This was filmed before I knew about Hurricane Milton and the potential impacts for our florida friends. Please know that the entire Braniff Family is holding you all in our prayers, please be safe and don't take risks. We love you all and hope you're all safe through this next storm! ❤
Thank you from central Florida! We had a feeling about this years hurricane season and had a Generac standby generator installed a couple months ago - helps with a little comfort but this storm overall is pretty scary!
Greetings from the UK, I stumbled upon your channel trying to catch up with what is happening post Helene, and I have to say I am totally horrified by what you are doing here. The US is just a day or 2 away from a major Cat 4 storm and you are advocating for people to buy essential goods when they dont need them in the near future. I find it aborrent that you would advocate a course of action, reducing availability of items to folks that have an immiediate and dire need of this equipment. Folks can buy this stuff 6 months down the line when the immiediate need has passed. It is totally mindless what you are advocating for. Please think about your actions with 500K subscribers they have the possabillity of having a significant impact for the worst
@@karentingler4937 well that's my point, she isn't helping others, not those that are in imminent need of help anyways . And if you are still able to produce. You tube content things can't be that bad
My husband was a generator mechanic in Afghanistan during the war and he said to make sure you realize that the gas you set aside for using in those generators needs to be changed out every 6 months or it will destroy your generator. Use it in a car or lawnmower before month 5 and then refill them with new gas. Also run your generator once every 3 months for about 10 minutes.
Air is gasolines biggest enemy so keep it sealed. Use a stabilizer like “Startron” or “Amsoil” and your fuel will be good in a year or more. We do it every single year so it is proven to work. Also I’ve never been a fan of stabil or seafoam but I’m sure it has done good for other people.
This is the hardest part of prepping. Many things you really need to cycle through, so it’s a whole system integrated with how you live rather than just a bunch of stuff you throw in your basement.
Great idea! If nothing else it’s a great excuse to see the animals like the chickens who provide eggs and horses who may be able to provide transport 😂
My sister is on day 12 of no power. The thing that has helped her a lot is a head lamp. Being able to use both hands and still have some light is very helpful.
As an electrician, please please have that plug changed out for an inlet and get an interlock in your electrical panel. I understand that items may be scarce right now, but as soon as you’re able to order an inlet and interlock from Amazon, please get that replaced. As it stands right now you have what is called in the trade “a suicide cord”.
Hi! Could you clarify what you’re referring to because we are in a similar situation and setup and I didn’t understand your comment and I don’t want to have a su*cide chord.😅 Please advise
@@catmontanez I don’t know why my original reply disappeared. An interlock kit locks the main breaker from being on at the same time as the generator breaker. This prevents back feeding to the power lines or into your generator. It also lets you utilize an inlet instead of a plug. An inlet is a male plug and accepts a female twist lock cord, thus ensuring that you cannot get shocked by your cord ends. In the video, she’s able to plug her cord into the generator and have full 240 volts on those wide open available prongs.
@@catmontanez a suicide cord is one that has the metal prongs exposed AND provides power. you can easily accidentally touch them and get shocked / killed when the generator is on and the prongs are exposed. That's why powered source have female connectors so you can't accidentally touch inside them and get a dangerous discharge. Sources of power should always have femaled adapters just like the outlets in your house are all female so there's no exposed energized metal prongs to touch
we are blessed with more resources than most, and for nearly two decades ive been secretly prepping and my wife did not know about it because she would not have approved.... stored everything in a spare garage she never enters. when covid hit and things started to look like the opening chapter of the zombie apocalypse i took her hand and led her to the small building stuffed with everything from soap and toilet paper to YEARS worth of food and other... goodies. she literally cried knowing that this is what i was doing for all these years, seeing to our little family.
As a single mum in Australia I can't thank you enough for this. I try to be prepared but conversations like this allow us to skill/idea share. So glad you're all ok and taking this with grace.
I never understood why people mocked prepping. I always like to be prepared. It just makes sense. I was looking for a cabin in those areas and now my future prep list is going to be long.
Because some of the “famous” “Preppers” online make prepping their idol and identity really go out of their way to instill fear into the process for views so I think it gives prepping a negative name. I’m not a “ pepper” I prepare. I’ll save the “identities” to those who need them to get money from their followers. I find identity in my Creator.
There is a subset of preppers who indulge fanciful conspiracies as a source of a thing to be prepared for. For them it is a lifestyle. Normal people can have more modest and realistic plans. Make the goal to survive the disaster and not put yourself in a situation where you take silly risks to that end. My advice is first to plan how to decide when to evacuate so you don't leave it too late. That's a bushfire tip they push here in Australia.
@@coastaldiva there is no where safe. Florida, NC, SC, GA, LA, TN all were hit by hurricanes. CA, Oregon: wildfires. Kansas, Ms: tornadoes. HI: tsunami. Wyoming and Montana: polar vortex. Texas: ice freeze. You just have to pick a place and prep accordingly. Thanks for your concern though. I appreciate it.
@@IGDZILLA I used to watch the pepper show and they do indeed go overboard, but I do recall thinking during Covid that those people who I thought were too intense, were more prepared than myself.
Don't know if you know that they exist.But a manual well pump is an amazing tool to have on hand may not be the most convenient, but it's better than not having access to your water
I have a brand named “simple pump” hand pump in a 200ft well, works great. They also have a 12v motor you can add to it so you don’t have to pump, add that to a 12v battery and solar charger panel and your set
I'm in Florida. Hurricane season is a way of life here. I definitely want prepper content. We have food storage. It saved us when my husband lost his job during covid. It kept us afloat. Prepping is smart. Not sure why people are making fun of you. Be prepared or be scared. Better safe and set then sorry. Also, with generators: don't forget to change the oil at recommended intervals and they need to be run for 30 minutes every other month so they don't die when you need them most. Make sure to add a reminder to your google planner for that. Generators are pricey to replace if you don't take care of them.
Agreed! That’s also great for gardening and growing vegetables and food for the family and the animals. If nothing else it would reduce the cost of groceries and animal feed/water.
The Dollar Tree has pantry milk which doesn’t require refrigeration until after it’s been opened. And it taste just the same for $1.25 and a few options- whole, 2%, etc
Well done! I'm so glad you are choosing to use your Voice to help the rest of us get prepped. We took preparedness seriously after our 2009 Ice Storm (13 days without power, & 5 kids taking turns getting sick). Great video.
We had 2013 ice storm. I actually can't remember how many days without power, but I had a 3 week old. I was definitely in panic mode. Although not fully prepared, we are much better than we were then. We could survive a while without electricity.
You're my new favorite UA-cam Channel. This is the second video where I felt you were literally just describing my exact life. We have a cute little homestead, tons of animals, years of food storage... and no way to power our pump. 8 days of dragging buckets of water up a hill from my pond and I feel like an idiot for not considering power as a critical prep requirement. All the other stuff we've done is completely pointless if we don't have power, so that's #1 on my list of things to fix. I'm going to be going fairly heavily into Solar, as access to fuel was a massive struggle in this event and I don't want to rely on something that needs an input that I can't control. This entire thing was a massive wakeup call for me, and I appreciate you doing such a good job of putting that into words and describing how I feel about this hurricane.
You are so right, we all need to prepare‼️. We need to be able to prepare for more than just ourselves but also to be able to help others. Thanks Angela.
I live in SW Florida, and in every hurricane season, I learn something new to add to my preps every year. I have been living here for 30+ years. I'm more concerned about a power grid outage during the times we live in. My immediate concerns are getting more dry food stored. I garden and have multiple solar backup batteries, and all my emergency supplies run off of USB and can be recharged on my batteries. I have small watt cooking appliances that can run off my batteries. All of our basic comfort needs can fall under the category of glamping. Me and my husband had to evacuate to a medical shelter during Hurricane Milton and we took most all of our emergency supplies with us. I praise God for keeping us safe and our home safe. This year I learned the value of being prepared. In the shelter I was the go to person in our room if you needed an extention cord or had to recharge your phone. Thank you for sharing what you have learned. May God continue to help you and your family and all those who have lost so much from these hurricanes.
I have listened to you before but this video really shows the true depth of your wisdom and intelligence..concise and thorough...thx for all that you do.
Genuinely it is so sad to me that as a viewer from a third world country who has never experienced a hurricane I would have been better prepared to go through it just because of how unstable access to electricity and water has become for us here. From the bottom of my heart I am wishing everyone effected by these hurricanes the best of luck and strength. Nothing prepares you except you. Stay safe.
