The hardest part after having gone through a rough storm is cleaning your home after the storm has passed. Leaves scattered around your home, flower pots destroyed are among other things that leaves your home dirty and chaotic. Here’s a checklist you could use for an easy and faster clean up session.

Step 1: Suit up!
Make sure you are protected yourself. If you’re going to clean outdoors, here are a few things you’d need to remember for your safety:

1. Tie your hair so it wouldn’t be difficult for you, and also to prevent your hair from being tangled to branches, wires or other things that may be dangerous
2. Wear safety goggles
3. Wear heavy duty gloves
4. Wear rubber boots
5. Wear long sleeves and long pants

Step 2: Check up
After the storm has passed, check your home for any damages. One thing you have to be careful at doing is if there are loose wires hanging around your front or back yard, never touch them or try to move them yourself. Immediately report it to the proper authorities for immediate assistance.

After typhoons and especially when there are floods in certain areas, make sure that you don’t drink anything that comes from the tap water. Make sure first it is clean before you drink it. The water might be contaminated.

Step 3: Clear Up!
Most often, there are also fallen branches of trees scattered around. Make sure when you remove them, check first if they are safe to remove them from your lawn. Fallen wires may have been tangled with the branches and would be dangerous. Make sure you are assisted by someone especially when you’re climbing ladders, sawing the fallen branches of your lawn and moving damaged pots. Start sweeping your outdoors and remove the broken flower pots for clear passage ways.

Step 4: Power up!
Make sure before you turn the power back on, that no appliance has been damaged or wet due to flood. Determine which appliance has been damaged and remove them from their sockets to prevent fires. If incase there is no power, before you light up a match, make sure that there is no gas leak. However, it’s better to use emergency lights instead of the traditional candles to prevent fires.

Step 5: Stay tuned

1. Be updated of the latest happenings around your city so that you are fully aware of the precautions you’d have to take should any incidents take place. There are emergency lights with am/fm radios to keep you updated.
2. Keep communication lines open