The first hour
- Stay in the car. Don't try to walk unless help is very close and you can see it.
- Call 911 or your roadside service. Tell them where you are.
- Tie a bright cloth to the antenna or door. Turn on the dome light at night when the engine runs.
- Make sure the exhaust pipe is clear of snow. A blocked pipe can push carbon monoxide into the car.
The first day
- Run the engine about 10 minutes each hour for heat, with a window cracked a little.
- Move your arms and legs to keep blood flowing. Clap, wiggle toes.
- Huddle with others and use blankets, extra clothes, even floor mats.
- Drink water and eat snacks. Don't eat snow; it lowers your body heat.
The first week and beyond
- Get checked for frostbite or hypothermia once rescued.
- Restock your car kit.
Get ready now: checklist
Your checks save on this phone.
Common mistakes
- Leaving the car to walk in a storm.
- Running the engine with a blocked exhaust.
- Running the engine nonstop and running out of gas.
- Not telling anyone your route.
Keeping kids calm
- Pack a kid winter bag: hat, mittens, snacks and a game.
- Keep spirits up with stories and songs.
Gear that helps
- Emergency blankets (Mylar): my pick, Swiss Safe Emergency Mylar Blankets, 10 pack
- Wool blanket: my pick, Pendleton Yakima Camp Wool Blanket
- Hand warmers: my pick, HotHands Hand Warmers, 40 Pairs
- Folding shovel
- Car phone charger
- Headlamp: my pick, GearLight USB Rechargeable Headlamp, 2 Pack
- Bright orange flag
- Traction mats
- Jumper cables or jump starter
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Sources
Keep going
Prepper tricks for this
Fire Starting (10)
Petroleum jelly (Vaseline) cotton balls
Cost: About 3-5 cents each (store-brand cotton balls about $2/100 plus a $2 jar of petroleum jelly), versus $8-15 for a pack of commercial tinder tabs.
Why it works: The cotton acts as a wick and the petroleum jelly is a slow-burning fuel, so you get a small candle that lasts minutes instead of seconds. Side-by-side tests found it the easiest and longest-burning of common DIY tinders.
How to do it
- Buy plain 100% cotton balls. Test one first: hold a flame to it. If it melts and shrinks instead of burning, it is synthetic and won't work.
- Scoop about 1 teaspoon of petroleum jelly into a zip bag with 10-20 cotton balls and squish until every ball is soaked but still fluffy.
- Pack them into an old pill bottle, film canister or mint tin.
- To use: pull one ball open so dry fibers poke out the middle, then light it with a lighter, match or ferro rod spark.
- Set it under small twigs. Expect about 2 to 8 minutes of flame from one ball.
Safety: Flammable: store away from heat. In a hot car the jelly can get runny, so keep the container sealed and in a bag.
Dryer lint egg-carton starters
Cost: Basically free if you already have lint, cartons and candle stubs.
Why it works: Cardboard plus wax gives a longer, steadier flame than lint alone. Plain lint on its own lights poorly and burns briefly in tests, so the wax is what makes this trick good.
How to do it
- Save lint from loads of cotton towels and jeans (lint from synthetic fabrics melts and smells instead of burning well).
- Stuff each cup of a PAPER egg carton with lint. Do not use foam cartons.
- Melt old candle stubs in a clean tin can set in a pot of simmering water (a homemade double boiler).
- Pour a little wax over each cup so it soaks in, let it harden, then cut the cups apart.
- To use: light a corner of the cardboard and put it under kindling.
Safety: Never melt wax directly on a burner or in a microwave: it can catch fire. If wax ignites, cover the pot with a lid. Never use water on a wax fire.
Wax-dipped pinecones
Cost: Free to about $5 for a bag of wax; pinecones are free.
Why it works: Pine cones contain resin and have lots of surface area; wax adds a long-burning fuel and makes them water resistant.
How to do it
- Collect fully open, dry pinecones. Let them air-dry indoors for a week if damp.
- Tie a cotton string to the base of each cone to hold it.
- Melt wax in a can in a pot of simmering water (double boiler).
- Dip each cone 2-3 times, letting the wax set between dips. Hang or set on wax paper to harden.
- Use one cone at the base of a campfire or wood stove fire.
Safety: Same wax-melting rules as above: double boiler only, never unattended. Keep them away from kids since they look like decorations.
Fatwood (resin-soaked pine)
Cost: Free if you can find it; about $10-15 for a box at a hardware store.
