How To Prepare for a Winter Storm

Around here we prepare for the worst and hope for the best! Learning how to prepare for a winter storm will set you up for success.

With 8 inches of snow on the ground and at least another foot on the way I thought I would share how my family prepares for a winter storm.

When you live in the middle of nowhere its hard to predict what’s going to happen next.

Being prepared is key when you can’t just drive to town and get everything you need.

I always start with the animals.

Animals

Fill/freshen all of the animal food and water containers that we can!

Which includes dumping out and cleaning the duck pool. I do this for several reasons.

It is much easier if there isn’t snow on the ground.

In my home, if the power goes out, we don’t have water!

I like the comfort of knowing that there is a weeks worth of fresh water for the animals already out.

Our dogs we feed daily, however, we fill up cat, chicken, rabbit and duck food containers so we don`t have to trek food around during the storm

Freshen pet bedding for any outside animals.

Making sure all of your animals are safe and dry is very important.

Our dogs spend a lot of time indoors during the winter months.

However, they do spend several hours outdoors each day to get exercise and use the bathroom.

We also keep them outdoors if we are going to be gone for a significant amount time during the day.

So making sure they have fresh bedding to ride out any incoming weather is key.

The ducks are outside year round and lets be honest they are gross!!

Oh boy is it a struggle to keep their bedding dry and poop free!

Talk about a chore!

I do my best to keep a thick layer of bedding down.

Doing this keeps them warmer and we can just scrape off the dirty top layer and add more bedding.

I am all for completely changing out bedding less often.

Family

To prepare your family for a winter storm, cook a large meal such as spaghetti.

This means one less thing to worry about and if the power goes out dinner is already made.

We have some water bottles/jugs and other items we keep in our home, however, I fill up a few pitchers full of water just in case.

Too much water is not a thing!

If we don’t need it during the storm I will use it to water plants, fill pet water bowls etc.

Everyone showers.

This way everyone starts out with their best foot forward.

They are clean and cozy, got a warm shower, all dirty clothes are in the laundry, and no one is going to have to go outside with wet hair!

Home

I tend to clean the entire house.

If I am going to spend a couple days inside with all 5 of my humans, I want my house to be as clean and fresh as possible.

The main things I worry about if I don’t have much time are dishes, laundry and trash.

Realistically, my kids have enough clothes to last them a while but I like to make sure all of the laundry in the house is done and everyone has fresh towels, wash cloths etc.

Worse case scenario, you don’t have to laundry for a few days!

I hate dirty dishes laying around on a regular day, but when a storm is on the way I make sure they are done and hand wash things as they are used (if possible) that way we have more available to us.

In the summer we may be able to go grab a pizza and some paper plates but with where we live, that isn’t always the case during the winter.

Take out all of the trash!

I make sure this done primarily because when it is slick and cold out, no one is going to want lug a big bag of trash outside and get snow in their boots.

Trash can be a pain if it builds up especially if you have a small kitchen and indoor pets.

Clean the wood stove!

My family is fortunate enough to have two heat sources.

We let the fire go out so that we can clean out all of the ashes and build up.

This is something much easier to do before the storm arrives, making it safe and ready for the next use!

Fill up the wood rack next to the house and also bring wood into the house.

I am very grateful we have a porch because we can keep a couple weeks worth of wood right outside the door.

If I know a storm is on its way I bring wood inside and then fill the wood rack as full as possible so I get maximum use out of the wood storage I have.

Move the shovels and outdoor items needed to clear snow next to the house

Clear toys, bicycles and loose items from the yard.

Not only do we want to keep these items safe from the weather and vehicles but also from flying through windows etc.

Fill up the vehicles with gas

This way if there is an emergency you can get where you need to go safely.

You also will be able to steal gas from your vehicle to power a generator if needed.

If you are worried about power outages during the storm click here.

Leave a Comment Below and tell me what you and your loved ones do before a winter storm!

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