Could we do a reminder list for people preparing to lose power?

[Laurie4b]

I am preparing to lose power for possibly days given that the ice storm is predicted to be so huge decreasing the workers able to be brought in from elsewhere.

 

I always feel like I'm forgetting something and wanted the Hive Mind to help pull together a preparation list.

 

We have:

Heating source (wood-burning fire place, lots of wood)

I need to check batteries in the camping lantern

Co2 detector that works (since we'll likely end up sleeping in the room with the fireplace

Bottled water (we are on well, so when we lose electricity, we lose water). I need to get more.

Everyone will shower late tonight and then I'll fill up the tubs and every available container with water for flush toilets with

Fill cars with gas today( gas pumps don't work when electricity is off)

Get cash

Charge cell phones, laptops, Kindles, etc.

Propane for gas grill

 

Food: What kinds of food does your family eat when the power is out? 

 

We will have the grill, but that can be a pain in the neck, too when it's so cold outside. 

 

 

[Irishmommy]

I need to write these down and put this list in my hurricane box!

 

And, yeah, instant coffee is def on the top of the list! An emergency moment is NOT the time for me to be without coffee!

[marbel]

During our last power outage I am (somewhat) ashamed to say we went out for dinner both nights.  Breakfasts and lunches were mostly bread, cheese, salad, cold cereal, snacky stuff. 

 

We do have a gas grill with a burner so we can boil water for coffee, tea, hot chocolate and could cook though it's quite unpleasant when there's freezing rain.  Part of my preparation this time is to get some cold cuts to augment the bread and cheese and make some soup ahead to reheat.  (I despise canned soup.) 

 

I need to grind some coffee ahead.  It's tedious to grind beans with the mortar and pestle.  :-)  I do have a jar of instant coffee but my husband sneers at it (so he's the one grinding beans by hand.)

 

We have our coolers on the back deck to put food in if the power goes out long enough to endanger the fridge contents.  Our standalone freezer (in unheated garage) made it through a 36-hour outage last week without going above 15 degrees, so I'm counting on that holding.  My biggest worry is losing all the meat I have frozen.   It's pretty full but we usually put some extra ice in there too, if there is room.   Plastic bags of ice and snow can do in the coolers to help there as well.

 

ETA: Wow, Ethel Mertz's list is awesome!  Most of those things we do but she is much more concise and thorough in her list! 

 

[Luckymama]

We're more likely to lose power in the summer. I keep the chest freezer at 75% full by freezing jugs/bottles of water (repurposed empty juice and milk bottles etc). Before severe weather I transfer all the items from the fridge freezer to the chest freezer *with the exception of what we might grill during the power outage*.

 

I also make or buy bags of ice for coolers.

 

So much easier in the winter as I can put food on the deck or in the garage without worry!

[GailV]

 

I get out winter sleeping bags in advance.  One year we were out for five days, so we put the tent up in the living room to cut down on the drafts and contain the bedding.

 

 

 

 

The tent idea is a great one.  My big tip is that you can make a shelter within your house using sheets and blankets over doorways, or even a smaller shelter using furniture, cushions, and mattresses if the situation is more dire.

[Tangerine]

Here's one I didn't really think about until it happened to us during the polar vortex.  If you drip your faucets when you've lost power, and you have a well pump, you WILL run out of water.  On account of the pump isn't pumping.  Oops.

[magnificent_baby]

Battery operated radios (sorry if it was already in a previous post) and a lot of batteries. I use the radios more than reading the media that I could get on my laptop or iphone because I'd rather conserve those for necessary communication. 

Candles, matches, lots of flashlights/batteries.

All laundry caught up.

A large surplus of water.

Can opener handy. 

 

ETA: Our landline phone will NOT work in a power outage. They are all digital in our area now. Grr!!

[hillfarm]

We jokingly call this our PLOP system (Potential Loss Of Power)!

 

First, I make sure we have all the basics (food, water, shelter, heat/cooling) on hand. Since we live so far out, we usually have all this on hand anyway. Remember to check medicines, cash on hand and in small bills, plenty of gas in the cars. If I have enough warning, I also hit the library to stock up on reading material to keep us from getting bored. If you  heat with fuel oil or propane, but your furnace has an electronic igniter, you may still be without heat unless you can figure a way around the igniter - check with a professional!

