Storm Preps

Food is a big one for me to stock up on, but you dont always need the typical bread, milk, eggs… High protein items and high calorie will do. And will store a lot better in case of power failure. Look for just add water sides like the rices, mashed potatoes, noodles. They can typically be had for $1 or less and are not bad tasting. For protein you can do canned beans, peanut butter, cans of tuna and chicken, spam… Granola bars and oatmeal are not bad to have either
I would stock up on a way to cook or boil water. Get a few clean 5g buckets to collect rain water and boil off for usable water to drink or cook with. Wouldnt hurt to have bottled water but could be hard to find when an emergency hits
Pretty sure if you are here you have a light source lol.
Fuel for camp stove or bbq. Enough to last cooking on a couple times a day for the expected time needed.

Keep safe everyone. Will include you on our prayers.

Canned mackerel is a good choice, better than tuna for fatty acids and low levels of toxic metals.

Another thing, I also did my own pro pest control (Insects) right before the storm made sure to get all the doors, windows, attic, garage and all around the house and crevices, then right after the storm did pest control again, so far not a single insect has made it alive inside my home…

Use the pro stuff, like Bifen IT / Tempo SC Ultra / Cyonara / Talstar / Thermidor SC, etc. I got them from here…

I used to do a bit of animal rescue/transport and can’t stress enough the importance of a pet carrier in an emergency. A lot of people I encountered didn’t have one because their pet was “well trained”. Only problem was how often the training would go out the window in a high stress situation. Animals can act weird in storms etc, but just as often as not an injured or panicking owner can be the problem.

If anyone is looking to buy/make a carrier keep in mind that if a pet is injured it makes it a lot easier to put them on a towel/blanket and drag them rather than trying to lift/roll/shove them into a carrier that only has one small opening.

And don’t forget to pack a muzzle! Just because your dog won’t bite you doesn’t mean it won’t bite a first-responder. I was lucky and never got any serious bites but had a few close calls.

Basics needs

Tarpaulin
Rope
Duct tape (sounds like a fun night out lol)
Cable ties
Brooms/mops
General tools, saws, screw drivers, wrench, pry bar (temp fixes for the house and car leave the real fix for insurance if you can)
Water filtration and or clean water. Also grab some rain water for toilet. Toilet paper also lol
Some sort of fuel to cook with. If inside please use natural gas it’s safest.
Torch and radio of course
First aid kit
Canned food, beans, spam, tuna, rice, salami if you want meat

I think I would have a hard time knowing when fight and when to just pack up and visit the in-laws.
Most likely send the wife and kids to some relatives and stick it out looking after the house.

I got pretty good at prepping for hurricanes living in Virginia. Have since moved to Michigan, but I still have our 7000 watt generator, and (10) 6gallon gas cans. My old F250 held close to 40gal of fuel and could siphon if need be. Longest power outage was 13 days.

That thought crossed my mind too. If that is the case, what would be even worse is if desperate folks buy his 900w generators thinking that the units will be able to power their refrigerators and such.

Sounds like everything needed for a good first date

Nido in the Hispanic food section of the grocery stores is a good powdered milk substitute. It tastes better to me at least.

Since finding BLF and the “modern” lights, I can say that the importance of light as a survival aid is easier than ever. The AAA lights like the Astrolux A01 have a moonlight mode that will run for a weeks worth of nights on a single battery, simply amazing. Even having less than a lumen on all the time in a power out situation provides as much comfort as a tarp to keep the rain off your head.

Safety wise, not breaking a toe on a piece of debris, or stabbing a hole in you from seeing where you are going only takes 10-20 lumen to keep you safe. An AA light like a JetBeam MK gives you 9 hours of 30 lumen light. This is easily a weeks worth of bathroom runs, generator refills, and cooking on a single AA. Again, simply amazing to me.

Stay safe if you have to be in the path, use your lights to keep safe as well…

+1

Don’t forget the plastic drop sheets and garbage bags! :wink:

Throw a few cases of bottled water into your freezer. It'll add a little thermal safety net as well as providing extra water if you need it.

Do not underestimate the effects of having enough ground coffee to make for your neighbors just in case.

OH NO! My coffee grinder! I forgot! It’s electric! :cry:

Ziploc and a blunt object. Or mortar and pestle. been there.

Gas companies say this:

SRS2000 thanks. I don’t have gas, having seen houses reduced to slabs it just strikes me as a good idea to turn off the gas at the source - hopefully below ground, but if the gas company says that’s the wrong thing to do I’ll take their word for it.

Mmmm, I don’t see a shovel in that list…

edsg don’t need no stinkin shovel! He’ll make a boat out of the tarp, duct tape, broom handles etc. and take his date for a row…

I’ll show myself out :person_facepalming: