Pam, you are amazing! I'm not sure how you do it all! You say you're in your mid 70's. I'm so impressed with you and your knowledge about so many things, plus the ability to teach them the way you do makes watching your videos a true pleasure. We learn so much. Thank you! 💗🇨🇦
Growing up in old houses with old plumbing, I learned this from my Dad. If the heat goes out and it is below freezing, open all the faucets/taps to the thinnest trickle possible. This keeps the water flowing and will help keep the pipes from freezing. Make sure the taps are on for the washing machine, dishwater and so forth!
I still live in an old house and yes we let the water drip. But from the dollar store we got pool noodles and put them around any exposed piping in the basement. Since we started doing that we have not had a freeze problem with our pipes
YES?! Pool noodles are great! I redid all my pipes under house with the new flex plex pipe. Instead of the expensive insulation foam tubes I used the pool noodles! Just slit down one side slip over pipes perfect and higher R value to boot! Even was able to color code hot cold pipes with red and blue noodles. No tearing off insulation later on to find the right line. Had some interesting conversations at the dollar store buying my noodles!
@@ingridlavone1 The washing machine tap should be just beside the machine on the wall. Turn it OFF, and then make sure the hose is empty. For the dishwasher, there should be a supply line under the sink. Turn it OFF. If you will be away from home for longer than a day or two, turn your washing machine supply line OFF. If the hose breaks while you are away, and the water is turned on, it will continue running until you return home. Very expensive repair. Same with the toilets.
This is a bit ancient but crumpled newspapers stuffed between screens and window panes also works to keep heat indoors. Of course you lose light but hopefully the situation is temporary. I saw my mother use old flannel back table cloths taped over windows which also worked well. She learned what some folks had to do during depression era and I learned from her. Thank you for your trust worthy informative videos
The bubble wrap really works. I moved into a home that was so hard to heat and cool. I put bubble wrap on all my windows and I was amazed at how well it worked. It dramatically reduced my electric bill. Where I now live I covered the windows of the room that I use for food storage and it keeps that room cooler. I really enjoy your videos. At 71 I thought I knew just about everything when it came to prepping but I have actually learned some things from watching your channel. Thank you so much for all the information and great recipes you share. Oh and bubble wrap come in clear too. You get more light through the clear and it works well.
I used the small bubble wrap to distort viewing outside to inside yet I have plenty of light. Pick up the clean wrap at the recycle center. Plan to put on a second layer. I also have large plastic sheeting that is reflective on one side black on the other. Reflective for summer and black for winter. It is not attractive yet really keeps my house a lot cooler.
@@dtl2081 I've just stumbled on Rose's channel! I'm in the UK where the weather is temperate to cool. About 6 years ago, I researched bubble wrap window insulation and then fitted the colourless small wrap to several windows and the front door panes (all double glazed). It certainly does make a big difference. A couple of tips if I may: all the research I found advised placing the bubble side next to the pane because it creates another layer where air is trapped and thus another layer of insulation (which is how double and triple glazing works). Secondly, I stuck it on with a mild solution of either water and disinfectant or water and spirit/white vinegar - this ensures that mould etc is kept at bay.
Oh goodness, the rolled up towels for the bottom of the doors sparked a memory that made me laugh SO hard. When I was a young teen, my dad had a pair of pants that were several years out of date (seriously, like blue and purple plaid wide bottomed leg - they were hideous) and he insisted on still wearing them to church despite mom begging him to throw them out. Finally she got tired of seeing them and so she cut them up, stuffed them with quilt batting, and made door draft stops out of them. Used them for years. HA! Good memories.
This is just plain silly, but it works so well. No matter where I park my 73-year-old self, seated in a chair to read or paint (pictures), inevitably a cold DRAFT will find my ankles. To fix that, I found the large box my chop saw came in, folded down the top flaps and stick my feet inside while I'm seated. 😂 No more frozen ankles!
As graceful and absent minded as I am; I no doubt would wait till the last moment to go dashing for a wee run and end up face planting because I forgot I put my feet in a box... 😂😂😂 And Uggs... Well, I probably wouldn't be able to wear them because my 7 lb tabby girl (identifies as a Siberian Tiger) would most likely think they were prey and attack the Uggs. (I wore a new coat just once... It had a fur ruff on the hood and she about mauled me to kill her "prey" 👀😱😂😂 Damn cat!
My husband and I sold our home and lived in an rv for two years. We used the bubble wrap in our windows throughout the winter. It works well. We sometimes would take it down during sunny days for the sun to help heat. It will stay up until you pull it down. I would suggest not using to much water. If your windows have condensation or any moisture, do not add any water, Just put up bubble wrap. You will get a little mold if it stays two wet, so just take down and dry windows once in a while. In an rv anyway. But it does work well. Also I cut it a little larger and it fit over the frame of the window also. Thank you for all of this information Pam and Jim. God bless
I've used this in my non-heated Southern exposure sunroom where I stage all my tender houseplants during the Winter. Loved that the sunlight and view weren't obstructed.
I went to Lowes and bought some solar yard spot lights for about $10 each, 30 lumens. They hold a charge for many hours( all night) and can be recharged the next day. They have a removable spike to put them in the ground but can also put in a canning jar or get creative. They also have an on/off switch. I have charged them and keep them switched off in a closet until needed periodically recharging them so they are always ready. I haven some of these we have used in our yard for years and they are still running .
I've done this for many years, lived off grid. Everyone should prep by trying to live w/o power for at least 2 weeks. You'll learn a lot & get the bugs out of your SHTF plan.
On olive oil lamps, you can fill the bottom of the jar with about an inch of water. That way, the water will put the fire out if all the oil is ever burned through. With no water, the flame can heat the glass enough to crack it or split it, and thus let the fire out to begin to burn other things around. 4 Patriots (the company) has a small mobile solar generator for about $500. They have a larger on for around $2500. I haven't tried them, but I want to. They also operate silently.
This happened to us with a candle. It burned all the way down to the glass, burst, and started the wood underneath of it on fire. Thankfully we had a working smoke detector that called us to the room and we also had a fire blanket that quickly put it out. Good idea on water at the bottom of the candle!
Great advice on the candle cracking the jar. I have been watching so many reviews about the battery banks. 4 Patriot is a brand that came out when the prepper bang hit a couple of years ago, I believe they are a marketing company, but they’ve definitely been highly visible thus bringing awareness. You might enjoy HoboTech another UA-cam channel. I’ve seen him review at least a couple of different brands, Bluetti was one. I keep dreaming of owning a Jackery 1000, but as I’ve learned the wattage is the dollar amount lol meaning the Jackery 1000 is about $1,000!
LOVED this video and kept patting myself on the back because I already have almost all of these! Disclaimer and explanation: I have collected these over MANY years (my UCO candle lantern is almost 30 yrs old and still in excellent shape), we live in a very rural highly wooded area and power outages are common (we've had two that lasted almost a week in the last 10 years and too many shorter ones to mention), and we are also long time campers (working our way thru tents up to the small RV we have now) who usually camp off-grid. Kerosene lanterns, candle lanterns, battery lanterns: check. Mr Buddy heater in two sizes, larger kerosene heater in garage: check (noted: our primary heat is also a wood stove). Gen set (two Honda 2-Ks which can be run together as a 4-K if needed): check. Power banks and other standard 12-V batteries for powering various smaller electric items: check. Folding portable solar panel (50 watt) for charging various smaller power power bank batteries while off-grid: check.
My furnace broke ( now) 2.12.2022 - I’m so very thankful for my 2 wood burners. The oil lamps and hurricane lamps are helping. It’s 10 degrees outside. This is a good test for my preps. After watching this video, I used the bubble wrap on the windows and The towels in front of the outside doors helps! I learned that you need a lot of wood for the wood burning stove. I have 2 cords, and if I was going to do this for the winter, I would need 6-7 cords.
Technique.... I took my grate out years ago...ash is your friend... Make a valley in your old ash, place your starter in the valley...paper, pinecone(1), kindling crossing over pine cone, then medium wood(limbs) or split wood with a thin edge on top of this whole pile...the mountains of ash on each side support your heavier wood from being to heavy on your starter pile....this should give you a one-match light unless the stove is cold...DO NOT latch the door closed when first starting your fire...it needs to breath...with the flue completely open, move the door towards closed until the fire starts to really kick...hold it there til the kindling is fully involved, then begin to damp down the top of the fire place(restrict the exit) this will cause the smoke to roll back on its self and re burn...(plus keep your heat in the stove and not out the pipe)...your kindling will be mostly gone by now and the heavier wood ignited....inch the door closed....I burn with a minimum of air...enough to combust, but not rage...a raging fire uses too much wood without heating up the stove adequately.....feed the core fire till you have a good bed of coals...most guys who use charcoal know what I mean....poke and move, be strategic...you can reshape the mountains of ash at any point...for a long burn, like at night...I place a large log to one side of my coals, in a hole I dug in the ash....then I cover the 2/3 away from the coals with ask....only some of the log is exposed to combustion... sometime on cold nights, I'll place a second sizeable log on the opposite side of the stove and burry it...I put one or two nice peices of wood across the top and go to bed....if I happen to wake between 11 and 4 am, I add a few small peices of wood...at 5 I add a good log and leave for work at 630....our house rarely gets below 64 in the main room, wee like it at 70...and one day it got away from me and was up to 77(ooops) Play with your flue damper and the underneath stove damper to get max BTU out of whatever type of wood you got..I only burn an armload of mixed wood morning and night with misc occasionally thrown in if we have guests...it's mix of elm, cottonwood, locust, juniper, apple, cherry, etc...stuff people usually shredd...and the pine we were given left no coals...hard to work with...must have coals for over night...btw, was warm here last week so left it alone for 2 days...hubby found coals in the ashes last night...no match needed. Buy a pair of billows Have a tin bucket of kindling/pinecones and a container of paper...(newspaper ink doesn't burn well any more)
Where I live in Nevada, it's been 8 and 9 degrees Fahrenheit consecutively, we're happy to see 17....it was a balmy 27 this morning...so a 70 degree house is a great pleasure. Thank you Jesus
Used to hang a curtain rod or shower rod and drape blakets to section off the warmth to living areas. Still use a shower rod with thermal panels on my bedroom. That way the dogs can visit and I don't lose alot of heat keeping the door open. All for the dogs, of course.
