J20 minus 59 — learn how to build indoor-safe space heaters and prepare for cold weather

I'm sitting here under a blanket with a hot water bottle—I'm trying to live the principle of "heat the body before the home"—and it reminds my of the privilege I have to have a safe home and a warm blanket. Not everyone is so lucky.

Not only are houseless people facing another long, cold winter, but continuing energy crises, greenhouse gas-induced extreme weather, and rising cost of living is causing more and more precarity in wintertime. So it's a good time to shout out to the wonderful mutual aid work that I've seen on social media from time to time.

The folks over at Heater Bloc have been posting information about how to make cheap, tent-safe alcohol-burning space heaters with a length of copper, mason jar, and some miscellaneous supplies. I'm not going to try to re-write everything that folks have done. But I will point you to this PDF with clear, step-by-step instructions on how to build them.

Alcohol heaters are great because they carry no risk of Carbon Monoxide poisoning and can be used indoors. These are spill-safe: tipping it over will just extinguish the flame. And they're compact, making it easy to make, transport, and store several of them. The materials can be bought at any nearby hardware store and there's no special handworking skills needed to assemble them.

As we begin to bunker down for winter, some tips for preparing yourself and your community for getting through colder days:

• building some of these space heaters can be done with a small team of people and a few hours. It's good to keep a stash of them around that you can distribute when needed. Alternatively, keep a supply around the house in case you need them during a prolonged power outage;
• heat the body before the home. Double up on thermal underwear, sweatshirts, and silicone water bottles. These will help you get through the winter days without spending a fortune on heating costs;
• keep your sleeping bags in home with you. In the event of a power-disrupting ice storm, you'll want access to sleeping bags to help stay warm—and it's best if these aren't sitting in a garage, shed, or storage unit where they'll be cold;
• mittens are better than gloves for keeping your hands warm;
• if you have sewing skills, you can make some hand-warmers from spare fabric and dry rice. Check out this guide for an example how.

If you have enough to keep yourself warm, consider helping out your community by making some supplies and donating them to a local shelter, or just giving them to houseless people directly. Otherwise, check your local affinity groups to see who is doing cold-weather support.

Stay warm!