Preparing to thrive during the winter months in colder climates is a continuous endeavor, and while your vehicle and home need to be properly maintained and stocked to account for the needs of the cold, instilling into your family the proper mindset and skillsets are just as valuable.

“An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure” is a quote from Benjamin Franklin, and a saying that I use often in my lifestyle of preparedness, especially when it comes to my littles. While nature’s unpredictability can bring with it unfortunate and less than ideal circumstances, ensuring that your family has a healthy understanding of their role, your safety plans, and your contingency preparation can offset the emotional crises that can so often accompany a challenging experience, especially one involving inclement weather.

Winter Storm Planning

Your winter storm planning should be treated just as you would a fire drill or other natural disaster plans such as hurricanes or tornadoes.

Sit down as a family and create a simple Family Preparedness Blueprint. Start by asking your family to share what concerns them the most about a winter storm. Record answers and address easy to answer problems with your solution, or create solutions together for more complicated issues.

Your blueprint for winter storm prep should include:

-Phone numbers for neighbors and/or family that may be helpful in an emergency

-Phone numbers for neighbors and/or family that may need help in an emergency

-Phone numbers for local emergency responders

-Checklist of household supplies specific to winter storms (see below)

-Checklist of medications necessary for your family’s needs

-Drawing of your home with notations of:

- Any exposed pipes that should be covered before a storm

- Safe locations to set up generator (20 feet away from any windows or doors)

-Plans for entertainment (my kiddos love to see that if we get stuck indoors for a while they can look forward to a monopoly marathon, or something similar)

Household Supplies

As I mentioned in the blueprint, a checklist for household supplies that you have in order specifically for emergency planning is critical.

Many preparedness needs remain linear across the board, but there are a few that are unique to winter and snow. You want to ensure you have enough supplies to meet your basic needs for survival for at least 3 days. If displacement from your home is something that you foresee yourself needing due to the geography or intensity of storms, it’s a great idea to store a supply of most of these items in a bag that you can quickly displace with. Our Fieldcraft duffel bags are high-quality bags that I use and recommend for all of my emergency planning. The 80 and 40 Liter bags both have backpack-style straps that can be secured in the outer pouches to make carrying the load more manageable and convenient. https://fieldcraftsurvival.com/fieldcraft-survival-mobility-duffel-bag/

-Hand crank/Battery-powered radio

-Flashlights

-Lantern (LED)

-Spare batteries

-Phone charging power bank

-Water (3 gallons/person for 3 days) Bottled water is an easy solution but you can read more about water preparedness for the home here https://fieldcraftsurvival.com/blog/water-purification-planning-for-your-home/

-Food (enough for each person/3 days)

Suggestions:

Canned foods (soups, meats, beans, broth, fruit, vegetables)

Nut butter, bread (can be stored in a freezer until needed), granola bars, oatmeal, nuts, dried fruit, crackers, dried meats, LMNT electrolyte powder ( shelf-stable milk, baby food/milk

-can opener

-heat source

-wood, matches, fire starter

-radiant space heater (no open coils)

-fleece/wool blankets

-wool base layers, socks, hats, and gloves for each member of the family

-salt or kitty litter to place on sidewalks for traction

-cookware that can be used over a fire such as a cast-iron skillet, pot, wooden cooking spoons.

-handheld radios

-First aid kit

-Pet food

-Games/cards

-Coloring books/crayons (Keep a small supply in an emergency bin that you pull out only in the event of an emergency-this way you have the excitement of something new and you don't have to navigate trying to find your everyday supplies in the dark, etc.)

-Generator/ extension cord

Preparing Your Family

For me, preparing my children mentally is just as critical as preparing my home and gathering the necessary supplies.

If I can alleviate their concern for their safety, and prepare them for contingencies that may present themselves, I’m not only helping to promote a positive environment as a storm approaches, but I’m also creating little assets that will be ready to help and make the most out of the situation at hand versus unstable emotions and fear that could cloud the already difficult situation. Mindset is a very underestimated component of preparedness, and when we can cultivate that within our homes and in our children it makes for a much smoother atmosphere.

To help prepare your children, explain to them what the weather could potentially affect. For example “Some really cold weather is heading our way, we may lose electricity because the snow could become too heavy for the power lines or the wind could affect the lines as well. If we do lose power, here is how we will stay warm, cook our dinner, have fun, etc.”

I have found that once children are debriefed about the possible outcomes and what solutions are in place, they are much more capable and willing participants in the adventure.

How To Stay Safe After The Storm

While the storm itself is often the highlight of concern, the aftermath still requires diligence in safety and planning. Teaching children about community is important to me, so showing them how we contact neighbors and family to assess for any immediate needs is always paramount.

Staying warm, ensuring your animals are properly cared for, and ensuring no local emergencies have been declared such as a boil notice on water or that the national weather service has issued any travel restrictions.

For outdoor high traffic areas, like your parked vehicle, mailbox, or wood storage you will want to apply salt or kitty litter to help with traction and avoid any slipping on the ice.

Other Considerations

Since generators and heating sources can lead to carbon monoxide poisoning when operationally misused or due to internal failures, it’s important to always have a carbon monoxide detector in your home that can operate separately a wired electricity source (you want to be sure they’re battery operated) and test them regularly to ensure they are functioning.

You also want to ensure that you have the same setup for a smoke/fire detector on every floor of your home. Fires are a higher risk disaster during the winter months due to the various heat sources used in a home.

What If We Have To Go Outdoors During Inclement Weather?

Staying indoors is ideal during a winter storm, but if you must be outdoors ensure that you are dressing yourself and your family properly to avoid hypothermia and frostbite. While some people believe that frostbite is a condition only seen in extreme austere situations, it is simply the term used when your skin, tissues, and surrounding circulatory system freeze. The signs that frostbite is imminent are tingly flushed skin then loss of sensation. You want to use the body heat from another person, or yourself to try to warm the area. If you can access warm water or a heat source you will want to use that as well directly on the affected area.

Wearing the proper layers is critical for severe cold conditions, and you can read more about how to dress children (the same concepts apply to adults) click HERE.

Closing

While nature can bring unexpected and even intense surges of weather, there is still beauty to be found in the storms. Preparing your family as best as you can for the inconveniences and dangers of winter weather will allow you the opportunities to grow together in your self-reliant lifestyle, and alleviate so much of the worry and fear that strike many homes during the winter months.