Download the Extreme Weather Survival Guide here: cityprepping.tv/3P3skQH - start your preparedness journey: cityprepping.tv/3lbc0P9 /////////Items listed in the video///////////// 1) Carbon monoxide sensor alarm: amzn.to/3dZeEYr 2) Fire extinguisher: amzn.to/3BXOoWh 3) Painter plastic sheeting (amzn.to/3Sx3nNZ) + duct tape (amzn.to/3yt0w0L) 4) Sleeping bags (amzn.to/3LXD4hj), quilts, wool blankets + ground pad (amzn.to/3rkQeLX) 5) Electric blanket (amzn.to/3dTDJUH) or heating pad (amzn.to/3SMsVXe 6) Aluminum insulation roll (cityprepping.tv/453lb90) 7) Hot water bottles (amzn.to/3CnnNTZ) and thermos (amzn.to/3fy39r7) 8) Small tent (enough for your family, nothing more) 9) Winter clothes (layered) 10) Mr. Heater Buddy (amzn.to/3SN98He) 11) Small propane tanks + large tanks + hose for Mr. Heater (amzn.to/3UUCnte) 12) Led headlamps (amzn.to/3CwXGu5) 13) Lanterns (amzn.to/3Sx3QzJ) 14) Flashlights (amzn.to/3BXxQxF) 15) Propane lantern (amzn.to/3StECSK) 16) Camping stove (amzn.to/3RpaeYr) 17) Food (freeze-dried: amzn.to/3y6fv07) + MRE (amzn.to/3dQknjm) 18) Stored water (amzn.to/3Eb1qCv) 19) Emergency radio (amzn.to/3E8abNJ) 20) Small solar panel for charging electronics (cityprepping.tv/3e2PfwX plus budget option: amzn.to/3EfP3Fv) + battery (amzn.to/3rphmJK) 21) Solar generator ( • Solar Generators ) 22) Dual Fuel Generator: amzn.to/3Rm7kUd 23) Heavy Duty extension cords with a splitter on the end (amzn.to/3SOpjUH)
@@BreathingLiife As a first aid instructor & volunteer at major events with decades of experience, I'd say it's the last thing you want anyway! I've never seen a situation where it would be useful! Very rare an injury isn't going to respond to elevation, just hold one of your arms up & the other down for 5 minutes or so & see & feel the difference in circulation in them. Pad, bandage & elevate. Tourniquet in a SHTF situation is a guaranteed loss of limb below the tourniquet. They're not even sold in my country, cause of the dangers vs potential benefit, I mean do you even know how to use one? Do you know you have to remove every 30 minutes to have any chance of saving the limb? & do you know that if you leave in place for a number of hours & then remove, you will release toxins into the body that will likely cause death? Not to mention the extreme pain when applying properly & that they will block veins & not arteries if not applied tightly enough, which will therefore make the blood loss worse You'd be much better off spending your money on a first aid course than tourniquet! Defibrillator is another item that would be useful if you really want to prepare for anything, FAR more chance you will save someone's life with that than a tourniquet! A ventailin puffer or epipen would be another 2 options that would be much more likely to be useful than a tourniquet if you're looking for first aid stuff to throw your money away on. Only time I would consider using something to cut off circulation would be with a femur bone sticking out of the skin or glass shards all over the limb & massive bleeding with it (which in reality isn't actually going to happen anyway, the body just doesn't bleed that much from limbs), in those settings, temporarily sticking your fist into their groin to block the femoral artery, or wrapping a triangular bandage or other non-stretchy cloth around the limb for a few minutes so as to see what you're doing while getting pressure onto it can, at least in theory be helpful. Again though, I have decades of experience & tens of thousands of people I've taught & not a single time have I encountered a situation where it would be useful, or encountered anyone I've taught that has found themselves in that situation - and that includes teaching for miners & construction workers & other high risk industries. I've encountered a significant number of people who have lost someone to a heart attack though, that could have saved them if they had a defibrillator on hand. I've also encountered a significant number of people who have had a child have their first anaphylactic reaction in their arms & who have been highly traumatised by holding that limp body for the minutes it has taken for an ambulance to arrive with an epi-pen, or they have had an epi-pen available at the school/pre-school & been able to use it to save the child. I've also experienced a significant number of people with life threatening asthma attacks & likewise have taught people who have experienced this too. Only person I've ever had in one of my classes lose someone to blood loss was a soldier trying to treat a person shot through the chest, with a mix of breathing difficulty & blood everywhere & obviously a tourniquet is useless on that. Only ones I've personally lost have been to cardiac arrest & OD's & possibly head injuries/concussion, but they would have died later at the hospital, not with me, not sure if they died or not. I had one VERY close to dying from dehydration from food poisoning too, that one was pretty shocking, given we were called to a person sitting on the toilet, so really weren't expecting her to be THAT sick & how she was upright is really beyond me & was beyond the doctors onsite too (she was stabilised onsite, cause she was too sick to put into an ambulance & transport without having a cardiac arrest if the ambulance hit a tiny bump on the way to the hospital). I've seen lots of stuff, including stuff like amputations, but never bleeding not controlled with pressure & elevation, even in the elderly on anti-clotting meds that mean it's impossible to actually stop the bleeding, elevation still reduces it enough to be quite easily manageable
Another good sleeping bag tip would be to put your clothing you plans to wear in the morning inside your sleeping bag. That way they are warm when you get up
I did that in the Army when on our field exercises in the middle of winter. I took that itchy wool blanket to the bottom of my sleeping bag and put my socked feet between the blanket to keep warm.
When I was in college we (wife and three small kids) lived in a small apartment that was completely electric. We had an ice storm one year that closed the college and roadways and left us stranded for three days without power. We had lots of food and managed to keep the water running through the slow flow process, but it was freezing. We took the mattress off our bed and moved it into one of the kids rooms since it was the smallest. We then took our 4 man pop up camp tent and put it on the mattress, which insulated us from the floor and made it very comfortable, the then spread spare comforters on top of the tent to get better insulation, and between that and our sleeping bags and blankets on the inside of he tent we were able to keep comfortably warm when we slept--getting great sleep was important. During the day we kept moving and kept bundled up. We made it through just fine!
I was a over the road truck driver for 20 years. Few suggestions for your car go to a truckstop and see if they have an electric blanket that plugs into your 12 Volt plug in your car. Keep a thermos in your car. You can buy a little metal coil that plugs into the lighter to heat up water. I would also think about getting a Candle lantern . You can crack a window ventilation. You can use emergency blankets or the foil bubble wrap to turn your car into a super shelter. It would be smart to put a tote in the back of your trunk. Get some smaller bottles of water because they won’t crush is easy. but some life boat food bars or MRE’s winter clothing and wool blankets. You may want to put some salt and the small shovel in your car as well.
I'm surprised that some people don't know that diesel engines don't start up in the cold. I thought you were going to say put that blanket on the engine bay to keep the engine warm so it'll start. Some come with a plug in the engine bay to plug in to an outlet to keep it warm. I'd imagine there's some sort of device that has a battery that would plug into to keep the engine warm. I saw an actual guy living in his diesel vehicle who didn't know about diesel engines & the cold. He had a plug but didn't know where it was & didn't even know he had one. He goes to start his bus/home/bug out vehicle in a snow storm & thinks it's dead... That or keep it running the whole time. I worked by a FedEx facility & they'd leave their vehicles running all night long when it's cold enough.
I grew up in Oregon and went through the 1962 Columbus Day Storm... we were without power for two weeks (estimate was that 99% of the grid was down). Obviously not winter. My dad had an old camp stove and my mom put it on the washing machine and left the back door open when cooking or heating water, then closed the outside door after turning it off; left the door from our utility room closed when cooking to avoid carbon monoxide from getting into the house. The water utility didn't go down, so we had water all through the time period. Mom made hot water so we could take baths, and used the fireplace (it had a built-in heatilator) to keep us warm; and lots of blankets at night. A few years later, there was a grocery store built down the street from us, and after that, whenever there was a power outage, our power got restored rather quickly, because we were on the same grid circuit - and that's when I learned about the power utility prioritizing when restoring power.
I lived outside Olympia during that storm on a dead end street with 4 houses. No power for 3 weeks. Walked a mile every day to get water from friends, heated with & cooked on the wood stove. Sponge baths only for the family of 6.
I was a Portland kid during that storm also. We had a teacher who had a barometer who saw that a huge storm was coming. She went around to every class to tell the teachers to not keep anyone after school and kids to go right home after school. My family was very blessed to have our electricity restored the next day but most of my friends had theirs out for two or three weeks.
My parents who were born in the late 40's early 50's are beginning to realize that i am not the zombie apocalypse weirdo that they first thought i was, they now get what is possible and are also starting to prepare. Just shows it's never to late to start preparing.
Yes I am from the early 50's and have had to endure below freezing temps for 4 days unprepared. I am now prepared and continue to gather great info from videos like this one. Thank you.😊
A friend gave me this idea, that's those blue moving blankets. You can use them year round to haul things around without damaging them. But you can also get some nails and hammer into the top of white door frame. You can do this to block off a hallway to isolate heat from say a buddy heater, or a row of windows in the living room to create a barrier from the cold coming in. They are thick and insulate and when you remove the nails from the top of the door frame you cannot see the small holes you made. And it's also not just an emergency thing, you can use it year round to move stuff around or let friend family use when they are moving, they are very useful to have outside of emergencies.
We always have a couple heavy moving blankets in our SUV. They come in very handy like you said. We mostly use them for impromptu purchases of clearance Lowes plants or lumber. One of our neighbors used to live in a hail-prone part of the US and he said he kept several in his vehicle and covered his car on multiple occasions to protect it from hail damage when he was at work. If hail was coming he'd just run out and cover his car. Said the wet and heavy blankets were not fun afterwards. 😂
I would also recommend Yaktrax for your boots! They are inexpensive and could really save you from a fall on ice. As a first responder in Texas during the last few ice storms, they allowed me to get to people in need.