Why it works: The wood is saturated with flammable pine resin, so it acts like a natural fire-starting stick and burns hot even in wet weather.
How to do it
- Look for old dead pine stumps or the spot where a branch joins the trunk of a dead pine.
- Fatwood is heavy for its size, amber or orange inside, and smells strongly like turpentine.
- Shave thin curls off with a knife, or scrape a pile of fine dust with the back of your knife.
- Light the curls with a lighter, or catch a ferro rod spark in the scraped dust.
- Store a few sticks in your kit: it keeps for years and lights even when damp.
Safety: Burns smoky; use outdoors or in a wood stove. Only take from dead wood and only where collecting is allowed.
Source: OffGrid: Finding fatwood and how to use it for fire-starting
Corn chips as kindling (Fritos and similar)
Cost: About $1-2 a bag, and you can eat the extras.
Why it works: Corn chips are mostly corn and oil, so each chip burns like a tiny candle for a minute or more.
How to do it
- Pile 5-10 corn chips under small twigs.
- Hold a lighter or match flame to the edge of one chip for a few seconds until it catches.
- Add twigs once the chips are burning steadily.
Safety: Needs a flame (a spark alone usually won't catch them). Keep sealed so they don't attract animals or go stale and soft.
Source: OffGrid: Fire tinder comparison (petroleum-jelly cotton vs birch bark vs fatwood)
Steel wool and a 9-volt battery
Cost: About $5 for steel wool and $3 for a battery; one pad is many fires.
Why it works: The battery pushes current through the very thin steel strands, which heat up and burn. It works even if the steel wool is damp.
How to do it
- Buy fine steel wool, grade 0000 or 000 (not soap pads).
- Fluff a small handful into a loose nest and set it on top of a tinder bundle (dry grass, paper, cotton ball).
- Touch both battery terminals to the steel wool. It glows and spreads instantly.
- Gently blow on it to light the tinder.
Safety: Store the battery and steel wool in separate bags and put tape over the battery terminals. Fire departments warn that loose 9-volt batteries touching metal can start fires in drawers.
Source: Colorado Springs Fire Department: 9-volt battery fire safety
Homemade char cloth
Cost: Free (old clothes and a used mint tin).
Why it works: Heating cotton without air turns it into almost pure carbon, which catches even weak sparks and holds a glowing ember.
How to do it
- Cut 100% cotton fabric (old t-shirt, jeans, flannel) into 2-inch squares.
- Put them in a mint tin and punch one small nail hole in the lid.
- Set the closed tin on hot coals or a camp stove, outdoors.
- Smoke will puff from the hole. When the smoke stops (about 5-10 minutes), take the tin off the heat and plug the hole with a twig.
- Let it cool completely before opening. The squares should be black and flexible.
- Use: a spark from flint and steel or a ferro rod makes a glowing ember on the cloth; fold it into a tinder bundle and blow.
Safety: Do it outdoors; the tin gets very hot. Don't open it hot or the cloth will catch fire when air rushes in.
Source: OffGrid: Fire tinder comparison (petroleum-jelly cotton vs birch bark vs fatwood)
Relighting birthday candles for windy days
Cost: About $2-3 for a pack of 24.
Why it works: The wick has magnesium dust that keeps glowing hot after the flame goes out, so it reignites the wax vapor.
How to do it
- Pack a few 'trick' relighting birthday candles in your fire kit.
- Light one and set it right under your tinder so it keeps a steady flame there while you build the fire.
- If wind blows it out, it usually relights itself in a few seconds.
Safety: They can relight in the trash. When done, drop them in water and leave them there a minute. This is a helper for wind, not a replacement for good tinder.
Source: NFPA: Candle Safety
Waterproofing matches with nail polish or wax
Cost: Pennies, using matches and polish you already have.
Why it works: The coating seals out moisture so the match head doesn't get soggy.
How to do it
- Dip the match head and about 1/4 inch of the stick into clear nail polish or melted wax.
- Stand the matches upright in a piece of foam or cardboard to dry.
- Store them in a pill bottle with a piece of striker strip glued inside the lid, plus a cotton ball.
- Before striking, scrape off the coating with a fingernail.
Safety: The weak spot is the striker strip, which still gets ruined when wet, so keep the whole bottle sealed. Honestly, a $1 mini lighter or store-bought stormproof matches are more reliable; use these as a backup.
Source: Ready.gov: Build a Kit
Keep your lighter warm in cold weather
Cost: About $1 per lighter; buy a multi-pack.
Why it works: Butane barely vaporizes near freezing, so a cold lighter may spark but not light. Body heat fixes that.
