Gazrok
A True Doomsday Prepper
Hello all,
Nope, not dead, just been kind of taking a break from a lot of online prepper stuff. Had some big changes in life, so had to live more in the moment there for a bit.
Living in Plant City, we basically got the eyewall coming and going. I was out of power (and water, since we have a well, and losing the electric, means losing the well pump), for 4 days due to the storm.
Being a prepper, we did a lot of things right. However, being a cash poor prepper, we had some limitations too.
So, things we did RIGHT....
WATER - We had plenty of water. And that's saying something, as we also had to water 7 horses, a pig, a monkey, 6 dogs, 6 chickens, 3 bunnies, a cockatoo, and a ton of cats....and of course, humans. We were 4 days with no running water, but could have easily had water for another week, for all of us, without even dipping into the well with an emergency bucket.
FOOD - Plenty of food too. I had to even take chicken breasts out to THAW yesterday. No generator. How? Before the storm, I consolidated all refrigerated and frozen food to ONE unit. Then, I used the standing freezer to freeze a ton of bottled water. When the power went out, I filled every nook and cranny of the fridge and freezer that didn't have food, with those frozen water bottles.
LIGHT - We had oil lamps, candles, and battery powered lights, and had no trouble here.
SHELTER - We boarded up windows, and felt pretty secure in a concrete block house. The stables are also well built, and closed storm doors, window shutters, etc.
BOREDOM - We had boardgames, movies on powered devices, even internet access via our cell phones the whole time.
So....what did we do WRONG...???
The heat. I did not really count on this. I thought, sure, it will suck a bit...but man, it sucked a LOT. Generators to me, used to be just a bit luxury...(unless I could go full bore with it). Nope. I'm getting a COUPLE of them now. We have central air, but I see the need for some window units to make a couple of rooms cool when this happens. It's become a NEED, not a WANT.
Cell charging. I figured the cars would suffice for this. True, they do, but it's a pain, and you have to have the cars running some to not kill the battery. So, adding some solar battery chargers to the list. At about $25, can't go wrong.
Batteries. For a short term thing, this didn't seem like much of a thing. But, I do see the need for rechargeable batteries. Nearly impossible to find D cells before or after the storm (which is what most large lanterns use). Now I have other light sources, but these are much easier to use. So, we are definitely moving towards these.
Propane. Impossible to find before the storm (or after). I should have stayed stocked up on this, but can get a bit pricey when on a budget. Still, needed more of this. Luckily, I countered with charcoal. Just would have been easier to cook a few different things with a propane burner vs. on the grill.
Nope, not dead, just been kind of taking a break from a lot of online prepper stuff. Had some big changes in life, so had to live more in the moment there for a bit.
Living in Plant City, we basically got the eyewall coming and going. I was out of power (and water, since we have a well, and losing the electric, means losing the well pump), for 4 days due to the storm.
Being a prepper, we did a lot of things right. However, being a cash poor prepper, we had some limitations too.
So, things we did RIGHT....
WATER - We had plenty of water. And that's saying something, as we also had to water 7 horses, a pig, a monkey, 6 dogs, 6 chickens, 3 bunnies, a cockatoo, and a ton of cats....and of course, humans. We were 4 days with no running water, but could have easily had water for another week, for all of us, without even dipping into the well with an emergency bucket.
FOOD - Plenty of food too. I had to even take chicken breasts out to THAW yesterday. No generator. How? Before the storm, I consolidated all refrigerated and frozen food to ONE unit. Then, I used the standing freezer to freeze a ton of bottled water. When the power went out, I filled every nook and cranny of the fridge and freezer that didn't have food, with those frozen water bottles.
LIGHT - We had oil lamps, candles, and battery powered lights, and had no trouble here.
SHELTER - We boarded up windows, and felt pretty secure in a concrete block house. The stables are also well built, and closed storm doors, window shutters, etc.
BOREDOM - We had boardgames, movies on powered devices, even internet access via our cell phones the whole time.
So....what did we do WRONG...???
The heat. I did not really count on this. I thought, sure, it will suck a bit...but man, it sucked a LOT. Generators to me, used to be just a bit luxury...(unless I could go full bore with it). Nope. I'm getting a COUPLE of them now. We have central air, but I see the need for some window units to make a couple of rooms cool when this happens. It's become a NEED, not a WANT.
Cell charging. I figured the cars would suffice for this. True, they do, but it's a pain, and you have to have the cars running some to not kill the battery. So, adding some solar battery chargers to the list. At about $25, can't go wrong.
Batteries. For a short term thing, this didn't seem like much of a thing. But, I do see the need for rechargeable batteries. Nearly impossible to find D cells before or after the storm (which is what most large lanterns use). Now I have other light sources, but these are much easier to use. So, we are definitely moving towards these.
Propane. Impossible to find before the storm (or after). I should have stayed stocked up on this, but can get a bit pricey when on a budget. Still, needed more of this. Luckily, I countered with charcoal. Just would have been easier to cook a few different things with a propane burner vs. on the grill.