Seen on Facebook: Indoor Camping

[NurseJackie]

Even if someone doesn't have a tent that can be used indoors, a dining room table, or a kitchen dinette could be covered with sheets and blankets. Sofa cushions and pillows could be used as padding and walls to insulate the top/sides/bottom. An igloo "fort" might help those in need who have no other options.

[Rorey]

1. Great tips

I've never worried about freezing to death in my own home. If you have shelter from the wind, and plenty of warm clothes and blankets you can make it through a lot. Of course it would be more difficult with children.

I grew up in North Dakota, and there were many stories about people who crawled into a snow bank to survive a storm.

I used to sleep in a completely unheated room, and I was always plenty warm. Sure, it would be super boring to spend waking hours like that, but it would sure beat dying.

[hlthe2b]

5. Yeah. I've got enough layers to get me through most anything. (and ski masks to keep my face warm)

[ananda]

14. That's how I got through 80 hours without heat.

I kept most of my body covered all the time.

I wore layers, and spent most of my time under
layers.

I also discovered I could idle my car with the heat
on for a long time using hardly any gas. I couldn't
get to my car Wednesay, but yesterday I mostly
lived in my car for several hours and was able to
keep my phone and iPad charged as well.

Then around 4 pm, the power came back on.

[PatSeg]

2. Thanks for posting

[hlthe2b]

3. I already keep my central heat around 52-55F. So, this is an intriguing alternative to space

heaters or at least a good idea in case of electrical outages for those that are dependant on electricity for heat. But, unfortunately, you can't really go much lower to save on heating or you risk the dreaded frozen pipes. Still, this would be fun for the kids or for those who love to sleep with a pup or two.

[Rorey]

6. When we had dogs

On super cold nights, I'd tell my husband that we needed a third dog, because it was a Three Dog Night. I don't think he ever really understood what I was saying. He was, and is, an idiot.

[MissB]

9. Ha!!

Yeah we have two dogs and a cat. And a king sized bed.

Power has been out since Sunday. Big dog (90lb) sleeps between us. Puppy (4 months and 25 lbs) sleeps on my head or right next to it. Cat sleeps on the outside edge next to me. She’s taken to getting under cover the last few nights.

A third dog could be a foot warmer.

[Rorey]

11. My big dog also liked the middle

He was a 125 pound Rottweiler, and the sweetest thing ever. He had his own twin size bed up against my side of the bed, but when he got cold or scared he'd crawl in between us. In spite of all of the laundry I'd have to do, I loved sleeping next to him.

Now I just have the cats, and only one is tame enough to sleep with me. I never sleep well when she graces me with her presence because I'm afraid I'll roll over on her.

I used to have a cat who slept at the top of my head and he'd knead my head. It felt great!

I hope you get your power back soon. Wow! Six days!

[hlthe2b]

15. +++

[cwydro]

25. I thought I was the only one who kept my house rather cool lol.

[rickford66]

4. I built my home on this priciple.

It's a passive solar envelope house. It's super insulated. I have a wood stove and some backup electric heat, but without using them, with no sun, it never gets lower than 50 F during the coldest days and it takes a couple days to get down there. And yes, people are heaters as are your fridge, cooking stove and incandescent lighting.

[HUAJIAO]

16. How cold does it get outside when you are at 50 inside.

I also have friends with a passive solar envelope house. Toasty warm.. also with a small wood stove.

[rickford66]

17. Never below 50 F in 36 years no matter the outside temp.

We're in upstate NY, near Binghamton. Normally it's between 60 and 70 with just normal activity. On a sunny sub freezing day we'd be at around 70 with no wood or electric heat. On a sunny day it's too warm to use heat. It should be noted that with a tight, super-insulated home we have an air exchanger to exhaust stale air and bring in fresh air with minimal heat loss. Another benefit is it's cool in the summer without air conditioning.

[HUAJIAO]

19. I'm near Rochester so I know your weather well, :)))

[rickford66]

22. Of course you would.

I wish others would think about a similar home. For most of the time we never used the electric heat which totals around 2,000 watts and we average about one cord of wood per year. Now as an old timer I use wood for about three days, then let it burn out for a day or so, then run the electric for a day then back to wood. During that time the temp is between 60 and 70. Too many Americans want a steady 72 degrees. Well that's expensive and wasteful. A design like this could have averted much of the misery in Texas.

