That's a very thought-provoking link.

A friend of mine bought several tents cheap at garage sales. She set three of them up near the house for three days when she had (unexpectedly) six kids come to visit. The kids loved them, it kept them out of the house a good part of the time, and the last words she heard as they left were, "Hey, Dad, can we get our own tent?"

It's probably not suitable for extremes of weather, but could work in many circumstances.

If you have the space to store extra mattresses, keep in mind that you don't need all the paraphernalia that goes with them: no box springs, no frames, etc. Mattresses are perfectly fine just sitting on the floor. I ran across a company that makes extra-large 2-mil plastic bags that will hold even king size mattresses: Warp's Coverall Mattress and storage bags with sizes up to 5'x9'. Of course, a plastic tarp and duct tape would work, too. OTOH, some of those bags might be turned into make-do tents and shelters.

Some of these people will bring pets. Not all of the pets will get along together. Keep an eye out at yard sales for larger pet crates, either the wire kind that collapse flat, or the plastic ones that bolt together. These last can be separated, and one section nested inside the other. BE SURE to collect all the connectors and put them in a safe place. Toss in some disinfected litter pans, too. Make-do cat litter: soil, shredded leaves, shredded straw/hay, construction or play sand, dry sawdust.

And keep the mantra: "This, too, shall pass... eventually".

And that blizzard that Izzy mentioned... the couple had FORTY-TWO people jammed into their 1200 sqft home for three days, with the bathtub filled with drinking water in case the power went out. If they can do it, you can do it.

Sue