How To Create A Hurricane Boredom Survival Kit

When preparing a Hurricane Survival Kit ($25-600) most people concentrate on food, shelter, and medical supplies. However, there’s another serious issue that often overlooked: boredom. Here are some ideas on what to include in your Hurricane Boredom Survival Kit.

Hurricanes are deadly forces of nature. And it’s not just their powerful winds and torrential rains. Falling structures, the loss of utilities, and disruption of services can all be deadly. Over the last 20 years, Hurricanes kill on average about 120 people per year in the United States.

Even if you safely shelter in place, chances are you will lose power for several days if you are in the direct path of a Hurricane. In addition to being powerless, you might also end up trapped. Mass transit suspends during Hurricanes and fallen trees and flooded roads will restrict your movements. Bottom Line: You’ll need to be completely self-sufficient and entertained during that period.

Hurricane Boredom Survival Kit List

Of course, having proper shelter, water and medical supplies should all take priority over entertaining yourself. You can find Hurricane Survival Kit information elsewhere online. But MethodShop is a gadget and entertainment site. Here’s our list of the most critical supplies to have on hand when a hurricane threatens you with days with… boredom.

1. Charged Devices: Before the storm hits, make sure your iPad, iPhone, iPod, laptop, Nintendo DS, Sony PSP, Kindle Fire, and the rest of your devices are fully charged. Don’t forget to charge your portable projectors and Bluetooth speakers too. You might end up having a few family nights all huddled around an iPad. Having the ability to project a movie from your iPad onto a wall with sound from a Jambox will make you look like a hero.
2. Entertainment Content: After your devices are charged, load them up with movies, music, and games. Angry Birds and Bejeweled are good family favorites. If you lose Internet connectivity during the storm, you might not be able to download additional content for several days.
3. Non-Powered Entertainment: Waiting out a storm can be dreadfully boring. After all of your gadgets lose power, you might have to switch to non-powered items like an acoustic guitar, books, board games, or a deck of cards.
4. Batteries: Having plenty of extra batteries on hand is a good idea. They can power everything from flashlights to external chargers for items like your iPhone. Just don’t let entertainment power take the place of survival power.
5. Cash: If the power is out, then credit cards and ATM’s won’t work. Lots of cash can be the difference between relaxing with a few beers or sucking drops of tap water out of your faucet. Use cash to get your neighbors or local stores to part with supplies while the power is out.
6. Water & Food: Don’t be bored, hungry, and thirsty. You should have at least a 3-day (preferably a 7-day) supply of water (one gallon per person per day). And a small supply of non-perishable food items like Funyuns, canned food, snacks, peanut butter, etc.
7. Chargers: Don’t forget your chargers… for everything. That includes car adapters and chargers too!
8. Communication Devices: If you have a Twitter account, then use your iPhone or tablet to communicate with friends and family. Tweets can be sent out quickly and will use less battery power than a phone call.
9. Light: Hurricanes usually strike the United States in the fall. That means the sun will set around 6:00 PM and you might be facing ~12 hours of darkness. Flashlights, candles, and glow sticks will help you get through all those long hours of darkness. If you have a Wicked Lasers TORCH flashlight, then you can both illuminate your house as well as fry an egg with your flashlight.
10. Baby & Pet Supplies: Don’t forget all the things that your dependents need, like baby formula, diapers, food, toys, and medicine. Your storm boredom can turn into panic quickly if you forget any of these critical supplies.
11. First Aid Kit: Being trapped, bored, and having a splitting headache sucks. Make sure you have a small first aid kit ($8-50) with some basic comfort medicines like aspirin and antacid.
12. Toiletries: Just because there’s a major storm outside, doesn’t mean that you won’t have to brush your teeth or poop. Make sure you have toilet paper, toothpaste, etc. If you lose water pressure, that toilet bowl is going to fill up. Make sure that you don’t drop your phone in the toilet!

Preparing A Hurricane Boredom Survival Kit

Good luck, be safe, and stay sane. Hopefully, the ideas in on this Hurricane Boredom Survival Kit list will help entertain you if you lose power. That way you won’t have to spend more than a day or two staring at a wall. And don’t forget, you can always mow your lawn if you get really bored.