[dalton99a]

7. Kick

[diddlysquat]

8. This is a great idea.

I'm not in Texas but I speak as someone in the Pacific NW who has been without power for 5 days in subfreezing temperatures. This idea never occurred to me. One thing we have that a lot of Texans don't is a plethora of blankets. I would suggest layering those extra blankets over the outside of the tent to help keep some heat inside even if all you have for heat is body heat.

In another post Nurse Jackie spoke of the use of a kerosene heater. After 2 days of freezing I was finally able to get some kerosene for my kerosene heater and survived that way. I will forever be traumatized by that experience.

[MissB]

10. I'm going for maximum overkill

I’m in the PNW too and we lost power on Sunday. Still without.

I’m going with a whole house emergency generator.

[CaptainTruth]

18. I've installed whole house Generac units. They can be expensive.

A less expensive option I suggest to customers is to add a subpanel, move critical circuits (heat/AC, refrigerator, a few lights) from the main service panel to the subpanel, & then get a smaller generation that just powers the subpanel.

[Canoe52]

20. We finally went with one of those small Honda generators, runs the fridge, internet, tv.

We have a woodstove so no issues with heat.
Since we only get one or two outages a year, it works for us.

[MizLibby]

30. I'm in the PNW also -

in 2015 we had a 5 day power outage. We are rural so PUD had us on the bottom of the list for repair. Mr Libby didn't enjoy not having a working well, so he bought a 45kW Generac standby gen and transfer switch. It's overkill but after a power failure 10 seconds later EVERYTHING is working. He hasn't bought a truck in 15 years so its not like he throws money away.

[Rorey]

12. Even things like towels can help

I don't camp, but I have a sleeping bag for emergency use and it's always in my car. Living in Colorado, it could even be useful in the summer when I go to the mountains. I also always keep a heavy jacket in my car for the same reason, no matter what time of year it is.

[niyad]

13. Living in the mountains, I always kept a full emergency kit in my car year-round. Blanket, jacket,

gloves, candles, food, kitty litter (better than sand), and radial chains. Would rotate out the food regularly. Never needed any of it, thank Goddess!

[NurseJackie]

23. Re: "forever traumatized"

Yes... you never forget how helpless and vulnerable you feel. That's why we keep (at all times) FIFTEEN gallons of kerosene in our garage/shed. (Blue cans only, of course.)

The "shelf life" of kerosene is far greater than gasoline (even without a stabilizer added). We've used old kerosene that was seven years old and had no problem with it. --- That time, we were using it in a NON-emergency situation so that we could rotate-out the old stock and refill with fresh kerosene.

Our small kerosene heater has a "cartridge" tank that can be removed and filled OUTSIDE (without having to take the entire heater outside). I've seen some larger kerosene heaters (shaped like barrels) with tanks that could not be removed and filled separately. I don't think I'd get a lot of use from that type, even though they probably burn hotter with more BTU's.

Low-tech is the way to go sometimes.

[Lars39]

27. We used to have the round type...

flat on top. I cooked on it for two weeks when we had no electricity once,

[NurseJackie]

28. Our "console" type gets pretty hot... I imagine the flat-top round ones will also.

Was it hot enough to fry bacon or an egg? Or just enough to warm-up a pot of soup and make hot-cocoa?

[Lars39]

31. Oh, yeah, I could cook just about anything on it.

Jambalaya, skillet casseroles, pork chops, etc.

[NurseJackie]

32. Several years ago, I "scolded" a stranger for pumping kerosene into a RED gasoline can.

He was unaware that kerosene should always be in a BLUE container and clearly labeled... and seemed confused that I was so alarmed. --- I explained that if he's using RED, it's possible that someone might add GASOLINE in with his kerosene by mistake. Or if he has other gas containers at home, he might fill his heater with EXPLOSIVE gasoline instead of kerosene.

Maybe I saved a life. I don't know. But he said he'd get a blue container.

[Lars39]

33. Yikes!

Common knowledge isn’t always common. You did good!

[Major Nikon]

21. I built an igloo

[MagickMuffin]

24. Your post is useless without pics };)

and I know you 📷

[Major Nikon]

26. ...

[MagickMuffin]

29. I have a tiny house just like that one but Purple

[LeftInTX]

34. That's pretty much how I dealt with the ordeal

But it sucked when I woke up at 1 am and no lights!!!
I'm thinking, "I've got 6 hours til sunrise"

Lack of lights was the worst part. I did not want to waste my flashlight batteries.

[Blue Owl]

35. Plus it's FUN!

What better way to feel like a kid again? You get your own fort!