My propane fireplace went out . I couldn’t get someone to fix it right away . As we had snow and ice in the Ga. Mtns. And as everyone knows southerners don’t do snow. This brought home always have a backup heat . Our lights had gone out. I looked like an Eskimo . Went to my smallest room. Will be getting extra emergency heat source when I get my SS check.Thank you for this video you’ve given me great ideas I can afford.❤️
You are NOT going to be gone in 15 years.!!!!You Are too Mentally AGILE to leave us! Thank you for Such Great Videos!!! My Mom, who is 78 and going through Dementia...... has Enjoyed your videos when I am watching them with her. Thank You Sooo Much!!!
I went into debt food preping & sadly cant purchase any more prepping stuff but saving newspaper , free stuff. Thank youfor all your very helpful videos, I try to watch them all 🤗
I already know a considerable amount about this topic. But I knew that Rose was going to provide me with some new information. She's a true INSTRUCTOR! I wasn't disappointed...the bubble wrap idea...unbelievable! 😀 Thank you so much!
This video offers wonderful guidance and suggestions for something which I fear may be coming sooner than we wish. Thanks again, Pam and Jim for excellent content!
Thank you Rose and Jim! PS, bubble wrap also helps with double-paned windows! I use it and it definitely makes a difference. Wow I love the candelier! And the olive oil lantern, I love knowing I can use rancid oil in that. Y'all always teach me so much!
I'm very surprised that Earthrite and similar heaters aren't mentioned by UA-camrs who provide survival content. We have an Earthrite in our kitchen, it's mounted to the wall and directly connected to our 1000 gallon LP tank outside. It doesn't require electricity to run as it lights in the same way a gas cooking stove does. It wouldn't heat our entire home but if we close off the kitchen we could be comfortably warm in even incredibly cold weather.
We have several options for emergency lightening and heating. One thing I really like are the recharging LED light bulbs. We've had them for a few years and they work fantastic. In fact, we were so pleased with how well they work, we put them in every light fixture in our house. Great and informative video. I really enjoyed it.
This is outstanding advice! This is an example of why eastern cultures respect and honor their elders. They understand that their elders have wisdom gained through many years of experience. I wish Americans understood this.
My grandmother was in her 90's so she had 20 years to live after 75. An in-law was 117. We never know how long we have to try to keep warm or cool. Do your best to prepare for the long haul.
I have a 100 year old home With single pane windows. I had so much cold air coming in I was freezing cold in bed. So I used a guilted mattress pad I had, to make several quilted blinds No more freezing in bed! Now on to quilted wall coverings
I made permanent insulated shutters that fit snugly into window frames, from 1/2 inch foil faced polyiso boards, with metal taped on edges. Works great, lasts forever. Can be painted etc.
Working night shift and new construction site next door inspired me to install aluminum foam boards in my bedroom windows. Sound buffer, insulation and blackout.
Ms. Pam & Mr. Jim, thank you SO much for doing this video on alternate light and heat sources!!!! And thank you for the information on where we can purchase these items!!! I feel so lucky to have you both as sources for our Emergency Preparedness!!!! May the Good Lord bless and keep you both!!! Love you guys!!
I had come across solar stringlights and we put them up in the livingroom with the collector in the spouth window. These lights are colored and give a pleasant glow. When the power went out a few nights ago, we did not have to stumble in the dark. Those lights were bright enough for us to get our other lights, which we have all over. We also have small battery lights next to each light switch. They are glued to the wall.
In my husband's study, he placed a row of yard lights, minus the sticks, along the window...they collect sun during the day and light half the room at night
Thank you for the heating and lighting tutorial. May I say,,,you are a warmth and light 🕯 in this ever darkening cold world. Appreciate your time. GOD bless you both. 🕯
Wonderful comprehensive video, Dr. Pam! Thank you! I’m going to look into your battery bank. One note about your first and excellent point about clothing. Don’t forget warm hats! They make a huge difference to a cold weather wardrobe! All the places on your body where blood is close to the surface: your head, your neck, wrists, and ankles. When looking at your blankets, comforters, and sleeping bags, pick down first, wool second.
Great video as always. Just going to add my 2 cents. The deal guy YT channel had a recent video that said Costco has a box of foot warmers for about $15. That might be helpful indoors for an emergency. If anyone is looking for solar power stations like the yeti but might be scared by the price, the YT channel AskIves is great. He reviews a lot of off brand and name brand stations and he explains solar power very well too. Also the YT channel Will Prowes (I think I spelled it wrong) is great too. He is a great resource to explain solar power setups in addition to the power banks. He started as a van lifer and now lives in a house so he can explain a small or large set up.
If you have large doorways with no doors between rooms try this. Ahead of time, make a light weight frame that will fit somewhat loosely into opening between rooms. There should be a small gap. Go to main office of moving company (cheaper & by the foot) or Uhaul etc and buy enough bubble packing to cover frame. Also buy a roll of the foam weather stripping like you would put around a door. Attach foam stripping around outside of frame and attach bubble packing or wrap across frame with stapler or tape. This frame can then be slid in and out of opening, at will.You may have to attach several bubble strips with clear packing tape before attaching to frame. You can also put a double layer of bubble wrap. I've tried both the small and larger bubbles. This saved us in keeping just our den/kitchen area warm with fireplace during 4 days without electricity during Texas ice storm in Feb '22. In addition to an Aladdin Lamp and candles, we also had several of the solar yard lights that I used for the bathrooms and other areas needing light. Just be sure to get 20 lumens or higher and try them out. If you don't like them you can return them. I also bought extra solar rechargeable batteries for those. Let me just say that after 4 days of no power and negative temps, our house core temp went from 68 degrees to 40 degrees. The only room with heat was den/kitchen and it stayed about 65 degrees. Never again. We bought a TriFuel Generator by Champion and had house connections installed to run off of natural gas. Our hot water heater and house heater are also natural gas.
I love the idea of using the dining room table with blankets or a tarp over it to make a smaller “room” in which to keep warm. Like you, I have a very open house, so this is a concern.
I live in Ontario, Canada and I love your videos. I just order from Lehman's the olive oil lamp part that you show on this video. Yesterday, I ordered an infrared thermometer because I listen to another of your video. When I think I am prepared, and need nothing more, you come up with these terrific and practical ideas. What I like the most, is the way you address security issues. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for all that you do.
You can also use the "silver insulating" stuff that Home Depot and Lowes sell (like you put in your car window on hot days) only it comes in a roll and different sizes. Thanks Jim and Pam for all you do for us who are trying to be prepared in these troubling times.
Thank you for all of these wonderful ideas! Solar would be great but we are in our 60’s. Silly to try to that. We have a gasoline powered generator, if need be.
You can also tack/nail layered sheets or old blankets on the tops and sides of doosr and window panes. I did this a lot during bad winters when I moved into a house that was poorly insulated. Go to thrift stores and purchase blankets and sheets for this purpose only.
I have enough clearence over my door to throw a flannel sheet folded lengthwise over the door and shut the door...in the summer, I let it hang outside to keep sun's heat away...west facing door with a large window
I had an old house, single pane windows. I put shrink wrap over the large picture window and I left it up for 5 years. It made a huge difference along with draft dodgers under the drafty doors. I made my own with old towels and cute fabrics covers I stitched up.
I can't nail to frames because I rent, however I saw an idea to make a temporary "door" frame covered with bubble wrap, sheets, whatever! Dragged out as needed, ideal!
I had a good laugh at the end 🤣 As I'm older than dirt, my long term is quite different than most "utube preppers" (I tend to look backward on how we "used to" do things and only look for new ways to make that easier, e.g. raised garden beds, portable solar generator, etc.
@@melallred6523 there is a really good book that is a wealth of information on old ways homesteading. The Encyclopedia of Country Living by Carla Emery. It has everything from buying land to giving birth by yourself to caring for your dead. Gardening, animal husbandry and homestead housekeeping. The first edition came out during the hippie, "back to the land" movement in the late 1960s. There was a 50th anniversary edition released in 2019.
@@melallred6523 if you can find a copy of the ninth edition published in 1994, it has about 130 more pages than the new 50th anniversary edition. Carla passed away in 2005 so the 9th edition was probably the last edition she personally updated. I'm not sure about what was left out of the new edition. Maybe the home birthing and caring for the dead at home, people are more ill at ease with those things these days 🤷♀️ the 1994 9th edition has 864 pages, so look for that one.
@@graminator10b32 I'm so glad to hear that! I hope that the site I got that number from miscounted. I don't remember which book site it was, I just remember thinking, "I wonder what they took out?" Thanks for the updated information. 😁👍
Great video...My home is over 100 years old...most windows are dual but I have 2 original to the home and 3 windows plus patio doors installed around the 70's...YES! The bubble wrap does indeed work..the 70's windows have them on year round...I've only had to change out every 4 or 5 years....the 100 +year old windows get the reflectix (bubble wrap with foil on each side)...it works amazingly!
I don't have a tent, but I had thought about the kitchen table or even using the high backed chairs to form a tent. Using the chairs I could bring a twin mattress in as a base to keep me and the cat and dog off the floor. Then I can secure blankets and quilts over top of that. I have a lot of those micro fleece blankets as well to bring into the tent.I have several LED light lanterns and 2 oil lamps with extra wicks and several containers of oil.
My concern is lamps or candles getting knocked over. I Have 3 large dogs and 2 cats that go in and out. I've thought about the tent but where can you safely put those things? Even if tent had a hanging hook I'd be concerned with top of tent getting too hot. I've considered a my buddy but would literally have to cage it in, again to keep dogs or cats from knocking it over. It got 45 in here this winter when power went out and I'm not planning to go thru that again. Any hints or tips??
I love all your videos they are very aducational. I just wanted to make a comment, if you are going to use the glass jars as candles please please always put them inside a bigger pot with water in case it breaks or cracks, i had a very scary experience, one day one of them cracked and spilled some oil and started a fire, good thing we were in that room when the fire startedand we put it away very fast. Since that day, i don't trust any candle if it does not have a bigger container with water under it.