How to do it
- Carry a plain disposable lighter as your main fire tool.
- In winter, keep it in an inside pocket close to your body, not in an outside pack pocket.
- If it won't light, warm it in your hands or armpit for a minute and try again.
Safety: Keep lighters away from kids and out of hot cars in summer.
Source: Ready.gov: Build a Kit
Staying Warm Without Power (15)
Pick one warm room and seal it up
Cost: Free.
Why it works: Heating (or holding body heat in) a small space is far easier than a whole house. Fewer outside walls means less heat leaking out.
How to do it
- Choose a small room with the fewest windows and outside walls; a sunny south-facing room is a bonus.
- Move everyone, bedding and supplies into that room.
- Close the doors to all other rooms.
- Roll a bath towel and push it against the bottom of the door, or make a draft snake from an old pant leg or tube sock filled with rice or sand.
- Hang a blanket over the doorway too if it is drafty.
Safety: If you use any approved heater in that room, keep a working battery carbon monoxide alarm in the same room.
Source: Ready.gov: Winter Weather
Indoor tent or blanket fort
Cost: Free if you own a tent or blankets.
Why it works: A tent traps a small pocket of air that your bodies can warm, a bit like a room inside a room.
How to do it
- Set up a camping tent inside your warm room, or drape blankets over a table to make a fort.
- Put a rug, foam pad or folded blankets on the floor first; the floor steals the most heat.
- Get in with sleeping bags and family members. The small space warms up from body heat.
- Leave a small gap for fresh air.
Safety: Never put a candle, heater or stove inside a tent or fort. Babies need their own flat, firm sleep space; dress them in layers or a sleep sack instead of piling on loose blankets.
Source: Ready.gov: Winter Weather
Bubble wrap on windows
Cost: About $10-20 for a roll that covers several windows.
Why it works: The trapped air pockets add insulation. It helps most on old single-pane windows, where it can roughly cut window heat loss in half; it adds less on modern double-pane glass.
How to do it
- Cut bubble wrap to the size of the glass.
- Spray a light mist of water on the glass.
- Press the bubble side against the wet glass. It sticks on its own and peels off later.
- Do this before winter storms so it's ready.
Safety: It blocks the view and some light. Leave at least one window clear in case you need to see out or get out.
Source: Ready.gov: Winter Weather
Curtains, blankets and rugs (and free sun heat)
Cost: Free using what you have; moving blankets are about $10 each.
Why it works: Fabric layers slow heat leaving through cold glass, and sunlight through glass is free heat.
How to do it
- Hang heavy curtains, moving blankets or quilts over windows and keep them closed at night.
- On sunny days, open the curtains on south-facing windows to let sunlight warm the room, then close them before sunset.
- Lay rugs or blankets on bare floors.
Safety: Keep fabric well away from any heater or flame.
Source: Ready.gov: Power Outages
Hot water bottle in your sleeping bag
Cost: Free if you own the bottle; a Nalgene is about $15.
Why it works: Water holds a lot of heat and releases it slowly. Warming your core and big leg blood vessels warms your whole body.
How to do it
- Heat water on a safe heat source (see the heater and stove rules below).
- Fill a sturdy bottle rated for hot liquids, such as a Nalgene or a rubber hot water bottle. Never use a thin disposable water bottle; it softens and can split.
- Screw the cap on tight and hold it upside down over the sink to check for leaks.
- Slip it into a sock or wrap it in a towel.
- Put it at your feet or between your thighs in your sleeping bag. It stays warm for several hours.
Safety: Burns are the risk: always wrap it, and check on children, older adults and anyone who may not feel heat well (like people with diabetes).
Source: Ready.gov: Winter Weather
Rice sock warmer
Cost: Free.
Why it works: Rice holds heat and gives it off slowly; the sock shapes around your neck, hands or feet.
How to do it
- Fill a clean cotton sock about 2/3 full with plain uncooked rice (not instant) and tie a knot.
- With no microwave: warm the dry rice in a pot over a safe heat source, stirring constantly for a few minutes until hot but not browning.
- Pour the warm rice into the sock with a funnel or folded paper, then tie it.
- Test it on the inside of your wrist before using it on a child.
Safety: Never put the sock itself over a flame. Rice can scorch and even smolder if overheated. Don't use on babies.
Source: Ready.gov: Winter Weather
Eat a snack and drink something warm before bed
Cost: Free; it's food you already have.
