Winter Preparation Kit???
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The posts in this forum are NOT official forecast and should not be used as such. They are just the opinion of the poster and may or may not be backed by sound meteorological data. They are NOT endorsed by any professional institution or STORM2K.
The posts in this forum are NOT official forecast and should not be used as such. They are just the opinion of the poster and may or may not be backed by sound meteorological data. They are NOT endorsed by any professional institution or STORM2K.
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Cookiely
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Winter Preparation Kit???
I was born and raised in Florida so I know all about hurricane preparation kit, but is there a winter preparation kit? How do you prepare for winter?
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Miss Mary
I prepare for winter by:
1. Stocking our pantry shelves well. Many canned items.
2.Having a full gas can for the snowblower (I inherited from my dad, it's quite old and works well on deep snows).
3. Having several bags of fertilizer ready in the garage for icy spots on the driveway/porch (we no longer use salt, it erodes your concrete, straight feed type lawn and garden fertilizer, works just as well at melting ice and is safe for wildlife).
4. Making sure the shelf with flashlights/candles is stocked well also, with extra batteries, matches/long handled lighter, etc. I purchased a Sony Radio/TV/WX Band receiver, that works great if the power goes out. You can still listen to local TV stations for up to the minute wx alerts.
5. Keeping the ice scrapers in the car, not on a shelf in the garage!
6. Having my tires rotated in November (have a front wheel drive car).
This sort of thinking. The longest we've lost power was 12 hours. A few times and only once in winter. A freak early October heavy snowfall knocked out transformers. Power was out all over Cincinnati that year, 1989. Trees down, blocking many roads. Because temps warmed to above freezing by mid-morning, my young daughter at the time, Nina and I didn't notice the furnace was off. We raised all the blinds on the house and it was a sunny day. Dad was out of town on business, he missed the whole thing. Only trouble I had was she was used to sleeping with a night light, and kept crying. She was 2. So I brought her into my bed, something I never did, and lit a tea light candle inside a glass votive container. Put it high atop a TV on our dresser, so my room was lit, and only then did she fall asleep. She slept until 10 that morning, since it was a rough night, hearing transformers blow and huge tree limbs snap. She didn't even miss Sesame Street. She wanted to play in the snow!
Hope that helps some. I'll be interested to read other replies you get. Maybe someone will have a good suggestion I've never thought of.
Mary
1. Stocking our pantry shelves well. Many canned items.
2.Having a full gas can for the snowblower (I inherited from my dad, it's quite old and works well on deep snows).
3. Having several bags of fertilizer ready in the garage for icy spots on the driveway/porch (we no longer use salt, it erodes your concrete, straight feed type lawn and garden fertilizer, works just as well at melting ice and is safe for wildlife).
4. Making sure the shelf with flashlights/candles is stocked well also, with extra batteries, matches/long handled lighter, etc. I purchased a Sony Radio/TV/WX Band receiver, that works great if the power goes out. You can still listen to local TV stations for up to the minute wx alerts.
5. Keeping the ice scrapers in the car, not on a shelf in the garage!
6. Having my tires rotated in November (have a front wheel drive car).
This sort of thinking. The longest we've lost power was 12 hours. A few times and only once in winter. A freak early October heavy snowfall knocked out transformers. Power was out all over Cincinnati that year, 1989. Trees down, blocking many roads. Because temps warmed to above freezing by mid-morning, my young daughter at the time, Nina and I didn't notice the furnace was off. We raised all the blinds on the house and it was a sunny day. Dad was out of town on business, he missed the whole thing. Only trouble I had was she was used to sleeping with a night light, and kept crying. She was 2. So I brought her into my bed, something I never did, and lit a tea light candle inside a glass votive container. Put it high atop a TV on our dresser, so my room was lit, and only then did she fall asleep. She slept until 10 that morning, since it was a rough night, hearing transformers blow and huge tree limbs snap. She didn't even miss Sesame Street. She wanted to play in the snow!
Hope that helps some. I'll be interested to read other replies you get. Maybe someone will have a good suggestion I've never thought of.
Mary
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weathermom
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Mary, I can tell your kids are older than mine! You forgot to mention 2 very important things. Sleds and cocoa!
Seriously, Pretty much what Mary said. I try not to let the pantry get too empty. We don't have the issue of spoilage that you would after a hurricane, food doesn't spoil rapidly when temps are freezing! We have a pretty good supply of stuff that we would need, as we have a large supply of camping items that we use every summer. We always have flashlights with the camping gear as well as extra batteries. We also have warm sleeping bags that we use in the fall (it can get pretty chilly in the adirondacks at night in the fall).
Gas for the snowblower isn't an issue here, we don't have one. I actually like to shovel snow.
The only thing I REALLY wish we had is a fireplace. O well.....can't have it all.
