Emergency Basics For Winter: East Coast

With the current winter weather, (and recent past) upon you and so many people in danger, it is time to become seriously prepared. Your life may very well depend on it. Below I am going to list a few items that could save your, or your families life when the next blizzard hits. We of course can not force you to get ready, but we hope you will consider it seeing as how mother nature is making sure it stays cold. Being prepared for unexpected winter storms is very important.

Let’s Heat Things Up!

The number one item that I suggest, besides a generator, is the Mr. Heater indoor propane heater. Mr. Heater offers the latest evolution in portable heating with the Portable Buddy Propane Heater. Use it in garages, tents, workshops, cabins, porches, patios, or hunting blinds to heat up to 200 sq. ft. Equipped with a low-oxygen shut-off pilot system and accidental tip-over shutoff for indoor safety and features low/high heat settings of 4,000 and 9,000 BTU/hr. allowing you to control comfort level. It also comes with accidental tip-over safety shutoff. Lightweight, easy to carry and heats up to 200 sq. ft. You can use small  camp stove propane tanks or connect directly to a 20 lb. propane cylinder with optional hose. (propane not included)

How Will You Feed Your Family?

Lets not forget that if we lose power we can use the snow to keep our food cold, but what about cooking?  Lodge makes an amazing portable cast iron grill. I find this amazing because with just a few briquettes of charcoal it can cook for hours and  radiates heat as well. A draft door regulates the heat so in addition to grilling or frying, it is ideal for anywhere you need a self contained cooking source. Coals are accessible behind a flip down door and the grill has two adjustable heights. Seasoned and ready to use.

When Will the Snow Stop….how will I charge my phone?

A Solar powered all weather radio/phone charger is also a must in case of power loss. I personally love the Ambient Weather Solar Powered Radios.

However, if you would prefer a USA made all weather radio Kaito makes a nice one as well. The Kaito Voyager KA500 is a sister product of Kaito’s widely praised emergency radios KA007, KA008 and KA009. Specifically designed for emergency situations, the KA500 offers different methods to power itself. Those methods include AC/DC adapter, three AA batteries , the built-in rechargeable Ni-MH battery which can be recharged from the AC adapter, by hand, by solar panel or by a PC, and the dynamo hand crank which not only can recharge the built-in battery, but provides power even when no battery is installed. There is an internal generator that recharges the internal replaceable Ni-MH battery pack and powers the radio, flashlight and reading lamp. Also, by plugging your cell phone into the jack on the back of the radio, you can use the crank to power your phone. Not only that, this radio also features a USB port, which you can use to charge your radio with a PC or charge other electronic gadgets with the hand crank. The 7-weather channels are pre-programmed and numbered from 1-7, you can easily and conveniently tune into the stations by turning the switch. Compared with any other solar-powered emergency radios, the KA500 has its unique 180-degree adjustable solar panel, which can maximize sunlight. On the back side of the solar panel, there is a super-bright 5-LED reading lamp. Standard accessories include earphones, user manual and bonus multiple adapter tips for charging select models of Motorola, Nokia, Samsung, and LG phones.

Oh My! It’s getting dark and my batteries are dying!!

Now that you have a way to cook, heat for your family and a way to keep up with the weather and charge your phone you might consider a safe way to have light for your house at night. There are multiple options here to chose from. We love to use these Mason Jar Oil Lamp Lids. Just add a little lamp oil to a mason jar and screw the lid on. Voila!! We now have light!

Other options might be candles, but they can burn out rather quickly and wax can get spilled. Instead, you can opt for emergency candles. These are designed to burn for long periods of time. This pack of 6- 100 hour emergency candles are good to store in your emergency supplies to ensure you will have light to see by. 100 hours and more of light per candle, odorless, smokeless and burns liquid paraffin.

These are some of the basic things that can be stored in case of an emergency or natural disaster to make sure you will be safe until help can get there or the power gets turned back on. A few other things to consider are;

• Rock salt for slippery walkways
• Wool blankets
• Home protection to keep you safe from looters
• Plastic sheeting for windows to help keep the cold out
• Canned food for your pets in case you run out of food
• Extra water: We prefer buying the 4-5 gallon refills at Sam’s designed for water machines
• Multiple ways to start a fire if all else fails
• Dehydrated food or an emergency food bucket
• Snow shovel/ice scraper
• extra gloves and wool hats and socks

Please feel free to add any thoughts or ideas you might have in the comments section below.

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