We should be feeling the effects of Hurricane Sandy after it reaches the east coast late Sunday night.

The peak of the storm should hit our area throughout the day on Monday and may affect our weather all the way into Wednesday.

Before the storm reaches us, here are seven things you can do to prepare:

• Remove yard items: Take in Halloween decorations, political signs, tables and chairs, barrels, trash cans and anything else that can get swept up by the wind and become dangerous.
• Power up: Recharge everything, including laptops and cell phones.
• Have flashlights at the ready: Track down the flashlights throughout your home and make sure you have them in a place that you’ll find if you lose power.
• Check your battery supply: Check to make sure you have enough flashlight batteries to get you through the storm and aftermath. Some officials have warned that we may see power outages that last for days in some areas.
• Clear out nearby storm drains: We could get more than two inches of rain from the storm, which could cause flooding problems. Clear away any leaves that may be blocking stormdrains near your house.
• Check your sump pump: For homes with basement sump pumps, you should check to make sure they are working properly.
• Follow Patch: Whether it’s our free morning newsletter, Facebook, Twitter, downloading our app or returning to our homepage, come back to Patch today and throughout the storm for the latest on information about the storm and how it's affecting Chelmsford.