Seriously, Pretty much what Mary said. I try not to let the pantry get too empty. We don't have the issue of spoilage that you would after a hurricane, food doesn't spoil rapidly when temps are freezing! We have a pretty good supply of stuff that we would need, as we have a large supply of camping items that we use every summer. We always have flashlights with the camping gear as well as extra batteries. We also have warm sleeping bags that we use in the fall (it can get pretty chilly in the adirondacks at night in the fall).
Gas for the snowblower isn't an issue here, we don't have one. I actually like to shovel snow.
The only thing I REALLY wish we had is a fireplace. O well.....can't have it all.
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Miss Mary
Good idea on the camping gear as a backup. We have a two story family room that leads to an open hallway upstairs. We had to start a fire during a power outage but we were all able to stay in our beds, with our doors open. Sleeping bags were a possiblity or a few of us taking couches, but it never came to that. In our area, we have many neighborhoods with underground untilities, that really helps in keeping outages to a minimum. But they do happen, even in the middle of good wx.
LOL weathermom.....sleds are in the garage, cocoa is in the pantry. Old fashioned cocoa mind you. I told my girls once how what they were drinking, probably Nestle or Ovaltine, isn't what I used to drink as a kid. They said - buy it, buy it! So now I keep a baker's can of cocoa and they want me to make the long version of hot cocoa, real vanilla and all. Whipped up with an whisk beater and topped with whipped topping and/or marshmallows.
Here's a tip I read on the Tropics board was from someone w/o power recently. They took an emtpy coffee can, cut a hole in the bottom, and put a sterno cup inside. They made hot soup and coffee this way. Pretty cool idea. Of course if I told Jim that, he'd say let's go to Dick's and see what kind of camping gizzmo they sell instead..... But I have saved a few coffee cans, just in case. I've always kept sterno on hand, never used it though. Just figured I'd put it in one pan, under another. But I guess you need that hole for venting. Which brings to mind something I'd really want in long power outages - an old fashioned coffee pot. Perculating type and all. Since of course ours is electric, drip type.
Mary
LOL weathermom.....sleds are in the garage, cocoa is in the pantry. Old fashioned cocoa mind you. I told my girls once how what they were drinking, probably Nestle or Ovaltine, isn't what I used to drink as a kid. They said - buy it, buy it! So now I keep a baker's can of cocoa and they want me to make the long version of hot cocoa, real vanilla and all. Whipped up with an whisk beater and topped with whipped topping and/or marshmallows.
Here's a tip I read on the Tropics board was from someone w/o power recently. They took an emtpy coffee can, cut a hole in the bottom, and put a sterno cup inside. They made hot soup and coffee this way. Pretty cool idea. Of course if I told Jim that, he'd say let's go to Dick's and see what kind of camping gizzmo they sell instead..... But I have saved a few coffee cans, just in case. I've always kept sterno on hand, never used it though. Just figured I'd put it in one pan, under another. But I guess you need that hole for venting. Which brings to mind something I'd really want in long power outages - an old fashioned coffee pot. Perculating type and all. Since of course ours is electric, drip type.
Mary
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weathermom
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I have 2 of those pots Mary!! I love the coffe from them. It just has so much more flavor!
I do like the sterno idea. Much less expensive than the "camping gizmos" that yes, they do sell. Not something I would likely need though, as we have a gas stove, a gas grill with a side burner( separate tanks so if the gas were off for some reason we could still use them), and 2 camping stoves.
I love the real cocoa too, but it is easy to let the kids do their own with a mix! Though 2 of my kids are old enough to do the real thing themselves.
Getting psyched for winter??? I just kept thinking about all that rain last week being snow.................
I do like the sterno idea. Much less expensive than the "camping gizmos" that yes, they do sell. Not something I would likely need though, as we have a gas stove, a gas grill with a side burner( separate tanks so if the gas were off for some reason we could still use them), and 2 camping stoves.
I love the real cocoa too, but it is easy to let the kids do their own with a mix! Though 2 of my kids are old enough to do the real thing themselves.
Getting psyched for winter??? I just kept thinking about all that rain last week being snow.................
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Miss Mary
weathermom wrote:I have 2 of those pots Mary!! I love the coffe from them. It just has so much more flavor!
I do like the sterno idea. Much less expensive than the "camping gizmos" that yes, they do sell. Not something I would likely need though, as we have a gas stove, a gas grill with a side burner( separate tanks so if the gas were off for some reason we could still use them), and 2 camping stoves.
I love the real cocoa too, but it is easy to let the kids do their own with a mix! Though 2 of my kids are old enough to do the real thing themselves.
Getting psyched for winter??? I just kept thinking about all that rain last week being snow.................