@@melissav1416as someone who has spent time being homeless and in shelters, the main thing for Americans is to get used to being more self reliant, and start to get comfortable with being alone, outside, not entertained by TV/radio/internet. Anything that's electric, find a manual replacement. Find natural things to use in case you can't get toilet paper or soap. Sunlight is an amazing disinfectant. Re learn to share and trust your fellow humans,but really develop your intuition and trust your gut. Get comfortable having bowel movements in a bucket. Keeping oneself worry free is something to work on. No need to sweat the small stuff. ❤❤❤
Thank you for taking the time to make this very thoughtful and insightful video, in the midst of your own family's struggles. This could very well help someone else survive something disastrous ❤
Thank you so much,,People make me feel like I am crazy,sometimes,because I am a prepper,,but I am always the one they come to when they need something.stay safe out there
Watching from central Florida as we await hurricane Milton. Thankfully I have followed some prepper channels for a while and have the majority of these items and have yet to have to use them. It’s better to have the items and not need them than need them and not have them!
Oh the emergency lights that you keep plugged in all the time and they automatically come on when your power goes out. I have them everywhere. This is a short term power outage fix but fantastic around steps.
So, I live in Louisiana. Our most recent hurricane Francine brought on new learning opportunities. So many people had installed whole house generators following 2021 hurricane Ida. Just a few weeks ago we learned that the gas company was not able to supply enough gas to power peoples whole house generators.
I appreciate how down to earth and positive you are. We lost our water for 4 days a few years ago. Paper plates and plastic forks is what we needed most of all. Now we have a box of such things in storage. It only take one disaster to rethink what you should have had or needed. Hopefully your video will help people to prepare better :)
With plastics though there is the issue of disposal esp when there may not be trash being collected or a lot of rubbish already about., Here in Australia plastic cutlery is no longer sold due to the environmental issues and instead we have wooden disposable knives/forks/spoons.
@@tanyabrown9839 those are also available as compostable. It does cost more - but it actually works and environment friendly. I use it at my summer house, toss into my compost box with all the food remains and in 2 years its totally gone and now its just good soil. In my area it is made from corn starch or sugarcane.
Thank you for this video!! I live in California earthquake,fires and well as of last year the occasional hurricane. I know I am not fully prepared , but trying to and just before watching this I was starting my kids 3day bag for school . And emergency 1 gallon bag that stay in the classroom . A bit of food (freeze dried fruit meat sticks), change of clothes, sunscreen, toothbrush, toothpaste,wipes,bug repellent,mini first aid kit, index info card, poncho ,emergency blanket,small trash bag .a few paper towels, hair ties, a water bottle, hard candy , chapstick,playing cards and a mini flashlight . Yes in gallon bag 😊 .
Last winter we hit record breaking lows in Calgary. The power grid couldn’t handle all of the electricity being used in that temperature. It didn’t happen, but the government started threatening to do rotating outages if people didn’t voluntarily cut back somehow. It was actually quite scary for people who had no other means to heat their homes. We fortunately have a wood burning fireplace but quickly realized we were ill prepared with wood. Or 10 years ago when the river through the city flooded and destroyed homes displaced 1000’s of people. All that to say, even in an inland, major city centre, you never know what could happen, when or why. No one is immune and being prepared is so important especially if you have a family to take care of.
They were telling about rotating power in Edmonton, too. But i don't take that seriously when all restaurants, ice arenas, malls, are open till the regular hours, not even closing early. If we would be that close to running out of electricity, they would shut down non essentials first.
Love this video. Except hate what you are going through. I’ve been working on back ups to my back ups. I need to write it all down somewhere. We learned a lot from the freeze of 2021 Here’s some ideas small and large that come to mind. Solar. We can run one room and freezers and fridges on this if grid goes down. We can run our water well and septic too. Expensive but some peace of mind and we save on Electricity. Generator that can run on dual fuel and can be plugged into the house. Back up foods and ways to cook them or foods that don’t need to be cooked. Canned meats, PB, etc. shelf stable milk(dollar store), drinking water, etc. We have propane on our property so our stove and fireplace and hot water are on that. I’d love to get a solar Jackery charging station, but it’s an investment. We keep our propane tanks for blackstones full for emergency. We have a portable 35 gallon gas tank that we use for farm tools like 4 wheelers, mowers, etc. when things start feeling crazy (port strike) we make sure that is full along with other cans. First aid kits. We have the waterless cleaning cloths too. I’m working on building a go box if we need to grab stuff and get out too. This has been built over time, some is expensive and some not, so don’t think we are just having lots of $ laying around. This is 5 years of prep.
Once you're out of survival mode and power is restored, make sure you address the long-sustained high humidity in your home with dehumidifiers and a mold inspection!
I can not recommend the solar power station enough. Saved me many times this year alone from having to make a long, last minute commute to work when the power goes out.
Kind of...I have the OKMO 2000 watts power station. I use it to power the Internet router, my laptop, and monitor when the power goes out, but it could be used to power a fridge or freezer for a time if I needed it to.
Thanks so much for the list Angie. Looking forward to more info later. ❤ I'm glad you are all hanging in there. Continued prayers and hugs to y'all from Indiana.
Yes, preparedness is super important. The leaders of my church have been counseling us for decades to prepare for times like these when basic resources are suddenly or unexpectedly not available for any reason. It’s self reliance. Super important. This information is really helpful! Thank you so much for sharing what you’ve learned. ❤
I really appreciate your approach, just realistic sharing your approaches and things that helped your family without a panic mindset. Sorry for everything you’re going through.
Great Vid and information! I'm here near Aiken,SC , I had what I would call the almost bare basics for this storm: 1.) 20 gallons of 2 year old stabilized non-ethanol gas, 2.) Cat RP 5500 generator that kept our fridge/freezer, extra freezer, window AC unit and other small appliances going and ran about non stop from Friday 7am to Tuesday 6pm when the electricity was restored. 3.) Had about 40 gallons of water (5 gallon jugs and 1 gallon jugs), 4.) Had about 40 - 2 year old peak refuel meals which we made a dent in the first few days. 5.) Jackery 500 power bank, and a couple portable solar power blocks 6.) Assorted Flashlights etc. 7.) I had about $1,000 in cash - small bills. I say that to say I found it amazing the amount of friends and people I saw at Starbucks lined up about 9am Saturday morning that couldn't make a cup of coffee Saturday morning, made me feel better about my preps, and did make me spend a little to add to my preps focussed on food and alternative fuel energy sources (mixed fuel generators and power banks). One more thing I'll say is that at age 64 I started working out at a gym 2 years ago doing the cardio and strength fitness classes at least 3 days a week, dropped 30lbs never felt better or stronger, really helped farmers carrying those 5 gallon jugs of water to fill the comode tanks 😅 Getting electrician out next week to give us the whole home generator hook up Thanks
Thank you so much for this video! I really appreciate that you didn’t just put fun amazon finds, you put useful items that can help prepare people for a real disaster.❤
We have all these things, including the water Bob's and Dewalt fans. We have rain barrels too and drums and those stackables, solar chargers. The solar lights idea is brilliant and im getting those. Gen needs a whole home hardwire by an electrician with a soft switch and a whole home Gen off brand with 12,000 watt power duel fuel is a good size. Add carbon monoxide testers with Gen bc it can creep in. Must be in a safe place. Lots of details there. Tree trimming like oaks is essential. If you have trees grab a 30x 40 heavy duty tarp. A disaster bag is necessary( I have a list if needed thats any disaster).... We live in northeast Florida. Been through lots of storms my whole life..... nothing felt or sounded like Helene. In most cases, many could of never been prepared..... but we now know our weather, and this world is crazier than ever and it needs a disaster plan. She did an amazing job of listing items!!
Awesome, thank you! Making a list and getting prepared. You just never know, and hey, it's good to have extra to help others(Im grateful Helene missed us in my part of East TN,but 30 minutes away is a vastly different story). Take care!
First, you can never prep for all possibles. Second, know really knows what they need or not, until you experience an event. Also know no two events will be alike. Lastly, the level of prep is relative to what you are attempting to achieve.
Idk if you know this, but you don't have to fill the tank to flush. You can just pour water from waist high from a small bucket or pitcher and the weight and force of the water flushes it down.