Love the UCO candle lanterns; my original one is over 30 years old and still performing well. They even make a mini lantern which uses inexpensive tea lights which I have used at times instead of standard candles for a more rustic look when doing a special dinner table set up. I liked the minis so much (and they are not expensive) that I gifted one to each of my children. I enjoy gifting them items which can be attractive or fun to use as well as being useful in emergencies. My grandchildren have come to expect having a new $1 flashlight tied to their XMas gift each year instead of an expensive bow .
@@jeannebaker6905 I am assuming don't mean ham radio for communications (that is my spouse's specialty). For an emergency information radio there are several good brands out there that don't break the budget. For XMas this year I gifted my children the Eton, American Red Cross FRX3+ Emergency NOAA Weather Radio (currently $46 on Amazon). It is battery powered but can also be charged via solar or with hand crank and can be used to power a cell phone if needed. Another model I have used at home and in our RV for many years is the Sangean MMR-88. It isn't quite as fancy but is an extremely sturdy model which has served me well. I just looked and you can still get it on Amazon for $54
@@sandraw4763 fyi, the eton frx3 is currently $59.99. Huge price difference in such a short time..like everything else these days :(. Thank you for the info you posted. Much appreciated.
A great value is the Mr heater Big Buddy. You can get it for $199, and it goes up to 18,000 BTU, and heats up to 400 square feet. You can hook up your big propane tank to it, but you can also go get a propane tank that you would use on your gas barbecue grill. When it is empty, go to exchange it at most walgreens, convenience stores, Lowe's, home depot, etc. Those tanks will last a really long time with the Mr heater Big Buddy.
Mrs. Pam, have you thought about making a solar generator yourself? You can look up different setups, but one way is to use a dolly to hold two deep cycle marine batteries, and mount wood onto the upper part and then mount your inverter and controller, etc. to that wood. This makes it much easier to handle and move where you need it, as those batteries are heavy. When our family lost power with Hurricane Zeta and Ida the last two years respectively, we were very thankful to have it, as it was strong enough with just 3-50 watt panels to keep our refrigerator and chest freezer going, along with running a fan and charging phones, and using a little lamp at night. Definitely better than nothing! You can keep the batteries charged and ready to be used with an electric charger until the power goes out, then hook up the panels. The whole setup cost us about $400 max, which is comparable to some gas generators, and we have the advantage of not having to have the gas or propane on hand. We all know how fast those become scarce when an emergency hits! Great video, and thank you for what you do!
I saw this video a few months ago and ordered the heater and the two lantern set you featured in the video. I am so thankful I did. We came home from work today and the power was out. It is supposed to go down to 32 F tonight and we are warm and have light. My husband was so impressed that he told me to order two more lanterns and we put another heater on our “want” list. Thank you for taking the time to do this thoughtful review!
We live in Florida and we have a generator for hurricanes…..our generator works with gas, they are very noisy but it kept 2 fridges, 1 small freezer, the TV going during the last hurricane. Power was down for quite some time. It is a life saver. If we did not have that all food would have been thrown out. May God watch over us all. Thank you for this wonderful video. i am going to get that candle heater for the cottage, just to keep the bathroom toasty…..
Thank you so much Jim & Pam for sharing your extensive knowledge with us. I will be signing up for your canning classes & definitely purchasing your book.. I am worried about the future.
Very informative and great information! I can NOT believe you and Jim are in your mid 70's!! You both look fantastic! I love all your videos and learn something new every time I watch them. Thank you for sharing!
some of the ideas here are worth investigating. I for one, although I have an array of solar lights that I use daily for the sole purpose of providing light, I love my candles. I have a beautifil antique swag lamp (it has a dome lid + a heat shield that prevents any discoloration to the ceiling) that can use either a tea light or small candle in 3 oz glass. I use the tea light because it's spent quickly, generally about the time it takes me to fall asleep, and I love it because the relaxing ambiance it provides helps an over active or stressed mind go to sleep. I not only have this, but torches, candles about, but never left unattended. In times of power outages, I just pick up a candle & take it whereever I'm going. Just because a situation is dyre, taking too many emergency precautions just adds to stress, especially in children. If your home, be it a house, apartment, RV, she shed or tent, if you keep it at the ready 24/7, meaning if these things are always visible, the stress level will be less. No mad dash to get prepared, etc. & if they're used several time a week, it'll seem like 'old hat' when they're Needed! As for staying warm, layers are always good. Flannel, Cashmere, Long Johns, beanies & gloves, & a feather quilt for each person. The amount of Heating needed depends on the size of the room. In an emergency, everyone should go to the master bedroom until the crisis is over. Sleeping bags & airbags or cots, & folding chairs should always be at the ready in a closet or otherwise close at hand, & I recommend a battery operated air pump if you choose airbags. I, with & without family, have lived in 3,000 sq ft houses all the way down to a 16' travel trailer & small tent for months at a time, with all sorts of weather. I can not stress how important it is to be as familiar with your ER equipage as you are with the light switch, tap water & built-in heaters common in much of today's world. Most people today do not know how to camp; build a fire, much less how to bank it. Everyone needs boyscout training, to go camping. One weekend a month would not only be fun, but good training for yourself, your family, or with friends. BTW, coleman stoves & lanterns are great Outdoors. They CANNOT be used indoors! So when you camp, learn how to do it with & without them.
I love the fact that you are so real and down to earth. We are in our 70s too and some things are not reasonable for us. Thanks for all the good advice. You are my favorite YT channel
Great job both of you for showing some new things and some familiar ones. I love Lehman’s store-gonna have to go browse around. Have a great weekend!!!
Also, keep a supply of hand warmers, and put some in your car also. They also have foot warmers. Once you open them, they are activated. Flannel or fleece rice bags will also keep your toes warm at night(not sure how you would warm these up in a power outage, but if you are conserving on heating fuel they come in handy.
I loved it when you said, “Whatever those two things are.” You are a highly intelligent woman, and also a regular normal one! You’re not “Holier than thou,” which makes you so endearing!
I knitted my door draft stops with left over yarns... I also use rechargeable lights, being that I don't have electricity. I use heavy duty Marine batteries, with Solar Panel, and to charge up my phone as well as for my CPAP machine. I cook with propane bottles and heat with kerosene. I use rechargeable headlamp, and rechargeable flashlight. Some of my small lights also can be charged up with the Sun.
Thank you for all the work you do in researching and evaluating different options/items. We recently purchased a EcoFlow Delta-Pro Solar generator & a portable 400w foldable solar panel. These will work wonderfully in our travel trailer as well as at home for power emergencies. We just installed three 445w rigid panels for the top of our patio cover. All for under $5k
I've had my EcoFlow EF Delta for several months now, and the 160w panel, which is supposed to be kept dry. Will you please share what panels you added, as I would like to have a more permanent solar collector available (for my deck)? Thank you!
Absolutely agree that candle lanterns (any kind) are much safer than open flames. And aluminized plastic blankets are super. NOTE: PLEASE do NOT forget your pets !!!
Our power went out in December's derecho for about 8 hours in the evening. I knew it was coming, so we ate supper early. When the power went out, we got out our battery lanterns and flashlights. The glare of the lights almost did me in!!! One thing I would recommend is putting together some folding panels (much like your canning wind-break) and covering the inside with mirrored glass like they have in home remodeling stores. Set the panels up between you and the lanterns in your home. These will reflect the light back to the walls and light up the whole room with a gentler light. No glare needed! Thanks for all your videos! I just found you and am enjoying watching all of them!
Amazing video! This is information everyone should know. I'm from the Midwest so I'm no stranger to extreme cold. Emergency blankets cost $2 each. They're just like a thin shiny tablecloth. Everyone should have a handful in their house and each vehicle. If you use them to insulate your tent, you'll be set. Some people throw them out when they're done but why? The more you have the more functionality. With some TRex tape you can secure it inside jackets, in boots, and line your sleeping bags. To store used emergency blankets, stretch them out over an open blanket and fold it up with the blanket for emergencies. My favorite cheap light is the $6 solar powered garden spotlights at Walmart. I have $50 solar flashlights but those garden solar lights are made to charge every day and put out light every day at a fraction of the price. And I don't need to store them. I leave my solar garden lights shut off outside and pull them all inside during power outages fully charged and ready to go.
It is also important to remove all clothing that you have been wearing during the day because they get moist from the body sweat even though it might not feel wet, there is moisture in the clothing. Change your clothes at bedtime so you do not become chilled during the night from the moisture in the clothing you wore during the day. Eskimos would remove all their daytime clothing/furs and sleep naked under warm and dry furs.
We love your preparedness ideas. We have many variations of items you have shared with us, as well as, others we have collected over the years. While most of these work for short term grid down or outages, a lot of things are not sustainable for long-term. I think a discussion or a video would be great on what to do or various means when there are no more gasoline, propane, or batteries. My husband and I have been discussing this quite a bit lately. And we’ve been researching a lot of different variations of what to do in this type of situation. Our daughter is on a feeding tube which is run by an electric pump. We have temporary rechargeable options to keep her pump going. These options more than likely will not last for years. At this time we cannot afford a massive solar array on the top of our house. Along with the benefits of these type of set ups, there are also lots of cons as the batteries are expensive and the knowledge how to repair yourself is very important. So we’ve been looking at other smaller versions, while not necessarily cheap they are certainly much cheaper than whole house solar. Keep those ideals coming.
@@dannylionsmom all our company assist with is putting you on a list in the event of a power outage. They try to get your power on quickly as possible, but no guarantee you will not have a prolonged outage. This still does not help if the grid is compromised and power will not be restore for quite some time or at all🥺
We purchased small battery powered lights at the different holidays, they run on AA batteries and can be hung up through out your house. They have a timer or a switch you can run them all the time. We bought, Christmas, Halloween, Easter and Valentine ones, we always purchased them the day after the holidays because they're often clearenced out. We purchased two Mr. Heater's that heat 1500 sq ft each. They can be hooked to propane or natural gas. You're also able to buy small solar systems that are fairly cheap. I think we paid $150 each for ours, they'll run a small refrigerator easy. Love the video, new subscriber so I will be checking out your other content.
Another comment: I remember the freeze they had in Texas People's pipes froze and then they had flooding. Freezing water expands and will fracture the pipes. Many houses do not have basements, and people did not know how to turn off the water coming into their house. So, find the shut off and if pipes freeze, turn off the water where it enters your home. We live in Idaho in a house with a crawl space and we could not find the water shut off. It was not shown on the blueprints we had. We mentioned this to a person we hired for work where he had to go into the crawl space and he found it for us.
I'm widowed and on a very tight budget now. My heating unit quit working 2 years ago. I've been heating only my bedroom with a pellet stove we had but, it's quit working now too. I'm going to try out several of your suggestions. Thank you so much. :)
Thank you again! You are something. Always do so much research and give so much helpful information. I have seen both those lights, the OCU, and the olive oil lamps, but wasn't sure. You like them, and I trust your judgement, so will go and take another look at them. Thank you so very much for your help.
I live in rural Pennsylvania and our power iffy at best. We bought light bulbs from QVC that have a battery in them. If the power goes out the light bulbs stay on. They last anywhere from 3 to 4 hours. It's a good short-term solution at an economical price. We have a gas generator as well as a solar generator. If the grid was going to be down for an extended period of time you can't store enough gas to run the generators. So we got us a small solar generator and panels so we could keep the basics going. We also got a cooler which is solar to store our food and not use generator power.
Love your videos and the information you provide. I cannot thank you enough for taking the time and the effort to keep us informed and safe. I am hoping the book you are writing with your sister will be available for shipment to Canada. Please keep safe and thank you once again
My friend on the high desert had to heat her bedroom because she couldn't afford to pay her utility bill during the winters. She experimented with many things and found tall slender candles used for fine dining kept her the warmest and was less expensive than anything. God bless her.
We have LEd headlamps and several different kinds of flashlights. We have a wood stove in the garage which heats up the whole space so we would probably set up in there, or our kitchen which faces the south is a small space but enough room for a 4 man tent for the three of us. There are so many great gadgets one could acquire, but like you said, it comes with a cost and availability. Thanks for sharing👩🏽🌾👍🏽🙏🏽🧡💖
I bought some small solar lanterns/flashlights that are also USB chargeable and are really bright when fully charged (a set of 4 for $20 on Amazon), I keep these charged up. Thank you for all the info! God bless❣️
We do have a kerosene heater but we are fanatical about safety.We maintain it well, we run it only when it is a true emergency,(power off for long periods in the cold, which is next to never). We never leave it running when one of us is not in the room, as we do with ANY flame, like a candle, (which is always in a chimney or glass container.) We run the heater in the middle of a room where it faces the rest of the house, but no one really needs to go past it. We have a carbon monoxide detector for it. (We had a close call with carbon monoxide 30 years ago and barely escaped with our lives.) And yes, I have not given away any clothing in a while, just to be sure that we have something for anyone who may come in.
There's also kerosene heaters which are very reliable and kerosene is pretty affordable still. As long as you have a carbon monoxide detector and fresh air coming in their relatively safe although I would never use one when I am sleeping. They are pretty portable and I do also have one of the propane heaters that you have and they work great! Propane though is much more expensive than kerosene in my area. Solar is also out of our reach price-wise. We also can't really afford to install a wood stove right now although I would love one! Free Timber in this area
One easy way to provide emergency lighting is with solar garden/pathway lights. Pull them up at night and bring inside for ambient lighting. In morning put them back outside to charge up. For keeping warm - sleeping bags combined with layers of blankets will keep you warm well below freezing temps
Jim & Pam: You Guys give so much to the Prepper community. Even with being actively involved in this area, I manage to learn something from every one of your most enjoyable videos. One area, that I have discovered, that seems to be somewhat untapped by-and-large is that of Bio-Ethanol fuel and the respective equipment. The portable "Fireplace" alcohol units that utilize Bio-Ethanol are apparently safe for indoor use (with appropriate ventilation of course). The units are vent-less and extremely clean burning. Bio-Ethanol in its pure form is so clean burning that NO carbon monoxide is produced. This fuel is from renewable Bio-mass such as corn etc. Some of these tabletop unit can put out over 6000 BTU's of heat. On a grid down situation, these could be lifesaving for heat, light and perhaps even cooking. Could you look into this idea and perhaps shed some light (no pun intended) on the usability. Amazon fulfills both the fuel and the hardware. While the fuel is certainly more costly in small quantities than a permanent heating systems fuel would be, the equipment itself is quite modestly priced. No moving parts. Add fuel and light. Your thoughts would be most appreciated. Thanks for All that you do for the community. From Ontario, CANADA.
I’ve been thinking a lot about creating those radiant heaters with traditional or Crisco candles and flower pots, but of course would want to do so safely. I have heard of jars exploding and thought of using metal cans, setting the whole contraption in a larger pot with a little water and possibly even creating a cage to keep the cats away from it. I know for clay pot cooking you have to soak the pot so it doesn’t crack… I’ve not heard of this from anyone but wondering if the pot cracking or exploding is also a concern. Frankly with the astronomical utility bills and extremely limited means, I am looking for ways to cheaply supplement my heating even when there isn’t a power outage. I’m curious if you feel there is a safe way to do the flower pot heater thing or if it’s honestly just inefficient and not worth the risk. That three candle lantern does look cool, but it’s $70 for a lantern and box of candles, and I bet that price will continue to go up. I do have a Little Buddy heater, but those little canisters are really climbing in price and I only get maybe 4-6 hours out of them on low. Not too bad to run off a larger tank but we’d be heating upstairs and those hoses aren’t that long for a tank outside and downstairs. I appreciate any advice either from Pam or fro others that have used these methods. Thank you!
In a shtf emergency, use mylar blankets on the windows. You can see out in the day and NOT in. It reduces the amount of light seen from outside significantly, but you'd still need a curtain to block light. Use double stick tape from the window insulation aisle at Wallyworld. Use clean dry hands (mylar smudges crazy easy!) GO SLOW and get it as taut as possible. It makes it easier to see out if it's taut. If you can afford it, there are clear window cling films to make it harder to break. It will simply give you extra time to get to safety or a defensive weapon. Loved your vid on the instfire vesta heater and I think I will be getting one next month based on your review! I will be using it only for heating. Thank you!
Pam, you are amazing! I'm not sure how you do it all! You say you're in your mid 70's. I'm so impressed with you and your knowledge about so many things, plus the ability to teach them the way you do makes watching your videos a true pleasure. We learn so much. Thank you! 💗🇨🇦
Hi 👋 Barbara, how are you doing?
Pam is very knowledgeable. I learnt a lot of new tips in this video.
Growing up in old houses with old plumbing, I learned this from my Dad. If the heat goes out and it is below freezing, open all the faucets/taps to the thinnest trickle possible. This keeps the water flowing and will help keep the pipes from freezing. Make sure the taps are on for the washing machine, dishwater and so forth!
YES. We used to do this in our old farmhouse. I may have thought of this or I may not have in current times. Thanks for the reminder.
I still live in an old house and yes we let the water drip. But from the dollar store we got pool noodles and put them around any exposed piping in the basement. Since we started doing that we have not had a freeze problem with our pipes
YES?! Pool noodles are great! I redid all my pipes under house with the new flex plex pipe. Instead of the expensive insulation foam tubes I used the pool noodles! Just slit down one side slip over pipes perfect and higher R value to boot! Even was able to color code hot cold pipes with red and blue noodles. No tearing off insulation later on to find the right line. Had some interesting conversations at the dollar store buying my noodles!
How do you turn the tap on for the washing machine and dishwasher?
@@ingridlavone1 The washing machine tap should be just beside the machine on the wall. Turn it OFF, and then make sure the hose is empty. For the dishwasher, there should be a supply line under the sink. Turn it OFF. If you will be away from home for longer than a day or two, turn your washing machine supply line OFF. If the hose breaks while you are away, and the water is turned on, it will continue running until you return home. Very expensive repair. Same with the toilets.
This is a bit ancient but crumpled newspapers stuffed between screens and window panes also works to keep heat indoors. Of course you lose light but hopefully the situation is temporary. I saw my mother use old flannel back table cloths taped over windows which also worked well. She learned what some folks had to do during depression era and I learned from her. Thank you for your trust worthy informative videos
I saw on you tube where you can use bubble wrap. It keeps the cold air out
Great idea
My grandma stuffed rags around the cracks between the edges of the door and the frame.
Patricia ribiacmy mother used to do that when I was a toddler
That’s fantastic. I use blankets instead of curtains.
The bubble wrap really works. I moved into a home that was so hard to heat and cool. I put bubble wrap on all my windows and I was amazed at how well it worked. It dramatically reduced my electric bill. Where I now live I covered the windows of the room that I use for food storage and it keeps that room cooler. I really enjoy your videos. At 71 I thought I knew just about everything when it came to prepping but I have actually learned some things from watching your channel. Thank you so much for all the information and great recipes you share. Oh and bubble wrap come in clear too. You get more light through the clear and it works well.
Fantastic idea!
I used the small bubble wrap to distort viewing outside to inside yet I have plenty of light. Pick up the clean wrap at the recycle center. Plan to put on a second layer. I also have large plastic sheeting that is reflective on one side black on the other. Reflective for summer and black for winter. It is not attractive yet really keeps my house a lot cooler.
@@dtl2081 I've just stumbled on Rose's channel! I'm in the UK where the weather is temperate to cool. About 6 years ago, I researched bubble wrap window insulation and then fitted the colourless small wrap to several windows and the front door panes (all double glazed). It certainly does make a big difference.
A couple of tips if I may: all the research I found advised placing the bubble side next to the pane because it creates another layer where air is trapped and thus another layer of insulation (which is how double and triple glazing works). Secondly, I stuck it on with a mild solution of either water and disinfectant or water and spirit/white vinegar - this ensures that mould etc is kept at bay.
@@iggle6448 …I’ve just landed on this lovely lady’s channel and I too am in the uk ……great advise on the bubble wrap 🙂
@@cwingate4780 That's very kind of you, thank you! Have you tried bubblewrap on your windows?
