Don’t Be Caught in The Cold: Be Prepared For The Next Icepocalypse With This Handy Emergency Checklist
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OK, so you might not need the snow shovel, but nothing makes you feel quite so unprepared like having a four-day power outage that practically evicts you from your home. I asked a friend who is an expert in emergency preparedness what other items we should have on hand for the next winter storm. His must have is a kerosene heater. Me? I have to have LED lanterns. Here’s a list of important things to have on hand the next time a storm like Cleon batters Dallas.
“There are two downsides to kerosene heaters: 1) they’re big and bulky and a pain to store 364 days a year; 2) kerosene that’s not stupidly overpriced can be difficult to find. But otherwise it’s pretty fantastic,” my friend attests. “Power out? I’ll still be nice and toasty. You can use them in enclosed spaces (including bedrooms) because they burn clean and don’t produce CO (unlike propane, which can be deadly.)”
With limited access from emergency responders, you want to be able to address cuts, bruises, scrapes, and even stabilize a limb should you or your vehicle glide across the ice like Tonya Harding.
You can buy a ready made one or build your own. Just make sure it follows some of these guidelines. Unfortunately, the list does not include wine, which, if you’ve spent any time with family and friends without power and in close quarters, you’re going to wish you had some Pinot.
LED Lanterns and Flashlights (Plus extra batteries)
I prefer headlamps, but keeping a few LED lanterns and flashlights, as well as extra batteries, on hand can make your home so much more livable. We keep some cheap flashlights and a couple of lanterns throughout the house and one in each of our cars. They are inexpensive, and thanks to the LED bulbs, they last forever.
LED lights are a ton safer than candles, too, but you should keep a few unscented candles in your kit, as well as waterproof matches, just in case.
Not everyone can keep a gas-powered generator on-hand, and if you’re going to buy fuel to keep warm, a Kerosene heater can be a good purchase that isn’t as noisy as a generator, but on the flip-side, it’s hard to find affordable kerosene. Having one of these can sometimes make all the difference. If you want to power an electric stove, a heater, and maybe a microwave at the same time as some lights, then this is a good purchase.
What will you put in your emergency kit for the next winter storm?
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Thermal liners for the curtains. In these old drafty 1920's homes it's a lifesaver. Have them in one room and it makes a difference!
Let me tell you, you and Karen are experts in surviving the freeze! Four days without power! There is that Chicago gal in me, & even though I forget socks and gloves now, I do keep a lot of batteries and flashlights on hand (one in every room) and think I will get a kerosene heater. Worst case, it can keep the bird warm outside. (She has been in all these cold days.) We would lose power sometimes for days in Chicago, but the snow actually insulated the houses when it piled high. Good point about the first-aid kit: ice slips are scary. My garage door would not open or close Saturday without using the interior button, likely it was frozen. I crawled burpee-style on the ice to the garage and back because it was so icy.
I would add a water meter key to that list. If your pipes freeze, you should cut off the water at the city source (the circular metal cover most often near your front street curb). You will need a crescent wrench once you open the water meter to turn off the water. If the pipes freeze, cut off the water and then drain the water out of the lines that are still working (often the downstairs will not freeze but the upstairs will freeze). Once the power is back on and people fire up their heaters, the frozen pipes start to thaw and the pressure built up can cause a water leak. That is why it is important to be home when you turn your water back on, and it is wise to wait for your home to heat up before turning the water back on. The added pressure of having your water on can cause a water leak if the pipe did not already break during the freeze when the water expanded inside your pipes. All of this happened to me in the ice storm over Super Bowl weekend. Not fun when you don't have a water key handy!
GREAT advice! The first thing I told Joanna was to check for frozen water pipes.
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