 

Then I go home and wash up all the laundry, usually including linens, so that all our favorite things are clean. I vacuum, wash up all my dishes, and make a couple of pots of soup. We heat with a woodstove, so I know that I will be able to reheat things over the stove. I often make some cookies and also a batch of rolls or homemade bread to make the soup seem more appealing. I check the house and remove any possible low light tripping hazards from the floors and stairs. Then dd and I go outside and top off all the animals waterers and make sure that everyone has access to appropriate shelter and bedding and that the right feeds are stored conveniently. I also make sure all the tools we might need are conveniently located, such as shovels, hatchets, etc. Finally, I put all our rechargeable batteries on charge and be sure all the flashlights are where I expect them to be.

 

Dd is in charge of making sure all her fun stuff is located and accessible, such as sleds, snowboard, various buckets and bins she uses for molding igloo blocks, etc. And she and I do an inventory of all the winter clothing we might need (snow suits, snow boots, gloves, scarves, hats, mittens, balaclavas, etc.) to be sure it is in good repair and easily accessible.

 

As time permits while I am doing all this, I call my dm and mil to be sure they are also getting squared away and remind them of our emergency contact system, if the phones go out and they need to get in touch with us.

 

Fun tip, the inexpensive solar driveway lights can double as nice emergency lighting. We "juice" ours up before the storm and then use them for area lighting during the storm. I put 3 along the stairs, one to illuminate the way to the upstairs bathroom, and one to illuminate the way to the emergency supplies. It is also a good idea to keep a fire extinguisher handy, in case a candle would get out of hand. And remember, you can melt snow for extra flushing water or possibly washing dishes, but don't drink it. Also, be incredibly cautious regarding using cooking or heating devices that could put toxic fumes into your home. Even if used outside, be sure that fumes are not being swept back into your home. Also, if you have not been using a fireplace or other chimney, during a storm is NOT the time to try it out. Sadly, a few homes burn and often family members are killed in our area each year due to chimney fires. HTH:)

[Starr]

We have an inexpensive, battery powered small lantern for each of us. You can read with them, carry them around and are generally easier than candles. A little light makes everything better. 

[datgh]

Buy a generator???  We have had so many power outages in winter we finally bought a used one.  Best investment we have made. We had an electrician do something to our electric panel so we can plug the generator into the houses electrical system (without the power going back into the power lines and hurting the linemen) so we can run at least the furnace, fridge, freezer, well and a few other things.  We do shut it off at night because it is loud.  Everyone in our neighborhood has one now and the whole place just roars with them when the power is out.

 

I always make sure that I keep our freezer full even if it is just with frozen bottles of water because the fuller it is the longer it will stay frozen.

 

Headlamps are the greatest invention for night time.  Where ever you look the light looks too. Book lights for reading are also very helpful.

 

Hope you ladies in the storms path don't lose your power! 

 

 

 

[Alessandra]

I like the headlamps you find in camping stores. They are handy when you need directed light -- I use them for cooking.

 

Did anyone mention lock de-icer for the car? Long underwear, sock liners, glove liners? Matches, candles.

 

I get snack foods that we don't usually have, like potato chips. Makes everyone cheerful.

[Ottakee]

We bought a generator years ago.  We are more rural and lost power for 4 days in a row (and many times for 1-2 days).  Dh had it wired so that it will run the entire house---not the microwave or washer/dryer but all of the basics.  It is OUTSIDE in our unattached pole barn with 2 doors open at all times and a carbon monoxide detector out there.  Now for us power outages are merely blips on the screen.  The only issue we have is that  all of the neighbors are also running on generator power (including the elementary school which has a huge generator) so that we never know when the power really does come back on.

