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Book One · The Farm Stockpile & Hard Weather Notebook

Della's Old Farm Methods

Three generations of farm rules for staying fed, warm and safe — checked against today's safety guidance.

My family kept notebooks for ninety years: blizzards, ice storms, tornado nights, the Dust Bowl, and one January that nearly took my father. Most of their rules still hold. Some were only half right. A few would get somebody hurt today. This book tells you which is which, and exactly what to do.

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Limited-time sale through November 30, 2026, then $39.99.
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  • Know exactly what to do the first hour the power goes out
  • Build a two-week storm pantry one extra can at a time
  • Stay warm without the mistake that nearly killed my father
  • 47 printable checklists plus 3 bonus PDFs, instant download
✓ 443 pages✓ 84 photographs✓ 7-day money back, and you keep the book
Book cover: Della's Old Farm Methods
“The house can be cold. The people can't.”
Mother (June), in her own hand
Why this book

Four reasons to have it on the shelf before the first storm

✓

Checked, not guessed

Every old rule is checked against the Red Cross, the National Weather Service, the CDC and the USDA. You get what still works, and you're warned about what doesn't.

❄

Ready when it counts

Storms don't wait. Most of what keeps you safe is cheap and simple, if you do it before the roads close, the shelves empty and the power goes out.

☎

Written for us past sixty

Plain words, clear 13-point type, and the things that matter more as we get older: cold, heat, falls, medicines, and living alone.

✎

Everything in one place

No hunting through a hundred websites in the dark. One book, in order, with checklists to print and tape inside a cupboard door.

Get the Book · $29.99Instant PDF download · 3 bonuses included
1

You pay

Secure checkout through Gumroad. Card, PayPal or Apple Pay. I never see your card number.

2

The book opens

Your download is on the very next screen, about thirty seconds later, on your phone, tablet or computer.

3

It stays in your email

The same link goes to your inbox, so you can download it again any time. Nothing ships, no account to make.

Della at her kitchen table with the family notebooks
A note from Della

Nobody handed you the notebook. Now somebody has.

There are three notebooks on the shelf by my kitchen radio. My grandfather's, begun in pencil in 1932. My mother's. And mine, in blue ink, where I write down what actually happened when I tried the old rules.

I'm Della Prosser, third generation on the same ground in central Nebraska. When I came home in 2007, I read those notebooks at the kitchen table and checked every rule against what the Red Cross, the National Weather Service, the CDC and the USDA say today. I'm not an expert. I'm the one who inherited the notebooks, and I'd rather be honest with you than loyal to a pencil line.

If the last storm caught you short, that was not a failing. You just never had the list.

— Della
How the notebook works

Every old rule gets a verdict

Held up, half right, or crossed out — checked against today's safety guidance, with the reason in plain words and the steps to take.

✓ HELD UP
“Let the tap run a thread on the coldest nights.”
Grandpa Emil, pencil

The Red Cross says the same. But on a well, the thread stops when the power does — and that's when pipes freeze. Chapter 7 shows you what to do.

½ RIGHT DIRECTION, WRONG TOOL
“Froze pipe. Thaw with the torch, start at the tap end.”
Dad (Harold), black ink

Starting at the faucet is right. The torch is how houses burn down. The book gives you the four safe ways instead.

✗ CROSSED OUT
“Power out, open the oven door, and sit by the stove.”
Grandpa Emil, pencil, 1951

My father did exactly this in January 1978 and nearly died of carbon monoxide. Chapter 6 is every safe way to stay warm.

What's inside

23 chapters for every kind of hard weather

From reading the sky to the day you have to leave — plus the storm pantry that gets you through all of it.

I · Before the Weather

  1. Reading the Sky
  2. Watches, Warnings and the Weather Radio
  3. The Hard Weather Year
  4. The House Is Your Shelter

II · Cold

  1. When the Power Goes Out
  2. Heat That Won't Hurt You
  3. Frozen Pipes and the Well
  4. Snowed In
  5. Ice
  6. Cold and the Body
  7. The Winter Car

III · The Storm Pantry

  1. How Much Is Enough
  2. The No-Power Menu (14 days)
  3. Water
  4. The Other Shelf
  5. Oldest in Front

IV · Wind and Water

  1. Tornadoes and the Storm Cellar
  2. Lightning and Hail
  3. Floods and the Spring Thaw

V · Heat and Dry

  1. Summer Heat After 60
  2. Drought, Dust and Smoke

VI · People

  1. The Oldest Rules
  2. When to Leave

Plus the Fridge-Door Pages: your household sheet and the hard-weather numbers on one page.

A few things you'll find inside

The answers you want the night the lights go out

And that's a fraction of it: 23 chapters, 443 pages.

Get All 23 Chapters · $29.99Limited-time sale · instant download
Look inside

Real pages from the book

Clear 13-point type, roomy pages, photographs throughout, and checklists made to print on ordinary letter paper.

The honest math

Getting ready costs a little. Not being ready can cost a lot.