Oh I'm getting psyched. This is the second time local mets said cooler temps are about to arrive and stick around. Yeah, we heard that last time and we've had days in the upper 70s and low 80s. So I'll believe it when I see it! The 7 day shows highs in the 50s, after today. Lows in the 30s. Bring it on, but I'm somewhat skeptical too.
We have a gas burner on our grill too but our deck isn't covered. We've ~said~ in power outages we could use it. But we never have. I think I'd rather bring it into our garage, for a roof over our heads, we have a back door the garage, so we'd have plenty of ventilation and air flow. But hubby likes this huge grill on our deck, when did grills get so big? LOL This thing is humongous (a word?) but all the models we looked at were.
No gas stove here. But we have a gas hot water heater, so one time I actually tried making hot tea with hot tap water. It was awful!
We do have a gas FP in the basement now, so in a power outage in the middle of winter, we'd be warm. But now gas is going way up. You can't win!
Mary
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weathermom
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Miss Mary
weathermom wrote:Miss Mary wrote:
No gas stove here. But we have a gas hot water heater, so one time I actually tried making hot tea with hot tap water. It was awful!
Mary
eeewwww!!!!!Next time use the sterno!!!!!!!
Yeah, I didn't even finish that cup of tea. It had this white foam on top, it was awful! LOL But ya know I was dying for a hot cup of tea...it was after that freak snowstorm in 89 that I tried that idea, our power had been out for hours. I've never done that again!
Mary
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terstorm1012
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A running joke we have in PA is that when the forecast calls for snow, there's a run on milk and bread. It's mostly based on truth. It's an almost innate urge to buy milk and bread even when flurries are forecast. I can't explain it. Talking about this makes me want to go do just that.
so if you trade in commodities like milk and bread, and a snow storm is forecasted for Pennsylvania, you might just make some money
so if you trade in commodities like milk and bread, and a snow storm is forecasted for Pennsylvania, you might just make some money
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weathermom
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That is so true!!! The computers were down at our grocery store around the end of August and people waited forever to check out. I pulled into the parking lot and it was packed like it only is for a blizzard!!! I didn't even go in! I came home and joked with my husband that there must be a blizzard in the forecast!!! (found out later about the computers from someone who was there)
And why just milk and bread? What the heck are these people going to eat with stocking up on just milk and bread?
And why just milk and bread? What the heck are these people going to eat with stocking up on just milk and bread?
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terstorm1012
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Winter Storm Watch
URGENT - WINTER WEATHER MESSAGE...CORRECTED
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BINGHAMTON NY
1143 AM EDT MON OCT 24 2005
...MAJOR SNOWSTORM POSSIBLE OVER THE HIGHER TERRAIN OF CENTRAL NEW
YORK AND NORTHEAST PENNSYLVANIA...
.LOW PRESSURE WILL TO DEVELOP OFF THE MID ATLANTIC COAST TONIGHT AND
MAY BECOME A MAJOR EARLY SEASON WINTER STORM AS IT TRACKS OFF THE
NEW ENGLAND COAST BY WEDNESDAY. THIS STORM HAS THE POTENTIAL TO
BRING A DAMAGING...HEAVY...WET SNOW TO THE HIGHER TERRAIN OF
CENTRAL NEW YORK AND NORTHEAST PENNSYLVANIA.
PAZ043-044-047-048-072-250000-
/X.COR.KBGM.WS.A.0001.051024T2200Z-051026T1000Z/
WYOMING-LACKAWANNA-LUZERNE-PIKE-SOUTHERN WAYNE-
1143 AM EDT MON OCT 24 2005
...WINTER STORM WATCH IN EFFECT FROM 6 PM EDT THIS EVENING
THROUGH LATE TUESDAY NIGHT...
...SIGNIFICANT SNOWFALL POSSIBLE OVER THE POCONOS...
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN BINGHAMTON HAS ISSUED A WINTER
STORM WATCH...WHICH IS IN EFFECT FROM 6 PM EDT THIS EVENING
THROUGH LATE TUESDAY NIGHT.
RAIN WILL DEVELOP OVER NORTHEAST PENNSYLVANIA THIS AFTERNOON.
RAIN WILL MIX WITH...OR CHANGE TO WET SNOW BY TONIGHT OVER THE
POCONOS. SNOW COULD BECOME HEAVY AT TIMES FROM TONIGHT THROUGH
TUESDAY NIGHT OVER THE POCONOS WITH MORE THAN 7 INCHES OF HEAVY WET
SNOW POSSIBLE.
IN THE GREATER SCRANTON WILKES BARRE AREA AND IN THE DELAWARE
RIVER VALLEY FROM MATAMORAS AND MILFORD SOUTH...MAINLY RAIN WILL FALL
TONIGHT WITH THE POTENTIAL FOR RAIN TO CHANGE TO SNOW BY TUESDAY
NIGHT. THERE COULD BE A SMALL ACCUMULATION IN THESE AREAS BY
WEDNESDAY MORNING.