@@ruthcrosby3474yaktrax are cleated straps that slip over your shoes or boots to provide traction. Should be available at Walmart or sporting good stores, possible shoe stores.
Remember, if the grid is down, so is the sewage. Keep a 5-gallon bucket, lined with an industrial grade plastic bag and a supply of kitty litter on standby. Saw dust would also be good for this if you have any. Do your business, cover with a layer of kitty litter/saw dust. Wipe your hands with wet wipes, toss it in, close the lit, wash, rinse, repeat. There are plenty of TH-cam videos showing how to make a rudimentary toilet.
Academy Sports sells a toilet seat lid for about $8. That snaps onto a 5 gal. Bucket. Walmart has one for about $15. We bought a huge bale of pine or cedar shavings at Walmart or tractor supply very cheap.
Not necessarily true. If you live in a city, most of them have the lift stations on generators and usually a good supply of fuel. The grid would have to be down for weeks before sewage shuts down. It's not like when the power goes out and suddenly you have no lights. Water and sewer are entirely different situations, so in preparing for temporary grid issues caused by weather, water/sewer is rarely going to be a problem in cities.
@@Swearengen1980 in the short term, you are correct. However, should the shutdown linger, or you live in an area that is less capable, then you'd best prepare for the worst, and abandon all hope. Because we will be well and truly fucked.
Thank you! Lots of potty options. Since we have cats, we keep extra litter for this purpose. We have bucket w/ snap on toilet seat, we have a bucket with a $Tree pool noodle and bags for each, and then more recently I acquired a bedside commode. Pricier option, but a welcome addition and a good one for us if it is a long term situation.
For parents of really little ones, a great nightlight option in a power outage are glowsticks. There cool colors and a very safe and easy item for kids to use to navigate in the dark or just to keep the monsters away
Glowsticks are my friends first stage option, he has other options if the power stays out but that's what he keeps on hand as an initial option. As soon as the power goes out he cracks a few and just puts them in a few key areas. Like you say kids think they are cool and would enjoy cracking and shaking one.
I like the little 9v LED blocklites. I always have used 9v batteries around from changing out the batteries in my smoke alarms. Those little lights will last all night, longer than a candle with no fire risk!
Winterize your home now: check for drafts at exterior doors and make repairs, get some window film for insulation, and service your furnace or clean out air vents.
I like my Merino wool thermals, they're a bit more expensive but, they keep me warmer than synthetic thermals. Another added feature of merino wool is they do not make you itch like regular wool products. Thanks for all your good prepping ideas and life-saving tips!
Just discovered your video and found your tips quite helpful! I’m an 80 year old great granny, and here’s a few things I learned many years ago from a “Survival in the Wilderness” class from the local Mountaineers: your brain is your most important survival tool! Concerning clothing, they said wool is great because it will keep you warm even if it gets wet. I’ve had many opportunities to confirm this over the years. Also, they taught that food was third in importance, because worst case, a person can survive at least 10 days without food, water is second, because a person can survive for 3 days without water, so shelter/warmth is the first priority, because a person can’t survive one night in temps below 45 degrees. Also, concerning water, while it may not be good to drink, if you make sure to turn off power to your hot water tank so it won’t be damaged when the power comes back on, you can use that water for cleaning, and flushing toilets. Thank you for giving out so much more information!
Coming from a 25+ year ski instructor in the Midwest, a spare pair of Smartwool / synthetic moisture wicking sock is absolutely * KEY *- to warm feet in snowy conditions. Toes are necessary, as any hunter or person who has experienced frozen toes will tell you. Cotton socks will retain sweat and your feet may get frostbite. Hiking boots, as well, and mittens, both in case you need to bug out or even get stranded in a vehicle in a snow storm or icy roads in winter.
FYI, wool blankets are *NOT* hypo-allergenic. Many people, myself included, are allergic to wool. Also, regular disposable hand-warmers helped us to keep the cats warm during the Great Texas Deep Freeze of 2021. We used the hot-water heater liner (aluminum bubble wrap) is what we used to make the critters a little tent that they could stay in and the hand warmers combined with them worked great. Be aware that some smoke detectors also work to detect heat so a camping stove might end up setting off the smoke detector. MRE heaters are usable to heat up other types of food as well. Hand sanitizer can also be used to heat things up since alcohol can burn fairly cleanly. During the Texas blackout, the water pressure declined to essentially zero. It was because the city had told everybody to run a stream of water from every faucet. City water systems are designed for that on a good day and it didn't work out so well.
More ideas: + Tyvek suit with the attached shoe booties and hood will keep you dry and warm while out. + Induction hot plate can be used with a big battery unit. Couple with a pot for heating water or cooking. Load up thermoses while you’re at it. + I set up two jugs: one with plain water for rinsing, another with water, a squirt of dish soap and a teaspoon of bleach for washing hands and dishes. + Gas can, filled ahead of time when you fill up your car tank. If power is out, gas station pumps won’t be available. Prepare for an evacuation: (trees can topple onto your house in extreme weather) + Prepared pet carrier with essentials (food, meds, leash) + Go bags that include options for a few days of car living, just in case you can’t find accommodations. Remember your freezers when the power is out. If you’ve got snow, you can bag it and pack it in your freezer to help keep temps down. Refreeze by tossing outside.
Thank you. Very useful info. Way back, I was very involved with back country SAR. In the Cascades and Olympics, our survival skills had to be superb. Our motto was “Cotten kills” and we were sent away if we showed up in cold weather with any Cotten on any layer. Actually, that was most of the time. It can be 80 at base camp and 10-20 below at night on the mountains. Wool, silk, synthetics were all good. No Cotten. It soaks up moisture like a wick and the evaporation can cause hypothermia rather quickly.
I suggest a fire blanket as well as extinguisher. I bought one when I first left home & moved into a TINY place, cause I realised that using a fire extinguisher was going to be problematic with fumes. Fire blankets are great for oil & other cooking fires that you can't use water on. I've never actually used mine, but it's good peace of mind. I also suggest fixing drafts permanently, rather than just having stuff to use on them in an emergency, I did that about a year ago now & REALLY noticed the difference over winter, saved me a lot of money not losing heat to drafts. I mean I already had it part done, but really checking for all gaps & properly sealing them really does make a HUGE difference to power use & heat retention. Be sure to remember exhaust fans & skylights when doing it too, you can buy one way valves for exhaust fans, that you simply sit on top of them inside the roof cavity & when the fan is turned on, the pressure opens them, but when the fan is turned off, the valve closes & stops passive air escape when you don't want it (you can buy similar for drains too, which are great for stopping back flow in the case of a blockage). I had one skylight, that I never used as a skylight & so I put polystyrene insulation over it & that seems to have made the biggest difference in reducing heat loss in my home. "security film" over my windows has made a significant difference to heat transfer through the windows too, not as good as double glazing, but only a fraction of the price & windows are now neutral temperature to the touch, instead of freezing cold, like the glass used to be in winter
I understand the edturance against candles and oil lanterns but those are also important to have as a backup and they are far cheaper to get ahold off for those low on money. They make emergency tea light candles that are far thicker than regular tea candles. There is also (If you can afford it) candle lanterns as well. Also, there are flameless fire tablets you can use a small camp stove with. Not to mention little fuel cans that you can use to cook over. As well as solar battery packs that are handled for you to charge your phone or even your smaller rechargeable batteries like your AA and AAA ones. You'll want to stock up on canned pet food and get your pets multivitamins at least worm treatments. There are also, camping toilets, bathing wipes(made specifically for full body bathing), leave in dry hair shampoo. And of course you'll need some books and games for you and your family. A potable DVD player is also good as you can use your solar battery packs to charge it.
I have a yoga mat or exercise mat to put under the sleeping bed. I'm currently sleeping on an air mattress, yoga mat, and sleeping bag while I finish up cleaning up my house from a move
WOW Kris is there anything you do not know.? Your help is very much appreciated. God is definitely using you to bless others in these perilous time. Hod bless you.
We bought a house in the country. Wind storms bring down limbs and trees on a constant basis. The first thing we did was install a 20KW whole home back up generator! It has paid for its self MANY TIMES OVER!! It also is connected to the outdoor wood boiler so we have hot water.
I finally bought a little electric hand saw and am having a blast sawing up a huge pile of limbs I've been collecting over the years. I usually only use my wood burning stove a couple of times a year, but if it gets cold at all, I'm going to be using it this winter.
@@debbiecurtis4021 It takes a few tries to figure out the safest way to hold it. I wear a thick glove on the hand that holds the wood still and twice I think it's saved me from injury when the saw skipped off the wood where I was cutting. Just pay very close attention to what you're doing and you'll love it like I do. Enjoy.
@@justjoanish Sure! It takes a few tries to figure out how much pressure to put on both the part being sawed and the rest of the wood. Enjoy your saw. We ladies are taking care of ourselves.
Another item is a stove top pressure cooker. Good for cooking beans and rice in a short period of time. I lived in the mountains and had a lot of power outages. One place had a wood stove which was great, but one had a pellet stove and did not work when power was out. Fire pit will work for pressure cooker.
My living room picture windows are single pane and let in so much heat and cold. I use similar to your aluminum bubble wrap - I cut apart the metallic liners from grocery delivery and tape to the window. It makes an immediate difference.
I bought "security film" for mine, it's a clear film that's designed to stop the window breaking if an intruder hits it with a hammer or similar. 1x$70au roll was enough to cover the windows in 2 of my rooms & it's made a HUGE difference to heat & cold transfer, but without impacting visibility through the windows at all. I'm guessing your system probably has a stronger effect than mine, but if you want to be able to use your windows as windows, I highly recommend considering the film. My windows are now neutral temperature when touched, no longer freezer temperature
I got 3 of the portable propane heaters plus a Coleman propane cookstove. That plus having a fireplace. I also live on rural property. Instead of a new car I bought 2 good used ones. A car and an SUV. Pd for. If one goes down, I have backup. I'm not as young as I once was, hiking through snow isn't a good thought.
