The weekend was a hard one for northerners. Ice storms debilitated many towns by dropping trees on power lines, kind of like a monstrous game of pick-up sticks, without any of the fun. Electricity blinked a few times in my house, and then it shut down completely by 10:30 p.m. on Saturday.
The house and street were dark, like a black hole compared to the white, icy lawns and slick streets. It should have been quiet, but the windy rain crystallized trees and kept windows knocking and rooftops creaking. Throughout the night, more sleet fell and coated our world, layer upon layer.
We were without power for nearly 24 hours. In the course of one powerless day, its easy to reflect on what it was like for the pioneersexcept they really had nothing to compare their lives against like we do. As soon as the rooms get cold or you have to blindly find your way downstairs in the middle of the night, you longingly remember what its like to have light and a constant supply of heat.
On Sunday night, I began to wonder how Id get my Monday-morning layout in the works. What if my computer was affected by the power outage? I also started to think our roof would cave from the weight of the ice. Why hadnt we cleaned those gutters out after the fall to make sure there wouldnt be backed up?
How are you faring this winter? Did you make sure you stayed on top of all the maintenance at your self-storage facility so youd be protected from ice buildup in the gutters? For hints on surviving the winter wear-and-tear on my house, I visited the DIY (do-it-yourself) network. Many of the pointers apply to any building and not just a home. I also learned about heat strips and gutters.
Need more specifics about how to best weather the storms in your neck of the woods and keep on top of maintenance at your site? How about protecting your computer and hardware from power surges and electrical outages? What a disaster it would be to lose all your tenant data in one blink of the eye. Tune into the maintenance category of the ISS article archives, and youre sure to be ready for anything Mother Nature decides to send your way.