 

 

[momto10blessings]

I haven't read the other responses, but we are likely to lose power so I am planning on:

-Showers for everyone when snow starts

-Make sure we have plenty of clean clothes and towels

-Fill bathtubs to flush toilets

-A few gallons of water

-Freeze drink containers and gallon ziplocs of water laying flat so we'll have ice to keep items in the refrigerator/freezer cold

-have gallon ziploc bags and big bowls ready to gather snow to keep food cold

-paper plates to minimize dishes

- big pot to heat water on stove for dishes

- one glass used per person to cut down on dishes

-hamburgers, hot dogs, trail burgers, grilled chicken for dinner. Anything that can be cooked in the fireplace or on the grill

-candles and batteries for lanterns

-tons of wood

-charge phones, laptops, ipad

[saraha]

Also, paper plates, cups, plastic utensils, paper napkins and towels, and wet wipes.  Lots of wet wipes if your water is off. Our water in the kitchen has been frozen and we were brining it down from the bathroom upstairs to heat on the stove to wash dishes and I was astounded at how many 2 liter bottles of water it took to just wash a meals worth of dishes.  Also, I never realized how many times during a meal preparation that I wash/rinse my hands off until I couldn't do it easily.  Will your fire place heat your whole house?  If not, will hanging a blanket over the door ways into that room help contain the heat?

[Trish]

Wood-burning stoves that you can cook on are great for this situation. (I don't mean a cookstove, just a standard stove with a flat top for cooking) Also if you  have a fireplace, you can get a "fireplace insert" that helps your fireplace become MUCH more efficient in heating your house.

 

I think everyone needs an alternate heat source!

 

Probably too late to run out and get one, though.

[DawnM]

If we run out of power, we are up a creek.  Our septic pumps water on power, so we won't have water either.

 

We do have a fireplace and DH says we can get water out of the pool to flush the toilets.  We do have enough drinking water in bottles for a few days.

[Alexigail]

I just wanted to add that any shopping should probably be done sooner rather than later.  If you are planning on stocking up on bottled water and non-perishables, the rest of your town probably is too.

[marbel]

I like the headlamps you find in camping stores. They are handy when you need directed light -- I use them for cooking.

 

 

 

Yes!  My husband and son have them and they are so helpful.  I wanted to get two more so we'd all have one but the local stores are out. We are unlikely to experience a long outage so it's not essential. 

 

I dislike candles.  It is too easy to become distracted and forget about something burning --> talking about my family here, not people in general.  I love our battery-operated candles!  Not as environmentally-friendly (budget-friendly either) but they do help us to move safely about the house.

[marbel]

I just wanted to add that any shopping should probably be done sooner rather than later.  If you are planning on stocking up on bottled water and non-perishables, the rest of your town probably is too.

 

That is for sure.  Despite the stereotype of panicky people running out for milk and bread, I did need to get some bread today.  Shelves are nearly empty.   I didn't have time earlier in the week to hit the "day-old" shelf of our nicer grocery store - usually a great place to get bagels, good rye bread, etc., cheap.  It was empty today. 

[prairiewindmomma]

Diaper wipes are great for cleaning sticky fingers and are gentler than disinfecting wipes.

 

Meals:

b: hardboiled eggs, muffins, boxed milk & cereal, sausage on the grill, granola bars, yogurt, fruit

L: sandwiches, veggies & dip, anything grilled, pasta with 4 min. Boil time, rice (bring to boil/turn off/leave covered 20 min)

D: soups, grilled meat or grilled pizza, anything warm and that feels luxurious

 

Bake, bake, bake....cookies, muffins, whatever will help your kids be excited about the snow. I have noticed my kids get a little nervous when they see us doing serious weather prep.

[Pawz4me]

It's probably too late for this suggestion now, but -- a car cell phone charger.  The (inexpensive) charger I have can do two devices the same time.  And my iPhone charges up very quickly on the car charger, so it's not like a vehicle has to be left running for hours.

[Laurie4b]

Thanks for all the replies!  It suddenly started snowing and time was UP! The roads were a mess instantly.

 

I turned down camping headlights in the store when ds and I went and there were no lanterns. I guess that was a mistake.

 

Now to get all the cooking done and the kids showered. We should have several hours before we lose power.

[AimeeM]

My biggest concern is going to be heat. Everywhere is sold out of heat sources locally, from what I'm hearing. We have a gas range, so we're good to cook, and I can put perishables in a cooler outside. We have city water, so we'll still have water.

 

... but heat? Yikes. The ice is already pouring down here.

[AimeeM]

Yeah that happened to us once.  It was too cold to tolerate.  I mean it was low 40s in the house during the day.  We had to go to a shelter. 

