Tips to Help You Prepare for a Power Outage

tincanjunction (52)in #homesteading • 6 years ago (edited)

Do you have a plan to deal with a power outage? Do you have a way to make sure your family is safe, secure and comfortable if the lights go out? By taking a little time to prepare, you can eliminate the stress caused by a short-term power outage.

image source: PEXELS

In this article, we will discuss some ideas to help you better prepared for a short-term power outage. This article is not to prepare for an end of the world EMP disaster, but to help you create a plan for a short power outage.

We use electricity for everything that we do in modern life. Electricity keeps our food cold, heats and cools our homes and enables us to remain entertained. Every aspect of our lives depends on electricity to make us comfortable.

When most people experience a power outage, it is a major disruption in their lives. We scramble to find the flashlights, we worry about our food in the refrigerator. We stumble around the house trying to find a way to keep warm. It really can be a major disruption.

Building a plan and having assets ready to deal with this problem, can eliminate the worry and can ensure the safety of your family.

Let's set the scenario.

First, let's set up the scenario that will guide us through the process of building a plan for dealing with a power outage. When you know what you are preparing for, you can build a rock solid plan.

Today, power outages are usually not too long in the US. So in our scenario, we will plan for a power outage that lasts one week.

What are the basics?

To build a plan, you need to think about the basics that your family needs to be comfortable during a power outage. Here are the basics to start with. Your situation might need some additional items, so plan accordingly.

Light

The first thing on our list is light. You need to have the ability to light dark rooms and to be able to see. In a power outage, you don't want to have one flashlight for the whole family. Invest in some inexpensive light sources. Have a light source available for each room. Make sure the light source is omnidirectional, meaning that it directs light all over the room, not focused like a flashlight. You can buy all kinds of inexpensive batteries or solar-powered lanterns and lights. I have found that the Tap Light is an excellent cheap light source. You can google to find them. They are inexpensive and are battery operated.

Food

Food is a very important part of being prepared for a power outage emergency. Food preparedness can be broken down into three main categories, which I explain below:

Dry and Canned Foods: Keep a supply of dried and can food in case of an emergency. The food in your refrigerator, may not stay good for too long. You need to make sure you have enough dried and canned food to feed your family for at least a week. While not ideal, you can eat most canned foods without cooking them. In an emergency, this could mean the difference between life and death.

Refriderated Foods: If you have no power, your refrigerator and freezer will not work. You need to be able to keep the cold in them as long as possible so that your food stays safe as long as possible. Here are some tips for keeping your food safe in the refrigerator:

Keep some frozen water bottles in your freezer. When the power goes out, these frozen water bottles can help keep your food cool. You can transfer some of them to the refrigerator to keep it cool too.
Keep the door closed as much as possible. Your refrigerator and freezer are built to keep the cold in, so limit the number of times you open the door.
Eat refrigerated food first. You want to use as much of your refrigerated food as possible before it goes bad.

Food Preparation: You want to have a way to prepare food for your family. You need to have alternative ways of cooking your food in case of a power outage. Here are some ideas that you might look at:

Gas Oven: If your home has a gas oven, it should work during a power outage. Make sure you have enough fuel. Also, make sure you know how to light it manually if you have an electric ignition switch.
Outdoor Grill: Many of us have outdoor grills. You can use your grill to cook food in an emergency. Make sure you have enough extra propane or charcoal to get you through.
Camp Stove: Camp stoves are great for cooking meals outdoors. They are inexpensive and use propane. Make sure you keep enough fuel to make them useful.
Solar Cookers: Solar cooking is a great way to prepare food. There are all kinds of solar ovens that you can buy. A solar oven uses the sun to heat and cook food. You can even make one yourself with items found around the house.
Rocket Stove: A rocket stove is meant to be used outside. A rocket stove uses very little fuel. You can buy or build your rocket stove, just google to get more information.

Water

During most power outage, your water should continue to work. But if you experience a power outage during the winter, water might become an issue. Here are some things to plan for during a power outage:

Drinking Water: You need to make sure you have enough drinking water for each person in your home.
Cooking: You need to make sure you have enough water to cook any food during the power outage:
Sanitation: You need to ensure that you have water to do basic sanitation, handwashing, body washing and flushing the toilet.
Freezing Pipes: You need to have a plan in place to keep your pipes from freezing. A broken water pipe can cause a lot of damage and can ruin your home.

