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Prepare All Year: Simple Seasonal Home Safety Tips · Talking FACS

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  Welcome to Talking FACS, what you need to know about family,
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  food, finance, and fitness.
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  This nationally recognized, award-winning podcast is hosted by the University
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  of Kentucky Family and Consumer Sciences Extension Program.
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  Our educators share research knowledge with individuals, families,
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  and communities to improve quality of life.
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  When we think about seasonal preparedness, sometimes it gets pushed to the back burner.
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  But today we're going to talk about why planning ahead matters,
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  how simple home maintenance tasks throughout the year can make a big difference,
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  and how families can be ready for emergencies before severe weather or unexpected situations occur.
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  So welcome to Talking FACS. I am your host, Mindy McCulley,
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  Extension Specialist for Instructional Support.
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  And we've got the information you can use to help protect your home,
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  your health, and your finances all year long.
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  My guest today is Dr. Monica Mundy, Assistant Extension Professor and Community
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  Family Health Specialist. Welcome, Monica.
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  Oh, thank you for having me. I'm really looking forward to exploring practical
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  tips for every season with you today. I think this will be a fun conversation
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  and an important conversation. Thank you.
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  Lots of people think about preparedness, but it's only when they,
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  you know, see the alert on their phone or they hear the sirens and then it's really too late.
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  Why is year-round seasonal preparedness important?
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  You know, being prepared and thinking about what you need to do around your
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  home really prevents problems before they even start.
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  Sometimes if we wait until, you know, the storm is approaching or we wait until
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  something happens, we miss the time to like gather our supplies,
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  make repairs, or just develop a plan to kind of be ready for whatever happens.
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  And so this is a great task to think about year round so that routine,
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  everyday things don't become bigger emergencies.
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  And the other piece to think about is that each season brings something a little different, right?
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  In the winter, it could be power outages or even preventing frozen pipes.
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  You know, in the spring, that's when we get all of the rain and the flooding
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  and things of that nature.
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  Summer, extreme heat comes into play. And then the fall, you know,
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  that's a great time to start doing some maintenance and things of that nature.
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  And doing all of these kind of small maintenance tasks really saves money at the end of the day.
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  And so it's just thinking about, you know, and making sure we do the little
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  tasks that kind of protect our homes, but also our health and I'm going to admit
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  our finances and wealth. Yeah.
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  Well, and it makes me think of the old adage, make hay while the sun is shining.
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  And so maybe that's what we need to make preparations while the sun is shining
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  so that we aren't caught in a sticky situation later on.
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  So, what are some of the most important home maintenance tasks or safety tasks
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  that people should complete as the seasons change?
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  Yeah, and one of the easiest approaches to take is to think about your specific
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  home and what can make it safe, energy efficient, and ready for any emergency.
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  So, like, for example, in the spring, that's a great time to get your roof inspected.
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  Take a look at your gutters make sure you don't have any drainage issues around
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  your home that could cause foundational damage or,
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  flooding around your home in the summer that is a great time to look at your,
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  and make sure that you get your cooling and heating systems serviced just doing
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  a little maintenance for those and having somebody come out and take a look
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  and make sure everything's running properly and there aren't any issues
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  can save you money on your energy bill in the long run, but also prevent you
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  from having to pay out of pocket for costly repairs as well.
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  In the fall, that's a great time to also look again at cleaning out those gutters
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  as those leaves begin to fall as well.
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  And then prepare your outdoor spaces for winter.
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  So that may be covering your spigots or pipes outside to make sure that they don't burst.
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  You know, it could be as simple as just duct taping a pool noodle.
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  That's what we do around our outside spigot because we have one burst.
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  And it costs quite a bit of money, not only to repair it, but also in our water
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  bill to get that repaired as well.
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  And then in winter, it's that kind of continued monitoring your pipes.
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  But also winter, when we're indoors and, you know, doing things inside the house,
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  is a great time to look at your smoke detectors and your carbon monoxide detectors
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  and make sure that they're working or replacing batteries and things of that nature as well.
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  So a few important things to think about.
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  Yes, and I love them all because it's like, oh, yeah, okay, we do that.
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  We don't do that one. So I'm making my own mental checklist as we go through.
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  But, you know, in Kentucky, we have rural areas. We have urban areas.
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  So are there needs that are different depending on where you live?
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  You know, as a rural gal who, you know, grew up in the country but then moved
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  to the city, You know, there are a few differences that come to mind to really think about.
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  You know, one of them is being prepared for emergency services,
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  having those food stores, thinking about things like what utility support you would need as well.
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  You know, while here in our current home, we don't lose power at all. It's very rare.
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  But in the country, we had to have a generator and things because when we would
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  lose power, we'd lose power. So it wouldn't be for a day or two,
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  it would be for a week or two.
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  And so just really thinking about.
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  What your specific area or home may be and making sure you're prepared.
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  I think the generator is a great example because, you know, if you wait to get
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  that generator when the issues, you know, is already happening,
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  it's going to be really costly if you could find one at all, right?
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  But just thinking about that ahead of time and being prepared and purchasing
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  it, you know, before things happen so you can get it up and running and ready
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  can save you some money in the long run and some time and stress too.
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  Well, and those generators are not exactly easy to get going.
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  And so if you understand how to make them work, you know, maybe if it's one
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  of those home generators, you just flip a switch.
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  But if it's a smaller generator, you might have some other issues to deal with there too. So true.
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  So beyond maintaining our homes and getting these supplies ready to go,
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  what should families include in their emergency plans?
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  Yeah. So, you know, you have to be ready. One, having a good communications
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  plan, right? Who do you need to let know is happening and when,
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  who needs to be contacted in a case of an emergency.
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  Also, thinking about your emergency supply kit. What needs to be included in that?
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  Water, food, medication, and even thinking about for hung.
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  Need it be if you have a kiddo, if you have a pet, those needs may be a little
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  different as well. And so.
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  We have great resources to help with that planning process. And,
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  you know, it's one of those things that just can encourage people to be prepared and not to fear.
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  And it builds a bit of confidence.
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  So, you know, if something's going to happen, we have our emergency stores and
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  supplies and all we have to do is grab and go.
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  And speaking of resources, what are some of those that are available for families
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  across the Commonwealth?
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  Well, so first, as always, contact your local extension office and we have great
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  resources to help from emergency preparedness, community resources, local level.
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  So always a great resource as well.
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  But then there are also great local resources that you can reach as well.
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  If you just look up the local income home energy assistance program,
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  there are great examples of that.
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  If you need weatherization assistance, so getting your home prepared for some
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  of these seasons, they can help with that.
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  Home repairs and help with energy supplies. And so sometimes we think of that
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  as, you know, helping just in case I can't make my bill.
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  But it goes well, those resources go well beyond that. So it's a great one to
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  look into as well. But always a good first step is checking with your local
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  extension office and then checking with your local health department and city
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  or county organizations as well.
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  Exactly. We love to send people back to the extension office, don't we?
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  So today we discussed how year-round seasonal preparedness can help protect
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  your home, support your health, and reduce financial stress,
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  especially when emergencies arise.
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  But by staying on top of seasonal tasks, creating an emergency plan,
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  and connecting with local resources, families can be better prepared for whatever the year brings.
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  Thank you for your time today, Dr. Munday. I have enjoyed this conversation. Thanks for having me.
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