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By patsi @ A Working Pantry
Wagon clipart link … https://clipart-library.com/clipart/713877.htm
(For those just popping in, this is an imaginary scenario that's part of a class we are doing and not real life.)
I know I said in our last post for this class that there wouldn’t
be any more posts until Monday …
Well …
Surprise! Surprise!
Isn’t that a component of events such as this one!!!
Here you go …
You’re in day 4 of the power grid being down, you hear
something … a humming maybe … all of the sudden your house doesn’t seem as
quiet … you have power!!
You immediately turn on the TV, radio or other device to see
what you can find out. An emergency
broadcast is being made. Basically, the
broadcaster is saying the powers that be are aware of the problem and that the issue
that caused it has been taken care of, but unfortunately, there is no quick fix
as much damage has been done.
However, on a brighter note, starting right now you will
have up to one hour of power and then the power grid will be down again. Until the power grid is fully restored there
will be random power allowances, they just don’t know when, for how long or how
often.
What are you going to do with your ‘up to’ one hour of power? Remember, whatever time of day you read this post is the time of day you are working with … ‘up to’ one hour … go!
Think this through very carefully,
but don’t take too long as your ‘up to’ one hour is ticking away …
She looketh well to the ways of her household … Proverbs 31:27
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Load of laundry! It can dry on the clothes line. And use the oven and stove top. Generator isn’t powerful enough to use the stove. Vacuum!
ReplyDeleteAnonymous, those are some really good choices, it would be nice to have a nice meal wouldn't it and clean clothes!
DeleteOur genny is still chugging along keeping us comfortable. We don't run it all the time to conserve gas so with one hour of power I would send hubby around the corner to the gas station to fill the empty gas cans. In the meantime I have washed clothes and hug them on my drying racks. Used the quick wash as they were not really dirty just a wee bit smelly. Using quick wash I got two loads done. Too old to go down steps to try to hang clothes so inside dry it is. The weather is still mild which really helps. Suppose to rain later today.
ReplyDeleteGet our sheets in the washer and as many washcloths and towels as will fit. Plug in everything that needs charging. Refill all the water jugs and all the pitchers in the kitchen plus fill up the bathtub for toilet flushing. Grab a quick shower. Cook a quick hot meal if there is still time and boil some water to fill a thermos.
ReplyDeleteWhat a blessing the sound of a running washer would be! I’d plug in my solar generator for a quicker charge, fill my water storage back up. I’d probably be heating some of it to wash with, and put in a thermos for tea later on. Mel in Co. I seem to mention water a lot. I live in a dry climate!
ReplyDeleteIf I used the express load function on my machine I could get 2 loads of clothes washed, and get one load almost dry using the dryer. I would also run the garbage disposal for any tiny bits that had accidentally made its way into it while the power was down.
ReplyDeleteClean the powder room which has no windows. Obviously charge everything that needed charging, and dry my hair with a hairdryer. I would wait until the hour was up to put any laundry on the drying rack though.
We installed a three way generator. It is fueled by propane, gasoline or natural gas. Since we still have natural gas, that’s what we’ve been using. I would use my hour to wash clothes. Washing takes too much power from the generator, so I’d run a load and then if I had any time left I’d throw clothes in the dryer to get them as dry as possible. I’d need to hang them to dry the rest of the way since we live in a very rainy region.
ReplyDeleteRead this at 11pm haha, I would charge phones, lamps etc do some washing of essentials and boil some eggs and cook some food for the next day. Try to find out some news on the computer. Make some flatbreads and fill the thermoses with hot water
ReplyDeleteLaundry Showers Refill all empty water containers Use the well as much as possible Text family to see if they need help use oven keep freezers closed as much as possible so think what we would need and fill cooler with food and ice jugs or bags of ice We are a couple so we would divide and conquer
ReplyDeleteVery quick showers all around, throw in a load of laundry, top up water supplies, check emails and recharge mobile phones etc. If time allows I would phone my daughter who lives in another part of the country to check that she is ok while there is power to my landline and my mobile is on charge. I can put the phone on speaker so that I can carry on doing things while talking with her. That sounds like an awful lot to do in one hour, but there are 3 of us, so we could easily split the tasks between us.
ReplyDelete1. Get 2 loads of laundry done -- one load of lights (including underwear and shirts) and one load of darks (including jeans) -- wash cycle is 25 mins. I can line dry on a rack on the deck and/or in the bathroom. 2. Fill all large pots with water and put them on the "power" burner to boil / sanitize any "germs" due to low water pressure. Do as many pots of water as possible, after moving sterile water to pitchers with lids. 3. Flush and clean all toilets, to rid the bathroom of as many germs as possible. 3. Check items in freezer and remove what's thawed too much to be re-frozen. 4. Make a full pot of coffee (or 2, putting 1st pot into a pitcher or thermos), so I can simply re-heat "good" coffee on the grill, if power goes off again. If time allowed, I'd probably take a quick shower (water would not be hot in an hour's time), using an antibacterial soap, and wash my hair. I can get email and internet on my phone, so I would NOT get online; too easy for me to get sucked down a rabbit hole searching for what's going on and causing this power grid failure.