Why it works: Digesting food makes body heat, and fat and protein digest slowly, so the warmth lasts longer.
How to do it
- About an hour before sleep, eat a snack with some fat and protein (peanut butter, nuts, cheese, trail mix).
- Drink something warm, like broth or herbal tea.
- Keep drinking water during the day. Being dehydrated makes it harder to stay warm.
Safety: Hot drinks are a spill and burn risk in a dark room; use a lidded mug.
Source: Ready.gov: Winter Weather
Layer up (and wear a hat to bed)
Cost: Free using clothes you own; thrift-store wool sweaters are a few dollars.
Why it works: Several layers trap warm air better than one thick layer, and dry clothing insulates far better than damp. A hat covers skin that's usually left bare.
How to do it
- Wear a base layer of wool or synthetic fabric, then a fleece or sweater, then a windproof layer if needed.
- Avoid cotton next to your skin; once it gets damp from sweat it pulls heat away.
- Change into dry socks and dry base layers before bed.
- Wear a knit hat and, if needed, gloves to sleep.
Safety: Don't overdress into a sweat, then get chilled. Watch for shivering, confusion or slurred speech (signs of hypothermia).
Source: Ready.gov: Winter Weather
Share body heat (and pets count)
Cost: Free.
Why it works: Each person gives off roughly as much heat as a 100-watt bulb. Packed together in a small space, that adds up.
How to do it
- Sleep close together in the same room, or in the same bed for older kids and adults.
- Unzip two sleeping bags and zip them together into one big bag.
- Let pets sleep on top of the covers.
Safety: Infants should not sleep in an adult bed. Keep them in their own crib or bassinet in the same room, dressed warmly.
Source: Ready.gov: Winter Weather
Emergency space blankets (Mylar) and reflectors
Cost: About $1-2 each in packs.
Why it works: Mylar reflects radiant heat back toward you. It does nothing to create heat, so it's a helper layer, not a blanket replacement.
How to do it
- Lay a Mylar emergency blanket shiny side up under your sleeping bag or on the tent floor.
- Or wrap it around your sleeping bag (not directly on skin, where sweat builds up).
- If you have a radiator that still works (for example, a gravity hot-water system), foil-covered cardboard behind it, facing the room, bounces heat back in.
Safety: Crinkly and tears easily. Keep it away from flames and heaters.
Source: Ready.gov: Build a Kit
Use only heaters rated for indoor use
Cost: Indoor-rated portable propane heaters run roughly $70-150, plus propane.
Why it works: Indoor-certified heaters are designed and tested to burn cleanly and shut off if oxygen drops or they tip.
How to do it
- Only use heaters labeled for indoor use, such as indoor-certified propane heaters with automatic low-oxygen and tip-over shutoff.
- Read the manual and follow its ventilation rule (many say to crack a window about an inch).
- Keep 3 feet of clear space around the heater.
- Put a battery-powered carbon monoxide alarm in the same room and test it.
- Turn it off before you go to sleep or leave the room.
Safety: Any fuel-burning heater makes carbon monoxide. A CO alarm is not optional. Store fuel outside the living space.
MYTH: It's okay to heat with a grill, gas oven, camp stove or generator if you open a window
Cost: Free to follow; a battery CO alarm is about $20-30.
The truth: Not a trick. Opening a window or garage door does not clear carbon monoxide fast enough. CO is invisible and odorless and kills people in every major power outage.
What to do instead
- The truth: never use a charcoal or gas grill, camp stove, gas oven or generator to heat your home, garage, basement or porch.
- Run generators outside only, at least 20 feet from the house, with the exhaust pointed away from doors, windows and vents.
- If anyone gets a headache, dizziness, nausea or confusion, get everyone outside to fresh air and call 911.
Safety: This is the most important rule in this whole list.
MYTH: You lose most of your body heat through your head
Cost: Free.
The truth: The old '40-50%' claim came from a military test where people wore insulated suits with their heads uncovered.
What to do instead
- The truth: your head loses heat at about the same rate as any other uncovered skin, roughly 7-10% of your total.
- Still wear a hat, because your head is often the only part left uncovered.
- Put your energy into covering everything: core, hands, feet and head.
Safety: Covering your head still matters; it's just not magic.
Source: Live Science: Do we really lose half our body heat from our heads?
MYTH: A clay flowerpot over tea lights will heat a room
Cost: The 'cheap heater' costs a few dollars in candles a day and gives almost nothing back.
The truth: Basic physics: the heat you get out can't be more than the candles put in. The pot only changes when you feel it.