Oh goodness, the rolled up towels for the bottom of the doors sparked a memory that made me laugh SO hard. When I was a young teen, my dad had a pair of pants that were several years out of date (seriously, like blue and purple plaid wide bottomed leg - they were hideous) and he insisted on still wearing them to church despite mom begging him to throw them out. Finally she got tired of seeing them and so she cut them up, stuffed them with quilt batting, and made door draft stops out of them. Used them for years. HA! Good memories.
My mum used to use old stockings stuffed with old socks as draft stoppers.
This is just plain silly, but it works so well.
No matter where I park my 73-year-old self, seated in a chair to read or paint (pictures), inevitably a cold DRAFT will find my ankles.
To fix that, I found the large box my chop saw came in, folded down the top flaps and stick my feet inside while I'm seated. 😂
No more frozen ankles!
I LOVE my Ugg* boots for keeping my ankles warm. The Bailey Button is the least expensive model, I believe.
As graceful and absent minded as I am; I no doubt would wait till the last moment to go dashing for a wee run and end up face planting because I forgot I put my feet in a box... 😂😂😂 And Uggs... Well, I probably wouldn't be able to wear them because my 7 lb tabby girl (identifies as a Siberian Tiger) would most likely think they were prey and attack the Uggs. (I wore a new coat just once... It had a fur ruff on the hood and she about mauled me to kill her "prey" 👀😱😂😂 Damn cat!
@@susie.goodwin1356 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 same with a crazy pets.
@@susie.goodwin1356 😂😂😂 That's hilarious!!! I love cats.
@@susie.goodwin1356 , forgetting that my feet were in a box - that would be me, too 😆
My husband and I sold our home and lived in an rv for two years. We used the bubble wrap in our windows throughout the winter. It works well. We sometimes would take it down during sunny days for the sun to help heat. It will stay up until you pull it down. I would suggest not using to much water. If your windows have condensation or any moisture, do not add any water, Just put up bubble wrap. You will get a little mold if it stays two wet, so just take down and dry windows once in a while. In an rv anyway. But it does work well. Also I cut it a little larger and it fit over the frame of the window also. Thank you for all of this information Pam and Jim. God bless
I've used this in my non-heated Southern exposure sunroom where I stage all my tender houseplants during the Winter. Loved that the sunlight and view weren't obstructed.
@@Jack.333 Oh, I love that suggestion! Thanks.
If you have hard water, use distilled or vinegar...it leaves hard water stains on the glass!
P
O ok o. O. K. K. O. K. K ok
I went to Lowes and bought some solar yard spot lights for about $10 each, 30 lumens. They hold a charge for many hours( all night) and can be recharged the next day. They have a removable spike to put them in the ground but can also put in a canning jar or get creative. They also have an on/off switch. I have charged them and keep them switched off in a closet until needed periodically recharging them so they are always ready. I haven some of these we have used in our yard for years and they are still running
.
I've done this for many years, lived off grid. Everyone should prep by trying to live w/o power for at least 2 weeks. You'll learn a lot & get the bugs out of your SHTF plan.
Hello 👋dear, how are you doing?
This is a brilliant suggestion, thank you, you gave me a great idea to gift my daughter who has young children.
They have Solar Lights and glass jars at Dollar Tree , for those of us on fixed incomes and tight budgets .
Solar lawn light hack. 8 weeks of light from one D cell battery. SIMS DEAD CELL CANDLE. > google it. Cheap and easy to make in minutes.
On olive oil lamps, you can fill the bottom of the jar with about an inch of water. That way, the water will put the fire out if all the oil is ever burned through. With no water, the flame can heat the glass enough to crack it or split it, and thus let the fire out to begin to burn other things around.
4 Patriots (the company) has a small mobile solar generator for about $500. They have a larger on for around $2500. I haven't tried them, but I want to. They also operate silently.
Try EcoFlow for the generator instead of Patriots and save a lot of money.
This happened to us with a candle. It burned all the way down to the glass, burst, and started the wood underneath of it on fire. Thankfully we had a working smoke detector that called us to the room and we also had a fire blanket that quickly put it out. Good idea on water at the bottom of the candle!
Water is a great idea
Great idea with the water in the lamp. I will remember this idea.
Great advice on the candle cracking the jar. I have been watching so many reviews about the battery banks. 4 Patriot is a brand that came out when the prepper bang hit a couple of years ago, I believe they are a marketing company, but they’ve definitely been highly visible thus bringing awareness. You might enjoy HoboTech another UA-cam channel. I’ve seen him review at least a couple of different brands, Bluetti was one. I keep dreaming of owning a Jackery 1000, but as I’ve learned the wattage is the dollar amount lol meaning the Jackery 1000 is about $1,000!
Sitting in the afternoon sun knitting a very warm wool hat. So cold here today. Thanks for the video.
LOVED this video and kept patting myself on the back because I already have almost all of these! Disclaimer and explanation: I have collected these over MANY years (my UCO candle lantern is almost 30 yrs old and still in excellent shape), we live in a very rural highly wooded area and power outages are common (we've had two that lasted almost a week in the last 10 years and too many shorter ones to mention), and we are also long time campers (working our way thru tents up to the small RV we have now) who usually camp off-grid. Kerosene lanterns, candle lanterns, battery lanterns: check. Mr Buddy heater in two sizes, larger kerosene heater in garage: check (noted: our primary heat is also a wood stove). Gen set (two Honda 2-Ks which can be run together as a 4-K if needed): check. Power banks and other standard 12-V batteries for powering various smaller electric items: check. Folding portable solar panel (50 watt) for charging various smaller power power bank batteries while off-grid: check.
My furnace broke ( now) 2.12.2022 - I’m so very thankful for my 2 wood burners. The oil lamps and hurricane lamps are helping. It’s 10 degrees outside. This is a good test for my preps.
After watching this video, I used the bubble wrap on the windows and The towels in front of the outside doors helps! I learned that you need a lot of wood for the wood burning stove. I have 2 cords, and if I was going to do this for the winter, I would need 6-7 cords.
Technique....
I took my grate out years ago...ash is your friend...
Make a valley in your old ash, place your starter in the valley...paper, pinecone(1), kindling crossing over pine cone, then medium wood(limbs) or split wood with a thin edge on top of this whole pile...the mountains of ash on each side support your heavier wood from being to heavy on your starter pile....this should give you a one-match light unless the stove is cold...DO NOT latch the door closed when first starting your fire...it needs to breath...with the flue completely open, move the door towards closed until the fire starts to really kick...hold it there til the kindling is fully involved, then begin to damp down the top of the fire place(restrict the exit) this will cause the smoke to roll back on its self and re burn...(plus keep your heat in the stove and not out the pipe)...your kindling will be mostly gone by now and the heavier wood ignited....inch the door closed....I burn with a minimum of air...enough to combust, but not rage...a raging fire uses too much wood without heating up the stove adequately.....feed the core fire till you have a good bed of coals...most guys who use charcoal know what I mean....poke and move, be strategic...you can reshape the mountains of ash at any point...for a long burn, like at night...I place a large log to one side of my coals, in a hole I dug in the ash....then I cover the 2/3 away from the coals with ask....only some of the log is exposed to combustion... sometime on cold nights, I'll place a second sizeable log on the opposite side of the stove and burry it...I put one or two nice peices of wood across the top and go to bed....if I happen to wake between 11 and 4 am, I add a few small peices of wood...at 5 I add a good log and leave for work at 630....our house rarely gets below 64 in the main room, wee like it at 70...and one day it got away from me and was up to 77(ooops)
Play with your flue damper and the underneath stove damper to get max BTU out of whatever type of wood you got..I only burn an armload of mixed wood morning and night with misc occasionally thrown in if we have guests...it's mix of elm, cottonwood, locust, juniper, apple, cherry, etc...stuff people usually shredd...and the pine we were given left no coals...hard to work with...must have coals for over night...btw, was warm here last week so left it alone for 2 days...hubby found coals in the ashes last night...no match needed.
Buy a pair of billows
Have a tin bucket of kindling/pinecones and a container of paper...(newspaper ink doesn't burn well any more)
Where I live in Nevada, it's been 8 and 9 degrees Fahrenheit consecutively, we're happy to see 17....it was a balmy 27 this morning...so a 70 degree house is a great pleasure. Thank you Jesus
Used to hang a curtain rod or shower rod and drape blakets to section off the warmth to living areas. Still use a shower rod with thermal panels on my bedroom. That way the dogs can visit and I don't lose alot of heat keeping the door open. All for the dogs, of course.
Thank you so much Pam. You look great. I think you will be around a lot longer than 15 yrs. 😊
My propane fireplace went out . I couldn’t get someone to fix it right away . As we had snow and ice in the Ga. Mtns. And as everyone knows southerners don’t do snow. This brought home always have a backup heat . Our lights had gone out. I looked like an Eskimo . Went to my smallest room. Will be getting extra emergency heat source when I get my SS check.Thank you for this video you’ve given me great ideas I can afford.❤️
Might suggest putting up a tent inside your room to stay warmer. Take care.
Thank you - we all need to be reminded how important emergency preparedness is and you do it so well :)
Thank you.
Pam & Jim, thank you for helping us to take care of ourselves in times of crisis.
You are NOT going to be gone in 15 years.!!!!You Are too Mentally AGILE to leave us! Thank you for Such Great Videos!!! My Mom, who is 78 and going through Dementia...... has Enjoyed your videos when I am watching them with her. Thank You Sooo Much!!!
I am so glad your mother enjoys our videos. That makes me very happy. And thank you for your kind words.
I went into debt food preping & sadly cant purchase any more prepping stuff but saving newspaper , free stuff. Thank youfor all your very helpful videos, I try to watch them all 🤗
Ms Dony: We are sorry to find out you went into debt "food prepping." That was never our intent. Jim
I already know a considerable amount about this topic. But I knew that Rose was going to provide me with some new information. She's a true INSTRUCTOR! I wasn't disappointed...the bubble wrap idea...unbelievable! 😀 Thank you so much!
Pam.
I have had the clear bubble wrap stick all winter long. It work very well.
@@susanschneider-baker49 nice!
