In case you haven’t heard, the entire northeastern United States is currently enduring a long-duration blizzard. It began on Monday evening (although it started snowing in my area by 11 AM), and will be lasting right through Wednesday morning. In the end we could have towards 36″ inches (or 3 feet) of snow in some spots.
Obviously the hype around Winter Storm Juno, or Snowmageddon 2015 as many are calling it, has caused the normal “How to Prepare for a Winter Storm” tips to come out in full force.
One of the main ones you always hear? “Stock up on bread and milk!” That particular one has always confused me. If we lose power, won’t my milk go bad? What if you’re lactose intolerant? Or have a gluten allergy? Or both?
Anyways, I thought long and hard about the preparation tips, and decided to come up with my own.
Eryn’s Snowmageddon Tips
Don’t stop charging your electronics. Seriously, keep them plugged in at all times. You never know when or if you’re going to lose power. I know, it’s bad to keep them plugged in and constantly charging. But would you rather cause your battery to have issues down the road, or have a dead battery in your electronics when you actually lose power and need them?
Stock up the foods and beverages that you prefer to eat. And can make without the use of power. I know many of us in the northeast have generators. But most of the time, those generators are used to keep the heat on, or power the refrigerator so the items you do have in there won’t go bad. Canned soups and microwaveable meals won’t work very well if you lose power. Unless you prefer eating ice blocks full of turkey and vegetables.
Keep flashlights nearby. This is an important one. Especially if you’re scared of the dark like me. I fully agree with this. You never know when the power is going to go out. Which mean you’ll never know when you need that flashlight that you stuck in the back of a drawer after the last blizzard.
Pretend to be a little kid. And build blanket forts. Because they are fun, and warm. Then read under them with flashlights. (Would I like to do this? Absolutely. Will I do this? Probably not.)
Shower when you still have power. Okay. This might be a no-brainer. But for some people, when the power goes out, you lose hot water too. And if you lose power for multiple days, and decided to put off your shower until it was too late, well.. let’s just say you’ll be thanking me later for this tip.
Adult beverages can make the blizzard fun. Blizzard party anyone?
Take lots and lots of pictures. But only from safely inside your home. Or right outside your front door. When the government issues a travel ban, they mean it. It’s not optional. But taking lots of pictures, and posting them to Facebook, will make your friends in the south, or in other parts that aren’t getting snow completely jealous. Also, it will be fun to look back on said pictures to see the before and after.
Remember, we live in New England. It’s only snow. And some wind. Okay. It’s a lot of snow, and a lot of wind. But we live in New England. Blizzards happen. Hunker down and know the clean up begins tomorrow. Along with some sweet snowball fights, snow angels, snow forts, and snowmen!
But in all seriousness, be safe out there today everyone. Stay home. Don’t drive. Be warm.
Happy Snowmageddon 2015!