When the storm catches you short

An average water-damage or freezing insurance claim$15,400
Your deductible on that claimout of your pocket
Perishable food in a closed fridge with no powerabout 4 hours
Americans who die of accidental carbon monoxide poisoning each yearmore than 400

Sources: Insurance Information Institute (average claim severity, 2019–2023) · USDA · CDC

What getting ready takes

Foam sleeves on the pipes that freeze firstone afternoon
A battery carbon monoxide alarm near the bedroomsone trip to town
A storm pantry, one extra thing each tripa few weeks
Knowing exactly what to do, written down in orderthis book

Your numbers will differ. The point doesn't: preparing is cheap, and repairing isn't.

Get Ready for $29.99Less than a tank of gas · 7-day money back
When you finish

You'll know exactly what to do

  • The first hour of an outage — and which food to keep or toss on day one and day three.
  • A two-week storm pantry built a little at a time, without blowing your budget, with a 14-day menu that needs no cooking.
  • How much water to put by, how to store it, and how to make water safe to drink.
  • Heat that won't hurt you — space heaters, wood stoves, generators and carbon monoxide, done right.
  • Frozen pipes, blizzards, ice and the winter car — before, during and after.
  • Tornadoes, lightning, floods, summer heat and wildfire smoke — where to go and when.
  • A check-in plan so nobody you love — including you — is ever alone in a storm.
Shelf-stable foods for a power outage
Della on her porch at sunset
Who it's for

Written for real houses and real winters

For anyone who lives out in the country, in a small town, or anywhere the power, the roads and the weather don't always cooperate. Especially for those of us past sixty, and for anyone who lives alone.

You don't need a farm, a cellar or a well, though if you have them, there's a chapter for each. You need a little shelf space, a few Saturdays, and someone to call.

Take care of yourself. And check on somebody who lives alone.

Book cover: Della's Old Farm Methods
Illustrated ebook · 443 pages · Book One

Getting ready costs $29.99. Not being ready averages $15,400.

Foam on the pipes that freeze first. A carbon monoxide alarm by the bedrooms. Fourteen days of meals that need no stove and no fridge. Water by the gallon, and the bleach drops to make it safe. The winter car kit. The storm shelf, oldest in front. The check-in plan, so nobody is alone in a storm. Ninety years of farm rules, every one checked against the Red Cross, the Weather Service, the CDC and the USDA, with the steps, the amounts and the checklists.

$15,400: average home insurance claim for water damage and freezing, Insurance Information Institute, 2019–2023.

$29.99 $39.99 Limited-time sale · through Nov 30, 2026
What you get for $29.99:
The Farm Stockpile & Hard Weather Notebook — 443-page illustrated PDF, 23 chapters, 84 photographs, a clickable table of contents
$39.99
The Printable Checklist Pack — all 47 checklists, worksheets and cards in one file, ready to print and tape inside a cupboard door
Included
The 14-Day No-Power Menu — two weeks of meals with no cooking and no refrigerator, plus the shopping list
Included
The Fridge-Door Pages — your household sheet and the hard-weather numbers, on one page
Included
7-day money-back guarantee — and you keep the book
Included
Regular price
$39.99
Limited-time sale
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You pay today
$29.99
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Questions

Before you buy

Is this a printed book?

No, it's a digital PDF you download right after checkout. It's laid out on standard letter-size pages, so you can print the whole book or just the checklists you need at home.

Can I read it on my phone or tablet?

Yes. Any device that opens a PDF will work. On a tablet or computer it reads like a book; on a phone you can zoom in. The contents page is clickable, so you can jump straight to any chapter.

Is the print large enough to read comfortably?

The text is set in a clear 13-point type with roomy spacing, larger than most printed books. It isn't a "large print" edition, but you can zoom in as much as you like on any screen.

Do I need a farm or a cellar to use it?

Not at all. Every chapter works for a house in town or an apartment. Where a farm, a well or a cellar changes the advice, the book says so.

I'm not good with computers. Will I manage?

Yes. You press one button and the book opens, the way a photo opens. There's no account to make and no password to remember. If anything goes wrong, write to me using the form below and I'll walk you through it, or give you your money back.

Is this a subscription? Will you charge my card again?

No. One payment, one time. No membership, nothing monthly, no free trial that turns into a bill.

What if I lose the file?

The download link lives in your receipt email, so that's the thing to keep. If you lose that too, go to gumroad.com, choose "Get your download link", type the email you bought with, and it comes right back.

Can't I find all this free online?

Some of it, scattered across a hundred websites, half of them selling something and some of them wrong. This is one family's rules, checked against the official guidance, in the right order, with the checklists to print. And you can't hold a website in your hand by a dark kitchen window.

Where does the safety advice come from?

Every old family rule is checked against public guidance from sources like the American Red Cross, the National Weather Service, the CDC, the USDA, FEMA, Ready.gov and university extension services. It's general household information, not medical or professional advice. Always follow your local officials, and ask your doctor about anything to do with your health.

How do I get the book after I pay?

Checkout is handled securely by Gumroad. You'll get a download link on screen and in your email right away, and you can download it again any time from that email.

What if it's not right for me?

Reply to your receipt email within 7 days and you'll get your money back. You can keep the book. No hard feelings.

Are there more books?

Yes. Book Two (June's kitchen, cellar and canning) and Book Three (making do and living alone out here) are on the way. If you buy Book One, you'll hear about them first.

Questions before you buy?

Write to me

Every message comes straight to me, and I answer.

“In October, the list is a choice. In November, it's an emergency.”
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