This is a good thing to consider :
1) Power can go out
2) Water can be cut off - or the pipes freeze
3) What do you do about stored food?
4) How do you stay warm?

What else can you think of that might become a problem, like medicines?


I wonder how many of you have thought about these topics - survival is not about automatic weapons, it is about essentials that you will need...






ICE has frozen many trees and dropped them in my area, some of them on POWER LINES (which most silly people never think of)

What happens when POWER goes out where you are?

~ and so on...


What are the things that all of a sudden change, and need your immediate attention in order to make your home livable?

What should you do?


1) How do you stay warm?
2) how do you get water?
3) How do you keep your food from spoiling?
4) How do you take care of your pets and livestock?
5) How can you cook without gas or electricity?

Etc...


How do you take care of your family and survive?


What will you do if your roof and home are crushed by a falling tree...



These are important topics to consider and discuss - before any such things happen and the needful knowlege becomes essential


* Ice can be melted, if you have got a fire going. A fire is a good thing to get started right away. With that you can have water at least....
A fire means heat - and ice melting on clothing means you will get frozen if you do not have a means to get warm and dry your clothing off!

If a tree fell on your home - cut it up at once and use it to make a fire

A machete works, if there is no power or fuel for a cutting saw!

DO NOT FREEZE IN YOUR TRACKS and hope the county will take care of the whole problem - your survival is up to you alone.

THINK!

When you are done thinking DO SOMETHING


You may not have much time to deal with it - so be fast!

Decide ahead of time what you are going to do

 

I'm kind of far South to worry too much about devastating winter storms, but this year has been pretty bad for us in terms of temps.

Not sure about the storing food question. If it's always this cold and the power is out, won't the food keep just fine in the frozen temps outside?

Worse comes to worse, I've got wood and/or trees and a fireplace for heat, and I've got enough propane to heat up and thaw out the pipes and enough gas to run the generator to pump the well water for a little while. I've got a barn full of hay for the livestock, so I guess that about covers things on my end.

Other than to mention it's usually back up to around 70 a few days after one of these nasty storms hit. Snow and ice is so much more tolerable when it's gone in 24 - 48 hours.

 

If you don't have a wood burning stove or fireplace get a propane or kerosene heater that is safe to use indoors. If you heat with natural gas or oil you can also run the furnace using a generator. If you only have a limited amount of heat, consider relocating to one room or a section of the house you can keep heated.

When I leave the house for an extended period of time I always shut off the water and drain the water from the pipes. If you live in a warm climate your pipes or municipal water main might not be buried deep enough to withstand extreme colds. If you rely on a well or have a sump pump you should have battery backup. It's always a good idea to fill the bathtub and other vessels with water if you are expecting trouble of any kind.

Cooking can be done outdoors on a camping stove. Never attempt to use BBQ's or camping stoves indoors. Make sure you have smoke and carbon monoxide detectors. Keep cars gassed up always in winter. Have a good supply of bottled water and non-perishable food.

You can prevent trees from falling on your home by having them trimmed during warm weather months. You do not want to go up on an icy roof in the middle of winter when emergency services are already stretched to capacity.

I can foresee a big problem with many regions experiencing heating fuel or natural gas shortages because they don't usually experience such cold weather and their supply chains are not equipped to meet soaring demand. If I lived in a home with a wood stove I would get in the habit of splitting more wood.

 

Growing up not living in town, occasionally in winter storms our power would go out. We always had plenty of candles and flashlights.

If you have a natural gas stove, turn it on, you can light it with a match. It will provide heat, light as well as a cooking source as the natural gas won't shut off with the power out

Also, we lived on well water, and when the power goes out your water pump won't work and the only water you have left is in your tank. If its a bad snowstorm, you can always bring snow in and melt it in the bathtub. You can pour water in the toilet to flush it rather than wasting well water

-The Great

 

Generally speaking, a tree that falls on a house won't be any good for firewood. It needs to be cut and split and then season for about a year before it's any good. It's best to plan ahead if you want to have a safe fire. Green wood produces a lot of creosote.

It's good to think about these things and prepare for them. Doesn't have to be elaborate but make plans. Flashlights, extra batteries, drinking water, radio, those are the basics. People who fish, camp, hunters, hikers and the like tend to be a little better at this kind of stuff. A fireplace is better than nothing. Decent sleeping bags for every member of the family. Elderly folks are especially prone to anxiety sometimes and mostly for good reason. When things get tough those who depend on you young or old will be expecting you to pull a rabbit out of a hat. Better have a hat and a rabbit.

 

Good post there Dutch. Not much if anything to ad. Except to the comment about
burning unseasoned wood. If ya know your local wood than ya know what has sap
and how to deal with it when it's Green on the stump. Or in this case on the roof of
yer house.

