Power Outages Preparedness

8/17/2020 (Permalink)

Power outages can be particularly inconvenient if you rely on the electric for your heat, cooling, and cooking needs. If you have multiple days straight of power not being available, hundreds of dollars worth of food/meat could go to waste as well. There are options and measures one can take to be prepared and more equipped to maintain your lifestyle during such an outage.

1. Invest in a generator. Generators can be pricey and costly to run, but even if you only run them for a few hours a day, that’s enough to re-cool/freeze your fridge & freezer, take a warm shower, cook your meals, and cool or heat your home to a comfortable level. Generators are expensive, but for the particularly vulnerable to such power outages they could be worth the trade off.
2. If a generator isn’t an option you wish you explore, you can always invest in a large cooler & a propane camp stove. A large cooler, with bags of ice changed out daily, can rescue the food you have in your fridge. A propane stove can still allow you to cook homemade meals. But as far as cooling you or house, heating your house, or taking showers or baths…those will not be alleviated with the cooler and propane option.

There are multiple things you can do right now to prepare for such an outage.

-Buy canned food, ready to eat!

-Buy extra gallons of fresh water

-Buy wet cleansing wipes for refreshing when showers aren’t an option

-Know where your cold weather clothes are kept/sleeping bag

-Invest in a solar charger, so you can continue to charge your phone and contact family

There are many other things you can do as well, these are just some ideas. If you know someone at risk (a senior citizen, someone with a health condition, someone with small children) check in on them during a power outage. Being prepared yourself, allows you to be better prepared to help others.