HEAVY WET SNOW IS POSSIBLE OVER THE POCONOS. LATE TONIGHT...THE POTENTIAL
EXISTS FOR TREES AND POWER LINES TO COME DOWN DUE TO THE WEIGHT OF
THE SNOW. ROADS ALSO COULD BECOME SNOW COVERED AND SLIPPERY.
IF YOU ARE PLANNING TRAVEL TONIGHT THROUGH TUESDAY NIGHT...KEEP
INFORMED OF THE LATEST FORECASTS AND LISTEN FOR POSSIBLE WINTER
STORM WARNINGS OR WINTER WEATHER ADVISORIES. THE BEST WAY TO KEEP
INFORMED IS TO LISTEN TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO ALL HAZARDS OR YOUR
LOCAL TV AND RADIO STATIONS.
$$
NICOSIA/VANAUSDALL/MORFORD
darn, and I can't daytrade at work! 
URGENT - WINTER WEATHER MESSAGE...CORRECTED
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BINGHAMTON NY
1143 AM EDT MON OCT 24 2005
...MAJOR SNOWSTORM POSSIBLE OVER THE HIGHER TERRAIN OF CENTRAL NEW
YORK AND NORTHEAST PENNSYLVANIA...
.LOW PRESSURE WILL TO DEVELOP OFF THE MID ATLANTIC COAST TONIGHT AND
MAY BECOME A MAJOR EARLY SEASON WINTER STORM AS IT TRACKS OFF THE
NEW ENGLAND COAST BY WEDNESDAY. THIS STORM HAS THE POTENTIAL TO
BRING A DAMAGING...HEAVY...WET SNOW TO THE HIGHER TERRAIN OF
CENTRAL NEW YORK AND NORTHEAST PENNSYLVANIA.
PAZ043-044-047-048-072-250000-
/X.COR.KBGM.WS.A.0001.051024T2200Z-051026T1000Z/
WYOMING-LACKAWANNA-LUZERNE-PIKE-SOUTHERN WAYNE-
1143 AM EDT MON OCT 24 2005
...WINTER STORM WATCH IN EFFECT FROM 6 PM EDT THIS EVENING
THROUGH LATE TUESDAY NIGHT...
...SIGNIFICANT SNOWFALL POSSIBLE OVER THE POCONOS...
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN BINGHAMTON HAS ISSUED A WINTER
STORM WATCH...WHICH IS IN EFFECT FROM 6 PM EDT THIS EVENING
THROUGH LATE TUESDAY NIGHT.
RAIN WILL DEVELOP OVER NORTHEAST PENNSYLVANIA THIS AFTERNOON.
RAIN WILL MIX WITH...OR CHANGE TO WET SNOW BY TONIGHT OVER THE
POCONOS. SNOW COULD BECOME HEAVY AT TIMES FROM TONIGHT THROUGH
TUESDAY NIGHT OVER THE POCONOS WITH MORE THAN 7 INCHES OF HEAVY WET
SNOW POSSIBLE.
IN THE GREATER SCRANTON WILKES BARRE AREA AND IN THE DELAWARE
RIVER VALLEY FROM MATAMORAS AND MILFORD SOUTH...MAINLY RAIN WILL FALL
TONIGHT WITH THE POTENTIAL FOR RAIN TO CHANGE TO SNOW BY TUESDAY
NIGHT. THERE COULD BE A SMALL ACCUMULATION IN THESE AREAS BY
WEDNESDAY MORNING.
HEAVY WET SNOW IS POSSIBLE OVER THE POCONOS. LATE TONIGHT...THE POTENTIAL
EXISTS FOR TREES AND POWER LINES TO COME DOWN DUE TO THE WEIGHT OF
THE SNOW. ROADS ALSO COULD BECOME SNOW COVERED AND SLIPPERY.
IF YOU ARE PLANNING TRAVEL TONIGHT THROUGH TUESDAY NIGHT...KEEP
INFORMED OF THE LATEST FORECASTS AND LISTEN FOR POSSIBLE WINTER
STORM WARNINGS OR WINTER WEATHER ADVISORIES. THE BEST WAY TO KEEP
INFORMED IS TO LISTEN TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO ALL HAZARDS OR YOUR
LOCAL TV AND RADIO STATIONS.
$$
NICOSIA/VANAUSDALL/MORFORD
darn, and I can't daytrade at work!
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Great thread! I just moved to the Lexington, Kentucky area after living in Florida for many years so this topic is of real interest to me. One question: our house doesn't have a fireplace. What would be a good alternative source of heat in case of power outage? I've thought about a kerosene heater or maybe some type of small heater that uses oil? Not sure since this is new territory for me.