 

Are shelters pet friendly? *sigh* I imagine that's too much to hope for. We have an elderly, very small, not well coated Italian Greyhound (only about 15 lbs and with no real hair). We can't leave her behind and she certainly couldn't survive those temps without people/body heat to curl up next to.

[AimeeM]

Hm, I really don't know.  I didn't see pets there, but that doesn't mean it's out of the question.  The shelter was in the gym of a local university.  Luckily we didn't have to sleep there.  The power came back on that night and so we went home.  I had held out for days of cold misery before going there.  Wish I had gone sooner.

 

I just looked up cold weather shelters and all I'm really coming up with is shelters for the homeless. There is one that says it is also available for those without heat in their homes, but I wonder if they'll have any space after busing in those from Tent City (we have a pretty large homeless population here).

Praying for the best here. Hopefully we won't lose power.

[AMJ]

Completely fill your freezer with any foods (including ice) you have that can tolerate freezing. Arrange the foods so the ones you want first are on top. Then DON'T OPEN THE FREEZER AT ALL unless you really must have something from it. By filling it full and keeping it closed you will conserve the cold the longest and lessen problems with food thawing.

 

Do the same, afterwards, with the fridge. Again, a full fridge will hold cold longer than an empty one, and will hold it better when the door is opened than a fridge with lots of cold air.

[AMJ]

Make sure you have plenty of any prescriptions and any special needs items, including baby stuff, incontinence supplies, "girl" supplies, etc. Plan on your usual supply stops to be unable to stock back up for a couple of weeks after the power comes back on. Problems can cause unforeseen chain reactions, so be prepared for a long interruption to life as usual.

[AMJ]

Make sure you have texting numbers for family and emergency contacts. Text messages can often get through when phone calls bog down on the cell networks.

[AMJ]

Even if you have no kids get a packet or two of LANOLIN baby wipes. If you get any chapped skin anywhere these are the best for washing. They help diaper rash quickly, and help prevent it from occurring. These benefits work just as well for adults who may have unfortunate issues, and help greatly with chapped noses. I know from direct personal experience over the years....

[AMJ]

DH a while back installed battery-operated, motion - activated lights in our upstairs hallway and our stairwell. No more turning on bright lights to avoid trips or stumbles, and these work great during power outages, too.

 

Make sure your smoke detectors all have good batteries in them.

 

If you are gathering into a room (for warmth or other reasons) that does not have a smoke detector GET ONE.

[AMJ]

Make sure you have a fire extinguisher in your cooking area, and make sure it's still good.

[Carrie12345]

Are shelters pet friendly? *sigh* I imagine that's too much to hope for. We have an elderly, very small, not well coated Italian Greyhound (only about 15 lbs and with no real hair). We can't leave her behind and she certainly couldn't survive those temps without people/body heat to curl up next to.

 

During Sandy, I saw that a few (very few) pet-friendly shelters were opened.  Very strict rules, though, including keeping dogs crated except to take them outdoors.

We have 2 big dogs, 2 cats, and 2 crates but only 1 cat carrier. And dh is out of town.  The LAST thing I want to do is consider going to a shelter. Sigh.

Fortunately, our clubhouse right down the road is an emergency shelter. If the conditions aren't too terrible for animals but uncomfortable for humans, I can take the kids there and come back and forth to check on the animals.

[Arcadia]

Are shelters pet friendly? *sigh* I imagine that's too much to hope for. We have an elderly, very small, not well coated Italian Greyhound (only about 15 lbs and with no real hair). We can't leave her behind and she certainly couldn't survive those temps without people/body heat to curl up next to.

 

There are shelters that are pet friendly. When there was a wildfire a few years back, at least one shelter in that area accept pets and horses.  The news broadcasted where the shelters are and which allow pets.

 

Some pet friendly motels would sponsor some rooms for emergency evacuations.

 

 

 

Food: What kinds of food does your family eat when the power is out? 

 

 

Granola  bars are what I buy as earthquake rations.  I also have a stockpile of canned beans and canned sardines.  I have a manual car opener. I don't wish to cook if there is a power outage.