Preparing for “The Big One” (Massive Earthquake that will split California along several faults) has always been a way of life. If you can get CERT (Community Emergency Response Team) certified for your region with your local city/town it will help you to learn how to lead/manage your home/community in case of emergency situations. The fire dept and paramedics usually teach those classes.
DO NOT hardwire your generator to your electric panel unless you are an electrician who really knows what you are doing! You have to completely disconnect your house power from the grid first or once the power comes back on you can have a huge power surge that kills you!
Our back up water supply, after our 55 gallon drums, is our swimming pool and small pond if we’re really desperate. Having a good filtration system is important.
I’m sorry friend. I understand as much as one can. I’m in Valdosta and we have been a declared national disaster area 3x in less than two years. We are blessed that it was just wind damage from Helene as a Cat 3 but we still have 5,000 without power and my friends a few miles down the road have been told another month. We got our power back so we have been sharing with a few other families and our home is a bathhouse and restaurant half the day. I prep pretty hard but I learned a few new ones this last storm. I’d like to share one: Make sure before any wind event that you check all around your home for wasps nests. I stepped outside and was immediately attacked by wasps. Other people I know had similar experiences. So that’s on my before storm checklist now. Hope it helps someone. Stay safe everyone. 💕
Invest in a GENERAC Generator !!! And you will Never worry again! It powers entire house. Very pricey but worth the peace of mind. I am in Florida , Miami area…. We bought our generac last year. Any outage it turns on b itself. You will have a/c and refrigeration working. It powers by gas company. Look into it please you have a lot of little ones.
In southeast Texas and have one as well! We run ours off propane (we have 2 tanks). It will run our entire home and well for at least 2 weeks. Well worth the investment!
I can’t thank you enough for taking the time to share your wisdom. I’m also in SC and wasn’t prepared for 5 days without power and now planning the next event. I’ve started stocking up on most of what you said and needed more info..thank you❤
So grateful that the home I purchased has a propane stove, hard wired generator outlet, and propane wall heaters. Last winter when it was -18f I turned off my furnace and turned on the heaters. Kept my home warmer than what I set the furnace at! Now I just need to figure out water. I'm thinking of canning water in all my empty jars. A lot of lids, but might be worth it...
Thank you so much for making this video, it is incredibly helpful on how to be prepared in case of terrible storms. Also you and everyone from Tennessee to Florida are in our thoughts and prayers. Stay strong and be well
We have a rioby personal fan with a rechargeable lithium battery. It's been a lifesaver on camping trips. We've had it for 3 years now and used it a lot. It also has a misting option. Highly recommend.
@@littleway24601 please don't take this as criticism.. are you going to the hair or nail salon? How many times per month do you eat away from home including fast food, coffee, gas station snacks? Do you have a car loan? How many times a month do you buy new clothes? Again, not criticism just suggesting how I and others have freed up some cash to spend preparing.
I understand, my family is in the same boat. I’m going to try to at least to pack a go bag for each family member. I’m packing a change of clothes, few pairs of underwear and socks., small packs of food such as granola bars. I will pack as many water bottles as I can. Purification tablets can be bought at Walmart cheaply to make bad water potable. There are many other things to put in your bag that you already have in your home. When I go to the store, I’m going to buy a couple extra things for an emergency box. Hope this might help you too.
. Please contact your local churches, city and county governments and food pantries to ask about any assistance that could be available to you. Check the internet for sites that list free items. Check with people that have gardens...try to barter with them. I could do someone's ironing or share the bread that I make for some of their veggies or eggs. We just need to get creative. We all have talents and abilities that can be of value to other people.
@@AndreaRuralMN honest answer? I never get my hair done, I never get my nails done. No car payments. We go out to eat maybe three times a year. No fast food. I’m as Dave Ramsey as they get. I have a little in savings but it’s hard to know what is prudent and not.
We have a generac whole house generator as do many many people in our neighborhood. We loose power often for a few hours to a few days. After Irene we did not have power for 4 weeks, this was before living in a house with a generator. We evacuated to family’s home after a little over a week as it got too cold at home. It is comforting knowing we have a generator, and it just comes on when the power goes out. We get it serviced annually.
Lost our home in Katrina and then went 3 weeks without power after Ida. Agree with so much of this. Also, very important easy simple prep is planning for very simple quick meals to prepare in the aftermath. Nothing fancy, but get tummies fed while kicking off minimal heat inside as you cook quickly. (ex. Just some Kraft mac and cheese with chopped up hot dogs). Just some very simple one pot/pan throw together meals. Breakfast options of different breakfast bar options like granola or cereal bars, easy sandwich fixings for lunch. This is something so minor but is super important to be prepared for ahead of time.
You weren't being dramatic. You were following your gut. I'm glad you are safe and thank you for going over these "make sure you have thought about these things" items.
Thank you. Glad you're safe now and doing decent. Thanks for sharing because these things are better with real world thoughts and use instead of our imagined scenarios that can get out of hand.
Thank you for very informative list and video! I also loved your reminder to have electric, chargeable, and solar options. I just ordered a few things using your link. I live in NJ over bridge from Philadelphia but anything can happen everywhere sadly. I wanted to add "Life Straw" or " Brita-type" pitchers. Also batteries of all sizes. Last but not least, for those that don't have generator or canning lifestyle, to buy those freeze-dried meals, canned goods with a manual can opener.
After watching people be without drinking water, I quickly invested in a gravity water filter similar to a Berkey. I decided on the Pro One brand. It arrives today. It’s supposed to be able to take stagnant pond, water, and filter it to safe drinking water. Obviously that’s gonna burn through your filter very quickly but in an emergency if that’s the freshest water that you can find.… We have a pond located on our property. I also stocked up on bottled water. I plan on using the gravity filter daily and eventually having an extra set of filters on hand at all times as back ups for emergencies if the ones I’m using are coming to the end of their life span. There are a lot of UA-cam videos of people independently testing different brands. It’s most of the filters that you need to look at. You can use any filter with any brand water dispenser. There was a video of someone testing the pro one filters with stagnant pond, water that ducks were pooping in. They sent it off to get it test tested and it came back as safe to drink. You should always source from the freshest water source possible including moving water over stagnant water. Rainwater would also be a good source. Obviously you have to have a source of water for this to be useful. So it’s not something that’s gonna help in a situation where there’s a drought and there’s no water around for you to filter. But it gives me peace of mind, knowing that we have that pond and we can use that if we are without water for an extended period of time. Which has happened in our area temporarily due to things like old waterlines and freezing pipes.
@christinah9954 You can't use it in brackish. If you are near a coastline or have a brackish - salt and fresh mix- river amd it floodsas well, they remain useless like here... Have straws too but almost in every situation of flood near our river, it would make it useless bc of salt.
Can't wait to watch this! I love your content.❤Thinking about you and your resilient family. I'm 911 dispatch in Tampa, so I have to stay for hurricane Milton. I'm so sorry your 911 service wasn't working for Helene. That's extremely unsettling, and I hope they find a solution so that never happens again.
As a UK dweller, so thus far none of our country gets extreme weather so I know very little about prepping but do rely a lot on the emergency services (frequent ideopathic anaphylaxis, Brittle asthma, adrenal crisis that's difficult to manage, and I've had sepsis 5 times with no preventable cause and 3 times due to my central line) how DO they manage to ensure you're up and running AND safe? Just the idea of having a central line, subcut line and catheter has turned me into a bit of a medical prepper coz honestly the start of covid was a nightmare for those of us with severe medical issues especially
I have a son with medical needs, and trying to think of everything he might need during an emergency...during various different emergencies...is actually scary. I've been thinking for two years now and just came up with another reasonably likely scenario that requires me to change and add more preparations for his needs.
When I go camping, I always brew my coffee in my Keurig from my cars power outlet. It definitely works! We also use it to power our electric pump to blow up tubes when we go to the river or springs.