Alder: As with most if not all trees and brush that loose there foliage in winter the
sap that makes creosote is in the roots and not in the tree. Only when it's got leaves
is when "The sap is up" and it will need to be seasoned. When the sap is down it is
good to burn right of the stump.

Western Red Ceder: This is a plant as is the great red woods. They are dead and dry
inside. Sometimes even rotten and hollow in the heart. The only live part is the bark
and sap wood. The sap makes a great pitch for starting fires. The heart wood is so dry it burns
fast without a lot of heat compared to other woods. Make very good fire starter.

Hemlock, Sitka Spruce: and all evergreens should be seasoned but burning just the heart wood
makes a hot fire with little or no creosote. Remember ceder is not an evergreen,
It's a plant.

We have a wood stove and burn about everything. Although some plastic's don't burn
well, most do.

 

You can install a wood burning stove in your fireplace and run the stovepipe up the chimney. If you need to burn unseasoned wood split it in smaller pieces and stack it near the fire so it dries quickly.

When I think about preparation I don't worry about meteorites, zombies or plagues. I expect that taxes, food and energy prices will continue to increase, roads, utilities and other infrastructure will continue to deteriorate, and crime and government incompetence will only get worse with time

The best preparation in my opinion is to become as self-reliant as reasonably possible. Start getting in the habit of cutting your own wood. Plant a garden. Can your own vegetables and cook healthy meals. Teach yourself to do your own home and car repairs. And don't put off going to the dentist.

 

Yes, if yer over 50 than have all yer teeth and prostate removed.

 

Since I moved in I have been stockpiling firewood as a result of normal land clearing. My current stack measures about 8 x 8 x 40 feet; split, stacked, and dried. In 2009 I installed a 24KW whole house generator that runs off NG. Should the natural gas be turned off, I have 500 gallons of propane (I do have to 're-jet' the carb though before I can run on propane.) I typically keep a ****stack of bottled water, soda, beer, and canned food and also have freezer full of meat. So, I'm thinking I could last two weeks easy, before I had to go out and forage on my own.

 

It's also dang good advice to know what POISONOUS wood types look like-
Poison oak and ivy will often wrap around trees and use them as a natural trellis. Burning that stuff or SUMAC is a real bad idea, even if you do so outdoors.

The effects of Poison Sumac can range from skin irritation and swelling to severe and life threatening respiratory trouble if you are in the smoke from it.

~On sleeping bags, ever since my senior years on active duty I have kept two or more sleep-sacks, because frankly, they feel so silky inside. But when on deployment it is so much more simple to spread a sleeping bag on your bunk, and then you know exactly who slept on it last, there are no communicable social or skin diseases in it, and you yourself control when and how they are washed.

The reason for having two (at least at home) is so that one can be washed and dried while the other is in use.

And even a "summer bag" will keep me warm enough to sweat in my sleep most nights if I am not careful. Got to go on a trip? Snag the bag, and chuck it in the back next to a tent.

I always keep a "Portable Yellow Hilton" around too...

A dome tent at least twice the size that I need, so that I can keep my stuff inside with me. At least once a year I do a quick drill on setting it up, and leave it up at least overnight to air it out. Aside from making sure it is undamaged and has no funk smells from storage, this also re-aquaints me with the setup, and ensures I can put it up and take it down quickly

 

im glad i was a boy scout ....this all i learned many moons ago

 

~It is also dangerous to burn "TREATED WOOD", as I just found by doing a few web searches!

The chemicals used in them can also cause serious and unwanted problems.

 

I burn mostly Alaskan yellow ceder. Although it's not really ceder as it is Cyprus.
Like the old sailing ships where made from. And Hemlock. Both season quickly. Like
in a few weeks if in out of the rain with some wind on it. Although Alder is the best.
It grows all over around here like a weed. I only cut it close to the house to keep from blocking
my view. And for the summer BBQ's. Debarked and green it is a very good wood
for the smoke house as well. And having it in abundance in the back yard
makes it great for when SHTF I have it to cut and burn with out ever
leaving home.

 

Not to worried about it,really. Always have plenty of food and water on hand. truck has at least one tank full of gas all winter. I have a way to heat the house if the power goes out. If worst comes to worst,I can always shoot something out of the woods behind my house!! two years ago,we got 28 inches of snow. Snow plow didn't even get to my house for three days. Best vacation I have had in a long time!! Work was shut down,didn't have to be anywhere at a certain time because everything was closed. it was GREAT!!....of course I knew the storm was coming and got stocked up on supplies days before the last minute shoppers.

 

one thing i did learn in time....the best time to buy extra winter wear is in the coming spring.... when whats left goes down to about 1/4 price fun shopping when you get deals