Hurricane season starts in less than a week and now is the time to prepare.
The “Disaster Preparedness” sales tax holiday starts Saturday and lasts through June 10. It is a good way to save on items you need in your hurricane kit.
News4JAX decided to see just how much money we could save.
DOCUMENT: Printable list of eligible items for the Disaster Preparedness Sales Tax Holiday
The checklist includes several categories, including food, clothes and even medication.
But we focused on the “Tools and Supplies” section for now.
Our first stop was in Springfield at An Olde Time Hardware & Building Supply on North Main Street.
We started finding what we needed quickly.
Items included a flashlight with extra batteries, work gloves, duct tape, a lighter, insect repellant, a shut-off wrench to turn off the water or gas in your house, rope, a tarp, and plastic sheeting.
The grand total was $103.70, with a 10% discount, we would have saved $8.60 in tax during the holiday.
News4JAX made a second stop because there were a few supplies we could not find.
There were about four items on the list and a couple of other things that could come in handy. We decided to go to Paschal Brothers Hardware and Lumber Company on Myrtle Avenue.
Additional items included, a utility knife, a 108-piece toolset with some of the most common tools people would use and sandbags.
The total came out to $101.92 where we would have saved $7.64 in tax.
The only things we could not find during those two stops were a battery-operated radio, a grill, and a small generator.
People often underestimate how much water and food they would need. FEMA recommends having one gallon per person, per day for a minimum of three days.
You would also want to get enough food for three to five days.