Oh! The weather outside was frightful…. and it was not much better inside for so many Texans, last week. We had devastating snow falls and record breaking low temperatures. As many people have said, “Texas was not built for this…Texas is not used to this!” And that is the truth!!! We are not built for that kind of extreme weather because we rarely have it. The last time it reaches that low was in 1949!!!
I am not going to re-tale all the heartbreaking stories from this past week. They have been told and retold over the news, social media, etc by much better writers than I. We were fortunate not to have a power outage, some say because of the vicinity to a hospital. We do, in fact, live close to a major hospital and just a mile or so from another Hospital. There are several long term and nursing care / retirement facilities, medical labs and clinics with-in walking distance. Some of our family and friends did not have such fortune. My mom and aunt both lost power for several days. So many in our community lost power and then had pipes break, therefore lost water. So much turmoil and destruction!!!
What I am going to discuss is being prepared for things that MIGHT happen. In this case, I am going to share how we prepare incase our power is shut off. Since the snow storm is fresh on my mind, I will focus on that but most of these items would help in any condition where electricity is out.
I have mentioned how important we think preparedness is in a few of my posts. In the early days of the Covid-129 Pandemic, I wrote about it here. We prepare for a lot of things, like loss of employment, sickness, ability to help others when needed…but we never really thought that we might need this because of snow!!!
Some of the best things to stock up on in an emergency pantry would be canned goods. Things that could be eaten without heating like canned meats (tuna, turkey, chicken, and of course SPAM!), canned veggies, and soups. Also, milk can be found in cans (powdered milk should be stocked, as well).
We do, however, have propane powered camp stoves and a charcoal grill we could have used to heat food. If our electric went out, we would need to cook up the contents of our freezer before consuming any of our canned goods.
Be sure to keep a stock of water! Since the power grids went down, water was in short supply. Many surrounding cities were on a water boil notice. They had water but it was not being treated because of the outage of power. Furthermore, so many had frozen or burst pipes that water was turned off! Some of our neighbors had water damage and their water will be shut off for several days to weeks, until the pipes and damage are repaired. Please do not rely on your local super market to have enough water. I have been in several super markets overt the last few days, 3-5 days since our temps have been rising (we are in the 70s now…oy, Texas weather), and water is in very short supply and what is available is very limited.
It is suggested, by the CDC, to “store at least 1 gallon of water per person per day for 3 days for drinking and sanitation. Try to store a 2-week supply if possible. Consider storing more water than this for hot climates, pregnant women, and persons who are sick” CDC.gov. Personally, we like to store more because we are water drinkers and consume quiet a bit on the best of days. We also have recently bought a Berkey water filtering system. If water is shut off during a snow storm, we could collect snow to melt and filter. In the summer, we could collect pool water and the Berkey is able to filter it to drinking safety. “In order to be classified as a water purifier, a water treatment device must remove at least 99.9999% of pathogenic bacteria (known as a log 6 reduction in the water treatment industry) and reduce viruses by 99.99% (log 4 reduction). Our Berkey water filter systems can be classified as a water purifier because the elements actually remove 99.9999999% of pathogenic bacteria (log 9 reductions) and 99.999% of viruses which greatly exceeds the standards” Berkey.com.
Now that we have food and water taken care of, let’s get our bodies warm! Of course, in today’s time there are all kinds of powerless heaters available. We do not have one of these. I just assumed that our fireplace would help us keep warm in a winter time power outage but I am now considering a back up plan and will be looking into a portable heater. Since we did not have this last week, we planned to layer up in warm clothes, snuggle up under blankets in the living room (where our fireplace is located). Maggie, my 7 year old, just got a new sleeping bag that is rated for freezing weather. My husband and I never got around to getting ours, this is high on our shopping list, now. Until last week, I had all of my winter socks packed up. Since I do not really go many places, due to Covid-19 socially distancing, I have not needed them. It has been cold the last few months but I am in and out of car so fast I never thought about unpacking my socks Luckily they were easy to get to.
To keep your body warm, you need to keep your home as warm as possible by blocking off any drafts that may creep in. Using weather seal tape to secure plastic over your windows, then hanging blankets will help with this. Be sure to stuff towels at the bottom of each door, good thing we have a good supply of pool / beach towels!!!
My heart really goes out to those who have been so devestated by the snow storms! Everyone is in our prayers and thoughts. Mother Nature can create some beautiful weather but she can also cast dark times with her furry.
Here are some helpful links to, hopefully, helpo us be more prepared for nexttime. There is always a “next time”, let’s just hope it is not for a very long time!!! 2021 has already given 2020 a run for it’s money!
Casual Preppers (these guys!!! they are not for everyone, can be a bit … inappropriate … at times. They are very funny and can get you thinking about what you need to prepare without going nuts about it.)
Ramblings from a Housewife 