Fantastic advice , especially for folk that have little or no knowledge of what to do in an emergency. Just one small point regarding clothing, if you are in a cold/windy environment try to obtain headware that has a chinstrap fastening so that you do not have to lose the use of one hand to hold on to your hat . Snood/headover torques are useful in that scenario too. Finally , thank you for stressing the dangers of carbon monoxide poisoning , so few people nowadays are alert to this possible problem.
I survived the heater going out for the day it was -17 outside. The power remained thankfully, and I used all the heating pads. Also once my neighbor got home, he taught me how to light the pilot light. Sooo im good now. Ive learned. (Grandparents were out of town, and I wasnt sure if id blow myself up or something lmao)
Thank you, I was just about to say that. I have lived in both the Rocky Mountains most of my life and traveled the world mountaineering and adventuring, almost every single cold night I have spent in a sleeping bag was with only a thin layer on like everyone says to do.
Wait this is understanding that was missed??? Isnt that common sense? And yeah air insulation but like no there's no way that would make up for just having warm clothes. Someone who is homeless warm clothes is everything, especially the ability to have multiple layers that could be shed instead of one big coat
Good afternoon I'm from Canada 🇨🇦. I'm in my 70's. I've done sessions in the Laurention mountains, Lake of Two Mountains, in minus 30 Ferhinite or in Celsius minus 36-7. My fav was to only wear thermos undies and put my regular clothes in the bag with me. Of course, the winter gear, I would put on top of the sleeper. I still camp off grid in late fall, late winter, and early spring and in Florida's extreme heat. I don't like it very much, but it's bugging out drill time. Keep getting into it, prepping, of course. And don't get complacent.
After this I am now seriously thinking of getting one of those tents that fit over your bed. I am often cold, and maybe one of those tents will help me keep warm. Another tip for your boots/shoes, if it is wet out, you think you may have a hole in your footwear, or you keep getting snow in your boots, and your footwear is going to get wet (or they are already wet) slip your dry socked feet into some plastic bags before putting your footwear on. It will give you another layer of protection and keep you feet dry for longer. If you have liners that can be taken out put the plastic bags between the liner and the boot. If you can switch the liners buy additional liners that you can use while waiting for the wet ones to dry. Be careful of boxes of matches. While lighting a match try not to use the box as there is always a possibility that it may suddenly light the box on fire. I know of instances of this happening. How you store them is also important.
For indoor cooking, check out the butane stove. One brand name is Joy Cook butane single burner stove.. often used in some restaurants for table side cooking.
I have one of those emergency radios. They charge pretty well with the solar panel through a window and even better if outside in the sun. When I brought it home I was playing the radio to check it out and my parrots complained when I turned it off. So it's their radio now 🤣. We charge it every 2-3 days via AC and it plays 10-14 hrs a day when they are awake. I probably should get another.
I live in a major metropolitan area and surviving extreme summer heat is a bigger issue where I live and I never need to turn on the central heat in the winter. The lowest temp I ever experienced indoors was 53 degrees at night and I was warm and cozy in bed. I do have a small space heater for the bathroom while taking showers. Many of the measures mentioned work in both extreme heat and extreme cold situations. I use the reflective insulation and insulating curtains on windows. I have a small solar cooker and alcohol heat canisters. I have fire extinguishers. I have solar lights. I have rechargeable batteries and battery operated fans. I have a solar battery pack for my phone. I have a lot of dehydrated food storage. I will be adding a solar power station to my supplies next month with solar panels coming by the end of the year. I’m hoping I will be able to support my indoor hydroponics in the event of a grid down situation.
I've seen a few things in this video that I don't have. I will be going out to see what I can find. Thank you for sharing. Keep prepping. Stay safe and prayers for all. God bless.
My great-grandparents survived in the 1940s in a house they made of dirt when winter temperatures were below -20°C and one metre of snow. I think I could survive too.
Speaking of metallic covered bubble wrap (otherwise know as Refletix) .. put it under your bedding and it will reflect your body heat back. Reflectix works for all kinds of things, window cover/insulation, reflecting flame heat/light, cut to fit inside a boot, solar oven... etc. It's a very versatile product.
These cold prepareness ideas, thankfully, we do not need. We live in a tropic island 🇵🇷 and one less problem to think about. I pray for those that do need to prepare for cold weather. It will be very tough. God bless us all, HE is on his way to take his church. Prepare spiritually.
I'm from the North and when I bought property in Florida I asked the insurance agent for flood insurance. He could not stop laughing. He said, "If your house floods, it means the rest of Florida is already under water"... So, cold may not be your problem but food, fresh water and survival may still be.
The video background music is distracting. Your calm well modulated voice is enough but if you need music find something with a longer repeat pattern. Just my opinion for the 2 cents it's worth. Thanks Kris!
A few years ago our south hill was hit with a major ice storm. They were without power for a month. I worked at a Lowes at the time. We were cleaned out of everything needed for heat...batteries. extension cords, heaters, generators, emergency lights, pellets, even clay pots. I felt so bad. An 80 year old man came in a week later wanting anything he could get for heat. I walked the store with him looking for anything. He was almost in tears. He stated he was here 10 years ago when the same thing happened. He promised himself he wouldn't get caught unprepared again. Here he was in the same situation but only worse because he and his wife were 10 years older. Be prepared BEFORE you need it when everyone else needs it too.
Another thing that double sided aluminum/reflective bubble wrap is good for is a sleeping matt however as you pointed out you do now want to slee directly on the floor. I used to do a lot of early spring and late fall tent camping and those nights can get down to 20’s and 30’s were I am. I never had anything but a summer sleeping bag but what I would do is line the inside of my tent with corrugated cardboard. I always kept broken down boxes in my car trunk. If you layer 1-2 layers of cardboard under your sleeping area and make sure it extends beyond the expected area it will keep you much more comfy however if you also use a layer of the bubble wrap either under the sleeping bag or inside of it under a thin sheet it will keep you toasty in some pretty cold temps. Homeless people have known about using cardboard to sleep on for decades and it works!! Plus it just makes it more padded. All of this said another thing that many people have are the 2x2 foot interlocking foam flooring mats used in gyms or kids play rooms those will also do an excellent job of creating a nice barrier between you and the hear sucking floor.
Great video. they just keep getting better. NOTE: IF it is cold, below freezing and the water pressured drops to zero : no water then learn from other states. Think about turning off the electric hot water heaters, gas heaters and draining the water. Our house heat also keeps the pipes in the walls from freezing. Basement and exterior walls (kitchen and bathroom sinks) do freeze and can burst. This can be a mess during an emergency and is a problem after one. Second - the Mr. Buddy heater works for me (take that for what it's worth). The area in front of the heater gets very warm. Mine is kept as low as possible to get the coldest air but put on a metal trivet and pizza tray. Based on TH-cam I got the hose and filter. The hardest part was turning the unit on for the first time. Had to bleed all the air out of the hose. Propane stores better. MRE / XMRE / Mountain House all work for me. Buy them, Eat them, then stock up on what you like. Yes the Mountain House "Biscuits and gravy" is good. People call it god's food of the South. I could not believe it was good. Peak is good, I found "4Patriot" a bit bland - but that is me. Flash lights. One personal, one head lamp and one area lantern per person. Yes per person. Note: They have radios and flashlights that use 18650 LiPo battery. Same battery kids use in vape units. LiPo and LiPo batteries do not have memories like NiCad. Multiple batteries can be charged and stored. The "solar generator" is a great idea. Kept my WiFi running as cable still worked. Do not forget your car to charge things.
Ooh you know, you made me think! I usually just keep the water dripping, but if the water is down too, you are 100% right!!! Eek! I didn't think of that!! Thank you!! I'd better find my main shut-off to be ready! 😊👍
@@mothra_mothra Have not had to drain my own system. Learned that lesson from others when Texas froze two years ago. Even a few buried water mains froze and cracked.
First, great video with very good information. What about butane stoves for indoor cooking? Obviously overall, the same safety you have to take like propane stoves, but they seem to be more safe. Also, recommended for storing the small 1-pound propane tanks, to ditch the plastic caps that come with them and get the brass caps with a seal inside. Better for safety and storage if you don't use it often, as long as you're not storing it in extreme temperatures or humid environments. Also, another thing I keep in my preparation kit is the WaterBOB Bathtub Storage Emergency Drinking Water Container, which Comes with a Hand Pump, BPA-Free (100 Gallon). I almost used the one I have during our Texas Snowmageddon in 2021 when we started to lose water pressure, but had sufficient bottled and other water on hand, but this device goes into your tub and you can fill it up prior to a disaster, or when a disaster occurs, prior to losing city water pressure. Again, great video. I actually learned a lot of preparation information from my time in Operation Iraqi Freedom, Tikrit Iraq for a year where we had frequent issues with supplies, water, restroom trailers, etc., on our Forward Operating Base, and had only generator power while there. You learn to prepare for power failures, supply delays for food/water, and when sanitation facilities go down, basically the essentials. Thanks for providing this information - Cheers!
Woolen Sox like Smartwool will keep your feet warm even when wet and have antimicrobial properties. I had recurring athletes foot issues from my time in the Marines in the 70's until I changed from Cotton socks to wool a few years ago. Foot problems completely disappeared. Neck scarf, hat and snow goggles to prevent a very painful case of "snowblindness" if you're outside for long periods in the snow on sunshiney days. A positive attitude helps.
It was Superstorm Sandy in 2012 that got me into preparing for emergencies. We lucked out mainly due to our personalities: we hate going to the grocery store so we were already stocked up on food (we already went even before it was forecasted), and we were cheap so we already heated our space with wood (which doubled for cooking and heating water.) We also still had old starter batteries and an inverter so we were able to keep things charged like a laptop to occupy a niece. We're much more prepared now than what we were over a decade ago if it were to happen again.
If you are allergic to wool like me, what I do for my wool blanket is I saftey pin a cotton sheet to both sides of the wool blanket, before covering up. I Also have allergies to clothing, so I make sure to wear a thin layer of cotton clothing (or whatever you are NOT allergic to) underneath the top clothing to keep from allergic reactions!
