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Make Your Own Winter Preparedness Kit You Can Count On!

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This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of RAYOVAC® The opinions and text are all mine.

Winter preparedness. That’s just something that people up in the arctic tundra need worry about, right? Like Alaska or Antarctica? Wrong! Let me tell you a story that is near and dear to my heart about just how important winter preparedness is, and having tools in your kit that you can count on. It seriously could save your life.

Make your own winter preparedness kit you can count on!
When we first moved to Minnesota, I would watch shows on Discovery all the time. The settings would change but the stories would be the same. Some unprepared slacker goes out hiking, and ends up crawling through snow to their deaths. Though the stories were super fascinating, I would always do a huge eye roll wondering, “What kind of idiot gets stuck in a situation like that???” Little did I know that within a year of Minnesota living I would be eating a big ole piece of humble pie.
Not thinking winter preparedness was a big deal, we encountered a situation where I more than likely could’ve become that “idiot” that was low crawling through the snow to my frigid demise. Sometimes being caught off guard, or being a little too cocky, can put us in life threatening situations where had we prepared just a little bit our cute tooshies may not be threatening to freeze off.
One of the main reasons we moved to Minnesota was to take our youngest daughter to the Mayo Clinic. She’d been sick for over four years, and we were hoping they would be the answers to our prayers. Though this offered hope, this also meant lots of time waiting for appointments, and hours and hours in the car getting her too and from her appointments.
We had waited MONTHS to get in for her first appointment. The day of her appointment came, and the weathermen all across the Twin Cities were warning about the “blizzard” conditions that were going to be hitting Minnesota today. Stubborn as I am, I thought “Blizzard, schmizzard! We are taking this girl to Mayo Clinic.”
With next to no preparation, we hopped in our little Ford Fiesta (a car with NO four wheel drive) and made the two hour drive down to Mayo Clinic. The drive was going pretty well until about half way down the highway, then it all made a very dangerous change.
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On our way down, a semi-truck had jack knifed in the middle of the highway. At first we tried the detour, but that was taking forever and forever. Being the “smart” people that we are, we decided to try and find back roads we could take to get to the clinic. (Because we are total experts at navigating winter weather just having moved there )
By this time, we were driving in near white out conditions. The area coming up to Rochester, MN is a lot of farm lands, and the 50-60 MPH gusts of wind had the roads littered with snow. There were times, I was quite sure it was going to lift our little red car off the road and plops us in a ditch with snow up to our eyeballs.
For a while, we were going ok but then we drove up to a line of cars just staring at each other. We parked the car, and Wayne went up to the front of the line to see what the problems was. There was a snow drift about the size of an ant hill in the middle of the road. He clunked his way back to the car, and decided to go for it. Other vehicles ahead of us had started to wager their luck at conquering the baby snow drift, so why the heck couldn’t we be as bold as well!?
It didn’t take us long before we realized what a DIRE mistake this was. There we were in the middle of the road, no four wheel drive, no snow tires, no winter preparedness kit, and our wheels where dancing on the snow like a little kid learning to ice skate.
It was at this time, that I realized I was about to become that idiot that goes “hiking” unprepared and crawls to my snow death. I had no winter coat, no winter preparedness kit, no kitty litter in the back for traction. We didn’t even have a candy bar between us as far as food went. Which means, we were pretty much sitting ducks.
The ONLY thing that saved us was that there were about ten cars lined up on either side of the snow drift. When Wayne hopped out of the car to release us from the tiger like grip of the snow drift, ten men came out to help him push it from it’s icy cage.
It only took about two minutes to get us back on solid ground, but by the time Wayne got back in the car his ears were sheet white and encrusted in ice. (Yep, he didn’t bring a hat to wear either) Bayla’s eyes were wide with terror as she probably saw her short twelve year life flashing before her eyes.
Check out how to make your own winter preparedness kit! It could save your life!
After our near death experience, we made our way to Mayo Clinic, but I never, ever made fun of those tragic stories about people being unprepared for bad weather. You can live most of your life thinking, “Oh that’s never going to happen to me!!!” I’m here to tell you folks, it does and CAN happen to you. And then you look like a total idiot because if you had prepared just a tiny bit you would be rocking winter like a champion instead of dealing with it like a chump. LOL!
That’s why when winter comes around, I put together this winter preparedness kit so you can have a kit you can count on this winter season. Check out what we put in our winter preparedness kit, so you don’t make a mistake like we did and almost become a human popsicle.

