Things Stormpocalypse Made Me Buy
When Texas got hit with the storm of the decade this February, we lost power for almost five full days and gas for two. We were completely unprepared, and as someone who loves to be prepared and plan for most things, I was incredibly disappointed in myself for not having emergency preparedness items. It was sub-zero, snowing, and we had an almost-evacuation from the main gas line breaking in my neighborhood. Of all the emergencies to prepare for in Texas, a wild polar vortex freezing EVERYTHING was not on my radar AT ALL.
We were fortunate to have come out of it mostly unscathed, but I told myself that we would never be caught so poorly unprepared ever again. I made a list of all our lessons learned and another list of the things that would have saved us from a lot of misery. We have so much more we need to do, but these were the items that we immediately purchased.
Keep in mind, there is SO MUCH MORE that goes into emergency preparedness and this shouldn’t be used as an end-all-be-all list. I asked many friends and family members for their advice and suggestions, and I read a bunch of blogs and articles on emergency preparedness. These items were highly rated or recommended.
* AS AN AMAZON ASSOCIATE, I EARN FROM QUALIFYING PURCHASES.
Goal Zero Yeti 1500x Power Station
After almost five days without power, I learned to never go without a generator EVER AGAIN. This power station can run a refrigerator for 28 hours, connect to a transfer switch, and recharge off solar panels. No gas or propane needed! No more spoiled food or dead cell phones!
Link: amzn.to/3eA3Q0k
5-Way Powered Emergency AM/FM/SW Weather Alert Radio
This would have been so handy to listen to news about the storm when our phones died, or even just to listen to music when we had nothing else to do. It can charge with or without electricity and is just handy to have on hand.
Link: amzn.to/3uBrG1r
Dual Fuel Stove
I was relying on hot tea to keep me warm when we lost power and it was -13 degrees outside…but then we lost our gas. That meant no more heating up water on our stove, and I was officially miserable at that point. NEVER AGAIN.
Link: amzn.to/3y1Yseg
WaterBOB
We didn’t lose water, but MANY people did. This bag is meant to be filled in your tub so that you can keep clean water on hand if you lose it, and it comes with an easy way to dispense the water as needed.
Link: amzn.to/3vXipRm
Streamlight 1,000 Lumen Tactical Flashlight
This flashlight is BADASS. It might be a little pricey but the light it puts out is brighter and wider than any other standard flashlight. SO WORTH IT, especially when going outside.
Link: amzn.to/3bfCc6A
Unscented Tealights
I have tons of candles but they’re all scented, and that makes for an instant headache when you have no electricity and need to light a bunch of them. I bought these long lasting UNSCENTED tealights to make flower pot heaters and just to have light where needed.
Link: amzn.to/3bhHG0C
Kuju Coffee
I’m a coffee addict and when our coffee maker didn’t work because we had no power, I panicked! These Kuju Coffee single-serve packs have the pour-over filter built into them, so all you need is hot water! It is SO EASY and it’s honestly INCREDIBLE coffee.
Link: amzn.to/3y4k2yq
Press 'N Pour Gas Can
Our small town ran out of gasoline during the storm! We were lucky and filled up our cars before the storm hit, but if we hadn’t, we would have been screwed. I’m the kind of gal who always runs on empty and waits until I’m running on fumes to get gas. Yikes.
Link: amzn.to/3w2uDZf
Water Filtration System
You know, just in case we have water but the city water plants crash and the water is unsafe to drink.
Link: amzn.to/2Ratujd