Great video Chris, thank you. One thing I keep in store is some bioethanol fuel and a bioethanol burner. It can be used indoors safely because it just produces a small amount of water vapour as a bi-product. With the correct containers, it can be used for heat and to cook by.It's not the 'cheapest' fuel (at least not in the UK) but in an emergency it's a good back up. Obviously, it's important to make sure it's somewhere away from other combustibles.
That's great! I have to get an adapter burner for my isopropyl alcohol gel fireplace. That bioethanol stuff burns hotter and is a little cheaper than the gel cans.
I am prepared! The only thing that I don't have that you mentioned is the bubble wrap insulation. Always adding more, but feel like I really do have what is needed if it's needed. Thanks Kris for the research and information, you are the best!
We always have a second heat source. Fireplace worked great for us. We can cook in it-foil wrapped food on embers, open can of beans, hot dogs…houses the house…No electricity required.
So regarding the Mr. Heater Buddy heaters the issue comes from folks mixing the high pressure gas (propane) with a low pressure hose. It draws out the oils from the low pressure hose and will over time clog the filter inside. To get around this you can do one of two things: use a regulator with a low pressure hose or buy a high pressure hose. Mr Heater does sell the high pressure hoses on their website in various lengths.
Air mattresses can be cold. They leave a lot of surface area exposed to the cold. Not only insulate between you and the cold air mattress but the ground between the air mattress. A foam pad to act as a thermal break makes a great difference when camping. A yoga mat is great for unexpected repairs on the cold ground. Way warmer than cardboard or plastic. I wore my chest waders to fix my jeep one slushy day.
Merino wool - Worth the money. If you can afford it, Kuiu hunting gear is, IMO, the best you can get for cold gear. If hunters are out for a week or two at a time in the snow waiting for a kill in this, you'll be more than comfortable in your house in it.
You should check out the Eco Zoom stoves. The Zoom Plancha has a chimney and a cast iron griddle with 2 removable tops for direct access to flames. You can use it to cook indoors so no one will smell your food. Just the smoke from the fire. It's a dual rocket stove that runs on very little wood, biomass, or charcoal. I'd like to know what you think!
Also look into tent stoves. They come in different sizes, with everything included to vent thru walls, ceilings, or tents. Wood burning, the costs I've seen are under $400.00.
You are correct about using a filter with the Mr. Buddy, however, you do not need a regulator to hook it up to a large propane tank. I use a Mr. Buddy every winter. My Coleman two burner camp stove comes with a regulator. I use 3M duct tape. I've tried many bargain brands, and they didn't work well after sitting for a couple years. I use a small Midland AM/FM/weather radio. the rechargeable battery lasts about 12 hours. I'm going to order a spare battery. It also has a solar panel on top, but I can't speak as to how well that works. I have a network of Ryobi lighting, fans, inverters, and batteries for many of my needs. I'm very impressed with Ryobi's performance. I also use Energizer rechargeable AA, AAA, C, and 9v batteries. I'm impressed with Energizer's performance as well. Not impressed with the Energizer D cells. I use my Energizer and Ryobi products several times a week. I live in a hot, humid environment and I don't use air-conditioning. This seems to promote regular batteries leaking. Any flashlights you buy should have rubber O-rings to seal them. I get many years out of the little 2-dollar flashlights from Northern Tools. I have a gas and a propane generator to recharge everything. I also shop army surplus stores for warm clothing and other things. Make sure you get USGI (US Govt Issue) products. All this stuff costs a little more initially, but I've found the durability and dependability over years of service is worth the little extra money. I've been building my supplies for about 15 years.
'Penny can stoves' are very useful heaters as well. The fuel is 99% pure and l haven't felt adverse health for the two hours continual burn experiment l conducted. My budgie bird remained unharmed also. 😀
a good layering plan is key, clothes, shelter, but never ignore ventilation, propane and kerosine especially gives off harmful fumes. heavy duty plastic is the best to seal in body heat etc. have plenty on hand for extreme cold to seal off a room/personal sleep chamber. keep sources of food that doesn't need cooking.
I was babysitting and went into my daughter in laws pantry. I took out a can of mixed fruit to eat. It looked a little pale, but smelled ok. So I ate a small bowl and fed the rest to the kids. As I was cleaning up I noticed the BB date was 2016. That was more than 7 years ago. None of us got sick, but it did lose a little bit of flavour.
Filling an insulated bottle with a hot beverage can provide a warm drink if you get cold through the night. UCO candle lanterns helped us supplement our portable heater when our furnace died. Those and the terracotta pot heaters kept our house livable during a major snowstorm. Having mylar blankets and painters tape can help to contain warmth in your “warm” room. Make sure all your rechargeable batteries/ power supplies are fully charged before the storm hits. During winter storms you can use an ice chest to keep things protected in your garage or patio when the power is out. The ice chest keeps out critters, not bears.
For those contemplating a combustion type heating device for emergency heat, get a sheet of cement board used to go underneath when laying a tile floor. This will give you a large high fire resistant area for your heater.
A piece of drywall, even though it softer, actually insulates better due to the air in the gypsum. Cement board is great too. Another one of my favorites is xf fire rated plywood. Its lighter and virtually fireproof.
Hi, Rick! What I would like you to talk about, is after an injury occurs during an emergency. Lets say a burn. Roads are impassable and the burn patient is in pain. What do you do for the pain? What if you can't call out to get Emergency Assistance? Have you talked about this before.
Thank you for going back to this type of information. If we don’t get hit by an EMP, it will be a CME. Because our country isn’t spending money on infrastructure we’ll be on our own to survive the best we can. Please keep this type information coming that can help us prepare for it.
Also note: if you overdo it, you will burn up/melt your cords. I've seen a pair of radiator heaters melt a good 110 cord (aka a good household three prong cord)
We have several oil lanterns with extra oil and wicks as a fall back for lighting. These are always emergency only, but they do provide another source for heat and light.
Highly recommend that you check to see if there are any natural springs within a few miles. My wife and I live in an apartment in Rockland Maine, small town but still an urban environment. We don't like drinking tap water so we get all our drinking and cooking water from a natural spring. If the grid goes down and pipes freeze we can always get water from there and we top off all our water storage when we know a bad storm is on the way.
I'm not sure if poly fabrics have gotten safer in freezing temps, but I had watched a saftey video on how to survive if stuck in a car until help can get there in cold/freezing weather. (One) A very high safety issue was to stay in the car retaining body heat, (two) clothes and blankets made from non-natural fiber could cause death sooner than items made from 100% natural fibers like wool, cotton, silk. The idea being (not to sweat) as you mentioned here, but also condensation on the body with non-wicking plastic based fabrics... Their advice was all ER clothing and blanket items for the cold/freezing temps in a car should be of natural fiber including thermal underware. This would translate to hot temps for breathability. Note: I found that a 100% wool cap (no liner) surprisingly when tested in 95* F summer day actually did keep me cooler than without it. Not sure how this compares to a straw hat though 🙂
i mean, as a canadain who lived tho the snowmageddon of 2010 where we got 177 cm or 70 inches of snow in 3 days. yes that actually happened, no only did nobody die that day, but the power still kept going on. so im positive no snow storm or no amount of snow will take out our power lines. but hey thats canada
Hey CP’s! Just a quick reminder… when thinking about food items to store for emergencies, make sure you check to see if they are “bio engineered” a lot of soups have them. Just make sure you check! 😊
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Well done and thank you.
Not seeing the tourniquet link? Sorry, maybe I’m just not seeing it atm 🙈
Tourniquet link??
Do you have a link to the electric hand warmers? That's really got my interest!
@@BreathingLiife As a first aid instructor & volunteer at major events with decades of experience, I'd say it's the last thing you want anyway! I've never seen a situation where it would be useful! Very rare an injury isn't going to respond to elevation, just hold one of your arms up & the other down for 5 minutes or so & see & feel the difference in circulation in them. Pad, bandage & elevate.
Tourniquet in a SHTF situation is a guaranteed loss of limb below the tourniquet. They're not even sold in my country, cause of the dangers vs potential benefit, I mean do you even know how to use one? Do you know you have to remove every 30 minutes to have any chance of saving the limb? & do you know that if you leave in place for a number of hours & then remove, you will release toxins into the body that will likely cause death? Not to mention the extreme pain when applying properly & that they will block veins & not arteries if not applied tightly enough, which will therefore make the blood loss worse
You'd be much better off spending your money on a first aid course than tourniquet! Defibrillator is another item that would be useful if you really want to prepare for anything, FAR more chance you will save someone's life with that than a tourniquet! A ventailin puffer or epipen would be another 2 options that would be much more likely to be useful than a tourniquet if you're looking for first aid stuff to throw your money away on.
Only time I would consider using something to cut off circulation would be with a femur bone sticking out of the skin or glass shards all over the limb & massive bleeding with it (which in reality isn't actually going to happen anyway, the body just doesn't bleed that much from limbs), in those settings, temporarily sticking your fist into their groin to block the femoral artery, or wrapping a triangular bandage or other non-stretchy cloth around the limb for a few minutes so as to see what you're doing while getting pressure onto it can, at least in theory be helpful. Again though, I have decades of experience & tens of thousands of people I've taught & not a single time have I encountered a situation where it would be useful, or encountered anyone I've taught that has found themselves in that situation - and that includes teaching for miners & construction workers & other high risk industries. I've encountered a significant number of people who have lost someone to a heart attack though, that could have saved them if they had a defibrillator on hand. I've also encountered a significant number of people who have had a child have their first anaphylactic reaction in their arms & who have been highly traumatised by holding that limp body for the minutes it has taken for an ambulance to arrive with an epi-pen, or they have had an epi-pen available at the school/pre-school & been able to use it to save the child. I've also experienced a significant number of people with life threatening asthma attacks & likewise have taught people who have experienced this too. Only person I've ever had in one of my classes lose someone to blood loss was a soldier trying to treat a person shot through the chest, with a mix of breathing difficulty & blood everywhere & obviously a tourniquet is useless on that. Only ones I've personally lost have been to cardiac arrest & OD's & possibly head injuries/concussion, but they would have died later at the hospital, not with me, not sure if they died or not. I had one VERY close to dying from dehydration from food poisoning too, that one was pretty shocking, given we were called to a person sitting on the toilet, so really weren't expecting her to be THAT sick & how she was upright is really beyond me & was beyond the doctors onsite too (she was stabilised onsite, cause she was too sick to put into an ambulance & transport without having a cardiac arrest if the ambulance hit a tiny bump on the way to the hospital). I've seen lots of stuff, including stuff like amputations, but never bleeding not controlled with pressure & elevation, even in the elderly on anti-clotting meds that mean it's impossible to actually stop the bleeding, elevation still reduces it enough to be quite easily manageable
Another good sleeping bag tip would be to put your clothing you plans to wear in the morning inside your sleeping bag. That way they are warm when you get up
I did that a couple of times. I just hate cool. Lol.
