People ask me what family preparedness means, and how it's different from doomsday prepping. Our focus is everyday problems, and simple supplies that can handle more than one of them. This night explains it better than I can.
We had a snow squall with 50 mph winds. Our 10 by 10 steel gazebo, which had been securely installed, started to move dangerously in the storm. The wind turned the canvas canopy into a sail, and it was threatening to damage our garage and cars.
I didn't have a long enough rope or ratchet strap to secure the canopy. With the ice on our patio and the high winds, I couldn't safely stabilize the structure. My wife was inside with our five kids, it was below 20 degrees, and I had to act quickly and on my own.
I grabbed my folding utility knife and cut the canopy to reduce the wind resistance, but the steel frame was still moving. My go to prep, a headlamp, let me see the screws in the dark and take down most of the frame, which had already broken. Knowing exactly where those two things were saved the time I would have spent digging through drawers and cabinets.
We lost the gazebo and a few pavers broke. The garage and the cars were fine.
What I took from it
Some emergencies call for a first aid kit or a generator. A lot of everyday ones just call for simple tools like a headlamp, gloves and a drill, kept somewhere you can find them in the dark.
It didn't look great, but that was preparedness in action. Handle the small problem well and it stays a small problem.
The one thing I'd change: a long rope and a ratchet strap. One simple item could have prevented a real mess.