Eight items laying around your house that belong in your car

Emergency preparation doesn't always mean emptying your wallet. These ten key items should be laying around the house. Throw them in a bag, which is also laying around the house, and you'll be on your way to a safer car.

1. The bag
   Everyone has that bag around the house they got at a conference or from their parents house to help bring back extra Christmas presents. I have several backpacks, computer bags and even a yellow and white beach tote from my Grandma's house. Anything will do, if you're car doesn't have an emergency kit. But ideally, it will be compact and has shoulder straps to help you transport the kit or other items in case of emergency.
2. The cutting tool
   When I was about 8, I got my first Swiss Army Knife. I've since gotten a couple others. So, if I didn't have a dedicated fixed blade knife in the car (which is better suited to emergency situations), I would at least get that first knife out to the car in my new, zero-cost emergency bag. Plus, two is one, and one is none. So a fixed blade and the old swiss army knife or leatherneck is not overkill.
3. Band-Aids (& generic first aid)
   I have several big boxes of Band-Aids - if you don't have some in your car, get a stack in a ziplock baggie and get it in your kit. The same goes for other first aid supplies.
4. Snacks Everyone has snacks stashed in the pantry. If your car is stuck on the side of the road, a clif bar, chex mix, or peanut butter will be the best meal you've had all day.
5. Flashlight
   Most likely you have an extra flashlight in the toolkit or the junk drawer. It's time that's ready in your car to illuminate your way back home or to the nearest shelter if you're stuck in the night.
6. Car charger
   If you have a car charger, it's most likely in your car, but you may have an extra cord that should be ready to go, stashed in your glove compartment.
7. Warm blanket / sleeping bag I have more blankets than I know what to do with. This may be a personal problem and your closets aren't overflowing with enough bedding for an army. But if you have one or two old ones stashed in the linen closet, put it in a more useful place.
8. That extra jacket Everyone's got an old jacket in the closet. Continue the closet cleanout and roll up an old jacket, and maybe hat and gloves, for the car.

If you've got these items around the house or apartment, they will do you more good in the car as the air turns colder than gathering dust in the closets and drawers of your house. pack 'em and stash 'em in your car today to take the first step. Then continue building your supplies with the 6 types of gear to keep you safe.

 Missing something on this list?

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El nino may push Atlanta into colder winter

According to Atlanta's 11 Alive Cheif Meteorologist Chris Holcomb, we may be looking at another frozen Snowpocalypse.

Holcomb explains in this video that a combination of factors will push conditions into a potential 2015 snowpocalypse situation.

-As temps in the Pacific ocean warm, it will push temps in Atlanta down - El Nino is back.
-Precipitation is forecast to be above average
-Holcomb predicts two snow events and one or more ice storms

So - the bottom line is: There's no time like the present to prepare.

Check out "6 types of gear to keep you safe" to get started.

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6 types of snow prep gear: #3.0: Clothes

Today, I left the house with a sweater and a jacket on and wing tips on my feet. That will keep me warm from the car to the office, but if I had to walk home in a snowpocalypse, I'd fall down so many times I'd become the subject of a viral YouTube video.

So to avoid becoming the next slapstick YouTube sensation, or much worse, you will want to have a more suitable outfit waiting for you in the car. 

Clothing acts as a first (or last) defense as a sort of shelter. It really blew my mind when I read this in Cody Lundin's book "When all Hell Brakes Loose." Lundin was one half of the show Discovery show Dual Survival and in his previous book, "98.6 Degrees," explored how to keep your body's temperature in a range to keep you alive. Lundin explains in "All Hell" that shelter, whether its a shack or a mansion, functions as an extension of clothing to keep you body temperature within a survivable range. 

So essentially, clothing is the last line of shelter, especially in a winter weather situation, which will keep your body from entering hypothermia. The key things winter-appropriate clothing has to accomplish are:

Protect from wind

Windchill can rob your body of precious heat through convection. Keep the wind from getting to your body. 

Keep you dry

Spicy food is so popular in hot climates because it makes you sweat and cools you down. If sweat, water, or other liquid is on your body, it will steal more precious heat. 

Keep your feet and body warm from ground

Icy and snowy ground can draw heat out of your feet faster than you'd think--especially for southerners that don't get a lot of walks on the ice. 

Cody Lundin recommends using the acronym COLD for a winter clothing checklist:

• CLEAN - keep clothes and your body clean
• OVERHEATING - avoid overheating. sweat will cool you down and rob your body of heat
• LOOSE and LAYERS - loose layers will help you increase dead air and conserve body heat
• DRY - always keep yourself and your clothes dry - moisture transfers heat away from your body very quickly

SO - what's the bottom line? 

Your body begins to enter hypothermia at 96 degrees. That's only 2.8 degrees below normal. So keeping your body warm is of the utmost importance. This is true head to toe.

Find, or invest in clothing that can keep you warm, dry, clean and safe, and make sure you're considering base, insulation and environmental layers. 