They will take up more moisture. And by that you loose the benefit almost immediatly after putting them on. Dry is better insulation.
@@keesverhagen9227 yeah ok
I have been doing this for 40 years, I guess I just don’t sweat as much as others
I did that in the Army when on our field exercises in the middle of winter. I took that itchy wool blanket to the bottom of my sleeping bag and put my socked feet between the blanket to keep warm.
When I was in college we (wife and three small kids) lived in a small apartment that was completely electric. We had an ice storm one year that closed the college and roadways and left us stranded for three days without power. We had lots of food and managed to keep the water running through the slow flow process, but it was freezing. We took the mattress off our bed and moved it into one of the kids rooms since it was the smallest. We then took our 4 man pop up camp tent and put it on the mattress, which insulated us from the floor and made it very comfortable, the then spread spare comforters on top of the tent to get better insulation, and between that and our sleeping bags and blankets on the inside of he tent we were able to keep comfortably warm when we slept--getting great sleep was important. During the day we kept moving and kept bundled up. We made it through just fine!
Thx! Another tip for many millions of us living in buildings - condos and apts. I feel like we get forgotten in prepping videos. Cheers
I was a over the road truck driver for 20 years. Few suggestions for your car go to a truckstop and see if they have an electric blanket that plugs into your 12 Volt plug in your car. Keep a thermos in your car. You can buy a little metal coil that plugs into the lighter to heat up water. I would also think about getting a Candle lantern . You can crack a window ventilation. You can use emergency blankets or the foil bubble wrap to turn your car into a super shelter. It would be smart to put a tote in the back of your trunk. Get some smaller bottles of water because they won’t crush is easy. but some life boat food bars or MRE’s winter clothing and wool blankets. You may want to put some salt and the small shovel in your car as well.
I'm surprised that some people don't know that diesel engines don't start up in the cold.
I thought you were going to say put that blanket on the engine bay to keep the engine warm so it'll start. Some come with a plug in the engine bay to plug in to an outlet to keep it warm.
I'd imagine there's some sort of device that has a battery that would plug into to keep the engine warm.
I saw an actual guy living in his diesel vehicle who didn't know about diesel engines & the cold. He had a plug but didn't know where it was & didn't even know he had one. He goes to start his bus/home/bug out vehicle in a snow storm & thinks it's dead...
That or keep it running the whole time.
I worked by a FedEx facility & they'd leave their vehicles running all night long when it's cold enough.
EXCELLENT advice!
Portable bidet for each person (if possible)
I grew up in Oregon and went through the 1962 Columbus Day Storm... we were without power for two weeks (estimate was that 99% of the grid was down). Obviously not winter. My dad had an old camp stove and my mom put it on the washing machine and left the back door open when cooking or heating water, then closed the outside door after turning it off; left the door from our utility room closed when cooking to avoid carbon monoxide from getting into the house. The water utility didn't go down, so we had water all through the time period. Mom made hot water so we could take baths, and used the fireplace (it had a built-in heatilator) to keep us warm; and lots of blankets at night. A few years later, there was a grocery store built down the street from us, and after that, whenever there was a power outage, our power got restored rather quickly, because we were on the same grid circuit - and that's when I learned about the power utility prioritizing when restoring power.
Oh my gosh I remember that storm. I was in Portland and I think maybe first or second grade.
Yah I learned that too. I'm on the same circuit as two banks and the college. Mine gets restored VERY fast
I lived outside Olympia during that storm on a dead end street with 4 houses. No power for 3 weeks. Walked a mile every day to get water from friends, heated with & cooked on the wood stove. Sponge baths only for the family of 6.
Im near a huge upmc hospital but in a terrible area but my power never goes down cuz the hospital is priority.
I was a Portland kid during that storm also. We had a teacher who had a barometer who saw that a huge storm was coming. She went around to every class to tell the teachers to not keep anyone after school and kids to go right home after school. My family was very blessed to have our electricity restored the next day but most of my friends had theirs out for two or three weeks.
My parents who were born in the late 40's early 50's are beginning to realize that i am not the zombie apocalypse weirdo that they first thought i was, they now get what is possible and are also starting to prepare. Just shows it's never to late to start preparing.
My mom too!
Yes I am from the early 50's and have had to endure below freezing temps for 4 days unprepared. I am now prepared and continue to gather great info from videos like this one. Thank you.😊
My mom and then she got on bord an now is a preppor
Goose down clothing😅
A friend gave me this idea, that's those blue moving blankets. You can use them year round to haul things around without damaging them. But you can also get some nails and hammer into the top of white door frame. You can do this to block off a hallway to isolate heat from say a buddy heater, or a row of windows in the living room to create a barrier from the cold coming in. They are thick and insulate and when you remove the nails from the top of the door frame you cannot see the small holes you made. And it's also not just an emergency thing, you can use it year round to move stuff around or let friend family use when they are moving, they are very useful to have outside of emergencies.
We always have a couple heavy moving blankets in our SUV. They come in very handy like you said. We mostly use them for impromptu purchases of clearance Lowes plants or lumber. One of our neighbors used to live in a hail-prone part of the US and he said he kept several in his vehicle and covered his car on multiple occasions to protect it from hail damage when he was at work. If hail was coming he'd just run out and cover his car. Said the wet and heavy blankets were not fun afterwards. 😂
I still have a dozen of these from my last move, very handy for cold walls around a bed, too. Something like a four poster with thumb tacks.
I would also recommend Yaktrax for your boots! They are inexpensive and could really save you from a fall on ice. As a first responder in Texas during the last few ice storms, they allowed me to get to people in need.
What is Yaktrak and where can they be purchased May I ask?
Strap on snow/ice spikes for shoes. I got some at my local sporting goods store a few years back.
Love love my Yaktrax!!!
Love my Yak Trax. But my neighborhood is fairly flat. I need real ice spikes for the steep hills that surround me. Any suggestions?
@@ruthcrosby3474yaktrax are cleated straps that slip over your shoes or boots to provide traction. Should be available at Walmart or sporting good stores, possible shoe stores.
Remember, if the grid is down, so is the sewage. Keep a 5-gallon bucket, lined with an industrial grade plastic bag and a supply of kitty litter on standby. Saw dust would also be good for this if you have any. Do your business, cover with a layer of kitty litter/saw dust. Wipe your hands with wet wipes, toss it in, close the lit, wash, rinse, repeat. There are plenty of TH-cam videos showing how to make a rudimentary toilet.
Academy Sports sells a toilet seat lid for about $8. That snaps onto a 5 gal. Bucket. Walmart has one for about $15. We bought a huge bale of pine or cedar shavings at Walmart or tractor supply very cheap.
@terrihansen9242 you can also use swim noodles that you cut to fit the rim of the bucket
Not necessarily true. If you live in a city, most of them have the lift stations on generators and usually a good supply of fuel. The grid would have to be down for weeks before sewage shuts down. It's not like when the power goes out and suddenly you have no lights. Water and sewer are entirely different situations, so in preparing for temporary grid issues caused by weather, water/sewer is rarely going to be a problem in cities.
@@Swearengen1980 in the short term, you are correct. However, should the shutdown linger, or you live in an area that is less capable, then you'd best prepare for the worst, and abandon all hope. Because we will be well and truly fucked.
Thank you! Lots of potty options. Since we have cats, we keep extra litter for this purpose. We have bucket w/ snap on toilet seat, we have a bucket with a $Tree pool noodle and bags for each, and then more recently I acquired a bedside commode. Pricier option, but a welcome addition and a good one for us if it is a long term situation.
For parents of really little ones, a great nightlight option in a power outage are glowsticks. There cool colors and a very safe and easy item for kids to use to navigate in the dark or just to keep the monsters away
Glowsticks are my friends first stage option, he has other options if the power stays out but that's what he keeps on hand as an initial option. As soon as the power goes out he cracks a few and just puts them in a few key areas. Like you say kids think they are cool and would enjoy cracking and shaking one.
Yes very good idea. God help you
I like the little 9v LED blocklites. I always have used 9v batteries around from changing out the batteries in my smoke alarms. Those little lights will last all night, longer than a candle with no fire risk!
I love glowsticks - they are very comforting when you lose power :)
Christmas string lights on a generator and battery operated Christmas lights also work well.
Winterize your home now: check for drafts at exterior doors and make repairs, get some window film for insulation, and service your furnace or clean out air vents.
I bought self warming pet mats, to put under everyone. My family thought I was crazy, but after the first use, I got the thanks Mom smiles.
I like my Merino wool thermals, they're a bit more expensive but, they keep me warmer than synthetic thermals. Another added feature of merino wool is they do not make you itch like regular wool products. Thanks for all your good prepping ideas and life-saving tips!
