With winter weather right around the corner, it’s time to double check and renew your winter emergency stockpile. Power outages, snow storms that keep you shut in, etc. can wreak havoc on your life if you don’t have the necessary supplies–build yourself a little stockpile, though, and you can turn a bad situation into a mini-holiday {okay, I admit, a holiday without many amenities, but I am trying to make lemonade here}.
Preparing for Power Outages
The three things to remember during extended power outages will be heat, lighting, and cooking. If you have alternate sources for each of them, you’re going to be sitting pretty. For heat, plan on using a fireplace, wood stove, generator to run heaters, or a kerosene heater. You may have to hunker down in one room altogether, but hey, you can look at it as bonding time. Don’t underestimate the power of extra blankets, either.
For lighting, have plenty of flashlights and batteries. Candles work too, but most emergency preparedness sites don’t recommend using them as your only source of light. Finally, to cook you can use a camp cook stove, a charcoal or gas grill {remember to only use those outside–their fumes are bad news in confined spaces}, and you can still use your gas range, you’ll just have to light the burners with a match.
To prevent massive food spoilage in the event of an extended power outage, avoid opening and closing the fridge and freezer. The goal is to keep the cold contained.
Keeping Food Storage
Last year, I tried living off of an emergency food supply kit for 30 days. I learned two really important things: One, I had no where near enough food, and I would need far more water than I thought {click over to that post for estimates}. Two, having a kit of tasty emergency food {I tried Valley Food Storage and LOVED everything} is probably the EASIEST way to deal with an emergency. They have a 25 year shelf life, so you can keep it tucked in your pantry indefinitely. Plus, you can supplement with food you have on hand. It seriously takes the worry and hassle out of planning for an emergency, and I could not recommend it enough.
**Remember to plan for your pets too!
Water
Winter weather and power outages may or may not leave you without water. If the pipes freeze or if the pump system that gets the water into your home fails, you could be without. It’s best just to keep some on hand–by some, I mean a lot. Again, you can check out my previous post on amounts to get an idea. If you know a storm is coming, you can fill your bathtubs with water too. This is a great way to get water to wash yourself and save the bottled stuff for drinking.
Charging Electronics
This is kind of a bittersweet suggestion, because it would be awesome if a power outage meant we all got to check out from the world for several days, but the truth is, you’re probably going to want to be able to charge your phone {at the very least, to make emergency calls}. You may want your laptop too–you can work remotely. Let’s face it, if days off means no pay, working remotely can be a lifesaver. Plus, at the very least, you may be able to use your laptop as a mini DVD station and cuddle up on the couch with movies. My daughter has been using her solar charger for 2+ years now and LOVES it!
Cash
If the power grid goes down, remember, even if you can get out to stock up on basics like milk, stores operating on generators might still not be able to run credit cards. It’s best to keep cash on hand.
There are probably a million other things you can do to prepare for an emergency {especially the perimeter of your house}, but these are the very basics.
Have any of you ever been through an extended power outage or shut in by a winter storm? Would you like to add anything to the list?
~Mavis
This post may contain affiliate links. These affiliate links help support this site. For more information, please see my disclosure policy. Thank you for supporting One Hundred Dollars a Month.
Remember that time I lived off of a 
WE LOVED IT!
Speaking of zombie apocalypses {or you know, emergencies a bit more likely like floods, tornados, etc.}, Valley Food Storage is really the perfect company to get you all stocked up and prepared for it {food wise, not mentally. Although maybe their customer service reps could offer some advice, since they ARE in the emergency food supply business!}.
Just like their full meals and all of their products I’ve tried, I loved their fruits and veggies because they don’t taste like fake food or have any odd chemically taste. That’s probably because they eliminate all the unhealthy preservatives, hydrogenated oils, MSG’s and many other ingredients that limit the nutritional value, shelf life, and taste. It’s high quality, healthy, yummy tasting food. I’m sold!
If you want to get in on this goodness, you’re in luck!