Make Your Own Winter Preparedness Kit

  1. Flashlights: Flashlights can come in really hand to help signal other people, or just to use to see in the car if you happen to get stuck during a bad storm.
  2. Battery Powered Weather Radio: A weather radio can help you stay on top of the weather, and help you figure out how long you might have to hunker down for.
  3. Food: Putting snacks and items that don’t free in your kit is really important. If you get stuck for a decent amount of time, you need to make sure you have something to keep you nourish. We keep granola bars, boxed cereals, and beef jerky in our car.
  4. Blankets: You can choose to keep full sized blankets, or the smaller emergency blankets to help make sure everyone stays nice and warm. It’s not advised to keep your car running for heat, but blankets and snuggling help keep you warm.
  5. Kitty Litter: We always keep some sand or kitty litter in the trunk, because it helps you get traction on icy roads. The extra weight in the back also helps when driving in snowy conditions.
  6. Shovel: A portable shovel is always something great to have in your winter preparedness kit. It allows you to dig yourself out when it’s safe to do so.
  7. Batteries: It’s really important to have batteries that you can trust in your kit. We’ve really learned to trust the RAYOVAC® brand of products. They are reliable and frugal! Make sure to check your items each winter that they have batteries you can rely on so you know you’re good to go this winter season!

Check out how to make your own winter preparedness kit! It could save your life!

This year, we are going to be keeping our winter preparedness stocked with these goodies. Plus, with brands like RAYOVAC® I know I can count on them this holiday season to not only keep my family save in rough winter weather, but keep all our battery powered goodies going this holiday season.
If I’ve learned anything from this “fun” experience, it’s that you can count on Minnesota to have snow and you can count on RAYOVAC® Alkaline batteries to have your back when you need to power something up. Check out here where you can buy your favorite RAYOVAC® products near you!
Learn more about how RAYOVAC can be there for your family when you need it most on their social media channels!
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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Jeanette says

    That sounds like it was a scary moment! Are you still live in Minnesota and I know what you mean by the white outs. You should always have a emergency kit in your car in the winter season because you have no idea when and where you get stuck.

    Reply

    • Ash Sears says

      Yep, still living in Minnesota and expecting our first winter storm of the year tomorrow. You bet your bums I have a winter preparedness kit in my car already.

      Reply

  4. Deborah Caudill says

    Wow! You have a grest family, so that means you’re a phenomenal mom. Moving to a different state so you can get your daughter the best medical care in the country and getting her there by driving through a blizzard makes you one determined mom. I hope your daughter is doing better. Please keep your readers updated if you have time to write about it. It would make a great book for the parents of other sick children and even for the children themselves. I was a sick child and my mom was wonderful. My dad travelled all week and I had an older sister and younger brother. I know my sister helped out a lot when she was older. I always marvelled at how we would rush to doctor’s appointments and to surgeries just to spend so much time waiting to be seen. I am 61 now and my mom is 92 and still worries about me. I was adopted and we had no medical records that could have helped with a diagnosis. Medical care was horrible back then. My first memories were of being in the childrens’ ward with about 5 or 6 other sick or burned children. The parents weren’t allowed to stay st night and I was so frightened at 4 years old. I am glad things have changed so much, but it will never be easy to have a sick child. My thoughts and prayers are with you, your daughter and the rest of your family.

    Reply

  5. shelley says

    We don’t have tons of horrible winter weather in Texas, but when we do it’s good to be prepared. Thanks for the suggestions and I’m going to share this on my Facebook page in January (when we really start to get the nasty weather!).

