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Warmth and Shelter

Stay warm and dry

Cold kills faster than hunger. Keep the layers to stay warm without central heat, the means to seal a room, and a safe way to add heat.

Start with the full guide

Field guideStockpile Essentials Field GuideThe master checklist: 239 items across 16 categories, the shelf life class of each, and the 20 multi-use items that cover the most jobs. 39 pages.Open the field guide

Field guideWalk-Around Preparedness AuditA walk through your home and land that scores 15 systems from 1 to 5 across 200 checkpoints. The lowest score is where to work next. 33 pages.Open the field guide Master guideStaying Warm and Sheltered When the Heat Goes OutWhat to do when the furnace or the grid is down: close off one room, layer, add safe backup heat, avoid carbon monoxide, protect pipes and roof, and handle a heat wave.Open the full page

Shrink the space, then heat it

Do not try to heat the whole house. Close off one south-facing room, hang blankets over doors and windows, and heat only that space. Keep any combustion outside.

Type

Event

Supplies 1

Supply Wool: Why It Is the Fiber for Cold, Wet and Long Days, and What to Own in It Wool keeps you warm when it is wet, will not burn, and does not stink on day three; own socks, a base layer, a hat and a blanket in it before anything else

Skills 1

Skill Breaking in a New Wool Blanket: One Cold Wash, Short Dryer Cycles, and a Vinegar Rinse Gentle cold wash, then low-heat dryer in 10 minute cycles, clearing lint each time; softener the first wash only

Guides 3

Guide Staying Warm and Sheltered When the Heat Goes Out Heat one room, not the house: close off a small, well-insulated room, put everyone in it, and add heat only from a heater labeled for indoors, run with the ventilation its label calls for and a battery CO alarm next to it. Guide Staying Warm with Limited Gear (Mild or Warm Climates) Manage heat loss first: block wind and insulate underneath you before adding layers Guide Wood Stove Installation Through a Ceiling and Roof (DIY) Took less than 10 hours at a total cost of $2,682, using 6" DuraVent pipe

Spare parts lists 2

Parts list Spare Parts: Fire, Smoke & Safety Candles, wood heat, and fuel all raise fire risk exactly when the fire department is far away or not coming. Keep detection and a way to put it out. Parts list Spare Parts: Heating, Cooling & HVAC Heating and cooling almost always fail at a handful of cheap parts, not the whole unit. Stock the wear parts for how you heat and cool, for a furnace, central AC, or a wood stove.

Audit questions

From the walk-around audit. Tap a question for what a good answer looks like.

What is your main heat source?

Name it, then name what it needs: a gas furnace needs the grid for its fan and controls, a heat pump needs the grid for everything, a pellet stove needs power for the auger. Good means you know exactly what the main heat needs and what happens the minute it stops. Staying Warm and Sheltered starts there.

Does it rely on electricity?

Almost every central system does, even the gas ones. Good means a backup that does not: a wood stove, a vented propane heater, or an indoor-rated kerosene or propane heater with a CO alarm, and the power to run the furnace fan if that is the fastest fix. The wood stove install is my long-term answer.

Does it rely on natural gas or propane?

Natural gas usually keeps flowing in an outage; propane is only what is in the tank. Good means you know the tank level in the fall, keep it above half through winter, and have a second fuel for the day the delivery does not come. Propane for self-sufficiency covers how much and where it can sit.

Do you have a non-electric heat source?

Good is at least one heater that runs with the grid down and the fuel to run it for weeks, not a day or two: a wood stove and a cord of dry wood, or an indoor-rated propane heater and the cylinders. Staying warm with limited gear covers the mild-climate version.

Is it safe for indoor use?

Combustion indoors without a rating and a CO alarm is how families die in cold snaps. Good means the heater is labeled for indoor use, sits three feet from anything that burns, has a window cracked, and a battery CO alarm is on every level and outside the bedrooms. Generators and camp stoves stay outside, 20 feet from any opening.

Can it heat at least one enclosed room?

Nobody heats the whole house on backup. Good means you have picked one small, well-insulated room, you can hang blankets over its doorways and windows, and the backup heater can hold it above 50°F with everyone inside. The Blackout guide and wool do the rest.

Score this in the audit

Common mistake

Trying to heat the whole house, or burning fuel indoors.

Skills to learn

shrink and seal a room · layer for cold · run a heater safely

When it matters

Blackout Winter Storm Rising Prices and Shortages

Warmth and Shelter

Supplies 1

Skills 1

Guides 3

Spare parts lists 2

The checklist

Warmth and Shelter Stay warm and dry without the furnace

Audit questions

When it matters