The following is a collection of three previous posts which I felt were useful for Houston homeowners, but maybe did not need to stand on their own. I am placing them together from their original formats, so homeowners would still have a link to these sites. I think that they are worth exploring.

Keeping Houston Beautiful

Since reporting on some other websites from the city of Houston, I thought that I should include one more. A website geared towards improving the quality of our life in the city by keeping it beautiful.

The site has information about recycling and green programs, with a means to find out about heavy trash or adopt an esplanade for improvement. There is also a link for teachers and kids to learn about cleaning up a city.

The reason for me to be posting about the site today has to do with the Mayor’s Proud Partners Award. They are still accepting recommendations for who the recipient should be. For communities who have been working towards this effort, it is good to be recognized, so if you know someone, let Houston know.

A Website Detailng Houston’s Growth Plans

Were they planning to have announcements in the same week? Is their IT department working over time of late? The going green site that I just posted about was good, and now Houston lays its plans bare.

Maybe because of Mayor White’s background is in business, he takes on a business like air to aspects concerning the running of the city. Every time I have been at one of his speeches, I am reminded of the meetings which I attended when I had a corporate life. Not necessarily a bad thing, but it is not always inspiring. I should relate that Mayor White has been my favorite leader of the city, since my life here began (I am not a native Houstonian, but how many people are?).

Growth plans are probably a familiar part of life to every manager, and you may not realize that government agencies run much like any business, so they have their own plans in place. In a move that I greatly appreciate, the city has decided to share this plan with its residents. By going to the website detailing the plan, you can see what the future holds for our libraries, parks, commutes, and more. Everything is open for you to see.

If you are a Houstonian, you should visit the site just simply to help the democratic process along. If you are aware of what is happening in our community, you can make informed decisions, and you may help change a course of action that may not be the best for your area. If you are not from our city, but you ended up on this blog, take a look at the link. Maybe your city has done this, or maybe you could encourage them to do so.

A Website for a Green Houston

Since last year, there has been talk of improving the city’s connection with alternative energy, and taking steps to make the city more environmentally friendly. Considering that Houston covers more surface area than most cities, it is hard to see how this could be quickly accomplished. Yet here we are. Houston has adopted the LEEDs standards for green building; commuter and light rail expansion is on the way; forty percent of the power to public buildings is said to come from wind power. Houston is also trying to attract alternative fuel industries to fit in with the energy firms that are already here.

Admittedly, I do not believe that Houston can claim a title like “greenest city in America”, although I have heard that phrase applied to this city recently. Speak to various environmental groups, and you will find that there is no consensus on what the term “green” means. This is probably why the FTC hopes to have rules in place next year. All of that aside, I am quite happy with my city’s efforts to encourage a green environment. With all things, you need to start walking before you get there, and Houston is trying to build up speed to arrive at its destination.

With these efforts, Houston has launched a new site to help the residents go green. The site is Green Houston, and I am impressed by it. There is a forthright effort to deal with many issues, and to show Houston’s response. I particularly liked the report section where you could read about the problems which the city faces along with the cities response (basically allowing both sides to have a voice). Otherwise, there are many helpful links to bring you to the information that you need to improve your green life.

I could simply say that these efforts are due to the current cost of fuel, or to the fact that organic and green are popular words among advertisers right now. However, the city has been making efforts for some time to improve this aspect of life. I can point to plans that appeared to be useless in improving situations that we faced, but then I have to give the officials credit for trying. If you have a chance follow the link above to check out the site for yourself. Let me know what you think.

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When my wife and I were looking for a home, we had a particular neighborhood in mind. We were not too fussy on many details, but we fell in love with our home partially because of the street where it was located. It was the only street with a canopy of trees lining much of it length. There were (and are) other streets with trees, but not like this one. After Hurricane Ike, I began to see that we were loosing these trees. Yesterday, a neighbor hooked a chain to the tree and his truck to rip another one down. Everyone says that they will be replacing them; however, that has not been my experience so far. My children and I lay down in the grass watching a woodpecker in one of our trees, and I think about the coming Arbor Day in Houston.
    Fortunately, I know of a few people who have been planting trees. For some reason (which I expect has to do with gifts), my two youngest were insisting that we plant another Christmas tree (my daughter Katya wanted a living tree for the holiday last year). I am looking for a native tree, like a Red Bud. I was happy to hear about an Arbor Day celebration that would be benefiting a wonderful charity. The great aspect for me is that there will be native trees. Green Bank and and Green Team America have partnered up to bring trees to those Houstonians who want to bring trees back to their yards.  Here are some details:

                       This Houston Arbor Day Celebration is on February 26, 2011 from 8:00 am to 11:00 am
                        The location is at the Green Bank, located at the corner of Greenbriar and the US 59 (4000 Greenbriar)
                         For a suggested $10 donation you can choose from a variety of trees for your own new tree.

