What does it take to “be prepared” for a power outage? If you use a generator, do you have enough fuel stored for longer outages? If you are one of the many families without a generator (we don’t have one, yet), what do you do when there’s an outage?
For starters, you need a heat source, a light source, and methods of preparing healthy meals/heating water. Right up on my list of “must haves” is a plan to keep everyone occupied & sane while the power is out.
Heat: At this point, we’d be miserable if power went out for any duration! We need to get propane again, but have to wait for the $$...we should have this situation remedied by end of January! We have extra blankets, warm clothing, and those hand/foot warmers. We would close off all rooms except the living room & contain our body heat in there. BUT, are there alternate heat sources that would be SAFE to use indoors?
Light: We’re set here. Kerosene & battery operated lanterns, with extra fuel & batteries on hand. We have flashlights in every room. We got a wind-up flashlight for each car for Christmas - these are pretty cool! We also have a stash of light sticks, if needed. We also have plenty candles, but don’t often use them – too dangerous with a curious cat!
Cooking: I’m fine here, too. Cooking during a power outage is easy if you enjoy camp cooking! We have our camp stoves with extra fuel, 3 Dutch ovens, bbq with plenty charcoal, and “camp fire.” I used to have a supply of the tuna-can stoves (buddy burners?), but we're out...note to self: make more! We LOVE outdoor cooking, so this is not a hardship for us :) Since this is a FOOD storage blog, I should mention WHAT to cook, not only HOW to cook it...if you have the equipment mentioned, you can cook any meal outside that you can cook inside, with a bit of extra thought. Be sure to start thawing meats earlier, or plan to use canned meat. Cooking in a Dutch oven can take a while, so if needed, be sure to start your food to cooking early. This is a good time to use up some of that "almost ready to expire" canned food in a big pot of soup.
If you don't have the cooking equipment, you can still eat well. Tuna or p.b. sandwiches are always yummy. Heat a can of chili, stew, or soup on a tuna-can stove or over an open fire. If you can boil water, you can eat cup o' soup or any number of the freeze-dried/dehydrated foods in your stash. Be sure to check your food storage for foods that can be prepared with little or no preparation! Now that I'm writing this, I don't have enough in this category...
I also like to keep a big pot of water simmering. We use it for hot cocoa or scoop (with a ladle) a bit out for hand washing.
Sanity/entertainment: Our family loves to play games, so a power outage always means lots of games – board games, card games, it doesn’t matter. Our youngest is learning to play guitar, so I’m sure we could talk him into some live entertainment! We also have the keyboard that has battery-backup, so we can always have piano music, as well.
For longer outages, you should be prepared to save the foods in your freezer…can you cook up big batches of whatever is thawing and can it? I’m thinking mostly about meat because it would be such a shame to lose! I know, home-owner’s insurance should cover lost contents, BUT it’s still such a waste. I wish that I could say I’m fully prepared, but I can’t – yet. I have so much meat in my freezer that I don’t have a way YET to process it all without the electricity. I have a pressure cooker/canner, but I’ve only used it in the kitchen. (if we had the generator up & running, I shouldn’t need to worry about the freezer…)
OH, one last thought…every home should have a regular (non-cordless) phone to use in case of power outage…
Does anyone have other suggestions for surviving power outages?
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15 comments:
If power outage is in the winter, freezer contents can be kept frozen by using ice (frozen outside) or by putting freezer contents outside in animal safe containers.
Try not to rely on batteries too much, unless they are solar rechargables - it's amazing how fast you can use up batteries.
Might want to try an 'electric free' evening, then 1/2 day than full day just to see how your family would cope.
A generator is great but you still have to store fuel ahead of time.
Hi Anon,
We us a variety of batteries...and change them twice a year (new ones go with the flashlight, not in...older ones go into the drawer for everyday use...). They do get used up quickly if that's all you're using, which is why the other sources come in handy...kerosene, candles, etc.
We can & have coped quite well without the electricity...for days at a time.
It's funny that you mention putting freezer contents outside (in animal proof containers), because we just talked about this as a back-up plan. We need to know ahead of time where we'd put it, taking into consideration the effects of the sun (wouldn't want to thaw it out!) and easy access...
We keep our sodas outside during winter! Saves SO much space in my fridge!
Generator: we've resisted to this point, but something keeps nagging at us to go ahead & do it...It's a good back-up plan & we have a plan for enough fuel for 3-5 days of running it for essentials only (no tv, no computer, no extra lights). I have a good friend who lives 2 miles past electricity - they have been living on generator for 25 years, can you imagine!?
More tips/suggestions, anyone?
I used to worry about the lack of heat, too but I stumbled upon these Mr. Heater indoor propane heaters. They come in two sizes and run on either propane cylinders or a large (gas grill size) propane tank. It's on our list for this year.
They get mixed reviews on Amazon.com with the smaller model getting better reviews because it does not contain a "noisy" fan. We plan to get the small one with a hose extension so we can hook it up through the window to the large propane tank, which would be outside. The best part is that they come with a low oxygen sensor that turns the heater off in case oxygen gets too low. (Yay! I'll be able to sleep!)
Beprepared.com has them and you can get more info from www.mrheater.com.
Brings me back to my childhood days, living in Alaska, when we would have frequent, lengthy power outages. We just did much of the stuff you suggested in your post... We played card games and board games by lantern/candle light. We had big family slumber parties in the family room, gathered around the woodstove. And another important thing to remember... your freezer, if it doesn't get opened during a power outage, can stay cold enough for several days that the food will not spoil. The fuller you have your freezer, the longer it will last without power. Just another good reason to stock your freezer!
I'd be interested in people's thoughts on generators. Cost, how to store fuel, all that jazz. I've thought about it -- just haven't taken the effort to be informed.
Great post Carole! Thank you very much.
We live in a little house in the middle of the city. There's no way to add a wood stove or anything like it. I have a propane heater I bought for my husband's birthday last year. It's different that the Mr. Heater. I plan to get one of the Mr. Heater's as well. Closing off rooms and such.
Being in the city, we have never had a power outage. (knock on wood) But, I prepare for one anyway.
We have 2 generators. My husband found a "great deal" on two refurbed generators at Home Depot a number of years ago. We store our fuel in regular 5 gallon gas cans. We rotate it by using it for the lawn mower during the summer. Otherwise it just sits in a very well ventilated shed.
I have four or five large propane tanks for cooking and heat if needed.
I'm also prepared with more than one (read: obsessed) pressure canner and 2 large camp chef cookstoves to can meat if faced with a long term outage, to can meat from the freezer.
We live in the country. We heat with wood all winter anyway so having the power go out never affects our warmth. One thing we did do is when it was time to replace our old gas stove, we found most have electric pilots now. The salesman said we could not use the oven but we could use the stove top- I wanted to have my oven available so we went with a cheaper model that did not have the electric pilot. now I can cook normally even with power out. The next biggest thing would be to have some water storage- both drinking and for toilet flushing etc... we heat it on stove and add some cool for washing dishes:) I keep handwipes and/or hand sanitizer on hand for the bathroom. We use a coleman lantern on the dinning room table and have flashlights available for other rooms. I actaully like when the power goes out, sort of little house on the prarie:)
OK, I need to look into these Mr. Heaters!
I keep my freezer stuffed, so it should be ok for a few days. I still think I need to work on my "what if" preparations & be able to can that meat if needed...I need to do a practice run using the pressure canner on the camp stove.
We don't have our generator (yet), but for fuel, IF it's one that uses regular gasoline, we can store gas in our boat - it has a 50 gallon capacity. We try to keep it full for our back-up gas supply. It never goes bad because hubby takes the boat out fairly regulary. DH just told me one of our locally-owned stores has generators on sale this week, so maybe we'll go check it out.
Water: we have a good start on our water storage, but I'm not satisfied yet. We've been looking for more barrels, but they are SO expensive!
We like when the power is out, too, if it's short term, LOL! We used to have "power out" for New Year's Eve. When it got dark outside, we turned off lights, tv, etc. Ate dinner by candlelight & played games until midnight. We'd "celebrate" with a bottle of sparkling cider & then everybody goes off to bed. Fun times!
Hi there,
Thanks for the reminders. I live in an apartment, and have found these things for heat:
Magic Heat/Magic Stove "great for fire restricted areas & safe for indoor & outdoor use...up to 6 hours of heat/cannister" ...I like this one especially because the fuel is not supposed to burn if spilled (Yes!!!). It isn't refillable, though. It comes in a box with two "grill bars" that sit on the top, or you can buy a set of 3 (IFRC) cannisters without the grill bars. I purchased this in the camping secion of Canadian Tire. The company is called: Scientific Utility Brands Int'l www.scientificutility.com
...Fuel storage is tricky in an apartment. My balcony is not very secure, so I can't put anything big or obvious out there...Any suggestions?