I live in Houston. Had a hurricane a few months ago and have been through several others here. One we were without powder 2 weeks. here. We had a portable generator for years that plugged into your main electric panel...but when it died....we finally bit the bullet and had a whole home generator installed, months before this last hurricane hit us. It is connected to our gas line. It is big enough to run the entire house like nothing is wrong. It ran for 3 days solid when our power went out with this last hurricane. We have a pool, 2 fridges, 1 freezer and 2 AC units. All of it ran normal, like nothing happened. Was it pricey...yes...because of several factors. But I cannot tell you how much easier it made everything to not have to worry about getting gas all the time....cords etc etc etc. If anyone can afford one...I recommend it 100000000 %. These storms are getting worse and worse. It will be worth the price. I also always have a stock of basic items. Paper towels, toilet paper etc
@@aliesefitch1099 It is connected directly into our natural gas line that comes into the house. So we dont have to do anything accept have maintenance done on it and change the oil after it has had to run continually for a day or more. It uses the main gas line. Ours is set up to kick on automatically after power has been out for 30 seconds and will turn off as soon as power is restored. we pay a company a yearly fee to maintain it, do the oil change etc but I also know people that do it themselves. We have a 10 yr warranty on it.
We have the same runs on propane with a gigantic propane tank because we don’t have gas buy the time you buy all the fans and heaters and all that stuff you could buy a whole house generator and not need all that
@striketochill Not sure what the OP paid for his setup, but I have something very similar, it sounds like. I have a Briggs and Stratton. When I built my home, I just had it hard wired/built into my house and it also runs off natural gas. It comes on and goes off automatically. It would power about 3,500 sq ft of my home. I paid about $7,000.00 for it. I didn't realize going in that it wouldn't be powerful enough to run my entire home and my pool/spa. So, after four years of getting by with the original unit, I replaced it with the next size up. It runs my entire 5,400 sq ft home with three central ACs, as well as the pool/spa. It cost me about $11,000. That was five years ago and I think they've increased in price since then. I live in East Texas and we have power outages constantly due to the fact that we have to go through a county co op and they don't seem to maintain the lines very well so trees are always going down and disrupting power. When we get storms here, we are usually out for days, not hours. It was money well spent for me. There are many models of generators available with varying prices. I went with Briggs and Stratton because I was impressed with the Reviews that I read and because it has better internal components than some others. Sorry this was so long, and you didn't even ask me, but I thought I'd share my information in case anyone else wants to know kinda what these things cost and what they will power. My thoughts are with y'all down there in Florida. Be safe.
Such great info! We were only out of power/well for only a couple days, and I learned exactly what you did about our preps. Water, power and lights were so important, and I wasn't as prepared as I thought I was. I'm fixing that NOW. God bless you.
I'm an internationl disaster response nurse- so I live like this all the time. All of your tips are super great, and I have a great appreciation for being prepared the best you can.
So true. It’s worldwide, and we depends so much on infrastructure (electricity, water, drivable roads) and we don’t realize when those essentials are not accessible, we are so vulnerable. Now we see this happening everywhere, and particularly where previously unimaginable. Those are great advice!👍🙏🏻
So true! Nobody ever wants to pay the taxes for infrastructure maintenance and improvements when the sun is shining, but we find out in the bad times how much it matters.
I totally understand the chicken little judgement but It really is just being responsible and a self reliant domestic engineer. I applaud you for educating us. Thank you and very helpful content. We are praying for your family!
Thankyou for sharing !!!! We live in South Dakota so no hurricanes but we do have very long hard 50° below zero wind chills so we also need to be prepared. Just been through Tornado season ... very hot and dry so fires are a huge risk . Looking forward to hearing more from you ! Be safe... sending thoughts & prayers for everyone.
For heating your home I thoroughly recommend a log burner/stove. I live in the U.K. and over the past few years our electric and gas(not gasoline, the gas in a boiler that heats water for showers etc and heats the central heating/radiators around the house) the cost become astronomical. We were fortunate to fit a log burner/stove a couple of years ago and it really helps. Depending on the size of the stove and the size of your home, it can be burned for a few hours and the heat can spread throughout the house. Even after the fire has gone out the heat can still be felt at night (we don’t use it whilst asleep for obvious reasons). I’d thoroughly recommend it for Angela and anyone with access to wood and a place to store it. You don’t need a huge amount of space like you’d think either. I also have family that use a propane heater and that can definitely be a useful option for people who can’t fit a log burner/stove.
PSA... DO NOT STORE BATTERIES LOOSE IN A BAG/BIN. THEY WILL END UP TOUCHING EACH OTHER AND DRAIN THE BATTERY. I couldn't figure out why we were going through batteries like crazy... now I know😑. Just incase there is another knuckle head like me😂.
I'm from Germany and I can't even imagine hurricanes. One thought I had: There is shelf stable milk. I believe in the U.S. it's sold at dollar tree in small packs. It's used often in Germany, where as milk powder is not really common here (except baby formula and coffee creamer).
Yeah most Americans if you mention powered milk you will get a disgusted look returned back to you. Most of us from the 70 and 80s have had powered milk in their childhood
@@wendyrobison1973 I certainly remember powdered milk from my childhood. Not my favorite but there were times that it was all we had and when mom said this was it we never questioned or balked at it. This is very different from kids today (or even my adult daughter).
Ma’am, you’re speaking my language! Thank you so much for sharing your experience-not just theories, but having gone through it, and in language I can understand. I was literally just thinking, “I should ask on Facebook for advice from people who have actually had to use their emergency stuff.” We’ve never endured more than a day or so without power, and with the economy how it is, it’s tempting to put off getting stuff to get prepared, and think “it will probably never happen to me.”
Not sure if this has been mentioned, but I’d add life vests to the list of essentials. One for each person. We did that years ago and need to update sizes and add two for our crew.
This was filmed before I knew about Hurricane Milton and the potential impacts for our florida friends. Please know that the entire Braniff Family is holding you all in our prayers, please be safe and don't take risks. We love you all and hope you're all safe through this next storm! ❤
❤ thanks here from Lakeland fl (Polk county) hopefully we will be ok.
Thank you from central Florida! We had a feeling about this years hurricane season and had a Generac standby generator installed a couple months ago - helps with a little comfort but this storm overall is pretty scary!
Greetings from the UK, I stumbled upon your channel trying to catch up with what is happening post Helene, and I have to say I am totally horrified by what you are doing here. The US is just a day or 2 away from a major Cat 4 storm and you are advocating for people to buy essential goods when they dont need them in the near future. I find it aborrent that you would advocate a course of action, reducing availability of items to folks that have an immiediate and dire need of this equipment. Folks can buy this stuff 6 months down the line when the immiediate need has passed. It is totally mindless what you are advocating for. Please think about your actions with 500K subscribers they have the possabillity of having a significant impact for the worst
@@jukeseyableyou make a good point but she is in the middle of crisis and this is her way of helping others. What you are saying makes sense though.
@@karentingler4937 well that's my point, she isn't helping others, not those that are in imminent need of help anyways . And if you are still able to produce. You tube content things can't be that bad
My husband was a generator mechanic in Afghanistan during the war and he said to make sure you realize that the gas you set aside for using in those generators needs to be changed out every 6 months or it will destroy your generator. Use it in a car or lawnmower before month 5 and then refill them with new gas. Also run your generator once every 3 months for about 10 minutes.
Does he laugh uproariously at fuel stabilizers?
@@rebelks88”uproariously” is not used nearly enough. Thank you for exciting my inner grammar & vocab nerd! 🙂😆
Air is gasolines biggest enemy so keep it sealed. Use a stabilizer like “Startron” or “Amsoil” and your fuel will be good in a year or more. We do it every single year so it is proven to work. Also I’ve never been a fan of stabil or seafoam but I’m sure it has done good for other people.
This is the hardest part of prepping. Many things you really need to cycle through, so it’s a whole system integrated with how you live rather than just a bunch of stuff you throw in your basement.
Nonethanol gas in generators, lawnmowers, chainsaws is recommended. Learned that from my wicked smaht husband. (Insert Mainer accent)
I would love a video on the things you WERE prepared for and/or what you thought would be helpful but wasn't.
Good idea,
Same!!
Great idea! If nothing else it’s a great excuse to see the animals like the chickens who provide eggs and horses who may be able to provide transport 😂
My sister is on day 12 of no power. The thing that has helped her a lot is a head lamp. Being able to use both hands and still have some light is very helpful.
Bought my husband gloves with lights. Helps when using tools or connections in the dark.
As an electrician, please please have that plug changed out for an inlet and get an interlock in your electrical panel.
I understand that items may be scarce right now, but as soon as you’re able to order an inlet and interlock from Amazon, please get that replaced.
As it stands right now you have what is called in the trade “a suicide cord”.
Hi! Could you clarify what you’re referring to because we are in a similar situation and setup and I didn’t understand your comment and I don’t want to have a su*cide chord.😅 Please advise
@@catmontanez I don’t know why my original reply disappeared.
