I don't have room to store water barrels in my apartment, so I fill empty soda bottles and stash them wherever I can.....on a closet shelf, behind my couch, in a corner behind my TV stand and behind my bedroom door.
One of my children was asking me about the bottles of water. I explained that any number of things could knock out my electricity - summer storms or winter blizzards, for example - and that this could affect my water supply. She mentioned that the town where she lives was once without electricity for several days, but they had water. The problem is that I don't know if the same would hold true in my town. Their water delivery systems may not be the same. I am responsible not only for myself, but also for the three furry buddies who live with me and we all need water.
So this morning I went to make my coffee, turned on the tap at the kitchen sink only to find nothing but air coming from it. Same with the bathroom sink and tub. Nothing. Grabbed one of my water bottles and made my coffee. Simple as that.
I have no idea what is causing this water problem. It may be that someone is working on the hot water heater in the basement. It could be something to do with the city water system. It is -6 degrees outside today, but I doubt that pipes have frozen. That has never happened in the 17 years I have lived here and during that time there have been much colder days. So for now, I will just wait and see what happens. If I don't have water in my apartment tomorrow, I will call the landlord and he will deal with it.
The point of all of this is that even without water flowing from the taps, I am merely inconvenienced a little bit. I have enough water to last at least a couple of weeks and longer, if I am careful. I planned to do a couple of loads of laundry today, but it isn't going to matter that I don't. I have a plan in place to take care of everything that needs taking care of with the exception of a shower, and although I like my hot showers, I can manage just fine without.
When we think about being prepared, we often think only about the food aspect of preparedness and sometimes forget how important water is. And if I didn't have water with which to make my coffee, well, life just wouldn't be worth living!
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Great Planning on your p a rt! This shows no matter where you live u can get prepared. In the meantime stay warm and hydrated.....
ReplyDeleteThanks, Mary. When Home Sweet Home is a tiny area, you need to get creative! Seems to be working so far. Today I have heat and electric, but not water as yet. But no worries.
ReplyDeleteAbout ten years ago, we had an ice storm, which cut off the electricity and I was without water for about three days.
ReplyDeleteMy wife, who is most resourceful, took a colander, placed it over a large candle, and heated us some bottled water for instant hot chocolate.
After two days, I used the same method to heat enough hot water to take a sponge bath. It was far from a luxurious soak in the tub, but it was much better than remaining without some type of bath.
Jess, it is amazing to me how resourceful people can be. I would not have thought of the colander and candle thing. I am lucky that this time it is just the water that is off. We get the ice storms here, too, and can lose power for days at a time.
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