Storms. They're part of living on this planet. But are we prepared with the supplies we will need if the power should go down?
During that snowstorm last week, when we had that 32 hour power outage, I was reminded of how very dependent upon electricity I am. I've already written a post about that, so for now, I'm going to list some items that I will always keep on hand in the event that a storm causes us to be without power for an extended period of time:
Items I was very glad to have on hand when the power went out:
Drinking water. We had a case of bottled water bottles which cost $3.00/24 (each bottle appx. 17 oz.) I don't know if you have Kwik Trip gas station/convenience store where you live, but if you do, and you watch the sales, you can get bottled water at that price. We also had two gallons of purified water.
A source for water (not potable) for laundry or flushing the toilet or anything else. I didn't worry about this, for I was pretty sure the grid wasn't down and I was counting on my electric company to have the power up and running in a short while. Why waste that precious time doing laundry - by hand, no less!
Coffee and a way to make it. (I realize that not everyone cares if they have a morning cup of coffee). But for those of us who do: If you don't have a wood-burning stove, you'll need a Coleman gas stove or something. Coffee pot.
Food that does not require refrigeration. Canned goods, (can opener), berries, nuts, protein bars, coffee, bread, peanut butter, grain-free dog food. (Just checking to see if you're paying attention. Actually, it's important to make sure you have the supplies you'll need for your pets also. You don't want to become your dog's next meal.) I was able to keep the refrigerator and freezer closed during that time and everything in them was still cold after 32 hours. If I'd been opening and closing the refrigerator during that time, I might have lost everything we had in the refrig.
Battery-operated radio. I happened to have a little radio that only picks up WHWC Menomonie, (Wisconsin Public Radio), and I turned it on after I was settled in for the night. I am not kidding you when I say that the first words I heard when I turned on the radio were, 'Are You Prepared to Die?' Remember, Kevin was gone overnight and it was just a blind dog, a lame dog, a curious whining cat, and me in that dark house. I quickly turned off the radio and shuddered! It wasn't 'Darkness Radio' or anything, it was probably a program on preparing a living will. Nevertheless, it gave me the creeps!
Flashlights - good ones - ones that actually throw a lot of light. I think I had 5 flashlights on the floor beside the sofa when I went to sleep in the living room. Backups to backups, you know.
Batteries.
A source of heat that is not dependent upon electricity. We are fortunate to have a wood-burning stove in the livingroom as well as a wood-burning cookstove in the kitchen. Because we hadn't used our Quadrafire in the livingroom for about a month, we didn't realize that the chimney was almost totally plugged up. Needless to say, I could not have a fire in that stove, so I built one in the cookstove.
Firewood. Kindling. Dry newspaper. Matches.
(This was winter weather. What do you do in a hot climate in the summer??)
Oil lamps and lamp oil. I had two oil lamps that acted as nightlights, one sitting on each of the two pianos. Don't ask. They were perfect for nightlights, and took surprisingly little oil for the 10 hours I had them lit.
Antiseptic wipes. You'd be surprised at how often you normally wash your hands throughout the day, especially when you have pets in the house. And when water is no longer easily accessible, you need to have a way to keep your hands clean.
Cell phone, car charger for the cell phone. I was able to go to the car and charge my cell phone a couple times during the power outage. It was nice to have the ability to communicate.
And, if you want to be really prepared, a loaded Kindle with a car charger for the Kindle. :-)
(Written especially for Sandra. :-)
I had written a tutorial for building and tending a fire in a cookstove, but I think that I'll wait and post that in October. Friday it was 28 degrees. Today it is 70 degrees. Now that we have green grass and warmer temps, I'll be using the cookstove to hold the jar of dog cookies and my vintage Singer sewing machine.
So that's what was on my list.
QUESTION: What are some things you can think of that should be added to the list? How are you prepared for a power outage in your part of the country?
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'Tranquility'
Lemongrass & Eucalyptus
Natural, Handcrafted Vegan Soaps
with essential oils (with natural antiseptic and antibacterial properties)
This post may possibly be linked to a few of the following: Mop it Up Monday and Get in My Tummy and Cure for the Common Monday and Clever Chicks Blog Hop and Barn Charm and The Marketplace and Mix it up Monday and Make it Pretty Monday and Making the World Cuter Mondays and Make the Scene Monday and Something I Whipped Up Monday and Motivate Me Monday and le chateau des fleurs and Making Monday Marvelous and Get Your Craft On and You're Gonna Love it Tuesday and Creative Showcase and Memories by the Mile and Tweak it Tuesday and Coastal Charm Tuesday and Take a Look Tuesday and Tasty Tuesday and Love Bakes Good Cakes and Overflowing With Creativity and Mom on TimeOut and Adorned from Above and Wildcrafting Wednesday and Cast Party Wednesday and We Did it Wednesday and All Things With Purpose and Home & Garden Thursday and It's a Party at Creative Princess and Artsy Corner Thursday and Creative Things Thursday and Be Inspired and Time Travel Thursday and Thrifty Things Friday and Friday Fences and Thursday's Inspiration and The Self-sufficient Home Acre and I'm Lovin' it Thursday and Creative Things Thursday and Mandatory Mooch and Foodie Friends Friday and Freedom Fridays and Anything Blue Friday and Junkin' Joe and Serenity Saturday and Get Schooled Saturday and Inspiration Friday(ThursNite) and Vintage Inspiration Friday and Photo Friday and A Favorite Thing Saturday and Share Your Creativity and Sunny Simple Sunday and Sunlit Sunday and Market Yourself Monday and Saturday Nite Special