An interlock kit locks the main breaker from being on at the same time as the generator breaker. This prevents back feeding to the power lines or into your generator.
It also lets you utilize an inlet instead of a plug. An inlet is a male plug and accepts a female twist lock cord, thus ensuring that you cannot get shocked by your cord ends.
In the video, she’s able to plug her cord into the generator and have full 240 volts on those wide open available prongs.
@@catmontanez a suicide cord is one that has the metal prongs exposed AND provides power. you can easily accidentally touch them and get shocked / killed when the generator is on and the prongs are exposed. That's why powered source have female connectors so you can't accidentally touch inside them and get a dangerous discharge. Sources of power should always have femaled adapters just like the outlets in your house are all female so there's no exposed energized metal prongs to touch
I'm not someone who comments normally, but thank you for giving real world information on what you need in bad times. You are a joy to listen to.
we are blessed with more resources than most, and for nearly two decades ive been secretly prepping and my wife did not know about it because she would not have approved.... stored everything in a spare garage she never enters. when covid hit and things started to look like the opening chapter of the zombie apocalypse i took her hand and led her to the small building stuffed with everything from soap and toilet paper to YEARS worth of food and other... goodies. she literally cried knowing that this is what i was doing for all these years, seeing to our little family.
As a single mum in Australia I can't thank you enough for this. I try to be prepared but conversations like this allow us to skill/idea share. So glad you're all ok and taking this with grace.
I never understood why people mocked prepping. I always like to be prepared. It just makes sense. I was looking for a cabin in those areas and now my future prep list is going to be long.
Reconsider because the weather seems to be getting worse and storms stronger
Because some of the “famous” “Preppers” online make prepping their idol and identity really go out of their way to instill fear into the process for views so I think it gives prepping a negative name.
I’m not a “ pepper” I prepare. I’ll save the “identities” to those who need them to get money from their followers.
I find identity in my Creator.
There is a subset of preppers who indulge fanciful conspiracies as a source of a thing to be prepared for. For them it is a lifestyle. Normal people can have more modest and realistic plans. Make the goal to survive the disaster and not put yourself in a situation where you take silly risks to that end. My advice is first to plan how to decide when to evacuate so you don't leave it too late. That's a bushfire tip they push here in Australia.
@@coastaldiva there is no where safe. Florida, NC, SC, GA, LA, TN all were hit by hurricanes. CA, Oregon: wildfires. Kansas, Ms: tornadoes. HI: tsunami. Wyoming and Montana: polar vortex. Texas: ice freeze. You just have to pick a place and prep accordingly. Thanks for your concern though. I appreciate it.
@@IGDZILLA I used to watch the pepper show and they do indeed go overboard, but I do recall thinking during Covid that those people who I thought were too intense, were more prepared than myself.
Don't know if you know that they exist.But a manual well pump is an amazing tool to have on hand may not be the most convenient, but it's better than not having access to your water
Yes they exist and are amazing
I have a brand named “simple pump” hand pump in a 200ft well, works great. They also have a 12v motor you can add to it so you don’t have to pump, add that to a 12v battery and solar charger panel and your set
I'm in Florida. Hurricane season is a way of life here. I definitely want prepper content. We have food storage. It saved us when my husband lost his job during covid. It kept us afloat. Prepping is smart. Not sure why people are making fun of you. Be prepared or be scared. Better safe and set then sorry.
Also, with generators: don't forget to change the oil at recommended intervals and they need to be run for 30 minutes every other month so they don't die when you need them most. Make sure to add a reminder to your google planner for that. Generators are pricey to replace if you don't take care of them.
@@breanne2117 great tip!
Maintaining a generator sounds similar to maintaining a car that isn’t used all the time.
@@ShakirahIbaad exactly
Also, since you have so many animals, I suggest a rainwater system. I’m pretty sure you thought of that already, but that would help out so much.
You can never go wrong with rain barrels and cisterns. They're never NOT a good idea and a handy thing to have!
Agreed! That’s also great for gardening and growing vegetables and food for the family and the animals. If nothing else it would reduce the cost of groceries and animal feed/water.
The Dollar Tree has pantry milk which doesn’t require refrigeration until after it’s been opened. And it taste just the same for $1.25 and a few options- whole, 2%, etc
Well done! I'm so glad you are choosing to use your Voice to help the rest of us get prepped. We took preparedness seriously after our 2009 Ice Storm (13 days without power, & 5 kids taking turns getting sick). Great video.
We had 2013 ice storm. I actually can't remember how many days without power, but I had a 3 week old. I was definitely in panic mode. Although not fully prepared, we are much better than we were then. We could survive a while without electricity.
@@jaykaytherapy A Newborn AND No Power?!? You Are Amazing!
You're my new favorite UA-cam Channel. This is the second video where I felt you were literally just describing my exact life. We have a cute little homestead, tons of animals, years of food storage... and no way to power our pump.
8 days of dragging buckets of water up a hill from my pond and I feel like an idiot for not considering power as a critical prep requirement. All the other stuff we've done is completely pointless if we don't have power, so that's #1 on my list of things to fix. I'm going to be going fairly heavily into Solar, as access to fuel was a massive struggle in this event and I don't want to rely on something that needs an input that I can't control.
This entire thing was a massive wakeup call for me, and I appreciate you doing such a good job of putting that into words and describing how I feel about this hurricane.
Best wishes from East TN!
@@TheDirtyWork Same to you.
You are so right, we all need to prepare‼️. We need to be able to prepare for more than just ourselves but also to be able to help others. Thanks Angela.
Community emergency planning.
And the emergency doesn't need to be a natural disaster, nor community wide; it could be solely personal, such as a job lost.
I live in SW Florida, and in every hurricane season, I learn something new to add to my preps every year. I have been living here for 30+ years. I'm more concerned about a power grid outage during the times we live in. My immediate concerns are getting more dry food stored. I garden and have multiple solar backup batteries, and all my emergency supplies run off of USB and can be recharged on my batteries. I have small watt cooking appliances that can run off my batteries. All of our basic comfort needs can fall under the category of glamping. Me and my husband had to evacuate to a medical shelter during Hurricane Milton and we took most all of our emergency supplies with us. I praise God for keeping us safe and our home safe. This year I learned the value of being prepared. In the shelter I was the go to person in our room if you needed an extention cord or had to recharge your phone. Thank you for sharing what you have learned. May God continue to help you and your family and all those who have lost so much from these hurricanes.
I have listened to you before but this video really shows the true depth of your wisdom and intelligence..concise and thorough...thx for all that you do.
Genuinely it is so sad to me that as a viewer from a third world country who has never experienced a hurricane I would have been better prepared to go through it just because of how unstable access to electricity and water has become for us here.
From the bottom of my heart I am wishing everyone effected by these hurricanes the best of luck and strength. Nothing prepares you except you. Stay safe.
It just shows how reliant one becomes with easy access to comforts.
Do you have any tips to share? We would be very interested.
@@melissav1416as someone who has spent time being homeless and in shelters, the main thing for Americans is to get used to being more self reliant, and start to get comfortable with being alone, outside, not entertained by TV/radio/internet.
Anything that's electric, find a manual replacement.
Find natural things to use in case you can't get toilet paper or soap. Sunlight is an amazing disinfectant.
Re learn to share and trust your fellow humans,but really develop your intuition and trust your gut.
Get comfortable having bowel movements in a bucket.
Keeping oneself worry free is something to work on. No need to sweat the small stuff. ❤❤❤
Please pray for Florida, my son is in Tampa! We could use prayers! 🙏
Praying!
I have a friend in Tampa, she has 6 kids. Please pray for them too if you believe in the power of prayer 🙏
I'd love a printable of an emergency master list. Thank you and take care!
That would be awesome! Also I’m adding all of these great ideas to my own growing list. I’m in the west coast. Good luck with your list.
Thank you for taking the time to make this very thoughtful and insightful video, in the midst of your own family's struggles. This could very well help someone else survive something disastrous ❤
I'm in PA and this is a reminder for a snow storm or flash flooding to prepare just in case.
Thank you so much,,People make me feel like I am crazy,sometimes,because I am a prepper,,but I am always the one they come to when they need something.stay safe out there
We are praying for yall and for south Florida with hurricane Milton.
A hand pump for a well is also a good idea.
That's a great idea!☆
@@best3boysrmine Dang. Great one.
