificates, social security cards, insurance, medical emergency contacts). Keep these in a waterproof and fireproof container.

3. Non-Perishable Food.

4. Six 1-gallon Bottles of Drinking Water. Consider purchasing a water purification emergency kit.

5. Multi-Tool or Swiss Army Knife. Or full basic toolkit.

6. Hygiene Supplies (A whole extra set). Think extra vision supplies.

7. Whistle.

8. Emergency Radio.

9. Duct Tape.

10. Plastic sheeting. 12’x20’ minimum.

11. Matches and fire-starter.

12. Portable cooking supplies with utensils.

13. Pet Supplies.

14. Power bank.

15. Correctly Fitting Respirators, in count to match your family size.

16. Sewing Kit.

17. Notepad and pencils.

18. Energy Supplements.

19. Reflective Vests.

20. Safety Goggles.

Keep the items stored in your home in bins or containers which are easy to load into the car (make sure they fit in your car).

These lists may be daunting, but you probably already have many of these items. Make this a Saturday project and you’ll have this completed in no time!

Enjoy this newsletter? Forward to your fellow serious homeowners!

2025 Home Improvement Tax Credits

Here is a short summary of the home improvement tax credits available to you this year. There is up to $3,200 (in total) of credits available to you to make home energy efficient improvements. These credits are provided for 30% of your project costs.

1. Up to $1,200 for energy efficient home improvements.

2. Up to $2,000 for certain appliance upgrades.

Remember, a tax credit is straight cash back to you. These are not a deductions. For example, if you spend $1,000 on energy efficient blinds, you will receive $300 in cash from the IRS.

Check out these black out cellular shades: Custom Blackout Cellular Shades

Pay particular attention to the requirements, and don’t forget to file Form 5695 with your taxes.

Unique Homes For Sale

We are travelling to Europe this time!

1. Cliffs of South Portugal Anyone?

   With views of the Atlantic Ocean, 7 bedrooms, and interior finishes like you’ve never seen, this home can be yours for about $27 million. CHECK IT OUT HERE.

2. A Truly Amazing All Glass Roof on the South Coast of France!

   At about $50 million list price, if you enjoy natural light in your home, this is truly a glass ceiling home. Check out the stainless steel CABINETS! CHECK IT OUT HERE.

Maintenance Reminder - Loose Plugs In Outlets

After many years of use, the slots and terminals in your home outlets become worn. You may notice this because your plugs for your home devices don’t stay in place.

This is annoying obviously, and a loose plug has the potential to cause sparks and potentially fire within the outlet.

Some outlets have better durability than others so mileage may vary.

With a little patience, replacing an outlet is fairly simple and requires just a few tools.

Recommendations:

1. Try to buy name brand outlets. Some long-standing quality brands include: Eaton, Legrand, Leviton, Square D

2. Try to buy commercial (heavy-duty) grade outlets. Here is an Example.

3. Consider replacing outlets with built-in USB outlets. Here is an Example.

4. This is a great time to make sure all of your “kid-proof” outlet covers are in place.

5. It takes a skilled electrician about 5 minutes to replace an outlet. The cost to have an electrician go through your home and check all and replace as needed won’t break the bank.

The content of this newsletter is for informational purposes only and does not constitute professional advice. Always perform your own due diligence before making any financial decisions. There are no sponsors of this newsletter.