Get a quality wood stove and have it professionally installed.
Well, this doesn’t apply to all areas of the country but I’m from MA and I always tell people, if you buy a house make damn sure it has a fireplace. During the ice storm of 2008 that was our heat for 8 days without power.
Get a whole house generator on auto stand by and run it off natural gas or propane. This will let you avoid the long gas lines we’re seeing in NY and NJ. If you do this MAKE SURE you build a roof and encloser for it to keep it out of the elements.
Obama is looking presidential. Nothing to worry about.
We have a large propane tank in the yard with a feed to a vent-less gas fireplace inside. And we have a carbon monoxide detector just in case.
We fill it up once a year, and it means that if the electricity goes out, we still have a heat source. And with our own tank we aren’t dependent anything except the tank in the yard. We pay a rental fee of $50 a year for the tank, plus $200 a year for refueling.
If you have a small fireplace, be prepared to convert it for burning pellets.
Long johns, good socks, boots, and coats, along with a bit of heat to get the indoor temp to about 40F or so were good enough for during the day.
I did great with it.
Back here in semi-suburbia, with no natural gas, and not willing to pay for electric heat, I use propane heat in one room, and live there most of the winter. Same routine with lots of comfortors on the bed and no heat overnight. It rarely drops past the 20s here, so it's much easier to stay warm.
That has been my real-world experience. I still live in a rather rustic manner, so YMMV.
/johnny
Propane Buddy Heaters rigged with adapter to accept 5-7 gallon propane tanks.
Tent wood stove, vent out window.
Pellet stove with Honda 2000 generator. Non-ethanol gas with stabilzer stored outside shed or cache.
Warm clothing hats & gloves and sleeping bags.
Set up im a small room of the house such as a den or secondary bedroom with a low ceiling and a southern exposure, as far as the space you spend time in during a power outage in cold weather. Your body heat will go a long way toward keeping the smaller space warm.
A gas stove and gas hot water heater would go a very long way toward making the house habitable, hot food and a hot shower will be the things you miss most, that will drive you into a hotel after a week or two.
Fire, the light,mthe color, the way the flames move, is a very comforting thing, so candles, oil lamps and the like make the makeshift living arrangements seem a little nicer and more bearable.
Wear insulating underwear. I like items designed for winter sports that wick away the moisture and are very thin. Patagonia is one brand, but there are others. Wear layers and you won’t overheat.
Smart Indian, build small fire, sit close.
Moral of the story: Whatever heat can be used, use it efficiently, don’t waste it.
Don’t overlook clothing, which is available in quantity.
In my moderate location, instead of heating hundreds of cubic feet, I wear a sweatshirt and cap indoors a lot.
Have you considered cuddling up with the Texans’ cheerleaders? It can’t hurt to ask.
Having a good sleeping bag is a bonus.
I have a mummy bag made with Quallofil, you don’t even dare get into it if the temps are > 40 degrees or so.
Supposed to be good to like -10F
Apparently Rahway still wants you to pay taxes on time, despite all the problems
Blump
Wood stove and good supply of wood. Party like its 1799....
Assuming that's the case, head to Florida, So. Texas, anywhere it's warm and let your homeowners insurance cover the costs........
Oh, and invite your neighbors, who choose to stick around and freeze, to loot your home. It's a great way to get your homeowners insurance company to replace all your stolen electronics and get that 60" plasma TV you've always wanted............
If possible sleep in a small area where heat can be confined
Better yet sleep naked with another person- you can't beat body heat to stave off hypothermia. Cuddling with a nice furry dog or cat can also help
Never sleep in the clothes you wore all day- perspiration wicks out your body heat
In North Dakota blizzards, if stranded in a car, a single candle can generate enough heat to make the difference between living or freezing to death
Backpackers and specialty stores have all kinds of fancy small stoves and fuel pellets (or use sterno), nothing beats being able to heat even a cup of water for soup or tea
Take lots of Vitamin D3
Make a box oven for baking- Scouts know how to do this. completely cover a copy paper size box in heavy foil, cut a flap opening in the bottom, place upside down, inside place a pie pan with charcoal briquets and place over a grill or small oven rack , balanced over the pie plate on tin cans. Each coal = 40 degrees of oven heat.
You can bake bread brownies or cookies. Check out the site "Instructables" for hundreds of creative ideas for self sufficiency under primitive conditions Always have good shoes in case you (and the family) need to walk a long way to relocate
I am from upstate NY and I remember a freak Halloweenish time snow storm that left us without power for about three or four days. We had to walk about five miles to my sister's restaurant that had a generator so we could eat. I don't remember everyone falling apart during that either.
Tis why I live back in the desert. Far from Holder's people in a pretty red state.
10 degrees outside will freeze pipes with water inside and cause them to break. Make sure you turn off your main water supply.
A pipe break with the water turned off is a relatively small clean up.
If the main turnoff is inside your house a break could occur before the break and could cause a lot of flooding.
A 30 degree temperature would probably not cause pipe breaks.
To keep warm wear lots of clothes and have several blankets when sleeping.
It’s probably too late to buy heaters and/or generators before the power comes back on.
Good luck.