Before we talk about winter preparedness, I want to thank Ron Douglas and the staff at the Self-Reliance Expo. It was a great event and being a featured speaker was certainly a highlight for me and Rocky Mountain Readiness. I spoke on survival gardening and talked about the need for quality heirloom seeds and how Texas Ready Seed banks should be a critical part of any long term self-sufficiency plan as well as for improving the success of current gardens. The Expo’s are nation wide events. Check them out when they come to your area as they feature companies and provide expert speakers all dedicated to helping your family prepare for most any emergency.
Well, winter showed up in Colorado last weekend and many parts of the country are feeling the season change dramatically after a mild November. Preparing for winter isn’t anything new, but it is surprising how many put off thinking about it until they or a family member find themselves stranded for hours or overnight on the side of a road in freezing temperatures or stuck in the house with no power for possibly days due to a severe winter storm. Take these basic steps today and be sure those you care about do as well.
- Vehicles: Make sure your vehicles are not only winterized, but ensure each has extra supplies. As a minimum, each should have food and water for a few days and a way to prepare the food, a sleeping bag or blanket, a safe auxiliary heat source is very helpful (there are small propane heaters made for vehicles and other small enclosures), a shovel, a signaling device, an extra winter coat, tire chains, a fire making kit, a flashlight, a good ice scraper, and everyone should consider a Weego for extra power to charge a phone or even to jump start your car/truck battery. Having these basic items in your vehicles today can save a lot of discomfort and possible injury if you are unfortunate enough to be in a bad situation where help can take several hours or even over night to arrive.
- The Home: Do you have more than a few days of food on hand and if you lose power for a few days can you actually prepare it? If you plan to cook in your wood burning fireplace, do you have the proper cookware to do so? If your gas grill is an option, have you made sure you have enough propane on hand after all the summer BBQ’s? Do you have safe alternative light sources? How about extra blankets? Candles are great, but can present a fire hazard especially for those not used to having them in use. Will the kids have enough to do without power for video games or TV? Putting together an activity kit for them now can help parents get through possible days inside with bored youngsters. It really is the small forgotten details that can sink any preparedness plan.
There, of course, are many other steps you can take to ensure you are your family are ready for winter, but the time to get ready is today.
At Rocky Mountain Readiness we believe in a practical approach to preparation.
Comments (0)