People Are Sharing Tips To Survive If The Power Goes Out In The Winter

Severe winter weather is definitely not my favorite part of the season. You can say that again. I'm lucky enough to live in an area that isn't experiencing issues, but others haven't been so fortunate.

Many people are suffering right now, especially in Texas. So I thought I would share some tips folks have posted online to help you or somebody you know endure these challenging times.

Texas and other states have been hit hard by freezing temperatures and heavy snow.

Unsplash | Marc Kleen

Over 4.4 million power outages have already occurred. Online, many have shared helpful survival tips that can be accomplished with a few basic supplies. I'm going to list them for you so you can do them yourself or pass them on to someone in need ASAP.

If you're in a power block shift, do this.

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When the power comes back, boil some water ASAP so you can have drinking water in case it goes out again. It is so essential because you can go for a few days without food but not water.

There's also this strategy.

Pick one room in your house and have everybody sleep there. You can use blankets to cover doorways. Insulate windows and doors to keep in the warmth. Nail covers like blankets in place if you need to.

This might sound slightly unusual, but don't hold in your urine.

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If you have to pee, do it ASAP, so your body isn't expending heat on keeping the excess fluid warm. Wow, did you know that? It makes perfect sense to me.

If you can generate heat somehow through a grill or a BBQ, heat water.

Then, you can use a heat-resistant water bottle or this type of heater bottle. Cover it in a blanket and put it under your armpits or inner thighs to keep warm. Your arteries will help transfer the heat more quickly this way.

I also recently stumbled upon this lady's idea.

You can put a plastic bag in your toilet to do your business if the water stops working. Double bag it just to be sure. And if you have kids, use some tape to secure the bag to the toilet. Then, do your business and throw it out.

Here's another good idea if you have access to snow.

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You can use it to keep the food that needs to be kept refrigerated cold. I honestly never would have thought of that. It makes total sense, and it can save your food.

Don't eat spoiled food if the fridge goes out.

One Reddit user shared a DIY method to check if the food in your fridge has spoiled during a power outage:

"Don't eat spoiled food. Freeze a half-full water bottle upside down, then flip it and keep it in your freezer. If the power goes out long enough for it to melt, you've got to toss everything," one Reddit user suggested.

Who knew that layers of loose clothing could keep you warmer than tight clothes?

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I certainly didn't. Now that I think of it, it makes total sense. It sounds to me like I've been layering things in winter all wrong.

This tip is also incredibly useful.

Make sure you turn on all your faucets, so they drip a little. Doing this will prevent your pipes from bursting when the water does come back on. It can be a real nightmare in sub-zero temperatures.

Did you know that you can use a terracotta flower pot to make a makeshift heater?

I recently wrote all about this DIY heater. It's actually pretty easy to do. You only need a few household items to do so. It can warm up a small room quite nicely.

Here's another helpful way to use those terracotta pots in winter.

Most of these pots have a small hole in the bottom for water drainage. That hole is also useful when it comes to scattering salt to melt ice on driveways and sidewalks.

But what do you do if you don't have candles?

Well, as it turns out, there is a solution for that, too. You can actually make a candle out of a can of Crisco using a string. Wow, that is so interesting. Isn't it?

One Twitter user suggested boiling water to help with heat and humidity.

Since dry air can be especially brutal in the winter, safely boiling a pot of water can help restore some heat and humidity indoors.

This might seem obvious, but drinking warm beverages does help.

Unsplash | Drew Jemmett

Drinking hot drinks like tea, coffee, and hot chocolate will help to warm up your core. Just stay away from alcohol-based drinks as these will warm you up in the short-term but make you feel colder in the long run. After that initial burst of warmth, the heat will quickly pass out of your body.

Many people suggested insulating your windows with various materials.

Styrofoam, cardboard, fabric, or anything else you can find at home will work in a pinch to insulate windows and stop cold air from getting in.

One Reddit user even suggested using bubble wrap to insulate windows.

One of the benefits of using bubble wrap is that it will still let some natural light in — which is important during a winter power outage for visibility indoors.

You can make a DIY stovetop with a baking pan, tea lights, and an oven rack.

Simply place the tea lights in the baking pan and put the oven rack on top. You now have a surface to heat some food or water.

Make a lamp using a water jug and an LED light.

It's always a good idea to keep a few battery-powered LED lights on hand in case the power goes out. They are long-lasting and you don't have to worry about fire hazards like with candles.

To make a lamp that will illuminate an entire room, simply place a water jug filled with water on top of an LED light. You'd be surprised by how much light this generates.

Someone actually posted this amazing tip on Facebook as well.

Get a tent and place it on your bed. Cover it with one or two blankets for insulation. This tip helped to keep one family warm when the temperature dropped and they said the temperature inside the tent was 80-degrees when the room was only 40-degrees.

When your water gets shut off, you can get creative.

Gather some snow in your bathtub. When the snow melts, you can use the water to flush your toilet. I know — this might only work if you have access to snow, but it could be worth a shot if you can attempt it.

After many of these safety tips went viral in light of the winter storms in Texas, people who used them said they saved their lives.

One person on Twitter said she and her dogs tried a number of these tips and they even managed to increase the temperature of their room a little bit.

So what do you think of all these tips?

Unsplash | Marc Kleen

I think they're quite useful. It's amazing to see how resourceful people can be when faced with tough living conditions. I hope these tips will help some of those folks who are stuck dealing with these harsh winter storms.