How To Prepare A Winter Emergency Kit
With winter weather already here this year, it is time to start thinking about How to Prepare a Winter Emergency Kit. Not only do you want to have everything on hand just in case you are stranded without power, but you also want to have it ahead of time. There is nothing as scary as being stuck in a winter storm without the supplies you need.
HOW TO PREPARE A WINTER EMERGENCY KIT
Buy Non-Perishable Foods for Your Family for a Week: MRE’s are a bit extreme for some, but not out of the question. Having some canned soups, canned meat, crackers, peanut butter and granola bars will help keep your family fed while you are unable to easily cook foods.
Don’t Forget the Water: Just because there is snow and ice outside doesn’t mean you don’t need water to drink. Make sure to have several gallons available for drinking purposes. Just in case you run out and have to resort to drinking snow, grab a few water purification packets too.
Update Your First Aid Kit: Make sure to restock, remove expired items and update your first aid kit. Include the names of your physician, pharmacist and of course insurance information as needed in this. If you take daily medications, now is the time to get a week supply to add to your kit for emergencies when you may not be able to get to a pharmacy for a refill.
Invest In Wool Blankets, Gloves and Hats: Great wool blankets, hats and gloves will keep you warm during the coldest days. While you may have alternate heat sources, you will have times where you need something to make you a bit warmer.
Buy A Safe Alternate Heat Source: Find a safe alternate heat source that will work for your family. Kerosene heaters are popular, but you can also look into wood stoves, as an addition to your home to save costs and keep everyone warm.
Include Batteries & Chargers: Stock up on fresh batteries for things like radios, flashlights and lanterns. Include some battery-operated chargers for things like cell phones, handheld game systems and similar.
If you don’t want to invest in individual items, you can always purchase a ready-made winter emergency kit to toss into your hall closet for those last-minute emergencies. Make sure you know what is included though, some things like extra water, blankets and of course your personal medications will need to be added to this list.
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Melissa is a football and soccer mom who has been married to her best friend for 24 years. She loves sharing recipes, travel reviews and tips that focus on helping busy families make memories.
These are some really great and important tips!
Thank you for doing these tips. Where can you get the water purification packets? thx
It’s definitely helpful to be prepared during the winter months.
Good reminder to make (or update) one of these kits. I like to keep one in each car.
We just keep some wood near bbq, fully stocked kit w old clothes, shoes, old pots and pans, old buckets to store water in tubs and always buy canned tuna, PB, anything canned w no or longer expiration dates. Don’t need anything special or expensive, just take old stuff or your extras and organize it ion old luggage or a closet. Most of my kit I’ve never used, but always always wind up using the water summer or winter.
Also beeswax candles burn longer, well worth keeping a couple around..