Lucky you. Every kind of spun wool makes me itch.
silk long johns and shirts are what you need
Just discovered your video and found your tips quite helpful! I’m an 80 year old great granny, and here’s a few things I learned many years ago from a “Survival in the Wilderness” class from the local Mountaineers: your brain is your most important survival tool! Concerning clothing, they said wool is great because it will keep you warm even if it gets wet. I’ve had many opportunities to confirm this over the years. Also, they taught that food was third in importance, because worst case, a person can survive at least 10 days without food, water is second, because a person can survive for 3 days without water, so shelter/warmth is the first priority, because a person can’t survive one night in temps below 45 degrees. Also, concerning water, while it may not be good to drink, if you make sure to turn off power to your hot water tank so it won’t be damaged when the power comes back on, you can use that water for cleaning, and flushing toilets. Thank you for giving out so much more information!
Coming from a 25+ year ski instructor in the Midwest, a spare pair of Smartwool / synthetic moisture wicking sock is absolutely * KEY *- to warm feet in snowy conditions. Toes are necessary, as any hunter or person who has experienced frozen toes will tell you. Cotton socks will retain sweat and your feet may get frostbite. Hiking boots, as well, and mittens, both in case you need to bug out or even get stranded in a vehicle in a snow storm or icy roads in winter.
FYI, wool blankets are *NOT* hypo-allergenic. Many people, myself included, are allergic to wool. Also, regular disposable hand-warmers helped us to keep the cats warm during the Great Texas Deep Freeze of 2021. We used the hot-water heater liner (aluminum bubble wrap) is what we used to make the critters a little tent that they could stay in and the hand warmers combined with them worked great.
Be aware that some smoke detectors also work to detect heat so a camping stove might end up setting off the smoke detector. MRE heaters are usable to heat up other types of food as well. Hand sanitizer can also be used to heat things up since alcohol can burn fairly cleanly.
During the Texas blackout, the water pressure declined to essentially zero. It was because the city had told everybody to run a stream of water from every faucet. City water systems are designed for that on a good day and it didn't work out so well.
what a clever idea to keep your kitties warm!
More ideas:
+ Tyvek suit with the attached shoe booties and hood will keep you dry and warm while out.
+ Induction hot plate can be used with a big battery unit. Couple with a pot for heating water or cooking. Load up thermoses while you’re at it.
+ I set up two jugs: one with plain water for rinsing, another with water, a squirt of dish soap and a teaspoon of bleach for washing hands and dishes.
+ Gas can, filled ahead of time when you fill up your car tank. If power is out, gas station pumps won’t be available.
Prepare for an evacuation: (trees can topple onto your house in extreme weather)
+ Prepared pet carrier with essentials (food, meds, leash)
+ Go bags that include options for a few days of car living, just in case you can’t find accommodations.
Remember your freezers when the power is out. If you’ve got snow, you can bag it and pack it in your freezer to help keep temps down. Refreeze by tossing outside.
Thank you. Very useful info. Way back, I was very involved with back country SAR. In the Cascades and Olympics, our survival skills had to be superb. Our motto was “Cotten kills” and we were sent away if we showed up in cold weather with any Cotten on any layer. Actually, that was most of the time. It can be 80 at base camp and 10-20 below at night on the mountains. Wool, silk, synthetics were all good. No Cotten. It soaks up moisture like a wick and the evaporation can cause hypothermia rather quickly.
lol we call cotton "the death fabric"
Always astonishing to me when people recommend hiking in jeans
I saved some broken down boxes to use to insulate between floor and tent and sleeping bags.
I suggest a fire blanket as well as extinguisher. I bought one when I first left home & moved into a TINY place, cause I realised that using a fire extinguisher was going to be problematic with fumes. Fire blankets are great for oil & other cooking fires that you can't use water on. I've never actually used mine, but it's good peace of mind.
I also suggest fixing drafts permanently, rather than just having stuff to use on them in an emergency, I did that about a year ago now & REALLY noticed the difference over winter, saved me a lot of money not losing heat to drafts. I mean I already had it part done, but really checking for all gaps & properly sealing them really does make a HUGE difference to power use & heat retention. Be sure to remember exhaust fans & skylights when doing it too, you can buy one way valves for exhaust fans, that you simply sit on top of them inside the roof cavity & when the fan is turned on, the pressure opens them, but when the fan is turned off, the valve closes & stops passive air escape when you don't want it (you can buy similar for drains too, which are great for stopping back flow in the case of a blockage). I had one skylight, that I never used as a skylight & so I put polystyrene insulation over it & that seems to have made the biggest difference in reducing heat loss in my home. "security film" over my windows has made a significant difference to heat transfer through the windows too, not as good as double glazing, but only a fraction of the price & windows are now neutral temperature to the touch, instead of freezing cold, like the glass used to be in winter
One thing i try to keep near me in a emergency situation along with first is some OTC medicine: aspirin, ibuprofen, cold medicine, etc
Kris, thank you for all you do to help keep us well informed and properly prepared.
My dad always talked about if your feet get cold put a pair of socks a piece of newspaper and then another sock. It works very good.
Longest we went without power in Michigans brutal winter was 10 days. I since moved and have a fireplace and 500 candles, and some solar lights
Yoga mat under sleeping bag! Avoid cotton clothes as they absorb moisture! Want to stay dry! Multiple layers helps in extremely cold weather!
I understand the edturance against candles and oil lanterns but those are also important to have as a backup and they are far cheaper to get ahold off for those low on money. They make emergency tea light candles that are far thicker than regular tea candles. There is also (If you can afford it) candle lanterns as well.
Also, there are flameless fire tablets you can use a small camp stove with. Not to mention little fuel cans that you can use to cook over. As well as solar battery packs that are handled for you to charge your phone or even your smaller rechargeable batteries like your AA and AAA ones.
You'll want to stock up on canned pet food and get your pets multivitamins at least worm treatments.
There are also, camping toilets, bathing wipes(made specifically for full body bathing), leave in dry hair shampoo.
And of course you'll need some books and games for you and your family. A potable DVD player is also good as you can use your solar battery packs to charge it.
Sorry, for any spelling errors. Hard to type with one hand while holding a tot.
Don't forgot the can opener.
I have a yoga mat or exercise mat to put under the sleeping bed. I'm currently sleeping on an air mattress, yoga mat, and sleeping bag while I finish up cleaning up my house from a move
I did that for 2½ years whilst renovating my house.
WOW Kris is there anything you do not know.? Your help is very much appreciated. God is definitely using you to bless others in these perilous time. Hod bless you.
We bought a house in the country. Wind storms bring down limbs and trees on a constant basis. The first thing we did was install a 20KW whole home back up generator! It has paid for its self MANY TIMES OVER!! It also is connected to the outdoor wood boiler so we have hot water.
I finally bought a little electric hand saw and am having a blast sawing up a huge pile of limbs I've been collecting over the years. I usually only use my wood burning stove a couple of times a year, but if it gets cold at all, I'm going to be using it this winter.
I bought one from Amazon, but not tried it yet.
@@debbiecurtis4021 It takes a few tries to figure out the safest way to hold it. I wear a thick glove on the hand that holds the wood still and twice I think it's saved me from injury when the saw skipped off the wood where I was cutting. Just pay very close attention to what you're doing and you'll love it like I do. Enjoy.
@@kerrynight3271 Thanks for the tip. I just got one that I had ordered and would not have thought about the saw skipping like that.
@@justjoanish Sure! It takes a few tries to figure out how much pressure to put on both the part being sawed and the rest of the wood. Enjoy your saw. We ladies are taking care of ourselves.
@@kerrynight3271 gotta be able to take care of ourselves.
I would add a scarf to what you would wear.
I’m actually proud of myself for having most of this already. We are luckier than most to be able to have extra.
Another item is a stove top pressure cooker. Good for cooking beans and rice in a short period of time. I lived in the mountains and had a lot of power outages. One place had a wood stove which was great, but one had a pellet stove and did not work when power was out. Fire pit will work for pressure cooker.
My living room picture windows are single pane and let in so much heat and cold. I use similar to your aluminum bubble wrap - I cut apart the metallic liners from grocery delivery and tape to the window. It makes an immediate difference.
I bought "security film" for mine, it's a clear film that's designed to stop the window breaking if an intruder hits it with a hammer or similar. 1x$70au roll was enough to cover the windows in 2 of my rooms & it's made a HUGE difference to heat & cold transfer, but without impacting visibility through the windows at all. I'm guessing your system probably has a stronger effect than mine, but if you want to be able to use your windows as windows, I highly recommend considering the film. My windows are now neutral temperature when touched, no longer freezer temperature
I got 3 of the portable propane heaters plus a Coleman propane cookstove. That plus having a fireplace.
I also live on rural property. Instead of a new car I bought 2 good used ones. A car and an SUV. Pd for. If one goes down, I have backup. I'm not as young as I once was, hiking through snow isn't a good thought.
I've got 3 camping stoves and 100 CP250 gas cans. I can survive this winter.
Nice!
Good list.
For winter preps, I would add some snow shovels and a few bags of rock salt.
Fantastic advice , especially for folk that have little or no knowledge of what to do in an emergency. Just one small point regarding clothing, if you are in a cold/windy environment try to obtain headware that has a chinstrap fastening so that you do not have to lose the use of one hand to hold on to your hat . Snood/headover torques are useful in that scenario too. Finally , thank you for stressing the dangers of carbon monoxide poisoning , so few people nowadays are alert to this possible problem.
one that covers your ears & neck makes a HUGE difference to how warm you feel too
I survived the heater going out for the day it was -17 outside. The power remained thankfully, and I used all the heating pads. Also once my neighbor got home, he taught me how to light the pilot light. Sooo im good now. Ive learned. (Grandparents were out of town, and I wasnt sure if id blow myself up or something lmao)
as a guy who used to do high altitude mountaineering, the advice to not wear extra clothes in a sleeping bag is completely bogus and wrong
Thank you, I was just about to say that. I have lived in both the Rocky Mountains most of my life and traveled the world mountaineering and adventuring, almost every single cold night I have spent in a sleeping bag was with only a thin layer on like everyone says to do.
I can vouch for that!!!
