I'm with roxsol. It was -5 when I got up this morning.

-10 last night. I have a hot water heater, that heats water for the hydronic floor heat...and hot water for showers/baths. We've talked about buying a spare, it's THAT important! ☺ My SUV is 2nd on my list of "must-haves". It's too far to walk to a grocery store & no sidewalks either. The snow is piled along the roadsides, walking in those piles would be miserable.

My pretty Lazy Boy recliner, as I've been spending HOURS every day with my leg iced and elevated after a total knee replacement on January 25th. Add to that: my MacBook Air, and my espresso machine. Sadly, that's my life right now--at least for the next month or so. Edited to add: and I can't imagine not having our sweet Finley pup--she brings so much joy!

It's warmed up to -25C! I would have to agree with the furnace right now. Followed by my coffee machine. (which I why I own SEVERAL ways to make coffee lol)

Yay heat!

80s again today where I live.

What do I use that I could not get along without? My vacuum. Keeps the cat hairs/fur from overrunning the place.

My DH is essential, but beyond that...Electricity! And gas!

aka Stacey_mb

I couldn't do without heat or electricity at all during our frigid winters. Apart from that, I couldn't live without my laptop computer. Also adding to my quality of life is my iPod on which I listen to audiobooks while walking for my daily steps.

Hopefully nicole that water heater does not have any electrical parts. Was thinking a little while ago about having an insert put into the unused fire place. It has been a while since the electricity went out when cold. I remember using it when the lights were supposed to be out for a week. Which means the furnace was not working.

Bible, I'm not good at memorizing Scripture.

maifleur....we have a backup generator. ☺ Never had to use it. ♥

Furnace, A/C, my Cpap and phone. Also electricity to make sure they all work.

My electric tea kettle!

My allergy meds. Besides health stuff, I guess the next would be my phone. Tablet as a back up. And of course electricity so Everything stays running and charged up. We do have generators if needed.

A GardenWeb account!

!. God

2. Our heating system. Without heat right now I would die of hypothermia, so any other inanimate object would be worthless to me !

electricity, coffee maker, TV, cats, and dogs, computer, books, iPhone, gas furnace and water heater.

4 wheel drive vehicle. Indoor plumbing. I could not imagine having to trudge to an outhouse in the snow in the middle of the night or even during the day.

Electricity, for sure. If we're talking about physical objects that make my life better, I would have to say my iPad. I think of all those years lugging around boxes of books, a television, CDs, DVDs, a computer, etc. and now they are all replaced by this miraculous tablet.

Of course the obvious, electricity, running water, central heat. But I would really be lost without my Microwave. Real from scratch type cooking that I prided myself on is difficult these days, so much as I hate it, store bought frozen foods are a mainstay. You can't beat the microwave for thawing and heating most anything.

My glasses!

Clean running water and indoor plumbing. I’ve been without electricity, and without gas, but there are alternatives to them. Clean water, not so much.

My glasses. I’m pretty useless without them.

My smart phone.

Electricity because my house is heated by electric and I have a well, so no water if the power is off. We do have a generator but it isn't automatic. I don't know how to use it. My son does though and he is the other thing I couldn't get along without in this house. I can't plow or even shovel the snow.

insulin

My SO. And I don't mean for sentiment reasons. Well not entirely. He does all the things I hate to do but need to be done,such as certain home maintenance and more frequently, car maintenance. I hate doing all things car related. I dont have to anymore. He does it all and I don't have to think about it.

I won't say I can't get by without my appliances like my washer and dryer and dishwasher but EVERYONE around me would be miserable if I had to.

I can do without central heat as it doesn't get so cold in Alabama all that frequently but i simply could not function without air conditioning.

Except for houses heated with heat pumps or (horrors) resistance heating, central heating run by gas burning furnaces or gas water boilers/heaters do not have high power requirements and can easily be operated with a properly set up generator. Ditto for well pumps. Even smallish generators can suffice. In places where power is frequently lost and weather can be extreme, built in- auto-on generators may be useful to have.

My comfortable recliner, electric teakettle and MacBook Air.

seagrass

Assuming that I have all my utilities......I would say my Kindle and my dishwasher. I would be lost without books and I hate hand washing dishes.

