A practical tool kit
You don't need a full shop. This list handles most outage and storm repairs:
Fix-it skills worth learning now
- Tarp a roof: after storm damage, spread a tarp over the damaged area, extending over the ridge, and fasten it with boards screwed along the edges (not nails through the tarp alone).
- Board a window: keep a few pieces of plywood cut to fit your largest windows.
- Stop a leak: shut off the water main; use a pipe repair clamp or a rubber patch and hose clamp until it can be fixed properly.
- Reset tripped breakers and replace a blown fuse.
- Small-engine basics: change oil, clean or replace an air filter, change a spark plug, and drain old fuel. This keeps generators, chainsaws and snowblowers running.
- Light a pilot light on a gas water heater or furnace, following the instructions on its label.
- Jump-start a car, and change a tire.
Fuel storage at a glance
| Fuel | Use | Storage tips |
|---|---|---|
| Gasoline | generators, chainsaws, cars | approved cans; add stabilizer; rotate every 6–12 months; store outside the home in a shed |
| Propane | grills, camp stoves, heaters, dual-fuel generators | never goes bad; store tanks outdoors, upright, away from the house; never indoors or in a garage |
| Kerosene (K-1) | kerosene heaters, lamps | blue cans; keeps well in sealed containers; never put gasoline in a kerosene heater |
| Butane | small camp stoves | canisters indoors are OK when sealed; keep away from heat |
| Firewood | stoves, cooking | dry, covered, off the ground, 30 feet from the house in fire season |
| Charcoal | grills | keep dry in sealed bins |
Keep fuel quantities within local fire code limits, away from ignition sources, and out of reach of kids.
Keep a repair binder
Put in one binder (and a copy in your offline phone files):
- manuals for your generator, furnace, water heater, well pump and stove
- model and serial numbers
- the phone numbers for plumber, electrician, propane supplier, insurance agent
- a sketch of your property showing water, gas and electric shutoffs and septic location
Sources: Ready.gov — Home safety · FEMA — Are You Ready?