topic Re: Anyone else do this? in Home

Anyone else do this?

Mominohio — Sat, 28 Feb 2015 18:30:56 GMT

I took a bit of good natured ribbing about my 'unmentionables' thread, so here goes something else many may never have thought of.

If you live in an area of the country where you have basements (we do) and are prone to storms like tornadoes or severe wind storms, do you have your basement 'prepared' for emergency.

By this, I mean, having things in your basement to ride out a storm, and if the home is damaged, have things to help when you come up out after disaster has struck.

We have battery operated lighting and extra batteries (flashlights, lanterns, flameless candles), blankets (to cover ourselves if cold or splintering glass etc.) shoes (in case we have to run down in the middle of the night. I have seen people coming up out of shelters and basements after houses have been leveled, barefoot, and how hard and dangerous is that?), extra clothing is stored down there anyway, off season. We also store our camping equipment, small propane stove, tent, camp kitchen etc. normally, so could be helpful in a disaster like this. I have even taken down a supply of OTC meds, first aid supplies,some water (we store lots of food down there, not much room in the kitchen), as well as some paper towels, Clorox wipes, trash bags and things like that. We even have a camping potty and the chemicals stored down there that we used for camping.

While not likely to happen, every spring and summer, tornadoes and similar high wind storms take away people's homes, and level small towns. Watching it on TV again and again made me think that I might be wise to have some things down there, that should the rest of the house sustain severe damage, we might need in the hours after the disaster, until help arrived or we could get out.

What I'm missing, an old pair of eyeglasses for each family member. We are very dependent on those, and the next time we get glasses, I'm going to rotate the old ones to the basement.

Anyone else do this, or ever contemplate the need to?

Re: Anyone else do this?

Zhills — Sat, 28 Feb 2015 18:50:47 GMT

We live in a hurricane prone area but we haven't had a bad one in several years.
I do believe that we become complacent and forget just how important being prepared can be.
Also, new persons that have moved to a new area haven't a clue.
Thanks for reminding all of us of the importance of "necessary" items.

Re: Anyone else do this?

Fressa — Sat, 28 Feb 2015 19:07:52 GMT

I started to get better prepared over the last few winters. The ice storms and power outages are what prompted me to do more. We are lucky enough to have a fireplace for heat (if needed) and I have enough flameless candles around so we are not in the dark. The battery supply I am trying to keep in stock. I did buy a Coleman Lantern with panels so every family member can have a panel to get to the bathroom and back. This year I have been focusing on our food supply. I started to stock up on some of the canned items so we have some "thing" that we can eat. I am really interested in some packaged food that lasts well beyond a year. This is one of the main items I am missing. Now, I'm just waiting for a sale to purchase a beginning supply of "add water" and heat food items. I just want to have the basics--just so we are somewhat prepared.

Re: Anyone else do this?

Buck-i-Nana — Sat, 28 Feb 2015 19:14:14 GMT

I don't have a basement, but I do have a full bathroom in the middle of the house (no windows). That serves as my storm shelter. Since the tub/shower doesn't get used, that's where I keep my storm supplies which consists of water, some canned foods, pet foods, battery/crank powered weather radio as well as battery powered lights and a fat max emergency power supply. During tornado season, I keep a futon mattress in there to pull over our heads and a couple of cat crates.

You mentioned you have a propane camping stove. I hope you don't plan to use it if you're trapped in the basement as it's not safe to use in enclosed area due to carbon monoxide.

Re: Anyone else do this?

Snowpuppy — Sat, 28 Feb 2015 20:01:56 GMT

For those of us who live rural it's more of a necessity. Having lived in major metro cities you learn quickly that you just can't ""run to the corner"" for milk & bread.

I keep a deep pantry and freezer. It's become second nature and I rotate stock so very little goes to waste. The other bonus is that I only grocery shop once or twice a month.

we don't get tornadoes up here often but winters can be brutal along with summer storms that roll in off Lake Michigan. When power goes out it can be out for several days so backup heating and a way to heat a meal are essential. Along with stored water if your well pump is out.

