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Thanks to my brother for telling me about this story. [Alt text below]

for fellow austins and the rest of texas

ATTN: ANYONE WITH NO HEATING OR POWER CURRENTLY 

I know it's cold, I have some tips for you, thanks to having been through this before, many times. 🧵 

Please RT the thread if you know anyone without power currently! 🖤

The second tweet reads: 

- Choose 1 room to inhabit  - Move all furniture to external walls - Move your mattress to the center of the 1 room - Block pets from leaving that room, put all needs in it - If your fridge is warming up, put all perishable items in a trash bag and place outside, form snow around

The third tweet reads:

- If you have plants, move them in the room with you - If you have a small space heater, move it in that room with you - Hang thick blankets or large towels in all the windows - If a sunny day arrives before power, open curtains when sun hits directly, then put back up

The fourth tweet reads:

- Wear multiple layers of clothing - If your pets are too cold, put socks on their feet and/or other clothing you have that fits them - Roll clothing or towels and block all door and window gaps - Throw all your dirty clothes on the floor, covering every space you can

The fifth tweet reads:

Your body heat will warm that room if you remain in ONLY that room. You want to use anything you can to add insulation between you, and the outside. Hence covering and blocking all floors, windows, and walls. Now isn't the time to have a clean house, it's the time to survive.

The sixth tweet reads:

Late addition thanks to a friend of mine: 

 If you have, or can get, bubble wrap, tape that to all windows, as it creates a kind of double insulation!

Any kind of cardboard or foamcore can be pressed into window wells or taped over. Put wadded up newspaper or bubble wrap between the pane and the foamcore. Duct or painter's tape can hold the cardboard or foamcore to the wall. Mound laundry and blankets around you. Make sure pets have a similarly squishy bed to curl up in. Pet carriers are great for huddling in, and it's good to have them out anyway in case you MUST relocate. Food and water go close enough they don't have to come all the way out, if they don't want to.

Remember that to insulate, air pockets are necessary. Don't pack clothes or newspaper loose, but don't squish all the air out either. Insulation is made with foam or blown fiber for a reason. Air pockets in a non conductive material trap the cold instead of passing it on.

It is honestly way less miserable stuck in a single, insulated room than free roaming a house that is cold.

If your area is expected to be hard hit, prepare some of this in advance.

Keep your phone charged BEFORE the power goes out! Put it back on the charger when it reaches 80%, I am not kidding.

And, final tip, if you go outside and get REAL cold, take your clothes OFF when you get back and put different ones on. Preferably ones the cats have been laying on, but even if they are cool, as long as they are warmer than the ones you have been in outside, you will warm up faster. Even swapping just outer layers is helpful.

If you don't already know you have issues doing so, squat down real quick. Bend your knees all the way and touch the floor. Just make sure you can do it. Okay? For me? And then stand up all the way and make sure you can balance on one foot.

If there was ever a tumblr post worth sending to your mom, it's this one.