Wait this is understanding that was missed??? Isnt that common sense? And yeah air insulation but like no there's no way that would make up for just having warm clothes. Someone who is homeless warm clothes is everything, especially the ability to have multiple layers that could be shed instead of one big coat
Good afternoon
I'm from Canada 🇨🇦. I'm in my 70's. I've done sessions in the Laurention mountains, Lake of Two Mountains, in minus 30 Ferhinite or in Celsius minus 36-7. My fav was to only wear thermos undies and put my regular clothes in the bag with me. Of course, the winter gear, I would put on top of the sleeper. I still camp off grid in late fall, late winter, and early spring and in Florida's extreme heat. I don't like it very much, but it's bugging out drill time. Keep getting into it, prepping, of course. And don't get complacent.
When STHF, 99.99% of us are not going to be climbing mount Everest. He’s talking urban and rural survival to us, admiral Byrd. 🙄
After this I am now seriously thinking of getting one of those tents that fit over your bed. I am often cold, and maybe one of those tents will help me keep warm.
Another tip for your boots/shoes, if it is wet out, you think you may have a hole in your footwear, or you keep getting snow in your boots, and your footwear is going to get wet (or they are already wet) slip your dry socked feet into some plastic bags before putting your footwear on. It will give you another layer of protection and keep you feet dry for longer. If you have liners that can be taken out put the plastic bags between the liner and the boot. If you can switch the liners buy additional liners that you can use while waiting for the wet ones to dry.
Be careful of boxes of matches. While lighting a match try not to use the box as there is always a possibility that it may suddenly light the box on fire. I know of instances of this happening. How you store them is also important.
For indoor cooking, check out the butane stove. One brand name is Joy Cook butane single burner stove.. often used in some restaurants for table side cooking.
Eating a good meal, lots of fat and protein before going into your sleeping bag will help keeping you warm
I have one of those emergency radios. They charge pretty well with the solar panel through a window and even better if outside in the sun. When I brought it home I was playing the radio to check it out and my parrots complained when I turned it off. So it's their radio now 🤣. We charge it every 2-3 days via AC and it plays 10-14 hrs a day when they are awake. I probably should get another.
Parrots are so adoringly bossy!
I had one, a lovebird who enjoyed easy listening radio. I put it on a timer.
I had finchs and they loved jazz
Well….we know who is in charge at your house! 🤣🤣👍🏻
@@robertcarmosino6563 oh, I miss my finches! They especially reacted with happy songs on Mozart and, oddly enough, Luther VonDross.
I live in a major metropolitan area and surviving extreme summer heat is a bigger issue where I live and I never need to turn on the central heat in the winter. The lowest temp I ever experienced indoors was 53 degrees at night and I was warm and cozy in bed. I do have a small space heater for the bathroom while taking showers. Many of the measures mentioned work in both extreme heat and extreme cold situations. I use the reflective insulation and insulating curtains on windows. I have a small solar cooker and alcohol heat canisters. I have fire extinguishers. I have solar lights. I have rechargeable batteries and battery operated fans. I have a solar battery pack for my phone. I have a lot of dehydrated food storage. I will be adding a solar power station to my supplies next month with solar panels coming by the end of the year. I’m hoping I will be able to support my indoor hydroponics in the event of a grid down situation.
For the many millions of us in condo (and apt/flat buildings) these may work. Not everyone lives in a house. Thx. 🙏
Winter is long here I'm very cold at 53 degrees sitting inactive.
I've seen a few things in this video that I don't have. I will be going out to see what I can find. Thank you for sharing. Keep prepping. Stay safe and prayers for all. God bless.
Wool blankets, sweaters, socks, gloves, hats & scarves will also still keep you warm even if they get wet.
My great-grandparents survived in the 1940s in a house they made of dirt when winter temperatures were below -20°C and one metre of snow. I think I could survive too.
Speaking of metallic covered bubble wrap (otherwise know as Refletix) .. put it under your bedding and it will reflect your body heat back. Reflectix works for all kinds of things, window cover/insulation, reflecting flame heat/light, cut to fit inside a boot, solar oven... etc. It's a very versatile product.
Went 2 weeks without power February 21 with back to back ice storms … we’re good 😊
Staying CLEAN will help a lot when trying to stay warm.
These cold prepareness ideas, thankfully, we do not need. We live in a tropic island 🇵🇷 and one less problem to think about. I pray for those that do need to prepare for cold weather. It will be very tough. God bless us all, HE is on his way to take his church. Prepare spiritually.
I'm from the North and when I bought property in Florida I asked the insurance agent for flood insurance. He could not stop laughing. He said, "If your house floods, it means the rest of Florida is already under water"... So, cold may not be your problem but food, fresh water and survival may still be.
I live in northern canada and work outside 6 days a week. Merina wool socks have been the absolute best choice i have found for a long day in the cold
The video background music is distracting. Your calm well modulated voice is enough but if you need music find something with a longer repeat pattern. Just my opinion for the 2 cents it's worth. Thanks Kris!
YES PLEASE STOP WITH THE BACKGROUND MUSIC - Soooo distracting!!!
A few years ago our south hill was hit with a major ice storm. They were without power for a month. I worked at a Lowes at the time. We were cleaned out of everything needed for heat...batteries. extension cords, heaters, generators, emergency lights, pellets, even clay pots. I felt so bad. An 80 year old man came in a week later wanting anything he could get for heat. I walked the store with him looking for anything. He was almost in tears. He stated he was here 10 years ago when the same thing happened. He promised himself he wouldn't get caught unprepared again. Here he was in the same situation but only worse because he and his wife were 10 years older. Be prepared BEFORE you need it when everyone else needs it too.
Another thing that double sided aluminum/reflective bubble wrap is good for is a sleeping matt however as you pointed out you do now want to slee directly on the floor. I used to do a lot of early spring and late fall tent camping and those nights can get down to 20’s and 30’s were I am. I never had anything but a summer sleeping bag but what I would do is line the inside of my tent with corrugated cardboard. I always kept broken down boxes in my car trunk. If you layer 1-2 layers of cardboard under your sleeping area and make sure it extends beyond the expected area it will keep you much more comfy however if you also use a layer of the bubble wrap either under the sleeping bag or inside of it under a thin sheet it will keep you toasty in some pretty cold temps. Homeless people have known about using cardboard to sleep on for decades and it works!! Plus it just makes it more padded. All of this said another thing that many people have are the 2x2 foot interlocking foam flooring mats used in gyms or kids play rooms those will also do an excellent job of creating a nice barrier between you and the hear sucking floor.
ROPE… many uses, inexpensive and necessary if you had to go up on your roof. Great video! 😃
Great video. they just keep getting better.
NOTE: IF it is cold, below freezing and the water pressured drops to zero : no water then learn from other states. Think about turning off the electric hot water heaters, gas heaters and draining the water. Our house heat also keeps the pipes in the walls from freezing. Basement and exterior walls (kitchen and bathroom sinks) do freeze and can burst. This can be a mess during an emergency and is a problem after one.
Second - the Mr. Buddy heater works for me (take that for what it's worth). The area in front of the heater gets very warm. Mine is kept as low as possible to get the coldest air but put on a metal trivet and pizza tray. Based on TH-cam I got the hose and filter. The hardest part was turning the unit on for the first time. Had to bleed all the air out of the hose. Propane stores better.
MRE / XMRE / Mountain House all work for me. Buy them, Eat them, then stock up on what you like. Yes the Mountain House "Biscuits and gravy" is good. People call it god's food of the South. I could not believe it was good. Peak is good, I found "4Patriot" a bit bland - but that is me.
Flash lights. One personal, one head lamp and one area lantern per person. Yes per person.
Note: They have radios and flashlights that use 18650 LiPo battery. Same battery kids use in vape units. LiPo and LiPo batteries do not have memories like NiCad. Multiple batteries can be charged and stored. The "solar generator" is a great idea. Kept my WiFi running as cable still worked.
Do not forget your car to charge things.
Ooh you know, you made me think!
I usually just keep the water dripping, but if the water is down too, you are 100% right!!!
Eek! I didn't think of that!! Thank you!! I'd better find my main shut-off to be ready!
😊👍
@@mothra_mothra Have not had to drain my own system. Learned that lesson from others when Texas froze two years ago. Even a few buried water mains froze and cracked.
First, great video with very good information. What about butane stoves for indoor cooking? Obviously overall, the same safety you have to take like propane stoves, but they seem to be more safe. Also, recommended for storing the small 1-pound propane tanks, to ditch the plastic caps that come with them and get the brass caps with a seal inside. Better for safety and storage if you don't use it often, as long as you're not storing it in extreme temperatures or humid environments. Also, another thing I keep in my preparation kit is the WaterBOB Bathtub Storage Emergency Drinking Water Container, which Comes with a Hand Pump, BPA-Free (100 Gallon). I almost used the one I have during our Texas Snowmageddon in 2021 when we started to lose water pressure, but had sufficient bottled and other water on hand, but this device goes into your tub and you can fill it up prior to a disaster, or when a disaster occurs, prior to losing city water pressure. Again, great video. I actually learned a lot of preparation information from my time in Operation Iraqi Freedom, Tikrit Iraq for a year where we had frequent issues with supplies, water, restroom trailers, etc., on our Forward Operating Base, and had only generator power while there. You learn to prepare for power failures, supply delays for food/water, and when sanitation facilities go down, basically the essentials. Thanks for providing this information - Cheers!
Refuge Medical has a huge selection of first aid kits for boos to first responders and special operations all made in the USA.
Woolen Sox like Smartwool will keep your feet warm even when wet and have antimicrobial properties. I had recurring athletes foot issues from my time in the Marines in the 70's until I changed from Cotton socks to wool a few years ago. Foot problems completely disappeared. Neck scarf, hat and snow goggles to prevent a very painful case of "snowblindness" if you're outside for long periods in the snow on sunshiney days.
A positive attitude helps.
It was Superstorm Sandy in 2012 that got me into preparing for emergencies. We lucked out mainly due to our personalities: we hate going to the grocery store so we were already stocked up on food (we already went even before it was forecasted), and we were cheap so we already heated our space with wood (which doubled for cooking and heating water.) We also still had old starter batteries and an inverter so we were able to keep things charged like a laptop to occupy a niece. We're much more prepared now than what we were over a decade ago if it were to happen again.