I tend to think about likely scenarios to get prepared for and work from that list.

Re: Anyone else do this?

Lakegirl — Sun, 01 Mar 2015 15:01:33 GMT

We have flashlights and candles within reach if we need to go into the basement. Live in the Midwest. As for food and water, we have never had to stay down there for too long. For our lake house in Michigan, I do have battery operated lanterns in every bedroom and in other areas of the house. It is rural, but we haven't had any bad storms when we are there on the weekends. However, we have been there in the winter and that is another story. The house is in the snow belt. Being there in a blizzard is amazing and kind of fun.

Re: Anyone else do this?

nomar — Sun, 01 Mar 2015 18:18:30 GMT

Living in tornado alley, it seems we are sent to the basement just about every couple weeks with warnings. I have heavy blankets and a helmet for myself and the Dottie Dog. (My husband is usually upstairs watching for it.) We have water bottles down there too. But upstairs I keep a list in a drawer with things to grab at the first sign of trouble. It has the wind-up radio and flashlight, and then lists my purse, meds, phone, battery lantern, dog food, and money from the safe. I start gathering at the first sign of trouble. I guess if we had to scrounge around in the basement more after one hit, we could find some clothes and food. (but I better get a manual can opener down there or the food would not do us any good.)

Re: Anyone else do this?

Carmie — Sun, 01 Mar 2015 21:17:25 GMT

I use my basement to store food as I have a very large kitchen pantry down there. We drink bottled water and store extra cases down there too. Our camping equipment, sleeping bags, bins of warm clothing, etc is there. I never thought about it before, but it's good to be prepared for an emergency. We do not usually have weather emergencies here, except for flooding once in a while. There is always a first time for anything. Thanks for the posting... It got me thinking.

Re: Anyone else do this?

Marsha2003 — Sun, 01 Mar 2015 21:44:16 GMT

I live in an earthquake-prone area and keep a backpack three-day emergency supply for each person which probably isn't sufficient, but I have no place to store barrels of water. Battery-operated candles take care of our occasional power outages that usually last no more than ten hours.

Re: Anyone else do this?

Mominohio — Sun, 01 Mar 2015 22:15:35 GMT

On 3/1/2015 Carmie said: I use my basement to store food as I have a very large kitchen pantry down there. We drink bottled water and store extra cases down there too. Our camping equipment, sleeping bags, bins of warm clothing, etc is there. I never thought about it before, but it's good to be prepared for an emergency. We do not usually have weather emergencies here, except for flooding once in a while. There is always a first time for anything. Thanks for the posting... It got me thinking.

So glad that it sparked a thought! Used to be one couldn't talk about this topic for fear of being called a 'wacko' or 'prepper', but even the government is now asking people to be sure they can take care of themselves for at least a few days in the event of a disaster.

Katrina kind of changed that for everyone.

Re: Anyone else do this?

Mominohio — Sun, 01 Mar 2015 22:19:29 GMT

On 3/1/2015 Marsha2003 said:
I live in an earthquake-prone area and keep a backpack three-day emergency supply for each person which probably isn't sufficient, but I have no place to store barrels of water. Battery-operated candles take care of our occasional power outages that usually last no more than ten hours.

A three day back pack is one of the very best things I think people can do. If properly stocked, you have medicine, first aid, clothing, food, water, etc, and it is contained, and ready to grab and go. We all have one in our car, as some in our family have 40 or more minute commutes, and in bad weather, may wish to stay at work or a friend's house much closer to work/school. Having this makes it easy to be away from home for a day or two.

And I love flameless candles for emergency purposes. We have them worked into the decor all through the house, and at night, when there are storm warnings, I turn them on and let them burn all night, so no matter when or what we might wake up to, we have light to see our way around or out of the house. So much safer than real candles.

Re: Anyone else do this?

AuntG — Mon, 02 Mar 2015 01:11:30 GMT

Sometimes I wonder if we should buy a generator in case the power goes out for several days. Never really gave it much thought at our first home, but with a finished basement, I'd hate for the sump pump not to be able to work during an outage.