Love listening this lady…she speaks beautiful,clear English.
I concur.
This video offers wonderful guidance and suggestions for something which I fear may be coming sooner than we wish. Thanks again, Pam and Jim for excellent content!
You are so welcome!
Thank you Rose and Jim!
PS, bubble wrap also helps with double-paned windows! I use it and it definitely makes a difference. Wow I love the candelier! And the olive oil lantern, I love knowing I can use rancid oil in that. Y'all always teach me so much!
I'm very surprised that Earthrite and similar heaters aren't mentioned by UA-camrs who provide survival content. We have an Earthrite in our kitchen, it's mounted to the wall and directly connected to our 1000 gallon LP tank outside. It doesn't require electricity to run as it lights in the same way a gas cooking stove does. It wouldn't heat our entire home but if we close off the kitchen we could be comfortably warm in even incredibly cold weather.
I use a pool noodle with a wedge cut into it to fit over the bottom of the door. works very well.
We have several options for emergency lightening and heating. One thing I really like are the recharging LED light bulbs. We've had them for a few years and they work fantastic. In fact, we were so pleased with how well they work, we put them in every light fixture in our house. Great and informative video. I really enjoyed it.
@Jennifer Kelly - What brand do you like best?
This is outstanding advice! This is an example of why eastern cultures respect and honor their elders. They understand that their elders have wisdom gained through many years of experience.
I wish Americans understood this.
My grandmother was in her 90's so she had 20 years to live after 75. An in-law was 117. We never know how long we have to try to keep warm or cool. Do your best to prepare for the long haul.
I have a 100 year old home
With single pane windows.
I had so much cold air coming in I was freezing cold in bed. So
I used a guilted mattress pad I had, to make several quilted blinds
No more freezing in bed!
Now on to quilted wall coverings
I made permanent insulated shutters that fit snugly into window frames, from 1/2 inch foil faced polyiso boards, with metal taped on edges. Works great, lasts forever. Can be painted etc.
Working night shift and new construction site next door inspired me to install aluminum foam boards in my bedroom windows. Sound buffer, insulation and blackout.
@@delorestaylor8114 yes! Also helps block outside emf. Permanent addition to my bedroom windows, cheaper and work much better than drapes
Ms. Pam & Mr. Jim, thank you SO much for doing this video on alternate light and heat sources!!!! And thank you for the information on where we can purchase these items!!! I feel so lucky to have you both as sources for our Emergency Preparedness!!!! May the Good Lord bless and keep you both!!! Love you guys!!
You are so welcome! So glad it was helpful.
I had come across solar stringlights and we put them up in the livingroom with the collector in the spouth window. These lights are colored and give a pleasant glow. When the power went out a few nights ago, we did not have to stumble in the dark. Those lights were bright enough for us to get our other lights, which we have all over. We also have small battery lights next to each light switch. They are glued to the wall.
In my husband's study, he placed a row of yard lights, minus the sticks, along the window...they collect sun during the day and light half the room at night
Thank you for the heating and lighting tutorial. May I say,,,you are a warmth and light 🕯 in this ever darkening cold world. Appreciate your time. GOD bless you both. 🕯
Wow, thank you! How kind of you.
Wonderful comprehensive video, Dr. Pam! Thank you! I’m going to look into your battery bank. One note about your first and excellent point about clothing. Don’t forget warm hats! They make a huge difference to a cold weather wardrobe! All the places on your body where blood is close to the surface: your head, your neck, wrists, and ankles. When looking at your blankets, comforters, and sleeping bags, pick down first, wool second.
Yes, you are correct about the hats! Thanks.
You two are such a blessing to all of us. Thank you!
You are great. Thanks for caring about others and teaching.
Great video as always. Just going to add my 2 cents. The deal guy YT channel had a recent video that said Costco has a box of foot warmers for about $15. That might be helpful indoors for an emergency. If anyone is looking for solar power stations like the yeti but might be scared by the price, the YT channel AskIves is great. He reviews a lot of off brand and name brand stations and he explains solar power very well too. Also the YT channel Will Prowes (I think I spelled it wrong) is great too. He is a great resource to explain solar power setups in addition to the power banks. He started as a van lifer and now lives in a house so he can explain a small or large set up.
thank you. i am a single female. and appreciate your tips! your gonna live another 1000 years, if you choose. be blessed,
If you have large doorways with no doors between rooms try this. Ahead of time, make a light weight frame that will fit somewhat loosely into opening between rooms. There should be a small gap. Go to main office of moving company (cheaper & by the foot) or Uhaul etc and buy enough bubble packing to cover frame. Also buy a roll of the foam weather stripping like you would put around a door. Attach foam stripping around outside of frame and attach bubble packing or wrap across frame with stapler or tape. This frame can then be slid in and out of opening, at will.You may have to attach several bubble strips with clear packing tape before attaching to frame. You can also put a double layer of bubble wrap. I've tried both the small and larger bubbles. This saved us in keeping just our den/kitchen area warm with fireplace during 4 days without electricity during Texas ice storm in Feb '22. In addition to an Aladdin Lamp and candles, we also had several of the solar yard lights that I used for the bathrooms and other areas needing light. Just be sure to get 20 lumens or higher and try them out. If you don't like them you can return them. I also bought extra solar rechargeable batteries for those. Let me just say that after 4 days of no power and negative temps, our house core temp went from 68 degrees to 40 degrees. The only room with heat was den/kitchen and it stayed about 65 degrees. Never again. We bought a TriFuel Generator by Champion and had house connections installed to run off of natural gas. Our hot water heater and house heater are also natural gas.
I love the idea of using the dining room table with blankets or a tarp over it to make a smaller “room” in which to keep warm. Like you, I have a very open house, so this is a concern.
THANK YOU !! You go above and beyond for your viewers.
Excellent ideas here. I have lots of windows and absolutely no direct sun! The bubble wrap idea is great!
Hello 👋dear, how are you doing?
I live in Ontario, Canada and I love your videos. I just order from Lehman's the olive oil lamp part that you show on this video. Yesterday, I ordered an infrared thermometer because I listen to another of your video. When I think I am prepared, and need nothing more, you come up with these terrific and practical ideas. What I like the most, is the way you address security issues. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for all that you do.
Don't forget the little battery operated, push button LED lights. Very cheap and versatile.
Absolutely! Thanks.
You can also use the "silver insulating" stuff that Home Depot and Lowes sell (like you put in your car window on hot days) only it comes in a roll and different sizes. Thanks Jim and Pam for all you do for us who are trying to be prepared in these troubling times.
Great idea! Thanks.
Thank you for all of these wonderful ideas! Solar would be great but we are in our 60’s. Silly to try to that. We have a gasoline powered generator, if need be.
You can also tack/nail layered sheets or old blankets on the tops and sides of doosr and window panes. I did this a lot during bad winters when I moved into a house that was poorly insulated. Go to thrift stores and purchase blankets and sheets for this purpose only.
I have enough clearence over my door to throw a flannel sheet folded lengthwise over the door and shut the door...in the summer, I let it hang outside to keep sun's heat away...west facing door with a large window
Yes….I’ve done that with quilts….put them over doors and windows in my old 1800s farmhouse….made a huge difference!
I had an old house, single pane windows. I put shrink wrap over the large picture window and I left it up for 5 years. It made a huge difference along with draft dodgers under the drafty doors. I made my own with old towels and cute fabrics covers I stitched up.
I can't nail to frames because I rent, however I saw an idea to make a temporary "door" frame covered with bubble wrap, sheets, whatever! Dragged out as needed, ideal!
I had a good laugh at the end 🤣
As I'm older than dirt, my long term is quite different than most "utube preppers" (I tend to look backward on how we "used to" do things and only look for new ways to make that easier, e.g. raised garden beds, portable solar generator, etc.
Gidget, is there a way to know more about your older ways? Older is often still better
@@melallred6523 there is a really good book that is a wealth of information on old ways homesteading. The Encyclopedia of Country Living by Carla Emery. It has everything from buying land to giving birth by yourself to caring for your dead. Gardening, animal husbandry and homestead housekeeping. The first edition came out during the hippie, "back to the land" movement in the late 1960s. There was a 50th anniversary edition released in 2019.
@@melallred6523 if you can find a copy of the ninth edition published in 1994, it has about 130 more pages than the new 50th anniversary edition. Carla passed away in 2005 so the 9th edition was probably the last edition she personally updated. I'm not sure about what was left out of the new edition. Maybe the home birthing and caring for the dead at home, people are more ill at ease with those things these days 🤷♀️ the 1994 9th edition has 864 pages, so look for that one.
@@gidget8717 Amazon says that the 10th and anniversary editions have 928 pages, 44 pages more than what you say is in the 9th.
@@graminator10b32 I'm so glad to hear that! I hope that the site I got that number from miscounted. I don't remember which book site it was, I just remember thinking, "I wonder what they took out?" Thanks for the updated information. 😁👍
Great video...My home is over 100 years old...most windows are dual but I have 2 original to the home and 3 windows plus patio doors installed around the 70's...YES! The bubble wrap does indeed work..the 70's windows have them on year round...I've only had to change out every 4 or 5 years....the 100 +year old windows get the reflectix (bubble wrap with foil on each side)...it works amazingly!
I use the reflectix, too! It does work great.
Donna, how does the reflectix bubble wrap adhere to the window?
@@cherylross5322 Since it's heavier than reg bubble wrap, I use packing tape and tape to the window frame itself ..
Hot water bottles and furry onesies work a treat. Add 3 or 4 thermos flasks full of hot water and an alternate cooker, you can ride out the cold.
I don't have a tent, but I had thought about the kitchen table or even using the high backed chairs to form a tent. Using the chairs I could bring a twin mattress in as a base to keep me and the cat and dog off the floor. Then I can secure blankets and quilts over top of that. I have a lot of those micro fleece blankets as well to bring into the tent.I have several LED light lanterns and 2 oil lamps with extra wicks and several containers of oil.