[jeninok]

During the last extended power outage we set up a crate for the dogs with a thick piece of cardboard underneath then put several heavy blankets over the top and a rug inside. I now have a piece of thick insulation foam cut to size for underneath, and several hot water bottles that could be tucked in for warmth too.

 

We had to stay at my parents for over a week, with 6 other people, so we brought the dogs over at night to sleep, but took them home in the day to cut down on the chaos, and also bark at people and discourage break ins.

[Ottakee]

Yes isn't it amazing that we claim to be so amazing, but we are too cheap and unamazing to put our damn power lines underground so we don't lose power when a bird sits on the wires?

 

LOL

 

So my husband says to me regularly.

 

That doesn't always work.  We have some underground wires locally and they still have trouble---animals eat them and some short out if the ground gets super wet, etc.  Newer systems might be better but aren't full proof.

 

We used to lose power so often that we just bought a huge generator. Now, no more worries.

 

[Susan C.]

We were out of the warning, then at 10 pm last night, we were put in for 4 am this morning…. so I stayed up most of the night getting ready, then nothing…

Here is my list:
A flashlight for each person
Flashlight batteries, forget flashlights in the bedroom, put them in the bathroom (nothing like being in the dark there..)
Start laundry, and do it until power goes
Run dishwasher
GET PLASTIC PLATES AND CUPS ETC.
Cook or freeze contents of frig. I make a cake, breads, chicken, no bakes w/oats, sunflower seeds, nuts, etc. for breakfast, cooked and cold is what you want
If you don't want to cook, a selection of canned soups, etc. and peanut butter and bread
Have ice packs in freezer ready to load a cooler
water
outside trash can easy to get to, trash bags
wash sheets if there is time
vacuum
everyone showers and washes their hair
sleeping bags and blankets
charge phones and computers
nice to have a lantern or two, I like the battery ones
find the games you like while you have a lit house
an old fashioned phone, corded
whatever you need for your grill (to cook frozen meat as it thaws)

 

ADDING: clean out the frig (phew!)

Call someone out of the area and tell your plans. Two weeks ago, I called my mom and said we had blankets, food, water, and if power went out we would be fine, but we wouldn't be able to call. We only got some ice, and never lost power..
 

[Susan in TN]

 

 

13. Cars parked facing out 

 

 

 

This is puzzling me...help me out on this one?

[Carrie12345]

This is puzzling me...help me out on this one?

 

Most cars are front wheel drive. Way easier to get out forward than backwards!

[Berta]

Most cars are front wheel drive. Way easier to get out forward than backwards!

 

Parked facing out and at the end of the driveway. The shorter the distance to the road the better :)

[Carrie12345]

Parked facing out and at the end of the driveway. The shorter the distance to the road the better :)

 

Yup! Mine feels a million miles away at the moment, lol.

 

Oh, but leave enough room for the plow avalanche! Nothing worse than trying to dig 3 times the amount of snow (and road grit, packed tight) from around a car hood!

 

I leave my windshield wipers sticking up, too (didn't notice if that was mentioned.) Then they don't get all crusty and useless when you slap them back down.

[dsmith]

We were out of power for almost 2 weeks after Sandy, and it was starting to get cold! We managed to heat the house a bit with a big pot of hot water on the stove running almost continuously. Afterwards we had to go around the house and clean the tops of the wall where the steam collected and caused unsightly drips. We made sure to purchase two kerosene heaters after that, and plenty of Klean-Heat. Thankfully we still have hot water when we lose power. I agree with others that the headlamps are awesome!! My son also had some toy helmets with lights on them that got some good use during outages. The 100 hr. emergency candles come in handy, and a stove-top percolator or coffee press is a necessity! Dh hooked up a power inverter to the car to get some power in the house so that his parents could do their breathing treatments and we could watch a little TV at night, so that was a big help. A radio and the portable DVD player came in handy too. We had a lot of cell phone issues, so we now have two carriers since Sandy. Sprint was useless, so I cancelled my phone and got a new one through Verizon. It took a while to get Sprint service back, so we were glad to have a working cell phone.

[Ali in OR]

And what not to do during a power outtage (learned this one on Sunday):

 

-Don't turn on light switches. Actually you will do this by habit, just remember to turn them back off.

