Emergency Prep Essentials for under $250

Welcome back,

Now that you are getting your food supply gathered, let’s move on to non-food items that are essential when you lose power. I have worked very hard to keep this list of gear under $250, but there are so many cool items out there it was hard to contain myself.

Let’s talk first about things you should do around your house or apartment when you learn that the power is going to be out for an extended period of time. If you have an alternative heat source, i.e., fireplace or wood stove use it. If you have a BBQ, you can cook your food but never in the house. If you use your fireplace or woodstove and are familiar with building fires, get it fired up, not only do you now have a heat source, but you also have a way of heating your food. If you are not familiar and haven’t used your unit in months or ever, you need to learn how to use it. YouTube will have plenty of “how to” videos. First, have the chimney cleaned & cleared, you don’t know what is in there, really, there could be nests, other debris, or even dead things; “dead things Mikey, dead things.” Keep wood, kindling, newspaper and a lighter or matches on hand. Keep your wood dry. Practice, practice, practice. Become proficient at fire building, you may never need to use the skill, but there could come a day when it could save your life.

Next, everyone needs to be located in one room, move into the fireplace room and/or the sunniest room you have, close all the other doors, and put rolled towels along the bottom, this will keep any heat you generate in and cold air out. If you can, use any extra blankets to cover windows and doors of that room at night. Drape your blankets over existing curtains and move furniture to hold the blankets in place. This will also help to keep the warm in and the cold out. When the sun returns remove the coverings, let the sun be your heater. Close everything back up again as soon as the sun disappears. Everyone needs to dress warmly, use layers in your clothing and if you find you are sweating, remove a layer. Then everyone needs to huddle together, your body is a little heater and the closer everyone is the warmer you will be, shared body heat can be your savior. This next thing is going to seem weird, but it will help everyone stay together and conserve as well as trap body heat. Put up your tent, if you don’t have one, it’s on the list. First put down one of your Mylar blankets (list) and put your tent on that. Line the floor with blankets or if you have rugs that would be better, you’re creating a barrier from the cold floor. Situate your area with your sleeping bags and/or blankets and pillows. Use any extra pillows & blankets to line the perimeter of the tent, this will help to insulate the tent and prevent physical contact with the tent walls while sleeping. Now everyone scooches to the middle and stays warm. Hopefully, your tent is large enough for all to gather comfortably yet still have some space. If not, get a bigger tent. Now you play cards or games or read. If you have electronic devices remember they are only as good as their battery life. Save your cell phone in case of an emergency. For those of you with small children make this a fun “camping” experience, if you have teenagers or older children encourage them to be patient and roll with it, it is what it is, and it can’t be changed. Remember to leave a small opening at the top of the tent door, you’ll need some circulation. During the day you can rotate in and out of the tent but try to stay in the one room leaving only for the bathroom.

The bathroom. Since you have no power you will have no water, you’ll be able to flush normally once, but the water will not refill. There are ways around this which we’ll discuss in a minute but first realize that you cannot flush every time, you have to save up, everyone does their business and then closes the lid. Have a supply of hand wipes close by for clean-up. Close the lid. When the contents begin to “pile up”, either paper or poo you will then need to flush. If you can throw your peepee paper in the trashcan, it will help with the flushing. After the first flush there will be no water in the tank, add water to the bowl from your hygienic water with your gallon bucket (list). The next time you need to flush you will use a bucket of water, dump a full bucket of water into the bowl, this will cause the toilet to flush, then you refill the bowl. The flush will probably not be perfect, but some is better than none. If it is raining or snowing use your 5- gal bucket (list) to either catch the rain or collect snow for melting to use as water for flushing. Save as much of your stored water as you can.

Hopefully, everything will be back to normal in a couple of days, in the meantime you just have to hunker down, stay warm and try to maintain your sanity.

The List. I have found quiet a few of these items at Walmart but had to go to Amazon as well, I found they had a better selection and surprisingly better prices on some things. FYI, Walmart will ship right to your door as well as Amazon.

Non-Food Items:

Walmart

Tent Ozark Trail, 4 person $34.97

Flashlight 2-Ray O Vac-3-pak w/battery $18.85 Everyone gets a flashlight

Head Lamp 3-Energizer Vision w/battery $30.00

Batteries AAA, Ray O Vac 8-pack $5.47

AA, Ray O Vac 8-pack $5.47

C, Ray O Vac 4-pack $5.97

Amazon

Mylar Blanket 4-pack, several to choose from $14.99

Lantern Tansoran, 4 pack, solar $36.00

Radio Running Snail, solar $20.00

Stove Chef-Master 90011 butane single $37.56

Butane Gas-One, 12-pack $25.21

Buckets 5-Gal & 1-Gal, Local hardware Store $15.00

Total $249.49

Other items not in the budget :

Toilet Paper Walmart $10.00

Camp Coffee pot Ozark Trail, Walmart $12.86 This can also double as a kettle for heating water

Water Storage 4-Reliance 7-gal container, or $59.88 Walmart 4-Igloo 6-gal container $57.88

Notice I put toilet paper on the list, you can never have too much toilet paper, remember April 2020. Who would have ever believed that there would be a toilet paper shortage?! I’ve included water storage containers, storing your own water will save you money in the long run. Only get the coffee pot if you partake, have a cup of cowboy coffee instead.

One word about the butane stove, please buy the Chef-Master. There are other brands that are less expensive, but most of them are camp stoves and are not designed for indoor use. Use the stove as it was intended, it is not a heater altho it will help heat the room while you are cooking. With a heat source the variety of food you can eat will expand, plan accordingly.

The End…You are now ready to face a short-term power outage without fear or trepidation. A little planning, a little money and a great deal of common sense will have you ready for anything. Remember my motto, Be Aware, Prepare and then Don’t Care. You can’t live your life in fear, S*#t happens, the idea is to be ready, no matter what.

If you like this let me know, send me an email [email protected]. If you would like info on other prepping topics let me know I’ll delve into it for you. Tell you friends! Find me on Facebook.