~ from my home to yours, living the Working Pantry lifestyle ~ surviving today's economy ~ a can-do spirit and attitude ~

Wednesday, October 26, 2016

Building a Basic One Month Preparedness Pantry ... part 2

Part 1 of this series can be found
HERE.  The reason why I started this series can be found HERE.

Part 2 is all about non- electric emergency lighting...

When the power is disrupted in an emergency situation the lights go out as well.  If the power interruption happens in the evening or at night, we are literally left in the dark with no warning.  No one likes stumbling around in the dark looking for a flashlight or a candle to light so part of our basic one-month preparedness pantry is to have our non-electric light sources available and ready for use.

Here are some options:

Flashlight.  This is probably the first thing we all reach for when the lights go out so we need to know where we can find one ASAP.  Pick a location in your house and keep one there at all times when not in use, that way you will know where to go immediately when it’s needed.  Here's an option for a solar powered flashlight too!

Oil lamps.  (make sure you have oil for your lamps as well)  We keep our oil lamps displayed as part of our home décor so that they will be ready to light when needed.  We keep oil for our lamps in a safe place that is easily accessible to us.

Battery operated lamps/lanterns (make sure you have batteries)  Our battery operated lantern is stored on a shelf where all we need to do is reach and get it.  We also have a central location for all our batteries.  We know right where to go when batteries are needed and don’t have to spend time searching for them.  If power has already been lost, you don’t want to be searching around in the dark for batteries so pick one location and keep all your batteries together.

Head lamps.  I can’t say enough good about head lamps.  During our days without power during Hurricane Matthew I used a head lamp quite a bit.  It went with me where ever I went and left my hands free.  You can adjust the light up or down on the ones we have as well as the brightness or dimness.   It sure was handy when doing handwork or reading and of course when up and walking around.

Emergency candles.  Emergency candles are different from regular candles.  Emergency candles are meant to burn longer and put out a bit more light.  Make sure you have a safe way to burn them.   If they are single stand-alone candles make sure you put them in a container that will not allow them to fall over.  You don’t want to have to worry about your house catching on fire while providing light for your home.

Solar powered landscaping lights.  If you have solar powered landscaping lights in your yard, bring them in and use them as a light source.  The next morning take them back outside to let them recharge.  It’s not a huge amount of light but it is better than nothing.

Fragrance candles can be used but they don’t give off as much light and you need to be aware of anyone in your household who might have allergies to the fragrance.

Store these items somewhere in your house so that you can get to them easily when needed, maybe a tub or tote labeled emergency lighting would work.  If you're storing oil lamps make sure they are empty of any oil.   The goal is to know where your emergency lighting supplies are and be able to get to them as soon as possible when needed.

One more thing … store enough for a month!   You’ll be surprised how much you'll use and while no one anticipates being without power for an entire month, having what you think is a month’s supply will ensure that you actually do have enough to get through several days without being left completely in the dark!

Being prepared with non-electric emergency lighting means the difference between sitting in the dark and as one person put it, ‘looking at the four walls and doing nothing’ and being able to function.

Patsi 

Sharing 42 years' experience of frugal, prudent living and pantry building 

A Working Pantry

My second blog:  From This Heart of Mine 

She looketh well to the ways of her household … Proverbs 31:27 

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