If you are allergic to wool like me, what I do for my wool blanket is I saftey pin a cotton sheet to both sides of the wool blanket, before covering up.
I Also have allergies to clothing, so I make sure to wear a thin layer of cotton clothing (or whatever you are NOT allergic to) underneath the top clothing to keep from allergic reactions!
That sounds great. I'm not a fan of wool but I could do flannel on each side of wool 👍
Great video Chris, thank you. One thing I keep in store is some bioethanol fuel and a bioethanol burner. It can be used indoors safely because it just produces a small amount of water vapour as a bi-product. With the correct containers, it can be used for heat and to cook by.It's not the 'cheapest' fuel (at least not in the UK) but in an emergency it's a good back up. Obviously, it's important to make sure it's somewhere away from other combustibles.
That's great!
I have to get an adapter burner for my isopropyl alcohol gel fireplace. That bioethanol stuff burns hotter and is a little cheaper than the gel cans.
I am prepared! The only thing that I don't have that you mentioned is the bubble wrap insulation. Always adding more, but feel like I really do have what is needed if it's needed. Thanks Kris for the research and information, you are the best!
Thx, Kris. Good info. I kept hearing music in the background, and it was very distracting. Just thought I would mention it. Thx!
The Artic Blast in the 90's we had 3 weeks no power nor water,everything was frozen. We were prepared we cooked food for our Community members.
That's great. I always keep wood supplies, charcoal and I have gas stove so even if electric is out...just turn the burner on and light with a match 👍
We always have a second heat source. Fireplace worked great for us. We can cook in it-foil wrapped food on embers, open can of beans, hot dogs…houses the house…No electricity required.
So regarding the Mr. Heater Buddy heaters the issue comes from folks mixing the high pressure gas (propane) with a low pressure hose. It draws out the oils from the low pressure hose and will over time clog the filter inside. To get around this you can do one of two things: use a regulator with a low pressure hose or buy a high pressure hose. Mr Heater does sell the high pressure hoses on their website in various lengths.
Air mattresses can be cold. They leave a lot of surface area exposed to the cold. Not only insulate between you and the cold air mattress but the ground between the air mattress. A foam pad to act as a thermal break makes a great difference when camping. A yoga mat is great for unexpected repairs on the cold ground. Way warmer than cardboard or plastic. I wore my chest waders to fix my jeep one slushy day.
Thank you Chris for the very useful information presented in this video and in your guide.
Merino wool - Worth the money. If you can afford it, Kuiu hunting gear is, IMO, the best you can get for cold gear. If hunters are out for a week or two at a time in the snow waiting for a kill in this, you'll be more than comfortable in your house in it.
Thank you for posting this. This is some great advice🙂
You should check out the Eco Zoom stoves. The Zoom Plancha has a chimney and a cast iron griddle with 2 removable tops for direct access to flames. You can use it to cook indoors so no one will smell your food. Just the smoke from the fire. It's a dual rocket stove that runs on very little wood, biomass, or charcoal. I'd like to know what you think!
Where can these be found?
@@carrieporter3401 search for Eco Zoom Plancha for the griddle top with dual rocket stoves.
@@carrieporter3401Google
Thanks for sharing. I had a look, they sell them close to my hometown, the stove looks huge & heavy for indoors!
Also look into tent stoves. They come in different sizes, with everything included to vent thru walls, ceilings, or tents. Wood burning, the costs I've seen are under $400.00.
You are correct about using a filter with the Mr. Buddy, however, you do not need a regulator to hook it up to a large propane tank. I use a Mr. Buddy every winter. My Coleman two burner camp stove comes with a regulator. I use 3M duct tape. I've tried many bargain brands, and they didn't work well after sitting for a couple years. I use a small Midland AM/FM/weather radio. the rechargeable battery lasts about 12 hours. I'm going to order a spare battery. It also has a solar panel on top, but I can't speak as to how well that works. I have a network of Ryobi lighting, fans, inverters, and batteries for many of my needs. I'm very impressed with Ryobi's performance. I also use Energizer rechargeable AA, AAA, C, and 9v batteries. I'm impressed with Energizer's performance as well. Not impressed with the Energizer D cells. I use my Energizer and Ryobi products several times a week. I live in a hot, humid environment and I don't use air-conditioning. This seems to promote regular batteries leaking. Any flashlights you buy should have rubber O-rings to seal them. I get many years out of the little 2-dollar flashlights from Northern Tools. I have a gas and a propane generator to recharge everything. I also shop army surplus stores for warm clothing and other things. Make sure you get USGI (US Govt Issue) products. All this stuff costs a little more initially, but I've found the durability and dependability over years of service is worth the little extra money. I've been building my supplies for about 15 years.
I totally have a ryobi addiction! That fan is fantastic
Candles are great for light, heat and cooking if used properly as well.
'Penny can stoves' are very useful heaters as well. The fuel is 99% pure and l haven't felt adverse health for the two hours continual burn experiment l conducted. My budgie bird remained unharmed also. 😀
Any fossil fuel will produce carbon monoxide when burnt. Lack of oxygen causes the carbon monoxide to be produced.
a good layering plan is key, clothes, shelter, but never ignore ventilation, propane and kerosine especially gives off harmful fumes. heavy duty plastic is the best to seal in body heat etc. have plenty on hand for extreme cold to seal off a room/personal sleep chamber. keep sources of food that doesn't need cooking.
A lot of these foods that are canned can be used as pet food.
Remember the expiration date for most canned foods is way beyond the used by date.
I was babysitting and went into my daughter in laws pantry. I took out a can of mixed fruit to eat. It looked a little pale, but smelled ok. So I ate a small bowl and fed the rest to the kids. As I was cleaning up I noticed the BB date was 2016. That was more than 7 years ago. None of us got sick, but it did lose a little bit of flavour.
So true. I pulled a cake mix box from my shelf. It expired April 2023...I used it and the cake is great. It's almost gone too😂😂
Filling an insulated bottle with a hot beverage can provide a warm drink if you get cold through the night. UCO candle lanterns helped us supplement our portable heater when our furnace died. Those and the terracotta pot heaters kept our house livable during a major snowstorm. Having mylar blankets and painters tape can help to contain warmth in your “warm” room. Make sure all your rechargeable batteries/ power supplies are fully charged before the storm hits. During winter storms you can use an ice chest to keep things protected in your garage or patio when the power is out. The ice chest keeps out critters, not bears.
For those contemplating a combustion type heating device for emergency heat, get a sheet of cement board used to go underneath when laying a tile floor. This will give you a large high fire resistant area for your heater.
A piece of drywall, even though it softer, actually insulates better due to the air in the gypsum. Cement board is great too. Another one of my favorites is xf fire rated plywood. Its lighter and virtually fireproof.
Tile backer board! I didn’t even think of that! Thanka
Great list - don't forget a water filter like ZeroWater
Hi, Rick! What I would like you to talk about, is after an injury occurs during an emergency. Lets say a burn. Roads are impassable and the burn patient is in pain. What do you do for the pain? What if you can't call out to get Emergency Assistance? Have you talked about this before.
Butane cooking equipment is a great option as well.
Thank you, too many people do understand how bad things can get.
North American Rescue is the best place for high quality first aid supplies and gear. We even use the tourniquets in the ER.
Great info! A video like this for hot climate such as Florida would be great.
I picked up the Dewalt version of the Mr heater over the summer for cheap 👍 Thanks for the tips!
Thank you for going back to this type of information. If we don’t get hit by an EMP, it will be a CME. Because our country isn’t spending money on infrastructure we’ll be on our own to survive the best we can. Please keep this type information coming that can help us prepare for it.
USE PAINTERS TAPE VERSES DUCK TAPE WHAT A NIGHTMARE TO REMOVE DUCK TAPE LATER
Just remember tarps aren't waterproof, and plastic doesn't always do well in certain situations so pairing them together can be a good idea
Also note: if you overdo it, you will burn up/melt your cords. I've seen a pair of radiator heaters melt a good 110 cord (aka a good household three prong cord)
We have several oil lanterns with extra oil and wicks as a fall back for lighting. These are always emergency only, but they do provide another source for heat and light.
Highly recommend that you check to see if there are any natural springs within a few miles. My wife and I live in an apartment in Rockland Maine, small town but still an urban environment. We don't like drinking tap water so we get all our drinking and cooking water from a natural spring. If the grid goes down and pipes freeze we can always get water from there and we top off all our water storage when we know a bad storm is on the way.
The one time use hand/toe/ body warmers are great. 10ish hours of good heat production. I keep some in my winter car kit.
I have actually slept in sweats with a hat and used those chemical 10 hour hand warmers in my sleeping bag (about 4)
Another great program my friend. Be well.
I'm not sure if poly fabrics have gotten safer in freezing temps, but I had watched a saftey video on how to survive if stuck in a car until help can get there in cold/freezing weather. (One) A very high safety issue was to stay in the car retaining body heat, (two) clothes and blankets made from non-natural fiber could cause death sooner than items made from 100% natural fibers like wool, cotton, silk. The idea being (not to sweat) as you mentioned here, but also condensation on the body with non-wicking plastic based fabrics... Their advice was all ER clothing and blanket items for the cold/freezing temps in a car should be of natural fiber including thermal underware. This would translate to hot temps for breathability. Note: I found that a 100% wool cap (no liner) surprisingly when tested in 95* F summer day actually did keep me cooler than without it. Not sure how this compares to a straw hat though 🙂
i mean, as a canadain who lived tho the snowmageddon of 2010 where we got 177 cm or 70 inches of snow in 3 days. yes that actually happened, no only did nobody die that day, but the power still kept going on. so im positive no snow storm or no amount of snow will take out our power lines. but hey thats canada
Hey CP’s! Just a quick reminder… when thinking about food items to store for emergencies, make sure you check to see if they are “bio engineered” a lot of soups have them. Just make sure you check! 😊
I appreciate all the information you give us. thank you