Basics to have on hand during power outages.

[japple]

We had a power outage today when a tornado passed through my county (near Adairsville, GA), and though it wasn't out very long, relatively speaking, it made me think about what I should have on hand in case of a longer interruption. When I lived in the NC mountains years ago, we always had at least 20 gallons of water on hand, candles, flashlights, batteries, a gas BBQ grill, and emergency heat back up. During blizzards, we would sometimes go for 2-3 days without power and water since we were served by a well. Every winter, we always expected to lose power at some point for a period of time and stayed prepared.

What kind of foodstuffs do you keep on hand to eat if the electricity goes out for extended periods? I usually just eat fruit, crackers, cheese, granola bars, nuts, cereal, though I was really craving a cup of tea late this afternoon, and am thinking about getting a camp stove.

[Stinky The Clown]

1. Get two of those LED-bulbed headlamp lights for each person in your house

For food . . . . your list was pretty good. If you lose power, you also lose refrigeration. Not so bad in winter. A wipeout in summer.

[japple]

7. Those things are great! We used them while cleaning dog/cat crates

this morning at the spay neuter transport. Since we do this at 6:00 a.m., it's nice to be able to see that big pile o' shit in the crate before sticking your hand in there!

[Warpy]

2. I have city gas, so that's not a huge problem

I think the longest outage here was a day and a half when a forest fire melted transmission lines coming into the state. I ate like I always did, keeping the refrigerator and freezer shut as much as possible. I did use the Chinese steamer rather than the microwave for reheating things, it's nearly as fast and what I used in the bad old days before I got my first microwave in the late 80s. If the electricity and gas both conk out, I have a wood stove for winter and a solar oven for summer.

For light, I have head lamps that use LEDs and run on AAA batteries. They put the light where I'm looking and are also great for rummaging in cabinets and closets and fixing computers. For entertainment, I have battery powered CD players, never did get into MP3s. I'm perfectly happy sitting in the dark with my headlamp on, listening to music and spinning, knitting or weaving. Or reading a book now that I can see again.

I learned to have alternatives when I lived in New England and the power could be out for a week at a time, although not very often.

[cbayer]

3. My stove/oven are propane powered and my electricity is primarily solar.

But, since I never know when I might have an extended away from groceries, I keep a lot of rice, cereal, canned soups and root vegetables on hand.

We also carry about 150 gallons of water and have a water maker.

But all of this is part of our lifestyle. If people on land have a power outage, it impacts on us not at all.

Sorry about your electricity loss. It can be kind of fun (for a while, anyway).

[Lisa0825]

4. When I was a kid, and our power got knocked out by a hurricane,

my mom had us eating canned spaghetti and cheese ravioli cold. I was flabbergasted at first! It's supposed to be HOT! She said, "Are you hungry?" LOL! I ate it and liked it!

Now, I swear, when a storm is coming, I buy cheese ravioli and canned spaghetti. And I still like it. In a weird way, it's a good childhood memory.

[RILib]

8. B&M baked beans.

[Freddie]

5. Apples and peanut butter

Breakfast and lunch for 4 days with no power during Hurricane Sandy. Wasn't exactly planned but was the most nutritious and tasty thing here that needed no refrigeration or cooking. Parts of town nearby had power and the only fast food open was Wendy's; after a few days they started running out of food.

[Lugnut]

6. We have a generator so outages aren't a big problem here.

I always have fruit, milk, bread, cold cuts, peanut butter, etc. that we could eat if need be. The BBQ grill is on the patio too. We got the generator because we have a well, a coal stoker for heat and hot water and a stocked freezer and two refrigerators.

[RILib]

9. the big problem is lack of heat

I worry about the pipes freezing. Awhile back I looked on youtube for how to drain the house pipes, thinking it would be simple to learn, but people were dumping antifreeze in traps and doing magic things to boilers so I gave up watching,