Heat

If you have a power outage during the winter, you need to have a way for your family to stay warm. You need to have a way to heat at least part of your home. You also need to ensure that your family can stay warm. Here is a list of some items to assist in keeping everyone warm:

Indoor-safe Portable Heater. Get a portable indoor heater, this might be a kerosene heater or indoor-safe propane heater. Mr. Heater sells a great line of indoor-safe heaters that run on the small green propane bottles.
Blankets: Have extra blankets for everyone in your home. You should have at least 2-3 thick, blankets for each person. You can also use sleeping bags as extra blankets.
Warm Clothing: Have warm clothing for everyone in your home. Make sure that everyone has clothing to bundle up in to keep them warm. Don't forget to have gloves and something to go on their head, like a beany.
Emergency Thermal Blankets: Make sure that you have at least 1 of those silver emergency space blankets for everyone in your home. They are cheap and can save your life.
Extra Wood: If you have a wood fireplace, make sure you keep at least a couple of weeks worth of firewood on hand.
Hand Warmers: Hand warmers are very cheap to buy and can help you warm up in the cold.
Huddle Together: If you have limited availability of heat, pull your family together into one room. If you have kids, you can make it into an indoor camping adventure. The goal is to try and keep as much heat in as possible.
Hot Water Bottle: In the old days, people used hot water bottles to stay warm at night. If you have a way to heat some water, you can fill up some hot water bottles and place them in your bed or under covers with you. The heat generated by the water bottle will help you stay warm.

Cooling

Keeping cool is a luxury that we have gotten used too. We have air conditioners that keep our homes cool in the summer. When there is no power, you are going to get hot quickly. Here are a few ways to help you stay cool:

Battery Operated Fan: There are many different types of small personal battery operated fans on the market. These fans are not meant to cool your whole home but to be pointed directly at you. You would be surprised at just how well these fans work to keep your cool.
Foldable Hand Fans: For very little money you can purchase a foldable fan for everyone in your family. It may be old fashion, but it will help you stay cool.
Water Mist Bottles: Another way to stay cool, is to get everyone in your family a small water mist bottle. This can help on hot days to keep them cool.
Windows: Make sure that your windows are ready to be opened. Make sure you have screens in each window to keep the bugs out and make sure that all your windows open.
Screen Door: If you don't have one; you might look into getting a screen door. This will allow you to get more outside air into your home.

Backup Power

Having a reliable source of backup power can save you in a power outage. Most of us may not have the money to buy a home generator or tie it into our electrical system. If you can, then that is the way to do. If not, here are a couple of things that you can do:

Generator: Generators come in many different sized from whole house generators to small generators that will run power tools. If you can't afford a large generator, try getting a small one. Many small generators can be purchased for as little as $200.00 and can run a heater, fan or charge electronics.
Solar Charger: You can pick up a small solar charger for less than $100.00. These small chargers can keep your small electronic devices charges like phones, music players, and tablets.
Battery Pack: You can purchase small battery packs everywhere these days. Battery packs come in all sizes and can be used to keep your electronics powered. You can even build your own with instructions found on the internet.
Solar Power Items: When looking for items, you can choose to get solar powered products. For example, there are a lot of solar-powered lanterns for sale. These lanterns can be placed in the sun during the day and used inside at night. You can also get solar powered emergency radios for hearing news broadcasts.
Extra Batteries: If you are using battery powered lights and other items, have plenty of extra batteries. If you are using rechargeable batteries, have a way to charge them and keep them charged.

Entertainment

Power outages are boring. You need to have a way to deal with the boredom. Have some games and books ready to keep everyone entertained. It will help keep everyone's mood up.

Additional Important Items

In addition to the things already mentions, you need to keep a few other items available. These include:

Portable Radio: A battery or solar powered radio, where you can get valuable news and information.
Sanitation Wipes: Keep sanitation wipes available in case you are running low on water.
Paper Product: Make sure you have enough toilet paper and paper towels available.
Emergency Contact List: Make sure you have a paper copy of your important numbers. These could include family members, work, utility companies, ect..

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