Re: Anyone else do this?

GCR18 — Mon, 02 Mar 2015 05:24:23 GMT

No preparations in the cellar. I've been in the midwest nine years. A couple years ago, we had a tornado. My house was hit by lightening and we lost power for a day. I have all the supplies, just not centralized to one area.

Re: Anyone else do this?

Reba055 — Mon, 02 Mar 2015 05:49:00 GMT

I'm a native Floridian over 50. Thank God I've never experienced a direct hit from a hurricane or tornado, but I have been close enough to have to deal with extended power outages many times over the years. We are always prepared. I was brought up that way and have continued to do it myself. I don't know why you wouldn't keep stocked up on these essential things. I always watch the chaos on TV when a major storm is threatening and everyone stampedes the grocery and hardware stores last minute. Who wants to be stuck in all that craziness ?? I will say that the utility companies have been doing much better the last few years. I guess because of fiber optics and more underground lines. We have also been blessed to not have any major storms. Being without power is definitely not fun!

Re: Anyone else do this?

nomar — Tue, 03 Mar 2015 18:53:05 GMT

AuntG....we have a finished basement also and was afraid of the sump pump quitting, so my husband installed a "water powered back-up" sump pump, as the back-up battery on the sump pump was always dead. So far, we have not had it come on with power being out during a heavy rain storm. But, a generator sounds like a good idea too.

Re: Anyone else do this?

chrystaltree — Tue, 03 Mar 2015 19:32:34 GMT

We are in a condo now but we raised our family in a huge colonial that had a basement. I believe in being prepared but we never thought we'd have to spend days or weeks in the basement. Even if we lived in tornado alley, I would prepare a place to ride it out but tornadoes don't last long and I doubt that I would think that maybe we'll be trapped down here for a few days. We had kept bottled water, flash lights, batteries, canned food, batter operated lanterns in the basement. But we also kept these things upstairs in our pantry. It's not wise to keep all of your emergency supplies in one place. We both remembered the Blizzard of 78. Even now, I keep emergency supplies. With all the snow storms we've had this winter, I am happy to say that we did not lose our power but there have been storms and hurricanes where we lost power for many hours.

Re: Anyone else do this?

goodstuff — Tue, 03 Mar 2015 19:58:08 GMT

We don't have a basement in our current two-story home, and I don't miss it at all except in times of storms! When we have severe storm warnings here, we have to go to a bathroom in the interior of our home, which isn't nearly as safe as a basement......but it's the best we can do in this house. We do keep flashlights and a battery and crank-powered radio in our bedroom to be grabbed in case of emergency.

We don't have a huge stockpile of food and water, but we always keep enough food in our pantry to last perhaps a couple of weeks and enough jugs of water for perhaps the same period on an emergency basis. Those kinds of supplies would be more for a civil defense or other type of emergency that might disrupt services, and not so much an ongoing severe storm.

Re: Anyone else do this?

depglass — Tue, 03 Mar 2015 20:36:07 GMT

I live in an area of Doomsday Preppers, so its made me think I better do a little something, but I'm not going to the extremes my neighbors do, like buy an extra 1000 gallon propane tank, etc. So far I just keep a few extra gallons of water on hand, and I've always had a pretty deep stock of canned goods, coffee, and toilet paper.

Re: Anyone else do this?

Mominohio — Tue, 03 Mar 2015 21:55:32 GMT

On 3/1/2015 AuntG said:
Sometimes I wonder if we should buy a generator in case the power goes out for several days. Never really gave it much thought at our first home, but with a finished basement, I'd hate for the sump pump not to be able to work during an outage.

This is exactly why we bought our first generator. We were tired of our basement flooding when there was a power outage during a rain storm. One night, it was almost up to the next level of the house. That was it.

We purchased it really close to the end of 1999, and I'm sure people thought we were preparing for Y2K, but it really was about a flooded basement!