Prepaing for the storm

Since we're getting a very significant storm today into tomorrow, I'm going to share some tips on being prepared for a winter storm.

Where we live is a rural area and the possibility of a power outage is very real. By doing at least the items on this list, I'm prepared to go a few days without power.

Storm Prep List:

1. Fill all water bottles/buckets. If we lose power the pump to draw water will not work. Having jugs and bottles of water to drink is a must.  
   
   
   
   
   
2. Bring wood in for our wood stove. We always have wood in but if the power goes out we'll need to run constant heat in the wood stove. The more you have piled up, the fewer trips you'll have to make to the woodpile. 
   
3. Water plants/fill humidifiers. When running the wood stove it dries everything out. Having the humidifiers full and plants watered cuts down on the amount of water you have to use. I run my humidifier on high until the power goes out and then any water left in the tank I use for the water pot on the wood stove.
4. All laundry done. Having it all done means you don't have to do it by hand unless you're out of power for a long time.
5. Run dishwasher / wash all bottles. Same as with the laundry- with everything clean you won't have to wash them immediately. 
6. Get all flashlights out- place 1 next to your bed and the rest in a central spot. I chose my kitchen table. Having a flashlight next to your bed is very helpful, if you lose power in the middle of the night, the flashlight near you're bed will help you find your way around.
7. Check on spare batteries- have enough? Being without power for a couple days make sure you have spares, the last thing you want is to have the batteries die in the middle of the night and have no spares.
8. Check pantry- make sure stocked with necessities. Having items that you can eat without cooking and items that can be cooked on the wood stove ready to go. 
9. Charge all electronics- tablets and phones. When the power goes out this will be your only means of communication. Don't use the battery life up all at once. 
10. Animals Ready- fill guinea pig water bottle / fill dog water dish / put shovel next to back door to shovel path for dog to go outside. 

These are the top ten things that I do to prepare for a storm, they aren't the complete list and I know some of them are specific to people with wood stoves. I hope this has been helpful.