The Essential Winter Storm Home Guide from Cook

When winter storms hit, you want to know your family is prepared and ready for anything. Wintertime brings a whole new set of challenges including keeping your house well stocked and organized.

Hazardous conditions, power loss or busted pipes can also add additional stress, so you want to know that you have everything prepared beforehand. So before and after a storm evaluate your family’s preparedness level and restock your supplies.

And consider investing in a Cook Portable Building, which is the perfect place for your winter stockpile and keeps your valuable possessions safe from the weather. Our building features ensure that everything you store will remain safe and sound through any storm.

Outside your home

Prepare for snow, ice or freezing rain on your driveways and walkways by having these cold-weather basics on hand:

A snow shovel to dig out your driveway so vehicles can come in and out of you home.
A bag of de-icing compound to store in your shed or garage to keep family members and visitors from slipping around your home or yard.
Waterproof floor mats are a great resource to have in entryways to keep all that snow and ice out of your house.

Inside your home

Household emergency supplies are vital to ensure you and your family are well taken care of throughout a long winter storm.

Remember to stockpile foods that don’t require heating or refrigeration for easy preparation. Some examples include canned meats and vegetables, soups, stews, cereal and energy bars. Remember to get extra food for your pets as well.

A stockpile of bottled waters is also essential. You should keep 1 gallon of water per person, per day for 3-5 days. Also, store additional water for your pets.

Other things to keep inside your home include:

First-aid kit
Manual can opener
Paper plates, cups and plastic utensils
Flashlights and batteries of various sizes
Battery-powered radio and clock
Cellular phone with charged battery
Supply of prescription medicines
Blankets and cold-weather clothing for every family member

For your vehicle

As much as we would like to stay warm and cozy in our homes and wait out the winter weather sometimes using transportation is necessary. So it’s important to have things in your vehicle to make it easy to cope with the ice and snow that make road conditions hazardous.

Here is what you should keep in your road winter preparation kit:

A bag of sand, road salt or non-clumping cat litter to spread on areas where tires are slipping due to ice. The extra weight also provides extra traction against slippage.
Ice scraper to clear ice and snow off windshields.
Jumper cables in case the vehicle engine dies and needs to be restarted.
A small shovel to dig snow away from wheels or to scatter sand or salt on the roadway.
Tire chains in areas of extreme winter weather.
Flares or a reflective triangle/blinker to warn other motorists in case your vehicle breaks down.
Blankets to stay warm in case of an accident or mechanical issue and warm clothes for every passenger including jackets, hat, gloves and boots.
Along with having a flashlight and batteries, water and first aid kit in your home, it’s a good idea to have back-ups in your car.

These mechanical tasks should also be taken care of prior to a big storm hitting your area:

Check your vehicle’s antifreeze levels.
Check and replace older batteries.
Check the tires and spare tire for proper inflation and any holes.
Keep the gas tank near full to avoid freezing water in the fuel line.

To learn more about the unique building features every Cook shed comes equipped with, download our FREE Construction Standards Guide below!