• PHONES, RADIOS, FUEL FOR THE CAR: Many of us have cell phones now. Keep them charged and have a charger in the car or an extra battery. They may not work in the event of power outages, but they might. Know which local radio station has emergency bulletins. Keep your battery-powered radio tuned to that local station and have plenty of batteries for it. Also keep an old type regular phone that does not operate with electricity. GAS PUMPS don't work without power either. You can't leave if your car is on empty. So keep your car's fuel tank topped off at half of tank. This way you will have gas to drive at least a couple of hours. Evacuation routes are usually bumper-to-bumper traffic. Having a tank full will keep you less stressed.

• PATIENCE: This is one of the most important things. Keep it inside of you so that you have a clear head. Having your preparedness list guiding you will keep you patient. In an evacuation there will be lots of displaced people. Being patient will make things less stressful. Your children need to see you calm and collected.

We can FLY in the face of danger and emergency if we are prepared. Don't wait till you are being asked to evacuate. Everyone thinks that it could not happen to them. Well, it could and it is up to you to make sure you are prepared. Don't wait! DO IT NOW!!

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For more help getting rid of your CHAOS, check out: www.flylady.net. Also see Cilley's book, "Sink Reflections" and her new book, "Body Clutter." Copyright 2006 Marla Cilley Used by permission in this publication.