Beans & LegumesTop 10 Ways To Prep For Cold Weather…
10. Blankets:
Make sure you have plenty of blankets on hand in case of a loss of power or loss of a heating source.
9. Alternative Heating Source
Make sure you have another way to heat your home and cook your meals. Relying only on your primary sources of heat and power could leave you in a precarious situation. Don’t make this mistake.
8. Food Storage
Stock up on food. This will come in very handy if you are ever snowed in. It will also be a great help to those of your friends, family, or neighbors, who may by in a time of need.
7. Water Storage
Don’t let your stored water freeze. This can ruin the containers it is stored in. Keep your water in above freezing temperatures.
6. Winterize your home
Extend the life of your fuel supply by insulating walls and attics, caulking and weather-stripping doors and windows, and installing storm windows or covering windows with plastic.
5. Insulate pipes with insulation or newspapers and plastic and allow faucets to drip a little during cold weather to avoid freezing. Also, winterize your sprinkler system.
4. Keep fire extinguishers on hand
House fires pose an additional risk, as more people turn to alternate heating sources without taking the necessary safety precautions.
3. Winterize Your Car
Cold weather can be very tough on vehicles. Make sure that you’ve had your vehicles heating system checked. Make sure your tires are ready for ice and snow. Make sure you keep at least a half a tank of gas at all times, and that you have an Auto emergency kit in your vehicle.
2. Check Your Roof
If you live in an area that gets a lot of snow, make sure you have your roof checked for integrity. Can it handle the weight of the snow that will come?
1. Clothing
Make sure you dress appropriately for the cold weather. Keep extra coats on hand in your car. You don’t want to get caught in a snow or ice storm without the ability to stay warm. Wear extra layers and keep scarfs, gloves, and a warm hat nearby.
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Please remember, when using alternate heat sources which use kerosene, propane, etc, that you have proper ventilation and that you follow the manufacturer’s instructions. All the preparation in the world is worthless if you perish as a result of trying to stay warm. Same goes for alternate cooking sources. Always provide proper ventilation and protection from the elements for generators and never bring fuel powered generators indoors with you.
September 18th, 2011 at 10:36 pmThank goodness we live in southwest Florida. We lived in Ohio all our lives so I definitely know about how important it is to be prepared for the cold. These are excellent tips for preparing for winter. Definitely have shovel, boots, food, blanket, pee bucket(not just if you have kids
etc… in your car if you break down or stuck on the highway. Blizzards can come on suddenly. You can be in your car for hours or even overnight. Be prepared.
September 18th, 2011 at 10:37 pmAnd for those of you fortunate enough to have wood or coal burning stoves keep a goodly supply of fuel close enough to your doorway and covered so you can reach it easily..Also small pieces of Fireplce Starter Logs placed under the kindling and lighted jumpstarts the fire quicker.The mountain man’s method for resurrecting a nearly out fire is a one half inch diameter copper pipe 36 inches long with the fire end mashed down except for a small airhole ..Blowing thru this and pointed toward the sparks or embers activates the embers pronto! …and your back in business again.
September 18th, 2011 at 11:00 pmI read about placing a container of baking soda in every room in case a fire starts.
September 19th, 2011 at 5:00 amI live in north Texas and though we don’t get snowed in we can get enough ice that has kept us from being able to out. Three days is the longest we’ve had to deal with it but three days is a long time if your not prepared for lose of power or shortage of food.
Don’t forget the elderly neighbor who maybe alone with no family or no one close to check in on them. Take a warm bowl of soup or something, ask if they have an emergency radio, if not maybe you have a spare one to share. Even a transistor radio would be better than nothing and don’t forget extra batteries.
I live in upstate NY This is part of life
September 19th, 2011 at 4:14 pmCold weather preparedness , Good Topic . I was lucky enough to be in Alaska in 1989 for one of the coldest winters on record. Proper clothing is a must , The military at the time had polypropylene long underwear . worked well . However as far as clothes goes I am sure you have all heard of layering, in my experience you cannot beat Wool as a base layer or for all your layers same with your blankets IE : have one of those modern fleece blankets ? wake up sweating in the middle of the night ? hat’s because they do not breathe as wool does wool is kind of like climate control not to mention even when wet it still insulates. Silk is good as well . Water well some of us do not have a place to store water that won’t freeze so do a web search and there are containers that can handle freezing now of course may be a problem when you need it but hey use your head and figure it out . Remember your mind is the most important survival tool you have .
September 19th, 2011 at 6:59 pmI live north from Buffalo.You don’t need to tell me about the cold.A lot of people have moved up this way.I tell them how cold it gets around here.The new record is -17 was set in 2005.I keep my gas grill on my porch,and I have 2 full spare tanks of propane in my shed.On October 13,2006 we got hit with a freak snow storm.The lake dumped 3 feet of heavy wet snow on us.All the trees still had all it’s leaves.Branches where braking all over town.Taking power lines with it.Lot’s of houses had heavy damage.No power,no heat,and all the streets had trees downed.Could not drive anywere.When I walked to the store to get supplies it was realy dangerous.Trees were still braking from the snow and ice on them.I will never be cought with my pants down again.4 days without power.5 nights without lights,and heat.I have my list and I have my supplies.If you don’t?Then get them soon.
September 21st, 2011 at 11:48 amYou need to keep a good mind set when it comes to the winters here in Buffalo.People die here every year from the cold.Most of them died in a car.You get stuck and can’t move.They didn’t bring any cold weather goods and tried to wait for help.Help came too late.If your car gets stuck,you may need to leave it and walk to get help in the cold and deep snow.The bodies were found in their car frozen to death.They ran out of gas and the car turned into a ice box.
And last year the thruway I 90 got snowed in from PA line all the way up to Hamburg NY.5000 cars stranded for over 5 days.The NY State Troopers had to ride around on snow mobiles bringing food and water to all the people that got stuck.That worked for the first 12 hours.Then the cars ran out of gas.So they called for a state of emergentcy and moved all the people from their cars to nearby motels,and hotels.It took over 5 days to move all the cars.It was the craziest thin I have ever seen.NY State put into law that if the snow gets too deep for the thruways for cars and trucks to travel on.They will close the truways until the snow is removed.Whats this winter going to be like?
September 21st, 2011 at 12:22 pm