-Your garbage disposal doesn't work. Don't try to use it! So here's what I stupidly did. I turned on the garbage disposal but apparently didn't turn it off when it didn't work. It's just a push-button on the sink, not like a light switch, so it was impossible to know if it was on or off.

 

And why this advice? Because our power came back on at 3:50AM! Our closet light was on and if that didn't wake us up, the growl of the garbage disposal certainly did!

[marbel]

And what not to do during a power outtage (learned this one on Sunday):

 

-Don't turn on light switches. Actually you will do this by habit, just remember to turn them back off.

-Your garbage disposal doesn't work. Don't try to use it! So here's what I stupidly did. I turned on the garbage disposal but apparently didn't turn it off when it didn't work. It's just a push-button on the sink, not like a light switch, so it was impossible to know if it was on or off.

 

And why this advice? Because our power came back on at 3:50AM! Our closet light was on and if that didn't wake us up, the growl of the garbage disposal certainly did!

 

An add-on to that:  if you are cooking when the power goes off, be sure to turn off the stove burners.  I will never forget the story of a house that burned down because the power went out, people forgot the stove was on and left something on it, which caught fire when the power came back on and no one was home.

[aggieamy]

Oops.  Wrong thread.   

 

[Tammi K]

Buy a generator???  We have had so many power outages in winter we finally bought a used one.  Best investment we have made. We had an electrician do something to our electric panel so we can plug the generator into the houses electrical system (without the power going back into the power lines and hurting the linemen) so we can run at least the furnace, fridge, freezer, well and a few other things.  We do shut it off at night because it is loud.  Everyone in our neighborhood has one now and the whole place just roars with them when the power is out.

 

 

We have one, too. DH installed it and hooked it up so we can power the main portion of the house. Then he did the process, STEP by STEP and took pictures as he went. He wrote up a 'guide' and included the pictures to show us exactly how to power it up and switch the house over to generator power.

 

Then, he made each and every one of us go through the process of starting it up and switching the power over and then back. Even the 12 year old can do it now if it becomes necessary - such as might happen if dad is gone and it's too cold for Mom to want to go outside :laugh: .

 

So, if you have a generator, make sure more than one person can operate it. Also, regularly check the gas levels, run it to circulate gas, and refill so the fuel supply is always top notch.

 

[Carrie12345]

Those of you with gas generators, where do you store your gas?  That part scares me.

 

I want a propane generator and a 100lb tank, but I haven't been able to get dh to bite the bullet.

[Tammi K]

Those of you with gas generators, where do you store your gas?  That part scares me.

 

I want a propane generator and a 100lb tank, but I haven't been able to get dh to bite the bullet.

We keep the generator full and have five 5 gallon jugs under the back deck, near the generator. It worried me to have it close to the house, but the temps are low outside so there isn't much risk of heat generated sparking. Dh also reminded me that still gas has low fume emission so it isn't a great worry. I'm not sure I believe him - but it makes my life easier to live in blissful ignorance. :sleep:

[G5052]

We're as ready as we're ever going to be!  I went to the grocery store on Tuesday afternoon, and the parking lot was nearly full.  I got the last shopping cart.  At least they had the important things in life: ice tea, English muffins, cheese, Oreos, evil pink Valentine's cookies, and funny Valentines cards for my family members.  No eggs and almost no milk even by then.  We tested everything and backed the cars into the garage tonight.  I did as much laundry as I could, and just started the dishwasher.  Our power goes out all the time, so we're expecting it this time.

 

Relatives in a state further south called 2 hours ago to let us know that their power is out.  I offered to send them an extension cord, but it might take a day or more,  assuming the mail is even picked up tomorrow...LOL.

 

So far maybe 2" or so?  Off to bed...we'll see what tomorrow brings!

[G5052]

Those of you with gas generators, where do you store your gas?  That part scares me.

 

I want a propane generator and a 100lb tank, but I haven't been able to get dh to bite the bullet.

 

You and me both.  We have a shed away from the house, but it still scares me.  Our power goes out 4-5 times a year for 4 or more hours, sometimes a day or two.  Summer before last, we were out for three days at one point.  All the neighbors with $$$ have propane generators that automatically switch on.

[G5052]

Duplicate.