Mary Maturo
editor
People across Texas have spent days without electricity, water and internet in the midst of freezing conditions. Even those who have gone unaffected by these outages are facing record-breaking temperatures.
If you are currently without power, some methods for keeping warm include staying in a central room of your house and keeping the door shut as often as possible, or using a terracotta pot and a candle to create a makeshift heater.
If you have electricity, you can cook many simple meals using the oven and warm the house at the same time. Placing a wrapped popsicle atop your thermostat ensures that it continues operating. This activates the sensor on the thermostat.
Heat can escape through cracks on the edges of doors and windows, so it is best to line them with rolled-up towels. Covering windows with tacked-up towels or other thick fabrics helps with keeping the cold out as well. Remember to keep your pets close — they are cold too and provide much-needed body heat.
Hydration is incredibly important, as the combination of cold, dry air and exposure to heaters means your body is more likely to get dehydrated. Drip hot water in a closed bathroom to create a moist environment.
It is also important to keep faucets dripping all over the house to prevent pipes from freezing. If your pipes do burst, turn off all electricity in that area immediately and call your landlord, apartment maintenance or a plumber.
If you are currently without water or facing a water shortage, use a bucket or other container and collect snow from the tops of bushes. This can be melted and used for toilets or washing hands.
Using your car to charge your phone or other electronics can be very helpful, but remember to leave your garage door open to avoid carbon monoxide poisoning. Take advantage of a mobile hotspot for limited internet access. Close all of your application that are not in use to conserve power.
