Case in point: Friends of ours live at the end of a dirt road that has been carved through the dense Pacific Northwest rainforest. This is a wild and beautiful part of the country but when winter storms blow through, it’s not uncommon for the power to get knocked out, leaving folks fumbling around in the dark.
Being a preparedness-minded individual, our friends bought a power generator capable of keeping the refrigerator and freezer cold and the lights glowing in the house. Proud as a new mama, Denise showed me her acquisition, tucked securely in the corner of the garage just waiting for the next power outage.
Time went by, and the following winter a big storm came along and knocked trees down. Unfortunately, the trees fell across power lines, tearing them to the ground. The next thing I knew, there was a knock at the door. It was Denise with a gas can in her hands. “Can I borrow some gas for the generator? The gas stations in town are without power and can’t pump.”
It was a good learning experience — which means everybody lived through it and came away smarter than before. So it served its purpose. And the lesson learned was that no matter how much you do toward preparation, if you forget the little details, you might still be without the benefit of that preparation. This applies to all aspects of emergency preparedness — success or failure is in the details.
The words “advanced” and “preparation” are nearly identical, because if you don’t do it in advance, it isn’t preparation. It’s panic, it’s scrambling, it’s confusion, it’s a lot of things but it is not preparation. Being prepared means you’re ready, you’re stocked up with what you need, you have the equipment and you know it runs, you have learned what you need to know, you have practiced, and so now you are confident and competent. That’s what it means to be prepared. Preparation is the act of becoming prepared. And doing it in advance of the catastrophe is absolutely required.
It was a good learning experience — which means everybody lived through it and came away smarter than before. So it served its purpose. And the lesson learned was that no matter how much you do toward preparation, if you forget the little details, you might still be without the benefit of that preparation. This applies to all aspects of emergency preparedness — success or failure is in the details.
The words “advanced” and “preparation” are nearly identical, because if you don’t do it in advance, it isn’t preparation. It’s panic, it’s scrambling, it’s confusion, it’s a lot of things but it is not preparation. Being prepared means you’re ready, you’re stocked up with what you need, you have the equipment and you know it runs, you have learned what you need to know, you have practiced, and so now you are confident and competent. That’s what it means to be prepared. Preparation is the act of becoming prepared. And doing it in advance of the catastrophe is absolutely required.
Being a preparedness-minded individual, our friends bought a power generator capable of keeping the refrigerator and freezer cold and the lights glowing in the house. Proud as a new mama, Denise showed me her acquisition, tucked securely in the corner of the garage just waiting for the next power outage.
ReplyDeleteI like my little comforts, no question about that, but I can and have lived without them, I actually enjoy living that way.
I make my own LED lights but I use bulbs that put out a nice white light, not the blueish light most of the crap in the stores put out.
I wire them to run on 12 volts because there are always car battery's around. The one over my computer desk runs off of a converter but if the power here went out for a week I'd still have lights here.
I could use it for a week and my truck would still start.
I have an issue with generators, if the grid is down for very long, it's going to get very expensive running one of the size most folks buy.
I just have a small 600 watt generator, it will run my small chest freezer if I start it up a few times a day for a while.
And they should buy generators that run on propane, too often folks don't need a gas one and when they do it won't start because the gas in the carb has gone bad and gummed it up.
An exception is if they are wise enough to shut off the flow and drain the carb so there isn't any gas in it.
I have a small propane fridge that I can get by with. Maybe you didn't see my post about the couple that had lived on a sailboat all their adult lives, without refrigeration, it's doable.
And I have enough propane here to get by for some time if I need it.
The words “advanced” and “preparation” are nearly identical, because if you don’t do it in advance, it isn’t preparation. It’s panic, it’s scrambling, it’s confusion, it’s a lot of things but it is not preparation
I pretty much live it, the responders can go help others because I won't need their help.
If the grid here was down for a month I would just find it interesting.
And if the internut was working I would just switch to my laptop that I can recharge off a battery.
I can run my desktop off of a battery also but it would be harder on the battery so that doesn't make much sense.
I have four inverters and a solar panel. How many inverters and solar panels do you have?
Being a preparedness-minded individual, our friends bought a power generator capable of keeping the refrigerator and freezer cold and the lights glowing in the house. Proud as a new mama, Denise showed me her acquisition, tucked securely in the corner of the garage just waiting for the next power outage.
ReplyDeleteI like my little comforts, no question about that, but I can and have lived without them, I actually enjoy living that way.
I make my own LED lights but I use bulbs that put out a nice white light, not the blueish light most of the crap in the stores put out.
I wire them to run on 12 volts because there are always car battery's around. The one over my computer desk runs off of a converter but if the power here went out for a week I'd still have lights here.
I could use it for a week and my truck would still start.
I have an issue with generators, if the grid is down for very long, it's going to get very expensive running one of the size most folks buy.
I just have a small 600 watt generator, it will run my small chest freezer if I start it up a few times a day for a while.
And they should buy generators that run on propane, too often folks don't need a gas one and when they do it won't start because the gas in the carb has gone bad and gummed it up.
An exception is if they are wise enough to shut off the flow and drain the carb so there isn't any gas in it.
I have a small propane fridge that I can get by with. Maybe you didn't see my post about the couple that had lived on a sailboat all their adult lives, without refrigeration, it's doable.
And I have enough propane here to get by for some time if I need it.
The words “advanced” and “preparation” are nearly identical, because if you don’t do it in advance, it isn’t preparation. It’s panic, it’s scrambling, it’s confusion, it’s a lot of things but it is not preparation
I pretty much live it, the responders can go help others because I won't need their help.
If the grid here was down for a month I would just find it interesting.
And if the internut was working I would just switch to my laptop that I can recharge off a battery.
I have four inverters and a solar panel. How many inverters and solar panels do you have?
I've learned over the years that it's not wise to have a combination fridge/freezer. If something goes wrong with it or if the grid goes down everything is in jeopardy.
ReplyDeleteI go with a basic fridge and a good chest freezer.