And another thing that I would love to get is this heated rock thing that only requires a tea light to heat a room. They're a bit odd looking: pieces of rock 8-10" long and about 10" high that were sliced in half (like rock bookends), hollowed out to accomodate the tea light(s), and deep slashes from the top into the cavity. So it would give (funky) ambient light, too. It's a great idea, and they were very pricey because of the speciality tools you'd need for the rock...
And I'd like to get a Kelly Kettle from Lee Valley--would have to used it (very carefully) on my balcony, though. It looks like the easiest way to get water to boil very quickly.
We too live an a rural area with frequent winter power outages.
We heat all winter with a wood stove that keeps the house wonderfully warm and the wood is abundant here.
I also cook on the woodstove during outages. Although we COULD cook outside, it's usually so cold or windy during an outage that I have NO desire to go outside to cook.
Whenever I hear a major storm is coming, I always do a few things to prepare:
1. Fill plenty of jugs full of fresh water.
2. Wash and dry all the laundry
3. Wash all the dishes
4. Vaccuum
5. Get out all the candles & lanterns
6. Decide what I will cook if the power goes out and get it ready.
We have a 1,000 gallon water storage tank, so we have plenty of water -- just no hot water or running water. So, I heat water on the stove for bathing. My husband brings in buckets from the tank as needed.
Another tip: for lengthy outages, cover your freezer with wool blankets and sleeping bags to insulate it. It will stay cold even longer this way.
Beeswax Candles burn cleaner! I am investing in wall-mounted sconces for candles to help keep my small children safe. Plus, when the light is up higher, it lights the room better -- especially if there is a mirror behind it. I think candlelight is so much better to see by than battery-operated lanterns and candles have a much cozier feeling.
I recieved a washboard for Christmas. It was on my wishlist. One thing I didn't have was a good way to scrub out clothes when the outage lasts more than a week. Now I have good bar of laundry soap and a washboard! With heated water from the woodstove, I can do wash in the bathtub. Hooray!
I keep lots of blankets.
Always keep your car at least half full -- it's another source of heat -- fam can sit in there for a while.
I also just like to have a backup plan if there is someone we could go stay with for a longer period of time. My thought is if you don't HAVE to tough it out and can stay with someone else, it's worth considering.
I have mixed feelings about generators, etc. -- storing that much fuel scares me...and I think it's often impractical for many people, so I am always interested in alternative ideas there.
Someone once gave me the idea of a rubbing alcohol burner, so I will often keep one of those in my car during the winter -- a roll of TP (without cardboard) in a #10 food storage can and rubbing alcohol and matches -- rubbing alcohol burns clean, although it does use up oxygen, so you have to crack a window. A good car heater, and I wonder how it could work in a small room, but haven't tried it.
Also, I steer away from candles and keep lots of flashlights, including the shakeable ones, and battery-operated candles and lanterns, all over the house. The risk of fire is significant with candles, esp. if they are being used as primary source of light. If I did use candles, I'd want the jar kind to reduce the risk.
AH, I still need to try the alchohol/can method...we should try that for FHE soon!
I normally wouldn't think of storing fuel, but since the boat usually has some, it's a good back up for us...
DH & have been talking about a generator for YEARS...there's something holding us back, otherwise we'd already have it!! lol...?
I think the wind-up/shake to charge flashlights are one of the greatest things to be invented lately!! We just got some wind-up ones, and still want to try the shakers.
I agree about the candles, but I have SOOOO many of them, lol! Like I said earlier, we don't use them often 'cause of the darn cat & the danger they pose.
The vehicles are also a great back-up plan for comfort...good point, Michelle! I've actually used my car for comfort/relief, but in summer!! We don't have air conditioning & our poor old house isn't well insulated...we're working on that, though!
I LOVE that we can all share ideas here!
Wow, great suggestions all around!
m_and_m, I have heard that the rubbing alcohol and toilet paper in a paint can will heat a living room for 8 hours. Three of these cans will heat a cultural hall. Additionally, once the 8 hours is up, you can put in another roll of toilet paper and start all over again. A friend of mine's furnace broke last month and they were using this to heat their home in the dead of winter.
She suggested to tape a coin and a book of matches to the top of the can so you have everything you need to make it work.
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