We'll explore layers and materials next. 

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6 types of snow prep equipment: #2 Food

You've seen those Snickers commercials with the annoying celebrities jerks that become regular people after taking a bite of a candy bar? Pure truth in advertising. You're not you when you're hungry. I make the worst decisions when I'm starving, I'm sure you do too. 

Now I'm no nutritionist, but I would recommend something not just dense in calories, but also dense in nutrients. I like to have trail mix and Clif bars on hand. Honestly, Snickers has peanuts, which is a plus. Do what you want. I'm not your boss. 

Keep dense snacks on hand. Depending on the food, you might be able to keep these in the car. Some foods to consider:

• Backpacker meals: you'll need head and a receptacle to cook in
• Energy bars: Clif or Powerbars stay good for a long time. And they taste kinda good too
• Trail mix, or nuts & dried berries

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6 types of snow prep equipment: #1 Water

Here's the deal - you will get thirsty. And you've heard it before, once you're thirsty, you're already dehydrated. I'm thirsty right now just typing about it. You? Go grab a water and come back for an interactive experience.

More so than any of the other supplies on this list, in a long-term situation, you can't live without water. Science says we can't live for 72 hours without water. Science is smart. I've never tried to test this theory, and I don't plan on doing so.

Out on the road, there are several factors to keeping water within reach.

• Freezing: Water can freeze in winter temps, so you probably shouldn't leave your stash of agua in the trunk 
• Ample supply: In a snowy situation, there may be some extra solid water around, but you can't count on this
• Convenience: Carrying three or more liters of water is not terribly convenient in daily life.

To cover yourself, as the nights turn colder, keep plastic water bottles ready to go and throw in the car on a daily basis.

Three key pieces of gear to keep you hydrated

Fill 'er up
To be prepared for found water sources, have a metal bottle like Kleen Kanteen, or mug or a generic camping pot around to melt snow or boil found water in. You'll want to filter this on some level, so a stocking or coffee filters and rubber bands can come in handy. I have also loved my Platypus hydration pack. Don't fold them for storage or it will meet an untimely demise, like mine did on my trip to Hawaii.


Come on baby light my fire
Then the EPA recommends boiling water. So you'll need to light a fire under that receptacle. A jet boil or solid fuel tablets get this job done. I have the Esbit folding stove and it's pretty handy, but very small.


One-stop-shop
You can also get a handy and highly popular life straw. I've never used one, but they aren't expensive and could SAVE YOUR LIFE. Or, just keep you from getting too thirsty.




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6 Types of gear to keep you safe

There are as many gear lists as there were cars on the Atlanta highways on 1/28/2014. But no definitive list can be as effective as some thought and critical thinking. To help you build a kit to keep you safe, there are six key categories of gear you should think about and build out your own list. You may have some of these. You may be able to substitute something else for something on my list, like a small pot instead of a metal canteen to boil water.  

The types of gear you're going to need certainly depends on how long you are going to need to rely on your stash. But it's safe to bet on a longer stash than the alternative. Last year I threw a whole cardboard palate of water bottles in my trunk after the first freeze over. I never drank them, but they were there if I needed them. 

Generally, FEMA recommends you are able to sustain yourself for 72 hours in case of extreme emergency, and as we experienced last year, it's feasible you could be stuck on the road for that long. 

Click on each topic to read more:

1. Water
2. Food
3. Clothing (Part 1, Part 2)
4. Shelter
5. First Aid
6. Basic Camping Gear

Keep these in your car or ready to go as we head in to the winter months. 

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Why you need to start preparing now

Where were you on January 28, 2013? Were you warm at home? Did you sleep in your car? Were you snowed in at Chick-Fil-A headquarters where you could eat whatever you wanted, whenever you wanted?

I got a phone call at about 12:40 pm from my fiance. I knew snow was coming and traffic would get bad, but I didn't think the city would shut down. That's the key. I didn't think that would happen.

Again.

I didn't think that would happen. 

Of course we're more prepared now. I assume if snow is in the forecast, the city will preemptively shut down and go dark. But that doesn't excuse any of us from being ready. Because something can happen we don't think it will happen.

Again, the key is:

We. don't. think. it. will. happen. 

So on what could be 2015's "January 28" - we will be ready. But that doesn't mean we will get it right every other day of the year.

So now is the time to be prepared.

Get a kit together
Read up on car emergency kits.This AAA kit is cheap and includes the basics. But don't stop there. Think critically. What can you add to those kits that will help in the event of another ice-forced gridlock?

Determine your route home

I'm lucky because Google Maps told me to take side streets home. I didn't get stuck on the freeways and took a slightly less congested route home. But next time I might not be so lucky. I'm preparing my route now.

Get your information sources lined up
Some predicted the storm without problem. Others neglected responsibility. What are you going to pay attention to this year?

So cheers to you for thinking ahead, and prep on, my friends.



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