    Reply

  6. Reuven says

    You were probably all the more scared watching your daughter react. You certainly end with great advice! Best wishes for your daughter’s recovery.

    Reply

  7. Julie says

    Scary story and great advice. We have pretty unpredictable weather here in the UK and really bad snow is rare. That means NO ONE is prepared properly and people often drive much too fast for the conditions when it is bad. It’s not fussing to be prepared, as you say it is so easy to go from everything is fine to everything is really not fine at all!

    Reply

  8. Kelly says

    I have a ton of flashlights, that help me always be prepared. We loose power a lot at my house (we live in a very rural area), and it can last a long time. Since I have mobility issues it is vital that I see the floor when I walk. Flashlights help me stay safe.

    Reply

  9. Audra O'Hara says

    We make sure to have a working generator in case the power is out for more than a day. Also we try to keep our vehicles maintained and our tires checked.

    Reply

  11. Teri@The Freshman Cook says

    Yikes! I am so glad you and your family are alright! It sounds like you put together the perfect winter preparedness kit!

    Reply

  12. Mother of 3 says

    Such great tips! That is quite the scary story and the whole time you were telling it I was thinking that I rarely even remember to put on my winter coat or wear gloves; not a smart move in New England. I rely on the car and our heater but you never know when you might get stranded.

    Reply

  16. Jan Lee says

    I stay prepared by buying at least a month’s worth of food for the winter. I also try to have household supplies on hand, such as light bulbs, batteries, toilet paper, soap 🙂

    Reply

  17. David says

    We have an emergency kit with flashlights and candles in it. We always keep a supply of shelf stable foods on hand as well in case of power outages.

    Reply

  18. Colette S says

    I don’t live in a snowy region, but it does get icy sometimes.
    I keep a kit in the car to be safe and flashlights, blankets, food to go at home

    Reply

  19. Brandi Dawn says

    I always try to have blankets, snacks and water in the car. Also, I live in an RV so I always make sure to have propane!

    Reply

  20. Shay Moore says

    Even with our family living in the south we still try to stay prepared.My dad always stressed to all 7 (yes7) of his children that we needed warm blankets, a flashlight,food, water, and matches and a candle. Even after I was a married adult,I still caught my sweet Daddy sneaking a peek in the trunk of my car.

    Reply

  21. Tammy Woodall says

    A couple of things we always make sure to have during the winter months are a flashlight, lots of batteries, and many gallons of water. Another thing we do to prepare is winterize our cars.

    Reply

  27. Mary Beth Elderton says

    These are such good ideas. We are fairly well prepared here at home, but I have been wanting to make a “survival kit” for the car for Winter. One thing I want to do is have boots and extra warmth so Hubz could get home from work if something happened to traffic on his commute.

    Reply

  29. Crafty Nunn says

    We have good that con be cooked on the grill if the power goes out. We have candles and flashlights. We live in the South so the winter does not mean the same to us.

    Reply

  31. Geri Sandoval says

    We have an emergency kit for the house but a small one for the car that needs to be updated. Thank you this is something we need to do right away.

    Reply

  32. Darlene Owen says

    Being as we live south of Buffalo, NY we get lots of snow, so I do keep plenty of flashlights handy incase we lose our electric.

    Reply

  34. Amy Orvin says

    My favorite way to stay prepared in the winter is to have a kit like you talked about. I live in Charleston, SC , so we don’t see very many cold winters, but just in case, I like to have a kit on hand both in the car and home.

    Reply

  36. Lissa Crane says

    I do stock up on batteries, but I also keep an extra case of water and canned food in our pantry, just in case we lose power or get snowed in!

    Reply

  38. Elle says

    We always have extra water and batteries and keep a lantern and flashlights and extra blankets ready to go just in case.

    Reply

  39. Laura J says

    I put extra boots, hats, mittens, scarves we get really cheap or at a thrift store in everyones size in the cars. Many times someone might not have their boots or scarf along…and just in case we get stranded in the snow and below zero temps…I make sure everyone has boots, mittens, hat, and a scarf. We also put in some blankets.

    Reply

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