You can pick up a modest but functional walkie-talkie set for around $30. Water Brick makes a 3.5 gallon stack able water container that would work great for storing water. It may not seem critical now, but if a pine tree comes crashing through your kitchen and water is spraying everywhere, knowing how to stop the geyser of water becomes quite important. You likely have all sorts of things in your home right now that would serve you well in an emergency, with a few additions and some organization, you'll have a functional kit and contingency plan. If your power goes out during a winter storm having weather updates can be crucial to knowing what to expect next and how to plan accordingly, so be sure to pick one up if you can. Just buy a few of these and you're good to go. In no time at all you'll have a nice larder to fall back on to in case of an emergency, just be sure to rotate these items so that they don't go bad. At the time of writing this article you can purchase a 10 pack of Cyalume SnapLights for $12, they're made in the USA and last up to 12 hours. If you're wearing layered clothing and have lots of blankets, 40-50F in your house is safe but not particularly comfortable. Some heavy duty plastic sheeting and duct tape might not have the insulation value of a triple-pane window but it will keep hot air from drafting right out into your yard. I recommend keeping a tote of warm clothes stocked for each member of your family. I'm not going to go into detail here about how to calculate the load requirement of a generator, but if requested I can do that in a later article. During the winter months pipes can freeze and electricity can go out making it hard to get enough water to get through a storm. Other items you can look for with longer shelf lives would include: If you don't like the idea of constantly checking expiration dates I'd suggest looking into either freeze dried meals or powdered/dried ingredients that you can use to make your own meals. I don't know if it's worth the cost of purchasing a radio and licensing for a winter storm or not but I thought it might be worth while to mention it here regardless. Watera. Comfortable is a personal thing—I'm comfy at 55F, most people prefer at least in the upper 60s—and you'll need to plan accordingly for it. Store Extra Water Do you know where the water shutoff valve is? It's not a bad idea to get some mylar blankets too they are cheap and effective at retaining body heat. In the middle of summer it's an annoyance, in the middle of a winter outage it's a giant icy hole to the outside world that will drop the temperature of your home below freezing in a matter of hours. While I'm not an expert on the topic I do know that possessing the skill and licensing required to operate a ham radio is a huge benefit for a survival situation. Make sure the rest of the people in the house know how to do things like kill the water or electricity. It may be something you have to save up for but it will be well worth it if you should ever need it. Having a NOAA radio should be pretty high up on your winter survival checklist. Go through this list and make sure you have the items on it before winter hits. The same principle applies to non-food items like batteries, salt and sand for your walk and driveway, and keeping your gas tank full in your car. Many home emergencies can be quickly neutralized by knowing how to shut down the infrastructure of the home. Fireplaces, kerosene space heaters, and other combustion-based sources of heat are less than ideal compared to the efficiency and safety of a central furnace but when operated properly can help keep you warm until power and order are restored. All of your flashlights and gadgets are useless if you run the batteries down on them, make sure that you have spare batteries for all the devices that you might need to use during a situation like this. This one like the last is a given for anyone who lives where snowfall is a regular occurrence but for someone that isn't from the area this could be easily over looked. What if the power is out for more than a day? The same thing goes for your generator, if it runs out of fuel or oil for that matter it's basically a giant paper weight. Yes the insulation in your home will keep a lot of heat in, but if you're with out power for multiple days that heat will deplete rather quickly. Unfortunately, unlike swapping candles for LED flashlights, there isn't an ultra modern replacement for ditching combustion-based heat for something fancy. The emergency shut off valve for the gas? When it comes to keeping the lights on when the power is out, flashlights are king. If you can try and get one that takes multiple forms of power and has a flashlight, this will only increase it's usefulness. I know not all of this is able to be accumulated in a day for most, so space it out and buy a little every week or month to get your winter survival kit up to par. Having some way to keep yourself and your family entertained will allow you to take your mind off the situation your in and alleviate some of the boredom that comes with being cooped up. Have I told my roommate, spouse, or child what the plan is in the event of an emergency? According to Authoritynutrition.com you need about a half gallon of water per day so for a family of five you'll need about 2.5 gallons total for one day. Even with the power out there's no excuse for lighting your home with fire. Mountain House and Backpacker's Pantry are great places to look for freeze dried meals they both offer a good variety so you won't have to eat the same thing constantly. You could keep one in your vehicles too in case of a road side emergency. Once you read over the following tips you can adopt them to fit your needs based on your locale and weather, size of your home, and how much storage space you have available. Click here to browse! Tools and Materials for Emergency Repairs: You don't need to be ready for a full scale remodeling project but you do need some basics. Nobody will get frost bite and pipes won't freeze. When you're looking for food to include in your winter survival kit I suggest starting with the normal foods you already eat. 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