How to be Prepared when Losing Power for More Than a Few Hours

When you’re in the country it’s bound to happen. A storm comes in and the power goes out. If you live in town, typically the electric company will get to you within an hour and all is well. However, the country is a bit of a different story. Depending on how far out you live, people lose power for hours and sometimes days at a time. Whether you need some tips on how to prepare or are just curious to how the hearty survive, this post is for you.

Oil Lamp
If you’ve ever been to a country house you’ve probably seen these sitting out. Most people think they’re just for decoration because they’re “old” and “rustic” looking. That is not the case my friend. When you have no lights that work in your house, these babies put out a glow to illuminate a room. Plus, they make for really cool ambiance. It’s almost guaranteed that you can find them at a thrift store for pretty darn cheap. All you do is unscrew the metal ring, stick the wick (it’s more of a cotton type flat wick than a candle wick….get at any craft store or Wal-Mart) down into the hole (the glass part is easily removable), and thread it through the metal opening. Fill up the basin with burning oil (also from the same stores as the wick). You have to let the wick soak up the oil for a bit, so we typically keep them filled just in case. See the small circular knob on the side of the metal case? Turn it. It will raise or lower the wick. Light that puppy on fire and just make sure to check randomly in case you need to roll more of the wick up. Once the fire is going place the glass piece back on top.

Gas Stove
Due to no access, country people are almost all powdered by propane or natural gas. This makes it obvious that we would have gas stoves. They also come in handy when you have no power and your family is hungry! The oven won’t work, but the burners on top are all powered by gas. When your electricity goes out your gas does NOT. This means you can cook on your stove top to your heart’s content.

Water in Buckets
This sounds silly. I promise it’s not. Us good ol’ country folk need to use the restroom like everyone else. Guess what doesn’t work? Your toilet! Not to worry. If you know a storm is coming in, fill up your bathroom with water. If you don’t have a bathtub find any large buckets and start filling. When someone needs to use the bathroom, fill up the tank just enough to flush it. When water is scarce we follow the general rule. If it’s yellow leave it mellow. If it’s brown flush it down. You’re welcome.

Wood Burning Fireplace
Again, we don’t just have these because they’re original. With no electricity there goes your heat. A wood burning stove can fill up a lot of a room in a short amount of time. Make sure your wood pile is cut and ready to use. The last thing you want to do during a blizzard is be chopping wood. Plus, if you let it sit outside it won’t burn if it’s still wet. Make sure you have a variety of the smaller fire starter type woods, some newspaper, and some of the long burning woods. Just keep it going all day!

Some additional tips:
If you have animals make sure they’re in a protected area. Most importantly, be sure to check their water regularly. This can freeze and you will need to break it up to get to the water at the bottom of the tank.

Enjoy the downtime with your family! The TV won’t work, so what else are you going to do? We used to play games, dance, sit around singing, and tell stories. Some of my best memories growing up are due to having no power.

Your freezers also will not work, so if you’re out for a few days you don’t want all that food to spoil. Pack the freezer with snow from outside, or take your most important items out of the freezer and just sit them outside in a cooler or large bucket. The outdoors is just as darn cold as your freezer anyway!

Do you have any other tips or advice? List them in the comments!