Would You Be Ready?
When my son had to go to the emergency room because he was having trouble breathing, I never thought we would be there for any longer than that night. But we were admitted – IV antibiotics & steroids and nebulizer treatment every three hours from a respiratory therapist were needed.
What does this have to do with home management and organizing? Lets start at the beginning.
I always have the diaper bag filled – including extra juice and snacks. I also have little man’s book with his medical records and his insurance card in the bag. When I realized we had an emergency situation, I was ready to go.
When I realized that we would be in for an extended stay, I didn’t panic. And this is why:
- Because I was caught-up on laundry, hubby was able to bring me the clean clothes I needed back to the hospital. AND I was able to tell him exactly where my travel bag, hair dryer, etc. were located in the house.
- Because I have de-cluttered and have kept a regular schedule for cleaning, I was not embarrassed to ask my neighbor to stop in to feed and water the critters.
- Because I was on-top-of keeping my pantry, fridge and freezer filled, there was plenty of food for hubby and the critters.
- Because I have a scheduled day to pay the bills every week, I knew we would not fall behind and didn’t have to fear any utilities being shut off. AND, I knew in my head roughly how much money was in our accounts, so felt comfortable use the ATM for cash to use throughout our stay.
Would you be ready if this was your child? Would your home and family be ready?
This experience is a perfect example of why you need to be organized. This is why I preach about the importance of meal planning, household routines, organizing and cleaning.
Come back next week – I’ll be back in full force to help you get organized and be ready for anything.
Filed under Family/Parenting, Organizing
Wow, you totally put me to shame in the organization department…. this is one strong reminder message, though!!
Best of luck with your son!
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Ha! This was NOT me… (by the way, I hope you son is okay!!) I am the most neurotic be-prepared-for-anything person I know, but emergencies seem to happen at the MOST inconvenient times!! The first time was when I went into labor with my first dauhter. She was two weeks late, and I was SO prepared – I had had my hospital bag packed and the baby’s laundry done, the carseat in the car, etc. etc. for at least twenty weeks (she was the first!) I had put a waterproof matress cover on my bed in case I went into labor. I kept my toes perfectly polished all the time and my house spotless with lots of casseroles in the freezer. Well, one day we heard something in the attic… my husband went nuts trying to find it (it turned out to be a bird) and basically decided at the same time to start cleaning out the attic… suddenly my spotless house was FILLED with random crap from the attic, we were both sweaty and freaked out (and convinced there were rats in our house or something!) The nursery that had previously been spotless became dirty, because with my husband messing around in the attic, insulatio and dirt came through the old attic fan that is next to the nursery. Of course, I went into labor THAT day. The second time was four days after my second daughter was born – she stopped breathing and we went straight to the ER. I grabbed the well-stocked diaper bag, but wasn’t prepared for a long stay, because obviously I was really rushed. I ended up having to use newborn diapers as maxi pads all that night until my husband could bring me new supplies in the morning (he was home with our 2 year old). The third time, we had spent the whole day in the yard – my husband and I were starting spring cleaning in the garden and the girls were getting blissfully dirty. In the late afternoon I was getting ready to start their bath when my 2 year old got hurt and we had to go to the ER. All four of us showed up looking like hobos with dirt under our nails. Ooops! It’s the sort of thing that used to (literally) give me panic attacks (I used to lay awake at night thinking “if something happened and the police came into my house, would it be spotless?” and then couldn’t fall alseep until the floor under my bed was clean enough to eat off of!) Luckily working full time and raising two toddlers has taught me to let go a little and I had to laugh off our experiences!!
Happy Easter! I am impressed that your being organized has really helped things easier than most people because you know where things are when its needed.
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I have to tell you that I totally know what you mean Cara. We are putting our house up for sale and it is so easy now when they call and say hey can we come look at the house to say sure give me 15 minutes. Yes that is all it takes for my house to be presentable.
Hope your son is feeling better! Must admit, this is something I have never thought about (as I scan the room, looking at my piles of clutter)
I hope Joey is feeling better and going home soon. We’ve missed you.
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Wow! Something to think about. I’ve just found all these blogs and especially all you organized moms. I NEED to get organized so maybe I’ll start taking some notes. Thanks!!
Wow, that is amazing. I hate to admit that I am way behind on my make-ahead-meals.
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