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angelwing
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weathermom wrote:That is so true!!! The computers were down at our grocery store around the end of August and people waited forever to check out. I pulled into the parking lot and it was packed like it only is for a blizzard!!! I didn't even go in! I came home and joked with my husband that there must be a blizzard in the forecast!!! (found out later about the computers from someone who was there)
And why just milk and bread? What the heck are these people going to eat with stocking up on just milk and bread?
I wish I knew, I've lived here my whole life and as far back as I can remember, you had to have milk and bread because you can't shop in the snow. Maybe somebody who really loves french toast started it
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gunner1551
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- Joined: Thu Sep 16, 2004 12:08 pm
We have to get ready for the winter by making sure the sprinklers are blown out... lots and lots of wood.. we tend to turn the heat on when it dips below 50 for a high... that usually happens about now. As far as food goes canned items are good. Having a good light snow shovel for doin those long driveways. Where I live 4x4 are a manditory to navigate the roads, winter tires and chains on the beyond the sign marker. ( if you dont believe me i will take a pic of the sign on the main street.) Radios are good for when the power goes out. Ice melter is a wonderful invention!! Oh and time to pull out the sand bags for extra traction in the back of the car. Hmm what else?? Thats about it beside pulling out the long underwear! Anyways i am lookin forward to the season and i will post pics as the year goes along. And all the hockey equipment!! I have already been skating 2 times this year.
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angelwing
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Plastic on the windows. Our apartment windows leak like a sieve (they are supposed to replace them this fall 
)...hmmm also a draft dodger under the door if you don't have weatherstripping. I have weatherstripping but I also put a rolled up towel to keep the heat in (plus my bearded dragon's tank is near the door so I have to keep the cold air out).
I also have in the back of my car a shovel and kitty litter (think that's been posted)and I also have a warm blanket and a spare coat & socks. I've been caught in a 22 inch storm one year in a 80 Chevette and trust me, when stuck in traffice for over 7 hours you can only run the heater so long, the blanket kept us warm. The only thing I wish I can find is a female auto-john, the men have it easy, the ladies don't, sigh.
)...hmmm also a draft dodger under the door if you don't have weatherstripping. I have weatherstripping but I also put a rolled up towel to keep the heat in (plus my bearded dragon's tank is near the door so I have to keep the cold air out).
I also have in the back of my car a shovel and kitty litter (think that's been posted)and I also have a warm blanket and a spare coat & socks. I've been caught in a 22 inch storm one year in a 80 Chevette and trust me, when stuck in traffice for over 7 hours you can only run the heater so long, the blanket kept us warm. The only thing I wish I can find is a female auto-john, the men have it easy, the ladies don't, sigh.
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Cooking: You need some way to cook that is safe to use indoors. Options: sterno (use a sterno stove made for the purpose, chafing dish made for sterno, etc.), butane stove (allowed indoors, unlike propane)--special purpose. Sold for restaurants--the stoves they use to do flambe stuff at your table; camp stove (use outdoors). Or, if you have a fireplace, you can cook in it. You can also boil water, cook on some types of woodstoves... Be careful with all of these non-customary ways. The real danger is burns and CO (carbon monoxide) poisioning.
The manual coffee pot is essential. As are pots and pans that are NOT non-stick coated! Those get wrecked and are possibly dangerous used in non-regulated temperature cooking situations. Also, they will "look" nasty unless you can really scrub them (e.g., stainless steel, etc.) after you've cooked over an open flame of the sort you get cooking in a fireplace, etc.
Hot chocolate and (if you can find one) the kind of popcorn popper made with wire screening that you use to pop corn in a fireplace. Jiffy pop works in a pinch (the camping packs) but not as nice and more expensive than a pound of corn and a popper. For those who like/need milk, Parmalat is shelf stable, as is canned milk. You may not like the taste of canned milk or powdered milk "straight" but if you cook with that, you can use Parmalat for drinking....
Food: obviously stuff that requires minimum cooking unless you're a camper. Then whatever you'd cook while camping is fine. (I actually cooked a Thanksgiving Turkey and dinner in a fireplace for 12 people and everything turned out wonderfully--it can be done. Interesting, but you'd better know scratch cooking, etc.)
Several BATTERY OPERATED CO detectors in your house! The ones that plug in are cheaper, of course, but no good for power outage situations, etc.
Heat: fireplaces are not very efficient. The nicest I ever had was a "Better 'n Ben's" fireplace insert." It burned logs like the fireplace it was in, but if you closed the doors, you had a stove (which was much safer/more efficient than a fireplace). Logs would not fall out, etc. And you could cook on it in a pinch.
Preparation for every winter: Clean your chimney annually--espeically if you burn wood that is less than wonderful (which you will do in emergency).