    Who does this benefit? Firstly, you gain. A well placed tree can help you reduce your air conditioning needs during our hot summer months. If you have children like me, the trees become wonderful for exploration (my two year old is exploring trees by climbing them; my four year old likes finding the wildlife that abounds around the trees; my fifteen year old is more interested in the shade). Secondly, you will be helping Green Team America. This is a Houston based not-for-profit. They unite high school environmental clubs, who are exploring sustainable ideas. Green Team America provides an infrastructure to help these students connect with others around the country and globe. I like this idea. What can be better than encouraging our youth to explore science, particularly when it comes to sustainability. Maybe they will have a green home innovation.
     An additional benefit to this event is that there will be literature on how to plant your tree, along with expert advice. I notice during my home inspections that many problems with the trees is how and where we plant them. Mulch too high around the base, trees too close to the home, and trees placed in the wrong location are a few items that I see, so maybe you will want to stop by even if you do not have the space for a tree (but you may find that you do). You can see what is happening, and give a little to support Green Team America. Happy Arbor Day!

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A neighbor of mine expressed his disappointment with life in Houston, so his idea for a solution was to move to somewhere else. Another neighbor place an sign his yard in anger at the mayor when a leak sprung up near his home. All of us feel dissatisfaction at times with our lives in a neighborhood, but what do we do about it that is positive? The water line leak is becoming common in my neighborhood, because we probably need new pipes in my older area. Does the sign blaming the mayor help? By itself no. We need infrastructure improvement; we do not have the funds to carry out such work; and we have no will for a stimulus or increased taxes. When it comes to being upset with life in Houston, I think of the difference between the German and English languages describe the concept of “boring”. In English, we find the root of being bored as being out of our control, while in German, the emphasis is placed on the individual, so he can change the situation. Now English speakers do accept a situation can be changed, and German speakers do see situations as hopeless, but we often fail to see that our attitude can change the environment.
    Have you noticed that more people are bicycling? I know that along one stretch of Briar Forest that I run into large groups of bicyclist sharing the roads with cars. We have some streets with bicycle lanes, which are designed for the riders to go in single file. They hardly ever ride single file. I see the bikes chained near a bus spot, and bikes loaded onto the front of the buses. I see more neighbors taking the bus to work. I also know other neighbors who will never give up their cars. Life in Houston has been designed around the car. I do find the idea positive that we are looking to lead the way with electric cars. I find our development of light rail lacking. Why did they not build a light rail line along the Westpark Tollway when that roadway was built? That was the location of the old train tracks. I read an article where a politician wants to develop alternative means of transportation but he was not too concerned with all of the means, since he felt that it was not practical for his area. I wonder how often our leaders in Houston realize that some means of transportation, such as walking, are not done, since they are not always piratical (I frequently walk different areas of Houston, and I can tell you that crossing some major streets is not always easy). Sometimes we have have to assume that if we build it they will come; make it easier to walk or bike in Houston, and these modes of transport will increase.
    Transportation is one factor influencing the quality of life in neighborhoods, but having a vibrant community life may be the better goal. This past week brought a few neighbors to my garden asking about the vegetables. I have always grown vegetables because I discovered that my children will eat more varieties when we grow them. My neighbors responded in a primarily positive fashion, thinking it wise to be growing my own in this economy. That is not my reason though; I want healthy vegetables to be part of my diet, and I like to garden. I was reminded how one acquantince was forced out of the neighborhood next to mine when he began his urban farm. He was renting his home, and the landlord received pressure from the local homeowners association to prevent the urban farm activities. Oddly enough, the structure for the farm was left in place when he moved out, and now the new resident is planting vegetables again. My beds are not purely vegetables, nor are the beds designed in a more urban farm style, so I have not seen opposition yet. What my passion has done is open up discussions. My neighbors and I are discussing our gardens; we are discussing vegetables; and we are discussing recipes. This vegetable garden has sparked the beginnings of a more vibrant community life by helping a conversation to start. Other passions may help other interactions, leading to a more interactive life.
    Here I will end my rambling to come to the point. As we have seen our home values drop, and making ends meet a little harder, we should consider our communities and lifestyles. A vibrant community will make others wish to live there, which increases the value of the homes. Being angry does not help if you have no way to channel that emotion into something constructive. Communities will not thrive unless we express our individual passions in our own little part of the world. Then we need to be open to engage. Do a green home conversion. Create a vegetable garden. Rebuild the facade of your home. Take a walk. Go for a bicycle ride. Then talk about it. Tell others why you are doing what you do. Explain that sidewalks would really help you and your children be safe on your walks (many neighborhoods do not have sidewalks, and I have to take the stroller on the street). Over time better communities will ensue, but this must begin with something small, passionate at home. 

