Power Outage Preparedness List: 7 Basic Items You Need

Winter storm coming your way? Want to be more prepared just in case? Check out this handy power outage preparedness list!

Last week I published a post with power outage tips and tricks. It has handy tips for everything from staying warm, to cooking without electricity, to doing dishes without running water. You can read it right here!

The following list will help you prepare in advance for a power outage!

 

Our Own Journey of Personal Preparedness

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Growing up in Oregon  I remember going through many power outages, some lasting for days at a time. We’ve been blessed living in Montana in that we’ve hardly ever had to do without power. For several years we lived in rentals that did not have a heat source other than electric heaters, so a power outage was a true emergency! Now, we are a little more prepared with a wood stove.

Although electricity is relatively new, and for thousands of years people lived without it, most people nowadays are not prepared to live without electricity. We don’t have the knowledge, and our homes are not set up for life off grid.

Personally, I really appreciate having electricity, and would never willingly do without it! But I think it is so important to not be completely dependent on the power grid!

Because we don’t want to be so dependent on the power grid, we’ve done a lot of practicing when it comes to doing without it, including cooking, heating, washing clothes and dishes, and keeping animals taken care of.

One area where we’ve had a lot of practice, and not on purpose, is living without running water. Our well has had ongoing problems since we moved onto this property and we’ve had to do without running water several times. Earlier this year, we actually went six weeks straight with no running water!

It wasn’t fun, but we learned a lot during that time!

 

Power Outage Preparedness List

1. Water
2. Heat Source
3. Easy Food
4. Cooking Method and Cookware
5. Dishes
6. Personal Hygiene
7. Light

Although I included Amazon links in this power outage preparedness list, if you are expecting an immediate power outage I’d encourage you to head straight to the store to buy the things you need!

 

1: Water During a Power Outage

If your electricity went out right this second, would you have water to drink?

A surprising number of people aren’t prepared with even the most basic essential in a power outage: clean drinking water. This is by far the most important item on our power outage preparedness list!

How much water to store really depends on how long of a power outage you are preparing for. Since we’ve experienced weeks at a time with no running water, I’ll share what we do to keep prepared!

• Drinking Water for your family and pets
• Dish washing water
• Water for flushing toilets, washing clothes and watering plants

For drinking water, we mainly use 1 gallon jugs. They are the kind you buy in the store in the bottled water section, but ours have been refilled many times when we have gone without running water.

For washing dishes, I like to also use water that is clean enough to drink. Besides the 1 gallon water jugs I mentioned, I recycle 1 gallon jugs that held other products from the store, such as juice.

Then I have my five gallon buckets with gamma seal lids. You can find gamma seals at Azure Standard to fit on a standard 2 or 5 gallon bucket.

Outside I keep metal barrels next to the house. You can pick up metal or plastic barrels on Craigslist or local pages, but should make sure that they did not contain chemicals.

I get mine from Azure Standard. They were used for food so I know they are safe to hold water for the house! You can find them here!

Finally, I keep an extra horse trough out by my livestock to dip water out of in an emergency.

When You Know a Power Outage is Coming

If you are expecting a potential power outage, you can fill up any containers you might have around your home. Ideas include pitchers, jars, your bathtub and buckets. Go ahead and fill up animal waterers and make sure your plants get a nice soaking! Keep in mind that even if the containers you have around aren’t clean enough for drinking water, they can still hold water to flush the toilets or water plants.

 

2: Staying Warm During a Power Outage

Living in a cold climate, we really consider a wood stove to be a necessity. We didn’t always have one, and it was a true emergency when the power went out!

The stove we have now a friend found used, sorta. It had only been used a couple times. Since our friends helped us install it,  the whole project only cost around $1,000.

We now save about $100 a month on heating costs for the six colder months of the year, making it a good investment for us.

Although we aren’t really set up to go out in the woods and cut down trees for firewood, once or twice a year we borrow a truck and pick up some wood from a local fence post company. They sell their scrap wood for $20 a pickup load, much of it already cut to length!

If you do have a wood stove, stock up on the following before a power outage:

• Dry Wood
• Matches or Lighters
• Fire Starters or Newspaper

 

If You Don’t Have a Wood Stove or Alternative Heat Source

If you do not have a wood stove or alternative heat source, you need to pay even more attention to this essential item on our power outage preparedness list! You’ll want to stock up on extra things to keep warm, such as warm clothing, blankets, hats, gloves and wool socks.