What to do instead
- The truth: a tea light gives off about 30 watts of heat. A small space heater gives about 1,500 watts.
- The pot does not add heat. It just soaks up the candle heat and lets it out more slowly.
- Four tea lights under a pot is about 120 watts total, about like an old light bulb. It won't warm a room in an outage.
Safety: Fire hazard: pots can crack, and pooled hot wax can flare up. You're better off putting that money into a good sleeping bag.
MYTH: Candles can heat a room in a power outage
Cost: N/A
The truth: Candles do make some heat, but nowhere near enough to warm a room safely.
What to do instead
- The truth: a regular candle gives off around 80 watts and a tea light about 30. You'd need dozens of them burning to match one small space heater.
- Dozens of open flames in a home is a serious fire and smoke risk.
- Use battery lights for light. Put your effort into insulation, layers, sleeping bags and one warm room.
Safety: Candle fires spike during outages and holidays. Never leave a candle unattended or near fabric, and never use one inside a tent or fort.
Source: NFPA: Candle Safety
Car and Travel (6)
Keep a get-home bag in the car
Cost: About $30-60 if you use things you already own.
Why it works: Most people are away from home when disaster strikes. This bag gets you home on foot if you have to.
How to do it
- Use an old backpack.
- Pack: 1-2 liters of water and a small water filter, snacks, comfy walking shoes and wool socks, a rain poncho, a warm layer with hat and gloves, a headlamp, a small first aid kit, a 7-day supply of meds, small bills, a paper map, a phone cable and power bank, and a whistle.
- Check it every spring and fall: swap clothes for the season, replace snacks and water.
Safety: Heat ruins food, water and batteries in summer cars; rotate often.
Source: Ready.gov: Build a Kit
Kitty litter or sand for traction (and weight)
Cost: About $5 a bag.
Why it works: Grit gives tires something to bite into on ice.
How to do it
- Keep a bag of sand, traction grit, or non-clumping clay kitty litter in the trunk.
- If you're stuck on ice, pour it in front of and behind the drive wheels.
- In a rear-wheel-drive truck, a couple of bags over the back axle adds grip.
Safety: Clay litter can turn mushy and slick once wet, so sand or traction grit is better. Strap bags down so they don't fly forward in a crash.
Source: Ready.gov: Winter Weather
Candle in a coffee can for a stranded car
Cost: About $10-15 to build.
Why it works: The candle melts snow for drinking water and warm drinks, and adds a little warmth and a lot of comfort in a small space like a car. It won't heat the car the way an engine does.
How to do it
- Build the kit in a 2-3 pound coffee can: a 2-inch candle, matches, a pocket knife, bright cloth strips, a space blanket, socks and glove liners, snacks, and bouillon or hot cocoa packets.
- If stranded, set the lit candle on the can lid on a stable spot, and hang the can over it to melt snow for warm drinks.
- Crack a window slightly (downwind) while it burns.
- Tie a bright cloth strip to your antenna so rescuers can find you.
Safety: Open flame in a car: keep it away from fabric and never sleep with it lit. Crack a window for fresh air.
If you're stuck: run the engine 10 minutes an hour
Cost: Free.
Why it works: Short runs keep you warm while saving gas and lowering carbon monoxide risk.
How to do it
- Stay with your car unless help is very close and visible.
- Run the engine and heater about 10 minutes each hour.
- Before each time, clear snow from around the tailpipe.
- Crack a downwind window a little while it runs.
- Turn on the dome light at night so you can be seen.
Safety: A snow-blocked tailpipe can fill the car with carbon monoxide in minutes.
Source: Ready.gov: Winter Weather
Keep your tank at least half full in winter
Cost: Free (you buy the gas anyway).
Why it works: Gas stations may lose power, and you'll need fuel to stay warm if stranded.
How to do it
- Fill up when you reach half a tank, especially before storms.
Safety: Never store spare gas cans inside the car.
Source: Ready.gov: Winter Weather
Thrift-store wool blanket and boots in the trunk
Cost: About $10-20 total at thrift stores.
Why it works: Wool stays warm even when damp. Many people get stranded in office shoes and a light jacket.
How to do it
- Pick up a wool blanket and an old pair of winter boots at a thrift store.
- Keep them in the trunk from fall to spring with a hat, gloves and hand warmers.
- If you're stranded, put on the boots and wrap up before you get cold, not after.
Safety: Don't let the blanket cover the dashboard vents or tailpipe area if the engine is running.
Source: Ready.gov: Winter Weather