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Every so often, I see the need to write an opinion piece about what is happening in the real estate market, and I feel that need again.  The one situation that I notice is where real estate professionals, or even journalists, take one bit of data as a sign that the real estate market is or will be doing better. I am guilty of this myself. About a week ago, I discovered that nationally housing starts are up by 22%, so I let go a tweet about how happy I was at that news. I then saw an update from a real estate agent about employment numbers rising in Texas. People with jobs might want to buy homes, making the jobs number seem positive for real estate. In a way, we are misleading you.
    The decision to purchase a home is a complex financial scenario for the buyers. There are many factors that go into the decision, and there are many factors behind each financial metric or other real estate data, which may not bode well for the housing market. Take a look at housing starts. For me, this increase indicated a belief by builders that there was a need for new inventory. Shortly after hearing the news about housing starts, I heard the bad news that the foreclosure process was being mishandled by lenders, driving more homeowners into foreclosure when that course may have been the wrong one to take. This second bit of news shows that more inventory will be coming onto the market. Another factor to understand about housing starts is that a builder does not have to actually begin building. Housing starts is usually based upon building permits, which are pulled at the beginning of a project. If a builder has ten lots, he can obtain ten permits, but he might only build five homes. I know of a situation where a neighborhood had $350,000 homes being built by a builder. The original builder moved out of the area. The second builder came in offering homes for $100,000 less. Whereas the first builder only constructed a home for a specific client, the second builder built homes as inventory to have quick move-ins. Quite a few homes are selling, since the new owners like the fact that they are getting a deal.
   About the jobs number, we do see more employment in Texas. In fact most sectors are doing quite well. We can also see the incomes are rising. Taking a closer look at this data, we see that one sector, construction, has lost many jobs, and they are not coming back right now. That bit of news does not sound good for real estate. What about the increase in income? Here again, we may have to dig deeper. Unfortunately, I have not found the best breakdown of this number, but this could be that out of work people found jobs. From zero income to an income is an increase. I have also heard that the added jobs may not have the best salaries.  I have to look into these numbers further. I am concerned that the construction industry is not regaining jobs. To me this is an indicator that new construction on a grander scale is not coming back quickly.
    In my own neighborhood, I have witnessed houses stay on market for many months. If the homes are changed from being for sale to being for rent, a new occupant is soon found. I cannot say that this is the trend, but the fast pace of rentals being occupied demonstrates to me the lack of confidence people may have in buying a home. Will my job be there tomorrow? Who wants a large financial burden if your income is not certain? However, there may be other reasons for people wanting to rent: mortgages. New lending rules by financial institutions are making it more difficult for people seeking homes to buy them. Renting could be the best option. Lenders want people to be thoughtful with their financial life again, and we may not have been prepared for that fact.
    What does all of this mean for the Houston housing market? Basically, we are up in the air, and we will be for at least the next year. Before the housing market can move onto greener pastures, we have have to deal with the inventory that is on the market. The rate of foreclosures is still a concern. Simply because many lenders have stopped to review their practices, does not mean that we will be seeing dramatic decreases in foreclosures. It might mean that we will be seeing foreclosures entering the market later. We will not know, until the lenders decide. Once construction jobs return and builders are completing new homes, we will be heading in the right direction. The good news is that homes in Houston are not loosing value overall. Our homes were not overpriced, so home values did not fall so dramatically. Until we see signs of a real recovery, buyers may be renters.

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I have written about this resource for Houstonians on another occasion, but maybe a description of the center would help. I had heard that the exhibit had been updated, so I thought that it would be a good time to go back. There never seemed to be a moment to stop to take a look. I had a doctor’s appointment for my daughter, which went faster than expected, so I took my girls to the Building Department to see the center. The Green Building Resource Center is in the same building where you would go for your building permits, 3300 Main.
    First, this is an office, so it is not the model of a kid friendly place, but I had no problems. They did enjoy the center, and my older daughter is convinced that we can put in a pool with a solar pump. The dreams of four year olds is hard to sway. Also, if you are not taking the light rail, it is easier to drive on Travis to reach the center.

