February 26, 2012 

In today’s world, so many of us have become used to a relatively ‘cushy’ life. We can set our coffee pots to have the coffee made and ready for us when we wake up. We blow dry our hair and many of us have electronic toothbrushes to assist us in the physically exerting task of brushing our teeth. Speaking of physically exerting, thank God we have electric can openers to open our cans of food! And let’s not forget the machines that wash our clothes and our dishes. Those are pretty nice! And when we flush the toilet, the stuff just goes away, we don’t have to give a second thought as to where it all goes. We read on our Kindle’s, work on our laptops, text our friends, watch TV in our well lit home. Oh, and those blankets we can plug in to help keep us warm…aahhh!

Now you have lost power.

We have probably all been without power for a few hours or a day at some point in our lives. No big deal. As a survivalist let’s take a more detailed look at your home with no power. No power for 5 days due to a storm or no power for longer due to a SHTF scenario. What are the things you should make sure you have in your home so that you are prepared to be without power for more than one day?

A quiet generator – A generator is a great idea, especially in a short term outage. They can supply enough power to operate some appliances, your lights, etc. Some are noisier than others, so be careful to choose wisely. Do you want everyone around you to hear that you have a generator running during a SHTF scenario? Probably not.

A coffee percolator
– An absolute item in my house! Percolating a nice pot of coffee will be a comfort. It may also help to be a motivator reminding you of what life was like when you had power. <em>Having extra coffee and an extra percolator</em> can also be great barter items with your neighbors.

A manual quality can opener – When you are out of power, your electric can opener will not work. Be prepared with at least one manual can opener!

candles – or battery powered lanterns or flashlights. This should go without saying, and most people are equipped with these already. Be sure to stock extra batteries, an often overlooked thing. Candles are also another great bartering item.

Extra water – Depending on how long you are out of power, sanitation may become an issue. Being able to pour water into your toilet tank will allow you to flush. If you have a well, you will lose your water pressure immediately. Do you have an alternative energy battery back up source?

Camp stove or other means to heat or cook your food – In a worse case scenario you should have food you can eat that you don’t have to cook. But let’s say your outage is short term due to a storm, now might be a great time to rally your neighbors and have a barbecue using your grill in your back yard. Using a small one or two burner camp stove you can heat up canned foods or cook whatever is left in your fridge. Do you have enough fuel stored for your camp stove?

Washboard – Ladies (and gentlemen) I know in the short term it’s not exactly a ‘survival’ item, but in the short term scenario, if you have a teenager that just ‘has’ to wear that pair of jeans, that needs to be washed, to the ‘power outage barbecue’ down the street tonight, you just might want to dish out a few bucks and buy one. They are inexpensive 

Heaters/warm clothing – If you live in area where heat would be a priority in a power outage, please make sure you have an alternative source of heat. Portable heaters that run on propane are great ideas. Warm clothing is another great option. Do you have thermal underclothing? Insulated sleeping bags?

Hand flour mill – If you are milling your own flour, chances are you will still be doing that in a long term power outage situation. Purchasing a hand flour mill will still allow you to make nutritious items for your family.

Books – OK, no cell phones working, no laptops, no TV, restless and cranky kids…how about some books? Also, remember you won’t be able to access your survival books if they are online!

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