Florida Hurricane Prep: A Homeowner's Before, During & After Checklist

If you live in Central Florida long enough, a storm is coming — that's just the deal. The folks who come through it okay aren't lucky, they're ready. Here's the straight-up checklist: what to do before, during, and after.

Before the storm

The week (and the 48 hours) before landfall is when you actually make a difference:

1. Clear your yard. Loose branches, furniture, grills, and yard debris become projectiles in a hurricane. Bring it in or tie it down.
2. Trim what you can — and haul it now. Dead limbs and overgrowth come down in high wind. Cutting them before the storm means less flying through your windows.
3. Stock the basics. Water (a gallon per person per day, 3+ days), non-perishable food, meds, batteries, flashlights, a charged power bank.
4. Photograph your property. Walk the house and yard with your phone and take pictures. If you have to file a claim later, “before” photos are gold.
5. Know your debris plan. Have a number ready for cleanup so you’re not scrambling after — more on that below.

During the storm

Short and simple: stay inside, stay away from windows, and don’t go out to “check on things.” Most storm injuries happen before and after — not during. Let it pass.

After the storm: the cleanup

This is where it gets real. Once it’s safe to go outside:

1. Safety first. Watch for downed power lines, hanging limbs, and standing water. Assume every wire is live.
2. Document everything. Before you move a single branch, photograph the damage — the tree on the fence, the limb on the roof, the debris field. Your insurance company will want it.
3. Separate the debris. Vegetative (trees, limbs, brush) usually gets handled differently than structural debris (shingles, fence, drywall). Keeping piles separate speeds everything up.
4. Call for cleanup. Downed trees and big debris aren’t a one-person job. This is exactly what we do — cut, clear, and haul, with the chainsaws, the skid-steer, and our own dumpsters.

The move that saves you days: get on the list before

After a big storm, every cleanup crew in the county is slammed. The homeowners who get cleared first are the ones who reached out before the storm hit.

Storm season’s coming either way. Get on our priority list and cross “what about the cleanup?” off your worry list.