You should also make sure you have a tent on hand that can be set up to form a warmer microenvironment in your home. A tent will keep your body heat in and can really make a huge difference!

• Warm Clothing
• Blankets
• Hats
• Gloves
• Wool Socks
• Tent (s)

 

 

3: Easy Food

 

In a short term power outage, you should use up the foods in your refrigerator and freezer first so they won’t spoil. I also like to keep on hand some shelf-stable foods that don’t need to be cooked in case of a longer term power outage.

The most important foods to stock up on are foods you will actually eat! Small packages are helpful when you might not have refrigeration for leftovers. Here are some ideas:

• Canned Soup
• Canned Beans or Chili
• Instant Oatmeal
• Dried Fruit
• Nuts or Trail Mix
• Peanut Butter
• Shelf-Stable Bread 
• Crackers and Chips
• Canned Meat
• Canned Fruit and Vegetables
• Powdered Milk
• Instant Coffee

You can also get an emergency food kit. Typically these consist of freeze-dried foods that you just add water to.

 

4:  Cooking Method and Cookware

 

If you have a propane or charcoal grill, or even a camp grill, these all work great for cooking during a power outage.

As I mentioned in my last post, I often practice cooking over a fire. In the summer I use a firepit or charcoal grill. In winter I use my regular wood stove for cooking.

If you plan on cooking on a wood stove during an emergency (or any time), I’ve found the book, Woodstove Cookery, to have lots of great information. It’s actually meant for cooking in an old-fashioned wood cook stove (the kind that has burners and an oven). Most of the information also applies to cooking on a regular wood stove too. It goes into detail on how to maintain a consistent heat for cooking. It also covers the burning temperatures of different types of wood.

 

 

Cookware for Cooking Over a Fire

If you are going to be cooking over a fire, cast iron is really important. Stainless or aluminum pans will quickly be ruined on an open fire. For woodstove cooking, stainless or aluminum pots are perfectly fine to use in an emergency. They won’t hold up in the long term, though. The three cast iron pieces I use every day are a frying pan, a dutch oven without legs and a griddle.

These can be used on a regular stove or oven as well. Mine get more use than any of my stainless pots and pans. I love how food doesn’t stick to cast iron, and it is so easy to clean! It doesn’t start flaking off into your food like a coated non-stick aluminum pan. It’s probably the most versatile kind of cookware you can own.

I also use a cast iron trivet for wood stove cooking, which allows me to cook at a lower heat than directly on the stove’s surface.

 

5: Doing Dishes Without Running Water

• Dish Tubs
• Paper Plates
• Paper Bowls
• Plastic Cups
• Plasticware

In last week’s article about surviving without electricity, I shared my method for getting dishes clean with no running water. This is the method I used when we went for 6 weeks straight with no running water!

Do do dishes without running water, you’ll need three containers large enough to fit the dishes you will need to wash. You can use your kitchen sink as one of them if it holds water. Other options are mixing bowls, shallow pots or plastic totes.

If you really want to be prepared, you can pick up some of these handy dish bins.

 

For a short term power outage, keeping some paper products on hand can save you a lot of washing time. I keep a few days’ worth of paper plates, cups, bowls and silverware on hand.

 

6: Personal Hygiene

For a short term power outage, baby wipes are really handy for washing your hands and for a quick “bath”.

In a longer term power outage, you might want a camping shower. Since we’ve spent so much time without water, we actually bought a gymnastics hook to hang a camping shower from the ceiling in our real shower.

• Baby Wipes
• Camping Shower and hook

 

 

7: Light in a Power Outage

 

Last but not least on our power outage preparedness list is light!

At a minimum, you should keep a couple flashlights on hand with spare batteries to use during a power outage. I also have a solar/hand crank lantern, which really came in handy that time I had to cook dinner in the dark! Finally, you might want to keep some candles to light throughout the house in the evening.

Growing up, my family actually used vintage oil lamps. We always had some oil in the cupboard in case of a power outage.

• Flashlights
• Batteries
• Solar/Hand Crank Lantern
• Candles

 

Hopefully this list has helped you to be more prepared for an emergency! Above all, be flexible and don’t be afraid to improvise!