Kerosene heaters are intrinsically "dangerous" because of the danger of spilling kerosene, CO poisioning, having children/pets knock them over and get burned, spill kerosene, etc. and from having people or cloth or other flammables too close to them and ignite... Curtains, scarves, etc. are hazareds. I once had one of those 15' diameter round "playpens" with no floor and I put the heater inside... It would not have kept a small child out, but it did remind a 5-year old that it was "there." On the other hand, if you use it carefully according to directions, do not leave it on for any reason when you are not awake and in the room with it, you will be toasty warm. Stock up on your kerosene early--it is very difficult to buy. About 1.25 gallons heats a 1500 sq. ft house to about 65-75 degrees (depending upon where you are in the house) for 8+ hours. So for a week you need to have 2 five-gallon cans on hand if you run it 8 hours out of 24. If you are "home" more you need more kerosene stashed. Note that you can't regulate the temperature except by turning it off when it gets warm enough. On the other hand, you don't have to heat 1500 sq. ft. either in most cases. Buy a NEW heater--the old ones are missing a bunch of safety features and are not as efficient. Also buy an extra wick when you buy the heater as they are hard to buy after the fact. You'll have to hunt for it.
Whenever you run any fireplace or other "heater" that is not your furnace, crack a window to provide extra oxygen! No matter how cold it is outside! This will not, as you might expect, suck all the heat out of the house--but it may keep you alive. If you seal up your windows with plastic, storm windows, etc. always make sure there is at least one that you can open easily all winter!
I have 19th century kerosene lanterns and I do use them. But not recommended as there are safety issues--and I have had "flare-ups!" Never leave them in a room you are not in! Also, realize that the chimneys get HOT and they are susceptible to being knocked over, etc. (I've lived with them for over 60 years, so I'm pretty used to them--and also careful.) But you do need "lanterns" and the batteries to run them.
You need some board games to play or other non-electric entertainment (we have the ultimate: a wind-up Victrola and old 78s, but a piano, other musical instruments are recommended).
Be aware of miscellaneous hazards of winter. Before you run a dryer, a "zero clearance" gas fireplace, etc. etc. go out and shovel any snow away from the vents!!! The vents are often about a foot (sometimes less) off the ground--if you have 18 inches of snow, they are covered with snow, so the CO backs up into your house... For safety, ALWAYS shovel out your vents before using a gas clothes dryer, a zero clearance fireplace, etc. While you are out there with a shovel, shovel out your nearest fire hydrant! It is critical that you keep your fire hydrant and about 18" around it in all directions clear because otherwise if there is a fire your house will burn down while the fire department tries to shovel out the hydrant....
If you do use a generator, obey all the safety recommendations, observe the warnings, etc. But yes, you can run your furnace on one...
If possible, Do not buy a house that is "all electric" or "all gas" etc. Try for oil heat, gas stove as well as electric--then if one goes out, you may be able to at least have some heat, etc. A gas cooking stove and a gas "fireplace" may not keep you toasty, but will keep you from total misery. Run that CO detector, though. Also, having multiple/redundant sources of heat helps if there is a shortage of one type. You can switch to the other.
About car safety: Always make sure that everyone in your car is dressed for the weather before they get in the car--hat, scarf, mittens or gloves, boots, warm coat, etc. Even if you are only going a few blocks. No matter how good your heater is. No matter what. People can unbutton, etc. while they are in the car, but they need to be able to bundle up quickly in emergency and they can't if their coat is at home or mittens are on the hall table... Mittens and a hat that covers ears can save your child from frostbite! Warm boots also! If you have a flat tire on the throughway it may not be safe to stay and wait in the car--you may want kids out and over the barrier and away from the roadway--so they need to be dressed to move quickly. If you run off the road in blizzard-like conditons, for example, get out of the car--and turn your lights off so someone does not think you are on the road and ram into your car from behind!!!
Don't run the engine to keep warm very much. First you can run out of gas (always keep your tank at least 1/2 full in the winter) and second, make sure snow is not covering your tailpipe or you did not back into a snowbank or that you don't have a leak in your exhaust system or you will die of CO poisoning trying to stay warm.
Keep flares in your car--like a dozen of them! People recognize flares as trouble--and they seem to attract police, etc. much faster than regular lights. But do keep a couple of flashlights in your car in case you have to leave the car for a safer place to wait for help.
Keeping blankets in the car is good if it is practical (how big is your car, etc.) but you can buy those "emergency space blankets" and they are tiny--but they work. Think wrapping your kids up in a big piece of aluminum foil to keep the heat in... And yourself and any other passengers you might have. Keep a red bandana and a white cloth in your car to tie to the radio antenna in emergeny! The white does not show in blizzard conditions--so tie the red one with it!