    The center reminds me of a classroom for home inspectors or construction managers. You have a good many items with information to examine, so that you can become familiar with them. If you are curious about sustainable building, but you are beginning to learn, this space is not set-up in an exhibit form like a science museum, so you may be discouraged. If you take the time at each area, you will find that you can learn a good deal. Everything is packed into the area. There are a wealth of fact sheets, and you can ask questions of the staff (you cannot bring your plans for review, only questions). There are displays which demonstrate the effectiveness of different products. Touching the different window types will show you the amount of heat that can be transferred. I liked the exhibit showing the attic  and surface temperatures of the various roof covering materials.  I feel that homeowners have to understand the consequences of their choices, and several displays did go into these choices. A few exhibits appear to be nothing more than an information display from a manufacturer- what you may find in a hardware store or home center. However, many of these products are not always the easiest to find, so you do discover what to look for.

    If you are a home inspector in Houston or involved in construction in any way, then you need take a look at this resource. For those who are curious about improving their homes, spend time here, take notes, and pick up data and fact sheets. Any resource that can help us make smart building decisions should be part of our plan before we build.

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I inspect quite a few foreclosures. Enough where my opinion has been sought on the topic of evaluating foreclosures by others. If you know me or read this blog, you will know that I have a desire for green homes. Yes, green is a buzzword right now, and many people are jumping on the bandwagon. I have been interested in organic gardening for over thirty years, and I guess I can trace my focus on green issues back to Jimmy Carter’s presidency and the energy crisis that we faced at that time. Somehow, it fit into my love of gardening, but I did have a love of architecture too, which may have helped my green concerns develop. When I was inspecting a foreclosure, a thought came to me where I wondered if I could convince others that the ultimate green home may not be green now, but this home could be a foreclosure.

   My line of thought centers on the idea that “reuse” is a fundamental part of a green philosophy, so could we reuse a home? I guess people want things easy, so we buy homes that are already green. I might if I was considering a new home. However, I like the home that I am in, which prompted me to post on green home conversions. Seeing so many foreclosures though prompts me to say that the world (and the housing market) will not be going green until we bring our attention on making other homes energy efficient. You see I am worried. Going into the winter of 2009, we are hearing reports that lenders will restart the foreclosure process early next year on many homes that they qualify for that process. With news of more job losses, I can sense that even more homes will end up in foreclosure. I hope that I am wrong.

    With all of these homes on the market, home prices cannot stabilize, and we will be seeing inventory suffer from neglect. By taking on a foreclosure close to where you work with the intention of making green changes, I feel that you are making a wiser choice than buying a green home far from work. You have committed to the home. This commitment caries on into the community, which you will want to help. By having the green home further away from your job, with all of the features handed to you, you will not appreciate the green home or extending your green desires beyond the community, unless you are truly involved with the green philosophy. If enough people see foreclosures as a way to spread a green philosophy, neighborhoods will thrive.

    A few months ago I was performing a home inspection in Deer Park. My habit is to drive through a neighborhood to get a feel for the construction. What I noticed was if one homeowner on a street was working towards a green remodeled home, you would have other homeowners following suit. Keeping up with the Joneses.If no homeowner on the immediate street was involved with solar, then other saw no need.I imagine that the motivation behind those first homeowners going green was not climate change or other global issue, but rather a personal concern over finances. Efficient homes cost less money to operate. That is the basis for most of us when we discuss green options, lower bills. Consider living closer to your work or to your family, you will have lower costs associated with your car. If a park is nearby, you can walk there with your children to play. Your green fling may be due to saving money, but then you will see that you will be saving money in other parts of your life with a green lifestyle.

   So do you see a foreclosure as a green home in Houston? I hope that you consider that idea. The benefits can spread beyond your life.

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There are times when I feel that we are loosing our regional uniqueness for different parts of our country. You travel around, and you see subdivisions that are oddly familiar from town to town. What we eat seems to be congealing into one national cuisine too. However, we are seeing a resurgence in people focusing on local products and styles. It never really went away, but it may have been harder to see.

I happened to end up in Schulenburg when they were having their annual festival, and it was an enjoyable time to be there. Although I have been in this small town on several occasions, I had never really taken a look at the older town center. I was going to Wolters Park to look at the log cabin that they keep on the grounds, but the festival made that a little difficult. After spending time in the park, I walked and drove through the town. I wanted to share these pictures, because these homes caught my eye.