Watching from central Florida as we await hurricane Milton. Thankfully I have followed some prepper channels for a while and have the majority of these items and have yet to have to use them. It’s better to have the items and not need them than need them and not have them!
It's amazing how a generator to run just a few things relieves so much stress.
I continue to tell my family, "Better to have too much than too little." You can use and replenish as you go, so no waste.
Oh the emergency lights that you keep plugged in all the time and they automatically come on when your power goes out. I have them everywhere. This is a short term power outage fix but fantastic around steps.
So, I live in Louisiana. Our most recent hurricane Francine brought on new learning opportunities. So many people had installed whole house generators following 2021 hurricane Ida. Just a few weeks ago we learned that the gas company was not able to supply enough gas to power peoples whole house generators.
Such a practical thoughtful honest video. Hope you get power soon!
I appreciate how down to earth and positive you are.
We lost our water for 4 days a few years ago. Paper plates and plastic forks is what we needed most of all. Now we have a box of such things in storage.
It only take one disaster to rethink what you should have had or needed. Hopefully your video will help people to prepare better :)
With plastics though there is the issue of disposal esp when there may not be trash being collected or a lot of rubbish already about., Here in Australia plastic cutlery is no longer sold due to the environmental issues and instead we have wooden disposable knives/forks/spoons.
@@tanyabrown9839 wooden cutlery is actually really good.
@@tanyabrown9839 those are also available as compostable. It does cost more - but it actually works and environment friendly. I use it at my summer house, toss into my compost box with all the food remains and in 2 years its totally gone and now its just good soil. In my area it is made from corn starch or sugarcane.
Thank you for this video!! I live in California earthquake,fires and well as of last year the occasional hurricane. I know I am not fully prepared , but trying to and just before watching this I was starting my kids 3day bag for school . And emergency 1 gallon bag that stay in the classroom . A bit of food (freeze dried fruit meat sticks), change of clothes, sunscreen, toothbrush, toothpaste,wipes,bug repellent,mini first aid kit, index info card, poncho ,emergency blanket,small trash bag .a few paper towels, hair ties, a water bottle, hard candy , chapstick,playing cards and a mini flashlight . Yes in gallon bag 😊 .
THANK YOU!
Last winter we hit record breaking lows in Calgary. The power grid couldn’t handle all of the electricity being used in that temperature. It didn’t happen, but the government started threatening to do rotating outages if people didn’t voluntarily cut back somehow. It was actually quite scary for people who had no other means to heat their homes. We fortunately have a wood burning fireplace but quickly realized we were ill prepared with wood. Or 10 years ago when the river through the city flooded and destroyed homes displaced 1000’s of people.
All that to say, even in an inland, major city centre, you never know what could happen, when or why. No one is immune and being prepared is so important especially if you have a family to take care of.
It’s true. Natural disasters are a “pick your poison” sort of deal.
They were telling about rotating power in Edmonton, too. But i don't take that seriously when all restaurants, ice arenas, malls, are open till the regular hours, not even closing early. If we would be that close to running out of electricity, they would shut down non essentials first.
@@FruitsandflowersBeaumont I agree. My point is just that you never know what could happen, and you can’t always rely on infrastructure.
Love this video. Except hate what you are going through.
I’ve been working on back ups to my back ups. I need to write it all down somewhere. We learned a lot from the freeze of 2021
Here’s some ideas small and large that come to mind.
Solar. We can run one room and freezers and fridges on this if grid goes down. We can run our water well and septic too. Expensive but some peace of mind and we save on Electricity.
Generator that can run on dual fuel and can be plugged into the house.
Back up foods and ways to cook them or foods that don’t need to be cooked. Canned meats, PB, etc. shelf stable milk(dollar store), drinking water, etc.
We have propane on our property so our stove and fireplace and hot water are on that.
I’d love to get a solar Jackery charging station, but it’s an investment.
We keep our propane tanks for blackstones full for emergency.
We have a portable 35 gallon gas tank that we use for farm tools like 4 wheelers, mowers, etc. when things start feeling crazy (port strike) we make sure that is full along with other cans.
First aid kits. We have the waterless cleaning cloths too.
I’m working on building a go box if we need to grab stuff and get out too.
This has been built over time, some is expensive and some not, so don’t think we are just having lots of $ laying around. This is 5 years of prep.
My next wish is to start working on rain catchment for animals and gardens
I was just looking at solar generators today. Thanks for sharing this information - I appreciate it!
Once you're out of survival mode and power is restored, make sure you address the long-sustained high humidity in your home with dehumidifiers and a mold inspection!
I can not recommend the solar power station enough. Saved me many times this year alone from having to make a long, last minute commute to work when the power goes out.
@@turtleena3280 like an ecoflow? I'm used to them being called a "Solar generator"...
Please share which one? I am comparing Jackery and Eco. Trying to figure out which one is best.
Also,what size..we have several freezers..please recomendations...we have two other generators one for gas only and one foro gas or propane.
Kind of...I have the OKMO 2000 watts power station. I use it to power the Internet router, my laptop, and monitor when the power goes out, but it could be used to power a fridge or freezer for a time if I needed it to.
@@turtleena3280 what is the input of power? Solar panels or just charged when the power is on?
Thanks so much for the list Angie. Looking forward to more info later. ❤ I'm glad you are all hanging in there. Continued prayers and hugs to y'all from Indiana.
Your strength and resilience are truly admirable.
Yes, preparedness is super important. The leaders of my church have been counseling us for decades to prepare for times like these when basic resources are suddenly or unexpectedly not available for any reason. It’s self reliance. Super important.
This information is really helpful! Thank you so much for sharing what you’ve learned. ❤
You’re in a cult
A Terra cotta pot and tray and a few tea light candles makes an incredible little heater!
I really appreciate your approach, just realistic sharing your approaches and things that helped your family without a panic mindset. Sorry for everything you’re going through.
Great Vid and information!
I'm here near Aiken,SC , I had what I would call the almost bare basics for this storm: 1.) 20 gallons of 2 year old stabilized non-ethanol gas, 2.) Cat RP 5500 generator that kept our fridge/freezer, extra freezer, window AC unit and other small appliances going and ran about non stop from Friday 7am to Tuesday 6pm when the electricity was restored. 3.) Had about 40 gallons of water (5 gallon jugs and 1 gallon jugs), 4.) Had about 40 - 2 year old peak refuel meals which we made a dent in the first few days. 5.) Jackery 500 power bank, and a couple portable solar power blocks 6.) Assorted Flashlights etc. 7.) I had about $1,000 in cash - small bills.
I say that to say I found it amazing the amount of friends and people I saw at Starbucks lined up about 9am Saturday morning that couldn't make a cup of coffee Saturday morning, made me feel better about my preps, and did make me spend a little to add to my preps focussed on food and alternative fuel energy sources (mixed fuel generators and power banks).
One more thing I'll say is that at age 64 I started working out at a gym 2 years ago doing the cardio and strength fitness classes at least 3 days a week, dropped 30lbs never felt better or stronger, really helped farmers carrying those 5 gallon jugs of water to fill the comode tanks 😅
Getting electrician out next week to give us the whole home generator hook up
Thanks
Thank you so much for this video! I really appreciate that you didn’t just put fun amazon finds, you put useful items that can help prepare people for a real disaster.❤
We have all these things, including the water Bob's and Dewalt fans. We have rain barrels too and drums and those stackables, solar chargers. The solar lights idea is brilliant and im getting those. Gen needs a whole home hardwire by an electrician with a soft switch and a whole home Gen off brand with 12,000 watt power duel fuel is a good size. Add carbon monoxide testers with Gen bc it can creep in. Must be in a safe place. Lots of details there. Tree trimming like oaks is essential. If you have trees grab a 30x 40 heavy duty tarp. A disaster bag is necessary( I have a list if needed thats any disaster).... We live in northeast Florida. Been through lots of storms my whole life..... nothing felt or sounded like Helene. In most cases, many could of never been prepared..... but we now know our weather, and this world is crazier than ever and it needs a disaster plan. She did an amazing job of listing items!!
Awesome, thank you!
Making a list and getting prepared. You just never know, and hey, it's good to have extra to help others(Im grateful Helene missed us in my part of East TN,but 30 minutes away is a vastly different story).
Take care!
First, you can never prep for all possibles. Second, know really knows what they need or not, until you experience an event. Also know no two events will be alike. Lastly, the level of prep is relative to what you are attempting to achieve.
