list of things to do to prepare for a power outage

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list of things to do to prepare for a power outage

We just came out of a 24-hour power outage. When we woke in the morning to no electricity, I thought it was no big deal. My kids have limited TV time during the day, so we can surely make it a few hours with no electricity. But as the hours marched on, I became increasingly agitated and cranky. Because our power outage was due to an ice storm in the middle of December in Maine, it was quite chilly in our house. We do not have an alternate source of heat, nor do we have a generator. So our house was about 50 degrees most of the day. I tried spending the bulk of the day snuggled under blankets, but it seems the children were not as affected by the cold as I was. They were not satisfied to allow mom some warmth. They required mediation of their frequent fights; participation in all of their games; and sustenance in the form of breakfast, snack, lunch, snack, snack, dinner. We were not prepared for this storm and I have vowed to be better prepared the next time. Here are some things that I will have ready.

Stockpile jugs of water. This is particularly useful if you have a well (like we do). This can be used for drinking, brushing teeth, and washing hands. Save gallons of tap water for flushing toilets.
Know where your flashlights (and batteries) are. Have a variety of flashlight options. We whole-heartedly recommend a head lamp. Then you can do things hands-free.
Buy a weather radio that has a crank or can be run on batteries (again, have plenty available).
Have plenty of candles: little jar candles, tall pillar candles, and portable tapers.
Have plenty of food options: canned foods that don’t require heating, summer sausage, peanut butter/honey, crackers, fruit, think “camp food”.
Make sure you have a backup phone option. Cell phones should be charged prior to a storm and
Portable DVD players and laptops should be charged, if possible. This makes a very nice pre-bedtime, quiet activity.
Have sleeping bags ready. Good sleeping bags are perfect for keeping little bodies warm in cold weather.
Know where your board games, card games, and coloring books are. Have plenty of books available for reading under blankets.
Dress in lots of layers and have easily accessible blankets.

What is something you have learned from a power outage?

6 responses to “list of things to do to prepare for a power outage”

A Trivita Mom says:
December 20, 2008 at 12:05 pm
our electricity goes out quite often in all types of weather
couldnt really add to your list
good advice
Barbara says:
December 16, 2008 at 3:24 pm
AWESOME list and advise. We were in the path of the ice storm Friday too, luckily our power was only our 12 hours, and the house didn’t get too cold. I did have to run out to buy batteries for radio and a few things, I was low on groceries and wasn’t prepared at all. Our grocery store was open, on a generator, so meat o frozen stuff, I was thinking if only I could get some burgers we could grill them, so having some frozen food you can grill is a good idea, I was all out. I did manage to clean out closets and get 3 bags ready for the salvation army during our power outage , that was nice. We have a fireplace as well so that helped. We are thinking about a generator though, for our sump pump, we were worried about our newly finished basement being flooded…again!
The Chatty Housewife says:
December 14, 2008 at 9:11 pm
Oh I love this blog! I have so so so many lists saved up on CD’s. :) I’m prepared for all sorts of stuff, but they are all things that happen a lot in my life. I need to remember to make lists in case things happen that are unplanned too.
Jessica says:
December 13, 2008 at 7:48 pm
Oh Jenn, I am sorry you were hit. We somehow escaped the ice and had just the torrential rains. But rains like I had never seen before. We loose power pretty frequently. And yes, it is terrible in the winter. We live in the room(s) where we have fireplaces. They generate a good deal of heat. We have even cooked hot dogs and roasted marshmallows in the fireplace! We also have two Coleman Lanterns. They are battery operated, and use a lot, but omigosh they light a room up deliciously!
Lola says:
December 13, 2008 at 5:14 pm
Where we live we have a basement sump pump, so going without a generator is not an option. We learned the hard way by having to replace our furnace and our washing machine due to water damage.
Now we have a generator and can get it going in under 5 minutes. One person runs to the basement and switches out the plugs, while the other takes the cover off the generator and starts it up.
Normally to save on gasoline we only plug in the sump pump and the refrigerator. During one extended outtage, 5 days, we gave in and plugged in the television for brief periods. It allowed some entertainment as well as checking up on the weather and the devastation due to the tornado that hit our town.
Kathy says:
December 13, 2008 at 12:15 pm
Yep, we just had the same situation in CT. Never thought about the portable DVD player – great idea.
One thing I learned about candles is to have some unscented ones around. I tend to buy scented Yankee Candles, but when you’re burning them for many hours at a time, in varying scents, it is headache inducing!
Kathy