WHEN THERE IS A FLOOD FIRST THINGS FIRST

Flooding can cause damages worth millions of naira to your home, and it's a very difficult to clean up. The steps to take once there is a flood and how to safely begin the process of recovery.

Response to a flood must be quick and efficient. The longer water lingers, the more severe the damage will be.

Eliminate Danger

First thing is to ensure the flooded area is safe to work. Number one concern electrical danger. Check for electrical appliances that may have been damaged before, during or after the flood.

Be careful that live electrical cables are not exposed as you begin to assess damage. If there is any risk of electrical shock exposure, first turn off the power to the building and resolve the danger.

Know the Source

Flood can come from three main sources:

• Source 1 is cleanwater. This water comes from an overflowing sink, bathtub, or broken water supply line. This is the preferred source should water damage occur, since it poses minimal risk of contamination or respiratory danger.
• Source 2 water is sometimes called "gray" water. It is not drinkable, but also not full of sewage. Source 2 water can contain soap and/or food contaminants but not raw sewage.
• Source 3 water, sometimes called "black" water, is highly contaminated. It contains bacteria or chemicals harmful to touch, consume or inhale. Source 3 water must be removed by a professional with proper immunizations and personal protective equipment. Source 3 water can include any type of sewer back-up, water that has run across open ground before entering the structure, or anything related to a chemical spill. And it occurs mainly in Nigeria when rain falls.

Shut off the Source

If the water is Source 1 or 2, your next step is stopping the source. (If Source 3, the best advice is to wait for a professional.) Be sure you know where your main shut-off valve is for your home's water supply. If the leakage is coming from an appliance or fixture with a shut-off valve, turn this valve off instead of the water to the entire building.

Save what you can as fast as you safely can.

After you have identified and stopped the source of the water, action to prevent further damage to household items and materials. This can include:

• Furniture: Immediately relocate furniture soaked in water. This is very important for wood furnishings, or those that have a stain finish prone to bleeding. Nothing ruins carpet quicker than bleeding, wet furniture.
• Valuable Household Items: Like documents, photographs, and valuables.
• Flooring: Once furnishings are removed and wall-finishes are stripped to drywall, you can address the flooring. As a general rule, carpet and cushion (pad) damaged with Source 1 water can be cleaned and salvaged. Carpet cushion damaged by Source2 water needs to be disposed, but the carpet can be sanitized and salvaged. Flooring damaged by Source 3 water needs to be disposed of immediately.

If you have light water damage, you may be able to deal with it yourself. Place floor fans approximately 12′ along the room(s) perimeter, pointing the air flow in a clockwise direction. This pushes the air to the outside of the room.

HOW TO GET RID OF THE WAIST GAP IN YOUR JEANS

Finding a good pair of jeans is hard. Then you eventually get a nice pair with the right length and there is this gap that sticks out at the waistline. To fix this, sew a small piece of elastic to the back of your jeans, or sometimes the sides of your jeans.

Jeans sometimes fit at the hips, but then there's a  gap at the waistline. Website I Am Momma explains how to fix this with a small piece of elastic and some sewing skills. She uses a 6" piece of elastic, about 1/2" thick:

Start in the middle and sew to the end using a zig-zag stitch. As you sew, pull the elastic tight and let the jean fabric feed through the machine normally. Do the same thing to the other side of the elastic. This will make the elastic centered and don’t stitch through the belt loops on the other side. Lastly do one stitch in the middle, also try not to stitch through the belt holes.

As you can see from her photos, the elastic creates a small bunch in the back of your jeans, eliminating the gap altogether. 

And there is an option of just eating till the slack is no more...

WHAT IS REALLY AND TRULY NECESSARY?

The alert comes in and you pay PHCN bills, subscription fees for DSTV, BIS, and WIFI/MIFI. A huge chunk of your salary is used for paying utility bills and you’re wondering how and if you’ll ever survive the 30days till the next payment….story of the life of a typical Nigerian employee.

Finding myself in that situation made me ask myself serious questions and also provide answers that were as honest to me as possible. I had to analyse my choices and financial habits and see what could be changed. I’ll share advise I got from my research in a practical way, since I’m currently living these advise.
Financial blogs suggest keeping a daily record of expenses, but the Naija reality makes it almost impossible. However, its all good advise, and you would be better putting it to use. The below are practical ways to begin the journey of being debt-free;

1. Your case is an emergency; And just like in the ER(Emergency Room), first thing to do is to stop the bleeding. STOP all loans from every source.

2. Start saving immediately; Start saving at least 20% of your salary. Put a standing order on your account(ask your bank or account officer).

3. Try to get out of existing debt; List your debt from the smallest up on the list to biggest debt down on the list, then start working your way out of it from smallest to biggest debt.

4. Make a monthly budget; And this time please adhere, *side eye*, It’s actually easier than it sounds. Simply list all regular expenses (Rent, School Fees and Feeding) and list all your irregular expenses, (Eating Out, movies, car maintenance, medicals). The trick is to break it all down to monthly expenses, even go a step further and open an account for them. Break it down into monthly expenses and you will see a reduction in expenses. When there is a defined purpose for money, waste is highly unlikely.

Above all, you consumption habits should be altered hereby reducing the likelihood of getting into debt again.