Idk if you know this, but you don't have to fill the tank to flush. You can just pour water from waist high from a small bucket or pitcher and the weight and force of the water flushes it down.
Preparing for “The Big One” (Massive Earthquake that will split California along several faults) has always been a way of life. If you can get CERT (Community Emergency Response Team) certified for your region with your local city/town it will help you to learn how to lead/manage your home/community in case of emergency situations. The fire dept and paramedics usually teach those classes.
DO NOT hardwire your generator to your electric panel unless you are an electrician who really knows what you are doing! You have to completely disconnect your house power from the grid first or once the power comes back on you can have a huge power surge that kills you!
Hope she saw this comment!
Sshaid on the last video that their friend is an electrician.
I recommend getting rain water catchers and then using that water during these times. Its a great way to get water and have around.
Great idea!
Our back up water supply, after our 55 gallon drums, is our swimming pool and small pond if we’re really desperate. Having a good filtration system is important.
Angela💖 you are in my prayers… you are so strong 🙏💖💖💖
makes you stronger ❤ and thanks for sharing, makes us stronger, too❤🙏
I’m sorry friend. I understand as much as one can. I’m in Valdosta and we have been a declared national disaster area 3x in less than two years. We are blessed that it was just wind damage from Helene as a Cat 3 but we still have 5,000 without power and my friends a few miles down the road have been told another month. We got our power back so we have been sharing with a few other families and our home is a bathhouse and restaurant half the day.
I prep pretty hard but I learned a few new ones this last storm. I’d like to share one:
Make sure before any wind event that you check all around your home for wasps nests. I stepped outside and was immediately attacked by wasps. Other people I know had similar experiences. So that’s on my before storm checklist now. Hope it helps someone.
Stay safe everyone. 💕
Yes we want all the wisdom from your experience!
Invest in a GENERAC Generator !!! And you will
Never worry again!
It powers entire house.
Very pricey but worth the peace of mind.
I am in Florida , Miami area….
We bought our generac last year. Any outage it turns on b itself. You will have a/c and refrigeration working. It powers by gas company.
Look into it please you have a lot of little ones.
In southeast Texas and have one as well! We run ours off propane (we have 2 tanks). It will run our entire home and well for at least 2 weeks. Well worth the investment!
I can’t thank you enough for taking the time to share your wisdom. I’m also in SC and wasn’t prepared for 5 days without power and now planning the next event. I’ve started stocking up on most of what you said and needed more info..thank you❤
Great list thank you! So glad u guys are able to get Amazon deliveries.
I'm all about being prepared. Thank you for sharing all that you have learned from your experience. Praying that you get power back soon!
So grateful that the home I purchased has a propane stove, hard wired generator outlet, and propane wall heaters. Last winter when it was -18f I turned off my furnace and turned on the heaters. Kept my home warmer than what I set the furnace at! Now I just need to figure out water. I'm thinking of canning water in all my empty jars. A lot of lids, but might be worth it...
You will be glad you canned water. There will come a day when water will be hard to get
grateful for you sharing these items
Thank you so much for making this video, it is incredibly helpful on how to be prepared in case of terrible storms. Also you and everyone from Tennessee to Florida are in our thoughts and prayers. Stay strong and be well
We can never fully prepare for the unknown but we should do what we can. This was some great information. Praying for y’all. ❤
This is great information ℹ️ Thank You so very much. I’m sending this info to my girls and family & friends. Thank you
🙏 😊
We have a rioby personal fan with a rechargeable lithium battery. It's been a lifesaver on camping trips. We've had it for 3 years now and used it a lot. It also has a misting option. Highly recommend.
The hard thing is I’m barely staying afloat in this economy, I don’t have an extra thousand, even hundred dollars to spend on the “what if” 😭
@@littleway24601 please don't take this as criticism.. are you going to the hair or nail salon? How many times per month do you eat away from home including fast food, coffee, gas station snacks? Do you have a car loan? How many times a month do you buy new clothes? Again, not criticism just suggesting how I and others have freed up some cash to spend preparing.
Paycheck to paycheck and can hardly make it.
I understand, my family is in the same boat. I’m going to try to at least to pack a go bag for each family member. I’m packing a change of clothes, few pairs of underwear and socks., small packs of food such as granola bars. I will pack as many water bottles as I can. Purification tablets can be bought at Walmart cheaply to make bad water potable. There are many other things to put in your bag that you already have in your home.
When I go to the store, I’m going to buy a couple extra things for an emergency box.
Hope this might help you too.
. Please contact your local churches, city and county governments and food pantries to ask about any assistance that could be available to you. Check the internet for sites that list free items. Check with people that have gardens...try to barter with them. I could do someone's ironing or share the bread that I make for some of their veggies or eggs. We just need to get creative. We all have talents and abilities that can be of value to other people.
@@AndreaRuralMN honest answer? I never get my hair done, I never get my nails done. No car payments. We go out to eat maybe three times a year. No fast food. I’m as Dave Ramsey as they get. I have a little in savings but it’s hard to know what is prudent and not.
We have a generac whole house generator as do many many people in our neighborhood. We loose power often for a few hours to a few days. After Irene we did not have power for 4 weeks, this was before living in a house with a generator. We evacuated to family’s home after a little over a week as it got too cold at home.
It is comforting knowing we have a generator, and it just comes on when the power goes out. We get it serviced annually.
Lost our home in Katrina and then went 3 weeks without power after Ida. Agree with so much of this. Also, very important easy simple prep is planning for very simple quick meals to prepare in the aftermath. Nothing fancy, but get tummies fed while kicking off minimal heat inside as you cook quickly. (ex. Just some Kraft mac and cheese with chopped up hot dogs). Just some very simple one pot/pan throw together meals. Breakfast options of different breakfast bar options like granola or cereal bars, easy sandwich fixings for lunch. This is something so minor but is super important to be prepared for ahead of time.
You weren't being dramatic. You were following your gut. I'm glad you are safe and thank you for going over these "make sure you have thought about these things" items.
Drama is make-believe. You are living and reacting to the real world. No drama involved.
Thank you. Glad you're safe now and doing decent. Thanks for sharing because these things are better with real world thoughts and use instead of our imagined scenarios that can get out of hand.
Thank you for very informative list and video! I also loved your reminder to have electric, chargeable, and solar options. I just ordered a few things using your link.
I live in NJ over bridge from Philadelphia but anything can happen everywhere sadly.
I wanted to add "Life Straw" or " Brita-type" pitchers.
Also batteries of all sizes.
Last but not least, for those that don't have generator or canning lifestyle, to buy those freeze-dried meals, canned goods with a manual can opener.
After watching people be without drinking water, I quickly invested in a gravity water filter similar to a Berkey. I decided on the Pro One brand. It arrives today. It’s supposed to be able to take stagnant pond, water, and filter it to safe drinking water. Obviously that’s gonna burn through your filter very quickly but in an emergency if that’s the freshest water that you can find.… We have a pond located on our property. I also stocked up on bottled water. I plan on using the gravity filter daily and eventually having an extra set of filters on hand at all times as back ups for emergencies if the ones I’m using are coming to the end of their life span. There are a lot of UA-cam videos of people independently testing different brands. It’s most of the filters that you need to look at. You can use any filter with any brand water dispenser. There was a video of someone testing the pro one filters with stagnant pond, water that ducks were pooping in. They sent it off to get it test tested and it came back as safe to drink. You should always source from the freshest water source possible including moving water over stagnant water. Rainwater would also be a good source. Obviously you have to have a source of water for this to be useful. So it’s not something that’s gonna help in a situation where there’s a drought and there’s no water around for you to filter. But it gives me peace of mind, knowing that we have that pond and we can use that if we are without water for an extended period of time. Which has happened in our area temporarily due to things like old waterlines and freezing pipes.
@christinah9954 You can't use it in brackish. If you are near a coastline or have a brackish - salt and fresh mix- river amd it floodsas well, they remain useless like here... Have straws too but almost in every situation of flood near our river, it would make it useless bc of salt.
Good point, I’m in Tennessee so that’s not an issue for me but my sister is in South Carolina and I’ll mention it to her.
Yes, I have been feeling the same way about prepping! All this crazy weather has confirmed that we need to keep prepping and stay prepared.
Can't wait to watch this! I love your content.❤Thinking about you and your resilient family.
