Below you will find some tips for dressing for freak winter snowstorms, and below that, how to de-ice a car.
If you can't find gloves, several layers of socks work like mittens (although, like mittens, they become freezing soggy wet after being used to make a few snowballs).
Dish gloves, though not as warm, keep out the wet. If you are willing
to sacrifice a sock, you can cut off the end of the sock to make it
fingerless, and layer it under a dish glove to keep the cold off your
palm at least. You can also put dish gloves on under sock mittens. Thin knit gloves can sometimes be used underneath large dish gloves as well, providing warmth and waterproofing.
No
snow boots? No problem. While regular tennis-shoes get soaked
pretty quick in even mildly deep snow, there's a solution. PLASTIC
WRAP! Before going out in the snow wrap plastic wrap over your socks
sort of like you would wrap a cast to protect it when taking a bath,
then put on your shoes over it. It really works...I have TESTED this
one in snow deeper than we're ever likely to get in most of Texas.
In
this picture (left...which is obviously NOT in Texas), I am actually wearing ONE snow boot and ONE thin
canvas shoe with plastic wrap (cause I left a boot at home when we
left for the mountains...doh). But because of the plastic wrap, both my feet
were equally warm and cozy.
Slipperyness is a
whole 'nother issue....and I don't have a good make-shift solution for that one,
save for scattering salt and kitty litter on your walk. If your kids are on a sports team and have shoes with cleats that would work too.
If you can't find any warm hats, try rummaging through your Christmas decorations. A Santa hat will do in a pinch. No Santa hats? You can also wrap a scarf around your head (see picture above). Baseball caps are also better than nothing.
- If the snow is nice and powdery its easy to brush off. If it's wet
those dish gloves may come in handy. You only will have a problem if
it's snow that's gotten wet and then frozen. Then the tips below will
help.
- If your car is covered in ice, it pays to sit in your car for a while with the
engine running to warm it up--your car will drive better and it may make
de-icing your car easier. Or you can leave your car running while you set at trying to tackle the ice.
- If you don't have a car ice scraper, you can use a credit card to scrape
frost off your window and rear-view mirrors. A plastic spatula works
too. If it's a thick layer you may need to do some hacking (A credit
card won't help too much here. The edge of a plastic ice scraper is
ideal, but the edge of a hairbrush can sometimes work too. Sometimes all it
takes is a firm pound of your fist to break it up. But if you're
getting nowhere with these, refer to step 2.).
- DO NOT just clear off the window and drive with a big slab of ice on top of your roof...because at some point your car is going to warm up and it will start to melt and that big ole slab will either go crashing into the car behind you, or come crashing down your windshield when you stop, blocking your view.
(Thanks to Tamari 09 on Flickr for the use of the Santa hat. I couldn't find the picture of my kiddo decked in a Santa hat in the snow so was very grateful for the substitute.)
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