The nice thing about porches is that they can become quite usable spaces which also shade the walls of the home. A porch on the east side of the home catches the morning sun, but allows for a cool place to sit in the evening. The stained glass is a wonderful splash of color on these houses, and in the case of these homes serves the same function that we get by a solatube: adding light to a dark space. Metal roofs seem to be more common on residential buildings in smaller towns than in a larger city. On the roof pictured, you will find the type of metal roof which inspires complaints. The bolts holding the roof down are exposed, which allows them to rust causing leaks. Newer metal roof technologies address this issue with a system that covers these bolts with interlocking panels. It was also nice to see that some homeowners chose colors which are more contemporary. Many homes were a standard white, and I wonder if this was really the case in the much older homes. Schulenburg was founded during the Victorian period, when brightly colored elements were common, but white became the norm when the homes had to be repainted. I know in other Texas German communities, bright, varied colors were used on Sunday houses. White paint was cheap though, and it might be that finding other colors may have been hard. I would love to scrape off layers of paint to see what these homes may have looked like.

I also stopped by a Lutheran church. The Catholic churches may be more colorful. If you are not familiar with this region, the German and Czech immigrants built these little gems. They are referred to as Painted Churches, because the settlers used paint to produce fantastic decorations on the interior walls. The faux finishes were meant to recreate the look of the churches that they left behind in Europe. If you have time, you may want to visit these churches, which are centered around Fayette County.

Take the time to travel a back road. Drive around the town. You may discover a home or garden that inspires you. According to my guide book, the museum was supposed to be opened, but it was not. They are said to have a good collection of objects that show what life was like in 19^th century Texas. I would be interested in seeing the furniture from Anglo and German families.

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Should I lament the passing of the TRCC, or should I be indifferent? I will not cheer though, as some may be doing. Right, I know, a home inspector would have liked this program as a way to make more money, but this was not the case for me. My personal belief is that the consumer in Texas has been injured by this action, and it is a shame that we did not find a way to make this law work.

First, let us take a look at the basic complaint leveled at the TRCC: the commission lacked impartiality favoring the builders over the homeowners it was meant to protect. Alright, can you tell me which commission in Texas is not biased towards the industry it is meant to regulate? We have the Texas Association of Realtors creating forms, which are adopted by the Texas Real Estate Commission as the forms that need to be used for real estate transactions. Where is the oversight in that process of parties representing the consumer? The fact of the matter is that industry needs to come to the table when discussing standards to protect the consumer. Do you want an architect ruling over how your food is grown and processed? The architect is knowledgeable about his craft, but this means nothing when it comes to food production. What I do want is someone who is reasonably educated to have a voice to tell industry that there are doubts or concerns about certain means to produce my food, a representative for the consumer. Commissions in Texas strive to have this balance, but my own feelings are that we do not do that well enough in our state.

Why did we implement the county inspection law in the first place? There were a few cases where a builder failed to produce homes that met basic standards which became a burden to the homeowners. Our current economic crisis has probably gotten rid of the bad eggs in the building industry. Of the builders that I have met through my work, I would say that only ten percent of them are hostile to inspections, but of that ten percent, only a few were hostile because they were incompetent. My experience is that most builders are trying to do their jobs well. Like any other industry, you have a percentage that do not know properly what they are doing. This happens. The property code 446 was meant to ensure that a standard was met statewide.

Is there a statewide standard? Yes. I am frequently told that in areas where there are no building inspectors that there are no building codes. You will find that all states have a set of building codes on their books, and Texas is no exception. The problem is that how the state enforces those codes. In most cases, they do not. The TRCC was established to be the enforcement arm. By having three inspections during the course of the building of a home, the buyer could be satisfied that a quality standard had been met through an independent inspection. There was real concern in the inspection community that the inspections be independent of the builder’s influence, and I know that the staff at the TRCC took that concern seriously.

What does the future hold for the consumer? Texas House Bill 2833 does allow individual counties to continue with the county inspection program. To find out if your county plans to keep up these inspections, you will have to contact the county commissioner’s court. Maybe you should write to them to ask that this insurance of residential building quality be maintained. The current law expires by September 1, 2009. All current business has to be finalized before August 31, 2009.

Was the TRCC perfect? No. However, we should have looked to see how we could have made this work, instead of getting rid of it. If the financial crisis has taught us as a nation anything, I would hope that it would be the fact that we cannot allow industry too much freedom that they run rough shod over the consumer. We should find a state of balance.