ReplyDeletei would turn the water heater back on so it would fill up again, since we used the 50 gallons or so that was in it for drinking and such. then turn it off again so it would not burn up the elements. flush and clea n all toilets refill all water jugs and tubs for flushing. check news on tv. really use the shower with the plug in to save the water for flushing later. check on freezer, maybe its still cold and this will cool it again. bonnie in pa.
ReplyDeleteI forgot garbage! I would need to check with the city to found out the hours of operation for our trash!
ReplyDeleteWell,I have to stay. You got me! I read this half wake sipping my morning coffee!. The first and thing that came to mind. Was filling the tub with water. Then I read the comments. That helped. I checked to see if i had a shirt cycle on my washing machine . I couldn’t remember. So I’d start a load of the most important. I thought of showers all around.then changed my mind. We have a wood stove, thankfully it’s fall here and it’s been chilly. We can cook and heat water.So I instead will fill the 5 gallon water containers that have been used , bathtub, my big, big pot with water, and what ever else . Recharge phones. I pad. I like the idea of a quick bathroom clean. I would clean and refill my oil lamps. Tina.
ReplyDeleteHaving just been through this scenario, sort of, I would fill both tubs and my animal troughs, first and foremost, and one of us would go refill our spare gas cans. Maybe I’d wash a load of laundry. We found that as long as the underneaths are clean we can wear our clothes more than one day — unless they are caked in mud…
ReplyDeleteAgreed with above commentor. We'll plug in phones. I'm going to run the bathtub full of water, refill all of my jugs, probably my large stockpot, too and start a load of laundry. After about 20 minutes we should have hot water for showers. We won't be able to dry clothes in the dryer, but we might toss in undies to get those quick dried and then we'll hang everything else up. I'm probably going to be cleaning toilets, too.
ReplyDeleteAfter four days I should still have frozen things in the freezer, but the fridge will have been cleared out. I say I should on the freezer because when I last lost power for a week, I only lost a few bags of fruit. Everything else was still cold with heavy ice crystals, which means it's safe for a little bit longer.
It's 4 pm here. I can do 2, maybe three loads of laundry & hang them out to dry. My Speed Queen can wash a load in less than 20 minutes.
ReplyDeleteFill the bathtub with water & any clean containers that I have.
Charge any devices & rechargeable batteries
Have someone else vacuum rugs, if I have a kid with me
Honestly, I'd probably try to take a shower & wash my hair!
Boil some water & fill my Stanley thermos & Mikasa Caraffe. I've learned from past outages that the caraffe can give me hot tea for at least 12 t 18 hrs & the Stanley will keep it hot for close to 36 hrs.
I love the suggestion to boil eggs! I'd do that too. I'd also cook some boneless chicken in the air fryer. Any raw meats that I can cook I would but we have a charcoal grill & a camp stove so we've been cooking all along.
It's not hot today but if it were yesterday, I'd turn on the ac.
I would do a load of laundry on a short cycle. I would hang the clothes to dry. Hubby would load up the gas cans and go to the closest gas station to fill them up. I would recharge everything, phones, fans, power banks. I would turn on the oven and make some food, muffins, whatever we planned on having for dinner. If we needed cash I would tell my husband to hit the ATM too.
ReplyDelete-Marybeth from NY
We’re both going to shower and then fill the bathtub with water for use later to flush toilets, etc. Fill as many containers with water as we can. Run a quick load of laundry and hang to dry. We will charge everything that requires. Get more gas for the generators. Turn the heat on to warm up the house.
ReplyDeleteHope it was ok. I shared this link with a friend. Tina
ReplyDeleteAnonymous, share away!
DeleteWould the water have been off? We’ve been through 2 weeks without power during an ice storm but we still had water. Anyway, timed hot showers, laundry and recharge everything including the portable dvd player and book lights. Fuel restock would probably not happen because the line would be too long by the time we could get there.
ReplyDeleteFor me it really matters if it would be summer or fall/winter/spring. Living close to the coast in a zone 7-8 it usually is very humid (and chilly) fall/winter/spring. Do I have to choose in our scenario? Because choices can be totally different then.
ReplyDeleteOne thing I have not read above is that I would have a radio (or music or tv) always on "on", so I immediately know/hear when the power is on or off. You never know....
Wendy, no you don't get to choose. What ever season you're in right now is what you're working with. What ever your daily weather is, is what you're working with. Does that make sense? If your weather is 90 degrees and humid at your house today in real life, that is what yout weather is for today in the scenario.
