apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

I have a hand-crank radio and flashlight in my emergency kit. Haven't had to use them yet (hope I never do), but on test drives, they work very well.

I live in MA near the NH border and so many people are without power around here. I think one of the biggest issues is not having heat, and for people without a fireplace, there is not much you can do but bundle up or go to a hotel that has power. I didn't lose power thankfully, but it does remind me to stock up on some of the items you mentioned.

A land line. With that sort of outage, a mobile phone will NOT work, though a land line may. I grew up in a moderately rural area and our power would go out all the time, but the phone would usually stay on.

PS and I mean a corded phone for your land line, not a cordless, btw. FYI the base won't work in a power outage.

I just(like last week!) bought a kit from this website..super affordable, everything you would EVER need! www.firstaidlive.com

I'm in NH, and we were out for only about 24 (LONGGG) hours -- some STILL have no power since Thursday.

In cold climates, a source of heat is essential. Luckily our gas fireplace worked, so although it certainly wasn't like the furnace, it kept us warm enough and pipes from freezing.

With electric appliances, keeping food cold (we moved everything onto the icy deck and the garage) and making things to eat (thank goodness for restaurants in the parts of town that didn't lose power!!) are issues. If you stock up on canned goods, make sure you can open them (pop tops or a hand can opener). If you want your soup hot, make sure you have a way to heat it (camp stove used outside, sterno, propane hot plate or wok)...

Having candles or lanterns or oil lamps and matches (IN A PLACE you can locate in the dark!!) is important! (We just moved in -- we were lucky to be able to dig these things out!!)

Crank flashlights are wonderful inventions, we just got a new one that actually has connectors to recharge a cell phone!! Regular flashlights often require D cells. Guess what the State of New Hampshire is totally out of now?? Stock up on the kind you will need.

A battery operated radio can keep you updated on repairs and emergency services.

Cell phones are handy if the towers work, but recharging them can be an issue. (I work in a library -- people are coming here and plugging in for that!)

As someone mentioned, a land line phone service and one corded phone can mean communications or not.

A generator (and fuel) is wise for anybody far enough off the grid (or with a small business) that immediate repairs are unlikely. Especially for food service operations and stores, having one may pay for itself in one outage in preventing the loss of refrigerated food. (I heard on public radio about one small diner that lost thousands of dollars in food and several days worth of revenues -- that's really hard for a small business.)

Toilets. Hmmm. Ours requires a pump to move the flushed matter from the holding tank up to the city sewer line. The pump only kicks in when the tank is full. With the power off, there is no way to know if the tank is full or empty, so you risk a disaster if you flush (assuming you have water TO flush.)

We just didn't flush and put the toilet paper in the garbage to minimize potential clogs, later. We also used toilets in businesses that were open (like the restaurants) when we could. (Oddly, the trees were toppling but the roads were clear.) And we went to my partner's place of work, which had power, and interestingly, showers available. (Nice to know of places like this to try to use in outages. Health clubs and some schools also might be able to help.)

Without these toilet resources (or if homebound) you might need to be creative. Sad but true.

Know about (or find out about) public shelters if you need the services, especially if someone vulnurable is in your household.

Hope it never happens to you!!

This is kind of an odd tip...but if you have no power with no water, city owned recreation centers that have locker rooms with showers CANNOT restrict access from the public. I know that when Charlottesville, VA was in a huge drought people were coming into the pool all the time just to use the showers, and we weren't allowed to charge them or tell them no. So, it's something to keep in the back of your mind!

I was without power for 5 days last winter due to an ice storm. I have since installed a gas heater in the basement. It requires no electricity and if I leave the basement door open, it heats my small house enough. My kitchen stove is gas. I also got a corded phone for my land line. In addition to water, food, and pet supplies, I recommend lots of lighting sources: flashlights, lanterns, candles (provide for safe usage). Five days of dark evenings is a long time. I got a small book light (and the right batteries for it) and laid in a supply of books for emergencies. I can survive almost anything if I have reading material.