I'm 911 dispatch in Tampa, so I have to stay for hurricane Milton. I'm so sorry your 911 service wasn't working for Helene. That's extremely unsettling, and I hope they find a solution so that never happens again.
As a UK dweller, so thus far none of our country gets extreme weather so I know very little about prepping but do rely a lot on the emergency services (frequent ideopathic anaphylaxis, Brittle asthma, adrenal crisis that's difficult to manage, and I've had sepsis 5 times with no preventable cause and 3 times due to my central line) how DO they manage to ensure you're up and running AND safe? Just the idea of having a central line, subcut line and catheter has turned me into a bit of a medical prepper coz honestly the start of covid was a nightmare for those of us with severe medical issues especially
I have a son with medical needs, and trying to think of everything he might need during an emergency...during various different emergencies...is actually scary. I've been thinking for two years now and just came up with another reasonably likely scenario that requires me to change and add more preparations for his needs.
When I go camping, I always brew my coffee in my Keurig from my cars power outlet. It definitely works! We also use it to power our electric pump to blow up tubes when we go to the river or springs.
Thank you for the emergency planning tips. Stay safe and God Bless.
I live in Houston. Had a hurricane a few months ago and have been through several others here. One we were without powder 2 weeks. here. We had a portable generator for years that plugged into your main electric panel...but when it died....we finally bit the bullet and had a whole home generator installed, months before this last hurricane hit us. It is connected to our gas line. It is big enough to run the entire house like nothing is wrong. It ran for 3 days solid when our power went out with this last hurricane. We have a pool, 2 fridges, 1 freezer and 2 AC units. All of it ran normal, like nothing happened. Was it pricey...yes...because of several factors. But I cannot tell you how much easier it made everything to not have to worry about getting gas all the time....cords etc etc etc. If anyone can afford one...I recommend it 100000000 %. These storms are getting worse and worse. It will be worth the price. I also always have a stock of basic items. Paper towels, toilet paper etc
So your new generator isn't gas powered?
@@aliesefitch1099 It is connected directly into our natural gas line that comes into the house. So we dont have to do anything accept have maintenance done on it and change the oil after it has had to run continually for a day or more. It uses the main gas line. Ours is set up to kick on automatically after power has been out for 30 seconds and will turn off as soon as power is restored. we pay a company a yearly fee to maintain it, do the oil change etc but I also know people that do it themselves. We have a 10 yr warranty on it.
We have the same runs on propane with a gigantic propane tank because we don’t have gas buy the time you buy all the fans and heaters and all that stuff you could buy a whole house generator and not need all that
Can I ask how much you paid for this? Floridian here that is getting really tired of this new way of life...
@striketochill Not sure what the OP paid for his setup, but I have something very similar, it sounds like. I have a Briggs and Stratton. When I built my home, I just had it hard wired/built into my house and it also runs off natural gas. It comes on and goes off automatically. It would power about 3,500 sq ft of my home. I paid about $7,000.00 for it. I didn't realize going in that it wouldn't be powerful enough to run my entire home and my pool/spa. So, after four years of getting by with the original unit, I replaced it with the next size up. It runs my entire 5,400 sq ft home with three central ACs, as well as the pool/spa. It cost me about $11,000. That was five years ago and I think they've increased in price since then. I live in East Texas and we have power outages constantly due to the fact that we have to go through a county co op and they don't seem to maintain the lines very well so trees are always going down and disrupting power. When we get storms here, we are usually out for days, not hours. It was money well spent for me. There are many models of generators available with varying prices. I went with Briggs and Stratton because I was impressed with the Reviews that I read and because it has better internal components than some others. Sorry this was so long, and you didn't even ask me, but I thought I'd share my information in case anyone else wants to know kinda what these things cost and what they will power. My thoughts are with y'all down there in Florida. Be safe.
Such great info! We were only out of power/well for only a couple days, and I learned exactly what you did about our preps. Water, power and lights were so important, and I wasn't as prepared as I thought I was. I'm fixing that NOW. God bless you.
I'm an internationl disaster response nurse- so I live like this all the time. All of your tips are super great, and I have a great appreciation for being prepared the best you can.
Excellent video!
So true. It’s worldwide, and we depends so much on infrastructure (electricity, water, drivable roads) and we don’t realize when those essentials are not accessible, we are so vulnerable. Now we see this happening everywhere, and particularly where previously unimaginable. Those are great advice!👍🙏🏻
So true! Nobody ever wants to pay the taxes for infrastructure maintenance and improvements when the sun is shining, but we find out in the bad times how much it matters.
I totally understand the chicken little judgement but It really is just being responsible and a self reliant domestic engineer. I applaud you for educating us. Thank you and very helpful content. We are praying for your family!
Very good information, hoping you're still going to do your preparedness videos. Been checking your channel daily since this video waiting for them :)
Thankyou for sharing !!!! We live in South Dakota so no hurricanes but we do have very long hard 50° below zero wind chills so we also need to be prepared. Just been through Tornado season ... very hot and dry so fires are a huge risk . Looking forward to hearing more from you ! Be safe... sending thoughts & prayers for everyone.
For heating your home I thoroughly recommend a log burner/stove. I live in the U.K. and over the past few years our electric and gas(not gasoline, the gas in a boiler that heats water for showers etc and heats the central heating/radiators around the house) the cost become astronomical. We were fortunate to fit a log burner/stove a couple of years ago and it really helps. Depending on the size of the stove and the size of your home, it can be burned for a few hours and the heat can spread throughout the house. Even after the fire has gone out the heat can still be felt at night (we don’t use it whilst asleep for obvious reasons). I’d thoroughly recommend it for Angela and anyone with access to wood and a place to store it. You don’t need a huge amount of space like you’d think either. I also have family that use a propane heater and that can definitely be a useful option for people who can’t fit a log burner/stove.
This information is so valuable. Thank you for sharing, a lot of food for thought!
PSA... DO NOT STORE BATTERIES LOOSE IN A BAG/BIN. THEY WILL END UP TOUCHING EACH OTHER AND DRAIN THE BATTERY. I couldn't figure out why we were going through batteries like crazy... now I know😑. Just incase there is another knuckle head like me😂.
Ohhhhhhhhh my gosh I had no clue 🤦♀️
@@musiclife-vf3cime too! So glad I saw this comment, I was like what is going on here! 😂
But… how do you explain the packs of batteries that are literally packed touching each other? Genuine question, I’m genuinely confused.
@@brionyhall4250 End to end touching. The positive and negative ends touching creates a circuit so it uses up the battery charge.
@@Katy_living_simply ohhhhhhh ok. Thank you :)
Thank you for doing this. Prayers.
Thanks for staying on top of this in a VERY difficult situation your Spirit shines through !!!
Brilliant and pragmatic advice, thinking of the Braniff family and community and wishing you all a fast return to normalcy soon.
Hope your power comes on soon! Thank you for the video, I never think of this stuff until I need it.
I'm from Germany and I can't even imagine hurricanes.
One thought I had: There is shelf stable milk. I believe in the U.S. it's sold at dollar tree in small packs.
It's used often in Germany, where as milk powder is not really common here (except baby formula and coffee creamer).
Yeah most Americans if you mention powered milk you will get a disgusted look returned back to you. Most of us from the 70 and 80s have had powered milk in their childhood
@@wendyrobison1973 I certainly remember powdered milk from my childhood. Not my favorite but there were times that it was all we had and when mom said this was it we never questioned or balked at it. This is very different from kids today (or even my adult daughter).
The shelf stable milk at Dollar Tree is really good but it is often out of stock.
Angela, thanks for thinking of preparing others!
I watched this twice and took notes the second time. Thank you! Looking forward to the full video on prepping
Thank you for getting info out to your viewer.
Very informative! Glad you all are ok!
Ma’am, you’re speaking my language! Thank you so much for sharing your experience-not just theories, but having gone through it, and in language I can understand. I was literally just thinking, “I should ask on Facebook for advice from people who have actually had to use their emergency stuff.” We’ve never endured more than a day or so without power, and with the economy how it is, it’s tempting to put off getting stuff to get prepared, and think “it will probably never happen to me.”
Really valuable content Angie! Sending love and uplifting energy to you and your family 🙏🏼♥️
Not sure if this has been mentioned, but I’d add life vests to the list of essentials. One for each person. We did that years ago and need to update sizes and add two for our crew.
Thank you! I'm glad to see you here and that you're all ok.