Fix the parts that are likely to cause the most damage in a hard freeze:
- Insulate your walls at the areas you have exposed pipes using something like closed-cell foam or rockwool.
- Know how to evacuate your sprinkler/pool water lines.
- Know where the water main comes in and how to turn it off.
- Flush your water heater regularly to that it retains max capacity/efficiency when the power is cut.
If you know the freeze is coming and have bathtub(s). Fill them up ahead of time, you may need them for water for flushing.
Spend money to properly insulate the windows/doors. This helps for the awful TX summers too.
Get an IR therm gun and find the leaky spots in the house and get them fixed.
Insulate the garage and garage door. If the water heater is in a closet in the garage, insulate the closet.
Spare propane tank(s) for the grill if you have electric cooktops in the house.
Get a powerwall/generac like unit for the house that'll give you a longer runway if power is lost.
Have an electrician wire in a tap on your main to allow cutover from city to a plugin generator.
Keep sleeping bags on hand.
For clothing; mitts, wool socks/hats, down jacket, over jacket/pants or shell.
Keep a set of chains for your car, no one in TX has winter tires. (chains are illegal in TX, but I'd still use them in an emergency)
A couple water filtration units like a Brita. If you lose water and run out of bottled water you may need to drink the bathtub water.
You can buy standard bathtub sized bladders that sit in the tub and store about 100 gallons of water. I have two here in SE Florida. They roll up small and are easy to store. I also have a small two burner Coleman stove and 3 20 pound propane tanks plus 4 cases of assorted MREs. My sister lived in Homestead during hurricane Andrew and I learned a lot about prep from her experience.
If you know the freeze is coming and have bathtub(s). Fill them up ahead of time, you may need them for water for flushing.
Spend money to properly insulate the windows/doors. This helps for the awful TX summers too. Get an IR therm gun and find the leaky spots in the house and get them fixed. Insulate the garage and garage door. If the water heater is in a closet in the garage, insulate the closet.
Spare propane tank(s) for the grill if you have electric cooktops in the house.
Get a powerwall/generac like unit for the house that'll give you a longer runway if power is lost.
Have an electrician wire in a tap on your main to allow cutover from city to a plugin generator.
Keep sleeping bags on hand.
For clothing; mitts, wool socks/hats, down jacket, over jacket/pants or shell.
Keep a set of chains for your car, no one in TX has winter tires. (chains are illegal in TX, but I'd still use them in an emergency)
A couple water filtration units like a Brita. If you lose water and run out of bottled water you may need to drink the bathtub water.