Winter Storm...what do you stock up on?

[Cindylouwho]

I grow more envious of my MIL and my mum as time goes on.

MIL first. She has a large outhouse which has a chest freezer in it. She has a solid fuel stove in the kitchen, which she burns logs and coal in (mostly logs from her own trees) and keeps a large kettle on top all winter round for hot water. In an emergency, if the "emergency" gas cooker in the outhouse fails, she can cook or at least heat things on that stove. And a large, open sided shed where she can hang her laundry to dry under cover but not in the house (causing damp) - if the electricity is off, she washes clothes in a large old bath (the ones you'd sit in, all squished up) out there too. And the logs are kept there nice and dry and accessible..

Wow -- I'm envious of this too!

I had another thought on this topic. A year or so ago, I came up with the idea of stocking an outdoor ice chest whenever I sense a power outage coming. Winds pick up and out comes the ice chest. I transfer the sandwich fixings, the condiments, some milk and pop and whatever other things I think we'll be needing. I then add a bit of ice and put it out on the porch right next to the door where it is nice and winter-cold. This way we are raiding the ice chest and not the fridge when we are hungry, and we do not need to open the refrigerator unless absolutely necessary. Everything in in refrigerator then lasts longer (and hopefully til the power comes back on).

 

[Cathymac]

I love this thread! Keep the cozy thoughts coming!!

 

[AuntJamelle]

Great ideas from all!

We have had really mild winters here in northern Indiana for the last several years. But that is supposed to change this year -something to do with El Nino changing - in any case, it never hurts to have simple plans in place - just in case!

I too, bemoan the fact that our wood burning fireplace is so inefficient. That is, unless you want a smoke filled house!

They say that spring cleaning became a tradition because it was then that you could finally clean all the soot off of everything!!!

Anyways, we have a few things lined up in case of loss of electricity:

We do have a generator that will run the freezers and other basic needs in the house - as long as we have the gasoline to fill it, of course. DH tries to keep a few gas cans filled once the weather starts getting really cold, just in case.

We have flashlights, extra batteries, a couple of oil lamps (used for decoration but still work if needed) and plenty of candles!!! DH always complains about how many candles I have, but I am not throwing them away! The extras are stored in the basement for the time when they may be needed! They will all get used eventually... lol

If our natural gas stopped coming to the house that would affect our furnace, hot water heater and our other fireplace. That is more of a pickle. It has never happened before - but if it did we would just have to make do with the wood burning fireplace I guess.

Close off most of the house and hunker down!

I always have a good supply of canned goods in the house - if we had to subsist on refried beans and Chef Boy'r'dee for a while, we could. We do have a manual can opener - not just an electric one.

As long as we had gas for the generator we could continue to access our fridge/freezers too.

I know the oven draws alot of energy so I probably wouldn't bake alot - although that little bit of extra heat is nice - especially for the baker opening and closing the oven. Of course, I know this is NOT an acceptable way to heat the house!

Laundry would just have to wait! We have plenty of clothes so I don't think it would be an issue - I sincerely hope we don't see a two week snowed in type of storm - then I might have to get creative!

But necessity is the mother of invention!

 

[masslass]

We can certainly get major snow here, and last year, on DS's birthday in Dec., we had a massive ice storm that knocked out power to practically the whole region.

Everyone's given good tips, so I don't have much to add other than:

- be sure to keep your battery-powered lights/candles/matches are where you can easily find them even if it's completely dark! Keep some form of light by your bed and maybe something on the kitchen table, or some other central place.

- if you usually use an electric can opener (my arthritic grandmother used hers all the time), be sure to have a manual can opener around or choose canned foods with pull-top lids.

- if you generally have snowy winters, or if major snow/ice are predicted, get your car's tank filled up as soon as you can, whether or not it's near empty. Many gas stations here were shut down during the ice storm due to no electricity to run the pumps.

 

[Eaglesax]

sounds like you guys have some really good plans. I can't relate, we get snow (mostly just flakes) about every 10 years :0) If it's an actual "storm" we shut everything down for a day...maybe 2. Our preparation is trying to beat everyone to the store before the milk and bread is gone......but hey, we can survive the one day without it if they're sold out LOL

 

[Cindylouwho]

BUMP!!! (For our friends facing Sandy)

 

[HouseElf]

We have a generator, it will run the fridge, freezer and our small heater. My husband keeps it in working order, with an inspection at the start of summer and the beginning of winter - extra gas in cans. We also fill up the car!

We close off most of the house, and keep to the two main rooms (kitchen and diningroom).
We have our camping gear in the basement, one rubbermaid bin for each of us - they include everything from mess kits to sleeping bags, air mattress with foot pumps, extra blankets... We bunker down in the diningroom!

We always have at least two weeks of medication in the house (my middle son is a type 1 diabetic) and do buy an extra month if the weather forecast predicts a storm.

We have a propane heater that we can use if needed - the tank sits outside and the portable heater is in the house. We also have the BBQ and our camping stove and griddle that runs on propane, we keep the BBQ functional all year with one full extra tank.

 

[luludou]

wow HE you really are prepared!

I got the candles out and told dd to bring some to her school appartment.
We have propane heating, wood stove, camping stove, flashligts, bottled water.
What we do not have is a generator. Wish we had one just to save the food in the fridge & the freezer

 

[Winged One]

Don't forget that gas or charcoal BBQs work even in winter weather, so they can be useful alternate sources for cooking - just remember to always use them OUTDOORS.

There are threats for a cold winter here again, after a very mild one last year but lots of snow the previous 2. Snow is relatively unusual here - apart from the past few years, I only remember 3 other snows in my life (all 35 years prior to the recent events).

 

[MrsSoup]

We recently made car kits with blankets, flashlights, batteries, water, snacks, ice scraper, kitty litter, etc.

For the house, if a storm is predicted we'll stock up on groceries we may need, like milk, bread, eggs, perishable stuff. Here very soon i'm going to do a major grocery shop for more non-perishable canned goods and meat to put in the freezer. If power goes out we have a Coleman stove we can use and we can also use our stovetop since it's gas. We do not have a generator but I figure if a winter storm hits, it will most likely be cold enough outside to store cold food in coolers if need be. We have candles, lighters, batteries, flashlights and lots of blankets. I imagine they would open up some type of shelter in one of the gyms here on post if the power was to be out for a long period.

We, too, have camping gear we could use and a crank radio and weather radio too.

 

[missjane]

We seldom have to worry about the weather being so bad here in the winter, but I always keep extra water We have a gas stove and heaters, too, so we would have heat and a way to cook. The only thing I would need to do is stock up on food because when we do get snow, the roads aren't cleared because it's too costly to buy snow plows for here since in only snows about once every 15-20 years! I so wish I had a generator, though, so I could run my freezer.

 

[luludou]

Think I need to prep a car kit for dd. Never thought of the kitty litter. good idea Jess.

 

[Ahorsesoul]

I need to get something together for a disaster. We do have an ER Storm station that I have charged. But that's it. No candles in this house so I probably should have some. I'll have to do some thinking about this. It also is fun to re-read posts and wonder about people we do not hear from lately on here.