Or you can make a blanket fort on the couch 😁
My concern is lamps or candles getting knocked over. I Have 3 large dogs and 2 cats that go in and out. I've thought about the tent but where can you safely put those things? Even if tent had a hanging hook I'd be concerned with top of tent getting too hot. I've considered a my buddy but would literally have to cage it in, again to keep dogs or cats from knocking it over. It got 45 in here this winter when power went out and I'm not planning to go thru that again. Any hints or tips??
I love all your videos they are very aducational. I just wanted to make a comment, if you are going to use the glass jars as candles please please always put them inside a bigger pot with water in case it breaks or cracks, i had a very scary experience, one day one of them cracked and spilled some oil and started a fire, good thing we were in that room when the fire startedand we put it away very fast. Since that day, i don't trust any candle if it does not have a bigger container with water under it.
Love the UCO candle lanterns; my original one is over 30 years old and still performing well. They even make a mini lantern which uses inexpensive tea lights which I have used at times instead of standard candles for a more rustic look when doing a special dinner table set up. I liked the minis so much (and they are not expensive) that I gifted one to each of my children. I enjoy gifting them items which can be attractive or fun to use as well as being useful in emergencies. My grandchildren have come to expect having a new $1 flashlight tied to their XMas gift each year instead of an expensive bow .
Do you have a recommendations for an emergency radio?
@@jeannebaker6905 I am assuming don't mean ham radio for communications (that is my spouse's specialty). For an emergency information radio there are several good brands out there that don't break the budget. For XMas this year I gifted my children the Eton, American Red Cross FRX3+ Emergency NOAA Weather Radio (currently $46 on Amazon). It is battery powered but can also be charged via solar or with hand crank and can be used to power a cell phone if needed. Another model I have used at home and in our RV for many years is the Sangean MMR-88. It isn't quite as fancy but is an extremely sturdy model which has served me well. I just looked and you can still get it on Amazon for $54
@@sandraw4763 fyi, the eton frx3 is currently $59.99. Huge price difference in such a short time..like everything else these days :(. Thank you for the info you posted. Much appreciated.
A great value is the Mr heater Big Buddy. You can get it for $199, and it goes up to 18,000 BTU, and heats up to 400 square feet. You can hook up your big propane tank to it, but you can also go get a propane tank that you would use on your gas barbecue grill. When it is empty, go to exchange it at most walgreens, convenience stores, Lowe's, home depot, etc. Those tanks will last a really long time with the Mr heater Big Buddy.
Wonderful information. The wife, son and I have spent three day in our tent in the dining room. God Bless and stay safe.
Mrs. Pam, have you thought about making a solar generator yourself? You can look up different setups, but one way is to use a dolly to hold two deep cycle marine batteries, and mount wood onto the upper part and then mount your inverter and controller, etc. to that wood. This makes it much easier to handle and move where you need it, as those batteries are heavy. When our family lost power with Hurricane Zeta and Ida the last two years respectively, we were very thankful to have it, as it was strong enough with just 3-50 watt panels to keep our refrigerator and chest freezer going, along with running a fan and charging phones, and using a little lamp at night. Definitely better than nothing! You can keep the batteries charged and ready to be used with an electric charger until the power goes out, then hook up the panels. The whole setup cost us about $400 max, which is comparable to some gas generators, and we have the advantage of not having to have the gas or propane on hand. We all know how fast those become scarce when an emergency hits! Great video, and thank you for what you do!
@JeannieS Great idea! Approximately how long did batteries last? Thank you in advance. 😊
T
Could you please provide an outline on making your own solar generator? Thank you,!
I feel like I’m in school again except this is one class never taught...as important as it is!! Thanks for the survival lessons
I saw this video a few months ago and ordered the heater and the two lantern set you featured in the video. I am so thankful I did. We came home from work today and the power was out. It is supposed to go down to 32 F tonight and we are warm and have light. My husband was so impressed that he told me to order two more lanterns and we put another heater on our “want” list. Thank you for taking the time to do this thoughtful review!
Thank you for your time and help
We live in Florida and we have a generator for hurricanes…..our generator works with gas, they are very noisy but it kept 2 fridges, 1 small freezer, the TV going during the last hurricane. Power was down for quite some time. It is a life saver. If we did not have that all food would have been thrown out. May God watch over us all. Thank you for this wonderful video. i am going to get that candle heater for the cottage, just to keep the bathroom toasty…..
So glad you are well prepared for power outages during hurricanes.
Thank you so much Jim & Pam for sharing your extensive knowledge with us. I will be signing up for your canning classes & definitely purchasing your book.. I am worried about the future.
Casting all your cares on Jesus for He cares for you
Very informative and great information! I can NOT believe you and Jim are in your mid 70's!! You both look fantastic! I love all your videos and learn something new every time I watch them. Thank you for sharing!
Pamela: You are welcome and we appreciate the complements. Jim
some of the ideas here are worth investigating. I for one, although I have an array of solar lights that I use daily for the sole purpose of providing light, I love my candles. I have a beautifil antique swag lamp (it has a dome lid + a heat shield that prevents any discoloration to the ceiling) that can use either a tea light or small candle in 3 oz glass. I use the tea light because it's spent quickly, generally about the time it takes me to fall asleep, and I love it because the relaxing ambiance it provides helps an over active or stressed mind go to sleep. I not only have this, but torches, candles about, but never left unattended. In times of power outages, I just pick up a candle & take it whereever I'm going. Just because a situation is dyre, taking too many emergency precautions just adds to stress, especially in children. If your home, be it a house, apartment, RV, she shed or tent, if you keep it at the ready 24/7, meaning if these things are always visible, the stress level will be less. No mad dash to get prepared, etc. & if they're used several time a week, it'll seem like 'old hat' when they're Needed!
As for staying warm, layers are always good. Flannel, Cashmere, Long Johns, beanies & gloves, & a feather quilt for each person. The amount of Heating needed depends on the size of the room. In an emergency, everyone should go to the master bedroom until the crisis is over. Sleeping bags & airbags or cots, & folding chairs should always be at the ready in a closet or otherwise close at hand, & I recommend a battery operated air pump if you choose airbags. I, with & without family, have lived in 3,000 sq ft houses all the way down to a 16' travel trailer & small tent for months at a time, with all sorts of weather. I can not stress how important it is to be as familiar with your ER equipage as you are with the light switch, tap water & built-in heaters common in much of today's world. Most people today do not know how to camp; build a fire, much less how to bank it. Everyone needs boyscout training, to go camping. One weekend a month would not only be fun, but good training for yourself, your family, or with friends. BTW, coleman stoves & lanterns are great Outdoors. They CANNOT be used indoors! So when you camp, learn how to do it with & without them.
I love the fact that you are so real and down to earth. We are in our 70s too and some things are not reasonable for us. Thanks for all the good advice. You are my favorite YT channel
You are so welcome! Thank you for your kind words.
Great job both of you for showing some new things and some familiar ones. I love Lehman’s store-gonna have to go browse around. Have a great weekend!!!
Also, keep a supply of hand warmers, and put some in your car also. They also have foot warmers. Once you open them, they are activated. Flannel or fleece rice bags will also keep your toes warm at night(not sure how you would warm these up in a power outage, but if you are conserving on heating fuel they come in handy.
I loved it when you said, “Whatever those two things are.” You are a highly intelligent woman, and also a regular normal one! You’re not “Holier than thou,” which makes you so endearing!
Thank you so much--that means a lot to me.
Some folks add a little dish detergent to their water spray bottles to get the plastic and bubble wrap to stick longer
Good to know. Thanks for sharing.
Such a practical, helpful video. Not a moment of fluff to be had!!! Love it!
Thanks so much for such sensible ideas. Love the quilt over the dining room or tent inside. Nice!
Hello 👋dear, how are you doing?
@@franklinstephen3268 quit trolling!
I knitted my door draft stops with left over yarns...
I also use rechargeable lights, being that I don't have electricity. I use heavy duty Marine batteries, with Solar Panel, and to charge up my phone as well as for my CPAP machine. I cook with propane bottles and heat with kerosene. I use rechargeable headlamp, and rechargeable flashlight. Some of my small lights also can be charged up with the Sun.
Sounds like you are all set!
Thank you for all the work you do in researching and evaluating different options/items. We recently purchased a EcoFlow Delta-Pro Solar generator & a portable 400w foldable solar panel. These will work wonderfully in our travel trailer as well as at home for power emergencies. We just installed three 445w rigid panels for the top of our patio cover. All for under $5k
I've had my EcoFlow EF Delta for several months now, and the 160w panel, which is supposed to be kept dry. Will you please share what panels you added, as I would like to have a more permanent solar collector available (for my deck)? Thank you!
That sounds wonderful!
I was reading about the Renogy flexible solar panels on YT. Glue or velcro them on van roof or shed etc. Supposed to hold up even in snow
Absolutely agree that candle lanterns (any kind) are much safer than open flames. And aluminized plastic blankets are super. NOTE: PLEASE do NOT forget your pets !!!
Always good to know and practice. Also good to turn off the lights and find your way around. Thanks Pam
Our power went out in December's derecho for about 8 hours in the evening. I knew it was coming, so we ate supper early. When the power went out, we got out our battery lanterns and flashlights. The glare of the lights almost did me in!!!
One thing I would recommend is putting together some folding panels (much like your canning wind-break) and covering the inside with mirrored glass like they have in home remodeling stores. Set the panels up between you and the lanterns in your home. These will reflect the light back to the walls and light up the whole room with a gentler light. No glare needed!
Thanks for all your videos! I just found you and am enjoying watching all of them!
Joan: Thanks for the suggestions. I especially like the mirrored folded panels. Jim
Amazing video! This is information everyone should know. I'm from the Midwest so I'm no stranger to extreme cold.
Emergency blankets cost $2 each. They're just like a thin shiny tablecloth. Everyone should have a handful in their house and each vehicle. If you use them to insulate your tent, you'll be set. Some people throw them out when they're done but why? The more you have the more functionality. With some TRex tape you can secure it inside jackets, in boots, and line your sleeping bags.
To store used emergency blankets, stretch them out over an open blanket and fold it up with the blanket for emergencies.
My favorite cheap light is the $6 solar powered garden spotlights at Walmart. I have $50 solar flashlights but those garden solar lights are made to charge every day and put out light every day at a fraction of the price.
