5 Ways to Be Prepared for a Loss of Electricity

Losing power: it’s something that I’ve seen people deal with recently and it’s something that I am very familiar with. I’d say that I tend to lose power at least once each summer due to storms (although I haven’t lost power yet this year, knock on wood). And there have been a few times that I’ve been without power for close to a week. It’s always frustrating to be without power, especially for someone who loves to write and read as much as I do. So over the years I’ve picked up a few tips to help make losing power a little less frustrating.

1 // Make sure electronics are fully charged–or close to it–as often as possible.

I’m not very good with this one and it’s always something I think about when a massive storm hits, but make sure that your electronics have as much of a charge as possible. The two big ones for me are my computer and my phone. I write best on a computer, so if the power goes out and my computer needs to be charged soon I’m always frustrated. To avoid this, I always try to make sure my computer is fully charged–or close to it–during the summer months. That way I know that if I lose power I’ll be able to write for hours. The phone is harder to keep charged, but if I’m hanging out at home I try to keep it as charged as possible.

2 // Store a flashlight in an easy-to-find spot.

Yes, I have a flashlight on my phone, but the last thing I want to do once the power goes out is start using up the battery on that when I can easily keep a flashlight on hand for such an occasion. I keep a flashlight in my nightstand so that if the power goes out I know right where to go. Once I have the flashlight I can dig out candles and/or other flashlights.

3 // Take advantage of any opportunity to charge electronics.

I’ve always been able to do this at work, so I always bring my computer, phone and iPad or Kindle so that I can make sure that I go home with everything fully charged. I’m always able to make it through the night with my electronics, which helps keep my evening routine as normal as possible.

4 // Make the experience fun.

It can be so frustrating to have our modern conveniences taken away, so I like to make it fun. There’s nothing better than reading a thriller at night by candlelight, with shadows bouncing on the wall. And writing by candlelight? Maybe I should let me computer battery run out of charge and get a quill. 🙂

5 // Stop calling the electric company.

This one is also hard. I always want to know what the status is, but if the power is out for a couple of days, it’s because power is out all over the place. They’re aware and calling isn’t going to change anything on their end, but counting up the number of times I’ve called and the power still isn’t on only makes it more frustrating for me. So stop calling (you won’t even get through to a representative) and just do whatever you’re doing to make the experience fun.

At the end of the day, while losing power is frustrating, it’s not the worst thing to live with. The frustration comes from having to change how we live to accommodate the power outage, so having a plan for when the power goes out makes things easier.

(And I feel like I just jinxed myself. Let’s see how long it takes before I experience a power outage.)

What are your tips for losing power?

[Tweet “Five ways to prepare for potentially losing power in a summer storm… and maybe make it fun!”]