Five Ways to Quickly Adjust to an Unexpected Power Outage

I've found that in my almost 25 years living in St. Louis, I am no stranger to frequent power outages. In the past year alone, we've had three long-term power outages (four to nine days without power) due to inclement weather. Being a suburban girl, I've never been camping in my life and am not accustomed to surviving as an outdoors(wo)man. But after losing power 12 days in total between the three power outages, I've learned to adjust accordingly. So now I will provide you with some tips that might help keep you functioning as normally as possible after a power outage.

Keep Sources of Power Available

First thing's first, I live in an apartment, and have no ability to hook up a generator, so I have to go about finding sources of power where I can. To do this, I keep extra batteries of all sizes in my apartment - especially D-sized batteries that fit into my portable radio. Of course you're going to want to have a number of flashlights to provide the artificial lighting, as well as a number of candles. I've also found little portable battery-operated lights in dollar stores that work great to sit around the house and add that extra light you may want to feel secure.

Also, you will definitely want to keep your link to the outside world; so while cordless and cell phones are convenient, they both require immediate or eventual electricity. To make sure you are prepared for several days without power, it is best to keep a corded landline phone around; that way you have a guarantee that you can access others in the event of an emergency.

Keep a Supply of Food that Doesn't Require Heating

My apartment, like many others, doesn't have gas - only electricity. So when the power fails, my oven and range are of no use to me. You'll be surprised how easily unprepared you can for this be until you are virtually unable to heat up any of the food in your house - yet you are very hungry. Of course you always have the option to eat out, but depending on how many days you are without power, this can become very expensive and inconvenient, especially for those times when you just want a snack. To avoid being completely side-swiped by this problem, I like to keep "open and serve" food items, like bread, peanut butter and canned fruit around at all times.

I've also found that a fondue set comes in incredibly handy when I need to heat up water and food. Granted, it doesn't work very quickly, but it does work! On one occasion, an ice storm hit my area and left the power off for five days in subzero temperatures. In order to stay warm, I heated water for hot chocolate and soup with my fondue pot, and believe it or not, it worked fabulously.

Be Prepared to Protect Your Refrigerated Food

It's always unfortunate to lose the food you've spend money purchasing, so to be prepared, keep a cooler around that can preserve your food for maybe an extra day or two. If you lose power in the middle of winter, you're in luck because you can probably set your cooler on your porch, balcony, or even covered up in your car and maintain a relatively close temperature to your refrigerator. If your power outage occurs in the summer, you'll have to work a little bit harder. In this case, definitely keep lots of ice around and possibly consider firing up the grill to cook that meat before it spoils. Another creative thing I've done is heated up food in a pot by using the grill. It's not different than heating food over an open campfire and it helps to keep you from wasting your money.

Find Creative Ways to Stay Warm/Cool

When I was desperate to stay warm during the winter power outage, I discovered something that actually helped me sleep cozily throughout the night, even in my 45-degree apartment: hand and feet warmers. These inexpensive items are meant to warm you up while outdoors, and they definitely did the trick in my apartment. I bought about 15 of these little guys that require that you shake them for about five minutes then let them warm up. They advertise warmth for 10 hours, and believe it or not, after lining my bed with them before bedtime, they were still emanating heat when I woke up eight hours later!

Another way to keep warm is to use that trusted fondue pot to heat up water for a warm-water wash-up or to simply dip your hands and feet in to keep warm. If you have enough patience, you can heat up enough water to take a shallow bath, but that's if you're willing to wait a few hours.

If you are in the middle of a heat wave when your power goes out, ice packs are a great way to keep cool, especially since you either need to get rid of the melting ice in your refrigerator anyway, or you have just bought ice for your cooler and will have some to spare. If you don't have ice packs, then you can simply wrap ice in a washcloth and use it to keep you cool.

Stash Extra Money Away for a Hotel if Necessary

Having extra money for a hotel was definitely something that I never considered to be a necessity until the last power outage left my apartment sitting at 45 degrees. By the fourth day, I was on the verge of freezing solid despite my successful efforts to keep warm. Unwilling to bear anymore, I packed my things and dipped into my savings account for a stay in a hotel. I know that this is a great idea for some, but is unrealistic for others, so if you can't afford to slip away for the night, consider finding a friend or family member house to crash at.

Side note: The above suggestions are meant for basic survival in the event that a power outage leaves you in a bearable position. But remember, it is always important to pay attention to your body. After so many days of irregular heat or cold, it can become important to vacate the premises to avoid serious health conditions such as dehydration, heat stroke, or frostbite. If you feel yourself becoming ill in anyway, make the right decision for yourself and your family and get out - don't suffer the repercussions of not listening to your body.