And I don't need to store them. I leave my solar garden lights shut off outside and pull them all inside during power outages fully charged and ready to go.
Agree with everything you said! Thank you!
Would this work on Minnesota? We’re below zero. I’m thinking the solar lights would be covered with snow. Thanks for the great info you posted.
You could put the solar lights inside on a window sill to charge if you have snow
It is also important to remove all clothing that you have been wearing during the day because they get moist from the body sweat even though it might not feel wet, there is moisture in the clothing. Change your clothes at bedtime so you do not become chilled during the night from the moisture in the clothing you wore during the day. Eskimos would remove all their daytime clothing/furs and sleep naked under warm and dry furs.
Thanks for the tip.
You two are just a wonderful find here on UA-cam! Thank you for all your efforts and information.
Pam you and Jim are the best. Mid 70's is the new mid 50's 🙂. Thank you both for all you do. I love my Mr. Heater too!
Our pleasure! Thanks for your kind words.
We love your preparedness ideas. We have many variations of items you have shared with us, as well as, others we have collected over the years. While most of these work for short term grid down or outages, a lot of things are not sustainable for long-term. I think a discussion or a video would be great on what to do or various means when there are no more gasoline, propane, or batteries. My husband and I have been discussing this quite a bit lately. And we’ve been researching a lot of different variations of what to do in this type of situation. Our daughter is on a feeding tube which is run by an electric pump. We have temporary rechargeable options to keep her pump going. These options more than likely will not last for years. At this time we cannot afford a massive solar array on the top of our house. Along with the benefits of these type of set ups, there are also lots of cons as the batteries are expensive and the knowledge how to repair yourself is very important. So we’ve been looking at other smaller versions, while not necessarily cheap they are certainly much cheaper than whole house solar. Keep those ideals coming.
You raise an excellent point. We have also been thinking along those lines.
@@dannylionsmom all our company assist with is putting you on a list in the event of a power outage. They try to get your power on quickly as possible, but no guarantee you will not have a prolonged outage. This still does not help if the grid is compromised and power will not be restore for quite some time or at all🥺
In the old days we ran feeding tubes n IV’s by gravity😂
We purchased small battery powered lights at the different holidays, they run on AA batteries and can be hung up through out your house. They have a timer or a switch you can run them all the time. We bought, Christmas, Halloween, Easter and Valentine ones, we always purchased them the day after the holidays because they're often clearenced out. We purchased two Mr. Heater's that heat 1500 sq ft each. They can be hooked to propane or natural gas. You're also able to buy small solar systems that are fairly cheap. I think we paid $150 each for ours, they'll run a small refrigerator easy. Love the video, new subscriber so I will be checking out your other content.
scann: Thank you for the information and emergency preparation. Jim
Another comment: I remember the freeze they had in Texas People's pipes froze and then they had flooding. Freezing water expands and will fracture the pipes. Many houses do not have basements, and people did not know how to turn off the water coming into their house. So, find the shut off and if pipes freeze, turn off the water where it enters your home. We live in Idaho in a house with a crawl space and we could not find the water shut off. It was not shown on the blueprints we had. We mentioned this to a person we hired for work where he had to go into the crawl space and he found it for us.
Wow--good information. Thanks.
I'm widowed and on a very tight budget now. My heating unit quit working 2 years ago. I've been heating only my bedroom with a pellet stove we had but, it's quit working now too. I'm going to try out several of your suggestions. Thank you so much. :)
Lori's RV: We hope that you are able to work things out for your heating situation. Jim
Thank you again! You are something. Always do so much research and give so much helpful information. I have seen both those lights, the OCU, and the olive oil lamps, but wasn't sure. You like them, and I trust your judgement, so will go and take another look at them. Thank you so very much for your help.
I live in rural Pennsylvania and our power iffy at best. We bought light bulbs from QVC that have a battery in them. If the power goes out the light bulbs stay on. They last anywhere from 3 to 4 hours. It's a good short-term solution at an economical price. We have a gas generator as well as a solar generator. If the grid was going to be down for an extended period of time you can't store enough gas to run the generators. So we got us a small solar generator and panels so we could keep the basics going. We also got a cooler which is solar to store our food and not use generator power.
Sounds as if you are ready with several plans in place. Excellent!
Love your videos and the information you provide. I cannot thank you enough for taking the time and the effort to keep us informed and safe. I am hoping the book you are writing with your sister will be available for shipment to Canada. Please keep safe and thank you once again
My friend on the high desert had to heat her bedroom because she couldn't afford to pay her utility bill during the winters. She experimented with many things and found tall slender candles used for fine dining kept her the warmest and was less expensive than anything. God bless her.
Great sources of light and heat! Thanks for your input and examples also for showing us a typical set up. Y'all are awesome!
I have an older home in Alaska and I have two door rolls for my doors. I also bought curtains that are insulated on my big windows. It really helps.
Omg Pam. You are like MacGyver! This is so important what you make videos about. Much love from Norway!
Tone: Wow, thank you! We appreciate you watching our channel from Norway. Jim
@@RoseRedHomestead
We watch you Pam from all over the world.
Best regards from South America.
We have LEd headlamps and several different kinds of flashlights. We have a wood stove in the garage which heats up the whole space so we would probably set up in there, or our kitchen which faces the south is a small space but enough room for a 4 man tent for the three of us. There are so many great gadgets one could acquire, but like you said, it comes with a cost and availability. Thanks for sharing👩🏽🌾👍🏽🙏🏽🧡💖
Berkey water filters price going up 10 to 30 percent on February 22. Price increase is to dealers.
I bought some small solar lanterns/flashlights that are also USB chargeable and are really bright when fully charged (a set of 4 for $20 on Amazon), I keep these charged up. Thank you for all the info!
God bless❣️
We do have a kerosene heater but we are fanatical about safety.We maintain it well, we run it only when it is a true emergency,(power off for long periods in the cold, which is next to never). We never leave it running when one of us is not in the room, as we do with ANY flame, like a candle, (which is always in a chimney or glass container.) We run the heater in the middle of a room where it faces the rest of the house, but no one really needs to go past it. We have a carbon monoxide detector for it. (We had a close call with carbon monoxide 30 years ago and barely escaped with our lives.)
And yes, I have not given away any clothing in a while, just to be sure that we have something for anyone who may come in.
Excellent, Excellent, Excellent!
that was one of the very best on this subject , thank you for making these film ,
There's also kerosene heaters which are very reliable and kerosene is pretty affordable still. As long as you have a carbon monoxide detector and fresh air coming in their relatively safe although I would never use one when I am sleeping. They are pretty portable and I do also have one of the propane heaters that you have and they work great! Propane though is much more expensive than kerosene in my area. Solar is also out of our reach price-wise. We also can't really afford to install a wood stove right now although I would love one! Free Timber in this area
Thank you. We're going to need this this winter here in Texas.
One easy way to provide emergency lighting is with solar garden/pathway lights. Pull them up at night and bring inside for ambient lighting. In morning put them back outside to charge up.
For keeping warm - sleeping bags combined with layers of blankets will keep you warm well below freezing temps
We almost showed that in this video, but it would have been too long! Yes, that works just great!
Yes...I use sleeping bags on the bed with blankets. Outside solar garden lights also work well.
Ty. I find that fleece is warmer than flannel.
Jim & Pam: You Guys give so much to the Prepper community. Even with being actively involved in this area, I manage to learn something from every one of your most enjoyable videos.
One area, that I have discovered, that seems to be somewhat untapped by-and-large is that of Bio-Ethanol fuel and the respective equipment. The portable "Fireplace" alcohol units that utilize Bio-Ethanol are apparently safe for indoor use (with appropriate ventilation of course). The units are vent-less and extremely clean burning. Bio-Ethanol in its pure form is so clean burning that NO carbon monoxide is produced. This fuel is from renewable Bio-mass such as corn etc. Some of these tabletop unit can put out over 6000 BTU's of heat. On a grid down situation, these could be lifesaving for heat, light and perhaps even cooking. Could you look into this idea and perhaps shed some light (no pun intended) on the usability. Amazon fulfills both the fuel and the hardware. While the fuel is certainly more costly in small quantities than a permanent heating systems fuel would be, the equipment itself is quite modestly priced. No moving parts. Add fuel and light. Your thoughts would be most appreciated. Thanks for All that you do for the community. From Ontario, CANADA.
This is fascinating information, Barry. I will see what we can find out. Thank you.
I would like to know more about that
I would also.
Thank you for all of your advice lovely lady 😊
I’ve been thinking a lot about creating those radiant heaters with traditional or Crisco candles and flower pots, but of course would want to do so safely. I have heard of jars exploding and thought of using metal cans, setting the whole contraption in a larger pot with a little water and possibly even creating a cage to keep the cats away from it. I know for clay pot cooking you have to soak the pot so it doesn’t crack… I’ve not heard of this from anyone but wondering if the pot cracking or exploding is also a concern.
Frankly with the astronomical utility bills and extremely limited means, I am looking for ways to cheaply supplement my heating even when there isn’t a power outage. I’m curious if you feel there is a safe way to do the flower pot heater thing or if it’s honestly just inefficient and not worth the risk. That three candle lantern does look cool, but it’s $70 for a lantern and box of candles, and I bet that price will continue to go up.
I do have a Little Buddy heater, but those little canisters are really climbing in price and I only get maybe 4-6 hours out of them on low. Not too bad to run off a larger tank but we’d be heating upstairs and those hoses aren’t that long for a tank outside and downstairs.
I appreciate any advice either from Pam or fro others that have used these methods. Thank you!
In a shtf emergency, use mylar blankets on the windows. You can see out in the day and NOT in. It reduces the amount of light seen from outside significantly, but you'd still need a curtain to block light.
Use double stick tape from the window insulation aisle at Wallyworld. Use clean dry hands (mylar smudges crazy easy!) GO SLOW and get it as taut as possible. It makes it easier to see out if it's taut.
If you can afford it, there are clear window cling films to make it harder to break. It will simply give you extra time to get to safety or a defensive weapon.
Loved your vid on the instfire vesta heater and I think I will be getting one next month based on your review! I will be using it only for heating. Thank you!