DeleteThen so fall, cold and humid it is. Since we all get one hour of power I presume the utility companies have full time power so no problems with getting city water or natural gas.So we can cook food and warm water on the gas stove but have no heating or warm water from the central heating system. With one hour of power the system can heat up the house again. I would make sure I have handwashed one load for the drier then. Every day one load ready for the hour of power. We still have some electrical blankets on the attic. I would put them on the beds and turn them for that hour to get the dampness/cold out of the beds. I would have prepared bread dough (by hand ouch) enough for three breads (rising above a little steaming water) and bake them in the oven > preheating oven and baking will take an hour. A prepared sweet dish (like apple crumble) can go on the bottom and some granola can go in when ready and oven cooling down time. I must make sure I have a time table for all the preparation's for this hour of power. I would wash smaller items in the washing machine that can dry above the stairs. Not much, cause dampness in the house makes it even colder and causes mold. We have two ceramic heaters and those would be on during this hour. One in the living room and one in the bedroom. We wash ourselves with warm water made on the gas stove.
DeleteI am not sure why I didn't share this before. It is regarding toilets. I had a friend whose septic failed 2 summers ago. In this case using any water or septic is completely impossible. They did not have the money to stay in a hotel for 6-8 days, and have animals that need taken care of. Everything else worked. The septic guy told us they could do 2 things, which they did both at different times. First set up a camp toilet, dig a hole and put a potty chair over it. We hung 3 tarps for privacy (against a shed,) but also it is a rural setting. We added a broken 3 gallon bucket to "direct" things. Also a 3 gallon bucket with a trash bag and filled with kitty litter. This was used in an extreme emergency... a storm came through in the middle of the night. Then clean up was filling in the hole and throwing away the bag of kitty litter. They considered a camp shower but came to my house and a sister's for showers.
ReplyDeleteA large load of laundry that will be line dried in the house. It's chilly and rainy so the woodstove is being used for heat. The generator still has propane but we are being very frugal with what appliances are being used. DH is the cook so have him use the cooktop and oven with the hour of electrical power allowed. I would also charge up the cell phones, my e-reader and quickly check for news on the computer.
ReplyDeleteGet kettles and pots of water onto the stove to boil. When ready fill thermos' - hot water bottles & the sink for dishes. Also fill another rubbermaid tub for a bit of hand laundry catch up, I live in an apt. building and there wouldn't be time to fight over the access in the laundry room and I doubt the water would heat up quickly enough.
ReplyDeleteThen I'd make some hot food - a bit of a batch type cook if I could to use up items. I have small "camp" stove which I would have been using to reheat and boil a bit of water but it would be handy to get a few other things done.
While all this is on I'd have a quick shower, shampoo and dry my hair with my blow dryer - it will be good for about 4 days after that. As soon as I'm out of the tub I'd start filling it with more water - just in case.
I've been pondering on this - it's seven in the morning in spring in Queensland, so it's pretty warm even now. Firstly because my 'hour' has come at this time, I am aware that it's in peak period for power usage so I am wondering how long I'll actually have access to power. I'd probably boil the kettle and fill up with hot water if possible but as long as my little portable gas stove is going then I'm Ok for that. I'm assuming the water is still on as we live on the outskirts of the city so water shouldn't be a problem - however, we have a branch of the river down the road, a tank, and a fair bit of fresh water on hand. I couldn't fill the bathtub simply because we don't actually have a bathtub. Showers? No, I wouldn't bother as we have electric hot water system and it wouldn't heat in time to actually be beneficial after four days - we could have a cold shower anytime though. We'd still be clean as we'd have been having a good solid wash every day anyway. Washing? Again I wouldn't bother turning the machine on as I can handwash everything in a small amount of water and husband is great at wringing things out, even towels and sheets if necessary and they all get hung on the line outside (I don't even own a dryer these days). There is no need at this stage to wash sheets so frequently and we are hanging the towels out in the sun every day. Clothing would be washed as needed, undies every day. My main aim would be to charge everything up as much as I could and possibly get more fuel for the generator although that may not be possible given there would be long queues and who knows what hour the service station would be operating on anyway. As far as phones go, we both have our mobile phones - the so called landlines are useless without power as since the NBN (Ausralia here) was rolled out, they disconnected the landlines so the home phones are connected to the modem which of course is useless in a power outage. We have plenty of food, and the generator is keeping the freezer going as well as the fridge part-time. Without fresh bread, we still have packs of savoury biscuits such as Arnott's cruskits, ryvita and such and toppings that require no refrigeration such as Vegemite (Aussie), peanut paste, and heaps of tins of baked beans, sardines, and plenty of other stuff. We are retired so don't have to think about going to work and family are on a property so pretty much self-sufficient anyway. That's all I can think of at the moment but I'm sure there's lots more.
ReplyDeleteI would fill up the tub and water containers. Wash a load of clothes. I quick shower would be nice for both us. We have a solar generator and I can also charge with the house electric so would charge that and phones that need it. Clean the bathrooms would be on the list too. I like the idea of boiling eggs so would do that. We have a camp stove and also a sterno stove so we would be mostly heating things up on that. Some hot biscuits would be nice to have with all the soup we have been eating so if time permitted I would make biscuits. The freezer should still be frozen, we have had our power off for a week before and things were still good. The freezer is a chest type and I always put a layer of cardboard on top of the freezer to add a little more insulation just don't cover any vents.
ReplyDeleteCindy