See other people's posts for kitty litter, a small shovel, a couple of snow brushes and an ice scraper--all these need to be IN your car! I also keep booster cables, extra gloves/mittens, candy bars and some 1/2 full bottles of water. Yes, those freeze (which is why you want 1/2 full bottles) but they are better than "no water." You don't necessarily have "clean" snow, etc. And you may not want your kids eating candy bars (plain chocolate bars are best, I think for this purpose) or "breakfast bars" for dinner on a regular basis, but these take little room in your car (and you can hide them for emergency) and are better than starving, frightened kids waiting for a tow or the police or something.
The "auto john" is a good idea. In a pinch and empty coffee can works. But if you have small kids, make sure you have some extra diapers and wipes and a large zip lock bag in the car with you because Murphy's Law says that if you don't you will wish that you did....
If you have a cell phone, of course, winter is the time to make sure it is with you and charged. And a car charger is a good idea. But if you are out in the boonies there may be no towers, so don't be overly-dependant.
Last, should I say that if the police tell you to stay off the roads, do what they ask, please. It's one thing to be "caught" out in a storm because the weather changed suddenly, but really stupid when people go out in spite of the warnings not to.
The manual coffee pot is essential. As are pots and pans that are NOT non-stick coated! Those get wrecked and are possibly dangerous used in non-regulated temperature cooking situations. Also, they will "look" nasty unless you can really scrub them (e.g., stainless steel, etc.) after you've cooked over an open flame of the sort you get cooking in a fireplace, etc.
Hot chocolate and (if you can find one) the kind of popcorn popper made with wire screening that you use to pop corn in a fireplace. Jiffy pop works in a pinch (the camping packs) but not as nice and more expensive than a pound of corn and a popper. For those who like/need milk, Parmalat is shelf stable, as is canned milk. You may not like the taste of canned milk or powdered milk "straight" but if you cook with that, you can use Parmalat for drinking....
Food: obviously stuff that requires minimum cooking unless you're a camper. Then whatever you'd cook while camping is fine. (I actually cooked a Thanksgiving Turkey and dinner in a fireplace for 12 people and everything turned out wonderfully--it can be done. Interesting, but you'd better know scratch cooking, etc.)
Several BATTERY OPERATED CO detectors in your house! The ones that plug in are cheaper, of course, but no good for power outage situations, etc.
Heat: fireplaces are not very efficient. The nicest I ever had was a "Better 'n Ben's" fireplace insert." It burned logs like the fireplace it was in, but if you closed the doors, you had a stove (which was much safer/more efficient than a fireplace). Logs would not fall out, etc. And you could cook on it in a pinch.
Preparation for every winter: Clean your chimney annually--espeically if you burn wood that is less than wonderful (which you will do in emergency).
Kerosene heaters are intrinsically "dangerous" because of the danger of spilling kerosene, CO poisioning, having children/pets knock them over and get burned, spill kerosene, etc. and from having people or cloth or other flammables too close to them and ignite... Curtains, scarves, etc. are hazareds. I once had one of those 15' diameter round "playpens" with no floor and I put the heater inside... It would not have kept a small child out, but it did remind a 5-year old that it was "there." On the other hand, if you use it carefully according to directions, do not leave it on for any reason when you are not awake and in the room with it, you will be toasty warm. Stock up on your kerosene early--it is very difficult to buy. About 1.25 gallons heats a 1500 sq. ft house to about 65-75 degrees (depending upon where you are in the house) for 8+ hours. So for a week you need to have 2 five-gallon cans on hand if you run it 8 hours out of 24. If you are "home" more you need more kerosene stashed. Note that you can't regulate the temperature except by turning it off when it gets warm enough. On the other hand, you don't have to heat 1500 sq. ft. either in most cases. Buy a NEW heater--the old ones are missing a bunch of safety features and are not as efficient. Also buy an extra wick when you buy the heater as they are hard to buy after the fact. You'll have to hunt for it.
Whenever you run any fireplace or other "heater" that is not your furnace, crack a window to provide extra oxygen! No matter how cold it is outside! This will not, as you might expect, suck all the heat out of the house--but it may keep you alive. If you seal up your windows with plastic, storm windows, etc. always make sure there is at least one that you can open easily all winter!
I have 19th century kerosene lanterns and I do use them. But not recommended as there are safety issues--and I have had "flare-ups!" Never leave them in a room you are not in! Also, realize that the chimneys get HOT and they are susceptible to being knocked over, etc. (I've lived with them for over 60 years, so I'm pretty used to them--and also careful.) But you do need "lanterns" and the batteries to run them.
You need some board games to play or other non-electric entertainment (we have the ultimate: a wind-up Victrola and old 78s, but a piano, other musical instruments are recommended).
