How to Always be Prepared for a Power Outage

You never know when a nor’easter will hit the right trees in your neighborhood causing a power outage. These things always seem to happen when you are least expecting them. That’s why you should always be prepared for the worst. Warning! If you follow these rules, you’re going to probably be the first house your neighbors visit when a disaster hits.

1. Always have a camp stove.

These are portable and can hold a flame for at least an hour, if not more. With that being said, make sure to have back-up propane cylinders or butane gas cartridges, depending on the type of stove, so if you have to use this for an extended time period, you have enough to keep the flame going. These also boil water in minutes.

2. Keep the emergency supplies all in one place.

The last thing you want to do is be searching in the dark for your supplies. Keep your flashlights, batteries, can opener, first aid kid, candles, etc all in one place. Make sure you always have a more than enough of these items stocked away. Don’t use the batteries for your dead remote. Pretend this stock pile doesn’t even exist, unless there is a power outage.

3. Stock pile extra food.

If a snow storm or hurricane hits, who knows how long it will be until you can get to a store. That’s why you should always have extra canned foods in your pantry. Also, make sure you have emergency stash of your favorite furry friend’s food.

4. Invest in a propane space heater.

Again, if a snow storm hits, it may get cold depending on the type of heat in your house, That’s why it’s always a good idea to have a back-up space heater. Make sure you also have extra propane so you can keep the heater going to a long time, if needed. When using the heater in an emergency, set up camp in a smaller room. Also, cook in that room so you don’t waste any heat.