Amylou, I know I’d certainly be colder without my DH! He gets up early to shovel the driveway, then goes out again to clear after the plows have dumped across the apron. (I’d use the snowblower, but I always have trouble starting it. He prefers to shovel. When I was a kid we had a big tractor and a plow, and I felt quite powerful doing the long driveway with that, but I find a snowblower to be quite satisfactory now.)

I could do without a dishwasher or a dryer, but I need my washing machine. I HATE washing clothes by hand, especially if I had to do big things like pants or linens or towels.

My heater and my coffee pot!

I think our heating and cooling systems are a given and mandatory in subfreezing conditions like now. (Installed one of those whole house generators last year. It was expensive, but the peace of mind it’s offering right now makes it worth it) My ipad/iphone, my dog, my feather down blanket and my car are the only things of comfort I really couldn’t live without.

My glasses - nothing fun about it but with a correction of -12, they are essential. I wear contacts but when I go on a long hike, I take a pair of glasses with me just in case.

Electricity. Without it I have no heat and no computer, no hot coffee, lights, stove, etc.

Lukki curious about your generator installation. Last summer i checked and unless I wanted to cut down my fruit trees the rules prevent me from having one. Here there must be in a building ten feet away from a dwelling with an additional building to store the fuel. You stated it was expensive but did you have to do the separate building or just have it on a slab like some I have seen. I know depending on the area the converter and wiring can be costly.

At the moment, Electricity.

"Here there must be in a building ten feet away from a dwelling with an additional building to store the fuel."

maifleur, permanent generator installs are connected whenever possible to the home's natural or propane gas system. With no additional need, beyond what's already in place, for fuel storage.

maifleur03 Lukki has a whole house generator, probably runs on natural gas that is fed directly too it, just your furnace and stove. And it comes on automatically when the power goes out.

We have a portable generator that is out in the garage and DH had to put gas in it about every 3 hours. That is probably what you are thinking of.

I can only state what the information said. Being ten feet away seemed a little strange but there are several different types. Some do use the homes gas system others even though the electrical connection is hard wired are ran with gasoline. Going and filling a tank in rain or snow is just not something I would want to do. Decided not to get on unless things are worse so it is a mute point.

Could not get along without:

1. Victorinox Pocket knife, Officers model

2. Desk top computer with solid state hard drive.

3. House furnace

4. Vehicle

5. 3 goose down parka

6. Winter gloves

7 And for this winter, a snow shovel.

Air conditioning. I can sort of get along without it in Los Angeles, as my house there is close to the beach, and so it does not generally get too hot, but I could not survive in Coachella Valley without it. We use it 8-9 months of the year in the desert.

Furnace, electricity, eyeglasses, SUV, laptop, phone (land AND cell), hiking poles (it is either those or get rid of the chickens in winter), range, laundry washer, bed, running water.

Home-care nurse to go visit to replace my catheter when it blocks and I can't bust the blockage with the syringe they gave me ... and the urgent care department at the hosp. if the nurse isn't immediately available.

ole joyful

Fossil fuels.

I don't know why I didn't think of this when it was -40 outside: my furnace. :)

Well there is a whole list of modern conveniences we are used to that I "couldn't" do without but in truth I could probably survive better than many. Then are are the serious matters of heath and safety which we depend on. So I will answer as if the question was intended as a floof post.

My new riding rain duster. I love that thing. After being soaked to the skin on the trail several times wearing regular rain jackets etc. and once this year having to stay soaked for several hours afterwards due to having to be somewhere else with no time to go home and change, I love that thing. It keeps me dry, my saddle dry and even a good part of my horse dry. So it get the honor of current best thing I can't get along without. :-)

Indoor plumbing, especially the potty. After living 14 years without, I still feel it is a luxury

My 2 kindles are a must have for me

Having been one paycheck away from being on the streets, I figured out the two things I had to have. First and foremost was my car. I couldn't figure out how to get my child to and from school, or how to carry groceries from the grocery store. Sure, I can ride the bus, but only what I can carry. And then you have to walk with it. The other was a roof over my head. I didn't care what kind of roof. So I guess my answer is a reliable car. I have one and I have a backup that runs fairly well.

Electricity,for heating and cooling. Now that I'm older extremes in temps lead to abject misery.