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Alright, I am being overdramatic with the titles, but I had a weird experience over the last weekend that I thought that I would relate. On Sunday evening, my family celebrated my daughter’s third birthday. My brother spends much of his time at these parties on the patio because of his smoking habit. To prepare for the party, I had spread some peat moss to substitute as a mulch the week before. My watering focused on the beds which had new plants; this bed had established plants, so not a great deal of watering.

As far as I can determine, my brother either dropped a cigarette butt or ash into that bed. During the late evening, I could smell a faint odor of burning, which I thought was coming from a neighbor’s barbecue. The next morning found the same smell. It took me awhile, but I saw a faint whiff of smoke rising from that bed. Looking down, I saw that the peat had a burned color in one section, moving toward the home. There was no great fire. A few plants had their bases burned. I stopped this slow burn from continuing, but it could have made its way to the house.

With Independence Day celebrations around the corner, I thought about how easy it was for this fire to start. Fortunately, the peat was burning slowly, but a similar fire could be likely at most homes, and what if it goes unnoticed? The simple solution is to make sure that you water down all your plants and ground coverings. In my area, there is always some fool who decides that they need to fire a gun or firework. Do they not think that what is launched up comes down? Well, maybe they do not care. My incident reminds me how quickly and simply a fire can start. When a burn ban is in effect, you have to consider all fires from smallest to largest as a threat to your home.

A thought to ponder as the holiday approaches. Be safe!

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Do we forget easily what life is like without the conveniences of electricity? Apparently so, or maybe it is a case that many of us have not experienced life without our modern appliances. I would have thought having coolers (ice chests) as common sense, but I met several people who never bought one. Nor did they have canned foods to create a meal. Others forgot that water may not be available. I found people who did not foresee how they would prepare meals too. I love to cook, and I spent quite a bit of time making sure that my family had healthy meals during that time. In part, I believe that it is a lack of knowledge, so this may give you some ideas of what to do after the hurricane hits.

Water

I fill up the bathtub, buckets, and drinking containers with water before the storm. Water enters your home through pressure, but that pressure is created by pumps run by electricity at stations. You may have water through your faucet after the storm, but that can soon end. If you have a water heater tank, the water in that tank can be used for cooking and drinking. There will be a plastic bib at the bottom of the unit used for draining (water comes out of this bib slowly if there is a build-up of minerals in your tank). Water from the faucets after the storm should be boiled for safety.

Food

I discovered that many vegetable gardeners faced the same problem as mine; the hurricane destroyed most of my vegetables, so do not count too much on your garden. There are canned meats, stews, and fruits which are not too bad in a pinch. Canned vegetables are not always too good, but with some herbs from the garden they become palatable. My herbs survived quite well. Since canned foods have already been cooked, you only need the energy to warm them, not cook them through. This year I am attempting to keep fewer frozen meats. I threw a lot away after Ike.

The amount of energy needed should be a concern. I ran into neighbors who did not have the means to cook all of their foods properly. Rice and potato preparation can take more energy than other starches. Couscous and bulghur can sit in heated water to cook. Heat the water to a simmer; take it off the heat; place the couscous or bulghur in it to sit for five minutes off heat covered. Tabouli can sit in water to soften before eating. There are other grains typically found in the Middle Eastern section that can be prepared with little heat. If you need milk, condensed milk can be mixed with water to make milk.

Cooking

I have an electric oven and cooktop, so I relied on my barbecue to fix meals. This is a propane unit with a burner for pots, so it was quite convenient. Make sure that your tanks are full before the storm, and store them in a secure spot. A propane grill is an investment, and you do need to cook outside when there may be rain. Ovens and cooktops which run on natural gas can be used after you have lost electricity. Those appliances do need electricity to light, but you can light them with a match. You should have no worries using natural gas when the power is off. Remember to keep matches handy. Solar ovens, which I have written about before, may not be helpful. Rain and clouds are common after the hurricane. Charcoal babecues will heat up water for the starches mentioned above, and you can buy a small unit quite cheap. These need to be used outside too. Another fact to recall is that you need light for food preparation. Lanterns for camping can help. Light is a safety issue. You should see what you are preparing.

Those are the basics, and I hope it has given you something to think of when preparing your own home. Camping supplies, like lantern, grills, or even prepackaged dried foods, should be part of your survival kit. Take a look at local stores which specialize in camping goods to find items that can help you. Keep safe.

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