Be aware of miscellaneous hazards of winter. Before you run a dryer, a "zero clearance" gas fireplace, etc. etc. go out and shovel any snow away from the vents!!! The vents are often about a foot (sometimes less) off the ground--if you have 18 inches of snow, they are covered with snow, so the CO backs up into your house... For safety, ALWAYS shovel out your vents before using a gas clothes dryer, a zero clearance fireplace, etc. While you are out there with a shovel, shovel out your nearest fire hydrant! It is critical that you keep your fire hydrant and about 18" around it in all directions clear because otherwise if there is a fire your house will burn down while the fire department tries to shovel out the hydrant....
If you do use a generator, obey all the safety recommendations, observe the warnings, etc. But yes, you can run your furnace on one...
If possible, Do not buy a house that is "all electric" or "all gas" etc. Try for oil heat, gas stove as well as electric--then if one goes out, you may be able to at least have some heat, etc. A gas cooking stove and a gas "fireplace" may not keep you toasty, but will keep you from total misery. Run that CO detector, though. Also, having multiple/redundant sources of heat helps if there is a shortage of one type. You can switch to the other.
About car safety: Always make sure that everyone in your car is dressed for the weather before they get in the car--hat, scarf, mittens or gloves, boots, warm coat, etc. Even if you are only going a few blocks. No matter how good your heater is. No matter what. People can unbutton, etc. while they are in the car, but they need to be able to bundle up quickly in emergency and they can't if their coat is at home or mittens are on the hall table... Mittens and a hat that covers ears can save your child from frostbite! Warm boots also! If you have a flat tire on the throughway it may not be safe to stay and wait in the car--you may want kids out and over the barrier and away from the roadway--so they need to be dressed to move quickly. If you run off the road in blizzard-like conditons, for example, get out of the car--and turn your lights off so someone does not think you are on the road and ram into your car from behind!!!
Don't run the engine to keep warm very much. First you can run out of gas (always keep your tank at least 1/2 full in the winter) and second, make sure snow is not covering your tailpipe or you did not back into a snowbank or that you don't have a leak in your exhaust system or you will die of CO poisoning trying to stay warm.
Keep flares in your car--like a dozen of them! People recognize flares as trouble--and they seem to attract police, etc. much faster than regular lights. But do keep a couple of flashlights in your car in case you have to leave the car for a safer place to wait for help.
Keeping blankets in the car is good if it is practical (how big is your car, etc.) but you can buy those "emergency space blankets" and they are tiny--but they work. Think wrapping your kids up in a big piece of aluminum foil to keep the heat in... And yourself and any other passengers you might have. Keep a red bandana and a white cloth in your car to tie to the radio antenna in emergeny! The white does not show in blizzard conditions--so tie the red one with it!
See other people's posts for kitty litter, a small shovel, a couple of snow brushes and an ice scraper--all these need to be IN your car! I also keep booster cables, extra gloves/mittens, candy bars and some 1/2 full bottles of water. Yes, those freeze (which is why you want 1/2 full bottles) but they are better than "no water." You don't necessarily have "clean" snow, etc. And you may not want your kids eating candy bars (plain chocolate bars are best, I think for this purpose) or "breakfast bars" for dinner on a regular basis, but these take little room in your car (and you can hide them for emergency) and are better than starving, frightened kids waiting for a tow or the police or something.
The "auto john" is a good idea. In a pinch and empty coffee can works. But if you have small kids, make sure you have some extra diapers and wipes and a large zip lock bag in the car with you because Murphy's Law says that if you don't you will wish that you did....
If you have a cell phone, of course, winter is the time to make sure it is with you and charged. And a car charger is a good idea. But if you are out in the boonies there may be no towers, so don't be overly-dependant.
Last, should I say that if the police tell you to stay off the roads, do what they ask, please. It's one thing to be "caught" out in a storm because the weather changed suddenly, but really stupid when people go out in spite of the warnings not to.
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weathermom
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- Location: North Jersey
You can buy little baggie "johns" that can be used by women too at kmart in the camping section. They are filled with the same absorbant gel/crystals that are in diapers. Just keep some ziplocks to put them in after use. They don't spill, but they have no seal either. They are great for keeping in a boat or car.
In a pinch, a diaper will absorb also.......
In a pinch, a diaper will absorb also.......
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Miss Mary
Great ice melter suggestion I read in the paper once: Lawn Fertilizer (not Weed & Feed, but straight Feed only) melts ice, doesn't harm concrete and the best part, is safe for pets and wildlife.
I keep 2 bags in the garage and just had to use some on our uncovered porch and sidewalk to the driveway.
Just thought I'd mention this if anyone is trying to use less harsh products, that don't erode concrete (we used salt on our brand new driveway 16 years ago, bad decision, we need to replace it one of these years soon).
Mary
I keep 2 bags in the garage and just had to use some on our uncovered porch and sidewalk to the driveway.
Just thought I'd mention this if anyone is trying to use less harsh products, that don't erode concrete (we used salt on our brand new driveway 16 years ago, bad decision, we need to replace it one of these years soon).
Mary
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