How ready would you be if the electricity went out tonight and stayed off for a couple of days?
A storm, earthquake, flooding, equipment failure, or another emergency can leave a neighborhood without electricity with very little warning. And once people realize an outage may last, stores can get picked over fast. The things you could have bought easily yesterday may suddenly be nowhere to be found.
I’ve found that preparing ahead of time makes these situations much less stressful. You don’t need to turn your house into a warehouse or spend a fortune in one shopping trip. Keeping a few useful supplies around can make a big difference if the refrigerator stops running, the lights go out, or you can’t get to the store.
Here are 16 things I like to keep stocked for an unexpected power outage or emergency.
1. Non-Perishable Food
Start with foods that can sit safely in the pantry for a long time. Canned beans, vegetables, fruit, soup, meat, pasta, rice, oats, and lentils are all useful choices.
I also like having food that can be eaten without cooking. Peanut butter, crackers, trail mix, protein bars, canned foods that are ready to eat, and shelf-stable meals can save you from having to figure out how to prepare dinner when the stove isn’t working.
Try to keep a mix of foods rather than buying a huge amount of one item. That gives you more options and makes it easier to put together meals from what you already have.
2. First Aid Supplies
A first aid kit belongs in every home, and a power outage is a good reminder to check whether yours is actually stocked.
Keep basics such as adhesive bandages, gauze, medical tape, antiseptic wipes, tweezers, scissors, gloves, and over-the-counter pain medicine. If someone in your household regularly uses certain nonprescription medications, keep an appropriate supply available too.
A pre-made kit is a good starting point, but I prefer adding the things my household is most likely to need. Check the kit from time to time and replace anything that has been used or expired.
Related: 19 Survival Items You Should Stockpile from Dollar Tree
3. Water
Water should be near the top of your emergency supply list. If the electricity goes out, a problem with the local water system can sometimes follow, particularly after severe weather or other major emergencies.
A common emergency planning recommendation is to store at least one gallon of water per person per day for drinking and basic needs. Having extra water for cooking and hygiene gives you more breathing room.
Bottled water is convenient, but you can also store larger food-grade water containers. If you plan to use water from another source, keep appropriate filtration and purification supplies on hand rather than assuming the water is safe to drink.
Related: 10 Reliable Ways to Purify Water Every Prepper Should Know
4. Emergency Lighting
A flashlight is one of the first things I reach for during a blackout. Keep several around the house so you aren’t trying to find one in the dark.
LED flashlights are a good choice because they tend to use less battery power. Battery-powered lanterns can light up a larger area, while solar lanterns can be useful if the outage lasts for several days.
Hand-crank lights and glow sticks are also worth having as backup options. Keep spare batteries together with your flashlights so you don’t end up searching through drawers for them after the lights have already gone out.
5. Manual Can Opener
A pantry full of canned food doesn’t help much if you have no way to open the cans.
Keep at least one manual can opener with your emergency supplies. I’d actually keep a spare, since small kitchen tools have a habit of disappearing just when you need them.
It costs very little and takes up almost no room, so there’s really no reason to depend on an electric can opener during a blackout.
6. Personal Sanitation Supplies
Toilet paper, paper towels, wet wipes, feminine hygiene products, soap, toothpaste, and other basic personal supplies can become hard to find during a major emergency.
The toilet paper shortage of 2020 gave many people a pretty good lesson in how quickly ordinary household products can disappear from store shelves.
Keep extra supplies of the products your household uses regularly. You don’t need years’ worth. Having enough to get through an extended outage or a few disrupted shopping trips can make life much easier.
Related: 15 Essential Things Preppers Should Stockpile Besides Food And Water
7. Garbage Bags
Garbage bags may seem like an odd emergency item until you actually need them.
During a prolonged outage, regular trash collection may be delayed. Heavy-duty bags can also be useful for storing dirty clothes, protecting belongings from rain, lining temporary containers, or handling cleanup after a storm.
Keep a box of regular kitchen bags and a package of heavy-duty contractor bags. They take up little storage space and have plenty of uses around the house.
8. Fire-Starting Supplies
If you have a safe way to cook or need to start an outdoor fire, you’ll want more than one way to get a flame going.
Keep waterproof matches, disposable lighters, and other fire starters in a dry container. Fire-starting tools such as magnesium fire starters can serve as another backup.
Store anything involving an open flame safely and use outdoor stoves or fires only in locations where they’re permitted and safe. Never use a grill, camp stove, or generator indoors because of the risk of carbon monoxide poisoning.
Related: How to Save Money on Firewood
9. Portable Stove
A portable camping stove can be very useful if your regular cooking setup depends on electricity.
Propane camp stoves are one option, while other models use fuels such as charcoal, wood, or pellets. Pick something appropriate for your household and learn how to use it before an emergency happens.
If you use propane, store fuel according to the manufacturer’s instructions and local safety rules. Never operate a fuel-burning stove inside your home, garage, or another enclosed space.
10. Duct Tape
Duct tape has earned its reputation as a useful repair item for a reason. A good roll can handle plenty of temporary fixes around the house.
You can use it to patch a torn tarp, secure loose materials, hold a broken item together, or make a temporary repair after a storm.
Keep a roll or two with your emergency supplies. It’s inexpensive, compact, and useful for far more than household repairs.
11. PPE (Personal Protective Equipment)
Gloves, masks, eye protection, and other protective equipment can come in handy during cleanup after a storm or other emergency.
Work gloves can protect your hands from broken glass, sharp debris, and rough materials. Masks can help reduce your exposure to dust and particles during cleanup.
If you’re dealing with sewage, chemicals, mold, or another hazardous material, basic household PPE may not be enough. Follow local safety guidance and use the right equipment for the hazard.
12. Cleaning Supplies
Cleaning becomes even more important when regular water, trash collection, or other services are disrupted.
Keep household disinfectant, soap, paper towels, sponges, gloves, and other cleaning supplies in your emergency storage. A properly stored supply of unscented household bleach can also be useful for certain cleaning and disinfection tasks.
Don’t assume bleach will make every questionable water source safe to drink. Water treatment requires the correct product, concentration, and instructions. Also check the expiration and storage guidance on your bleach because it loses strength over time.
13. Basic Tools
A power outage is a good reminder of how many things around the house depend on electricity.
Keep basic hand tools such as a hammer, screwdrivers, pliers, adjustable wrench, utility knife, measuring tape, and nails or screws. These can handle small repairs when an electric drill or other powered tool isn’t an option.
You don’t have to buy an expensive toolbox. Yard sales, thrift stores, and secondhand shops can be great places to find older hand tools at reasonable prices.
14. Aluminum Foil
Aluminum foil takes up very little space but can be useful in plenty of situations.
It can help cover or insulate windows, wrap food, protect surfaces, and assist with outdoor cooking when used safely. It can also come in handy for simple household repairs and food preparation.
A roll or two is cheap enough to keep in your pantry without giving it much thought.
Related: 12 Aluminum Foil Hacks
15. Insect Repellent
Power outages can sometimes go hand in hand with other problems, especially after storms or flooding. Standing water can create a breeding ground for mosquitoes, while disrupted sanitation can bring other pests around.
Keep insect repellent for people in your household, along with whatever indoor pest-control products you normally use.
If mosquitoes are common in your area, having repellent ready before you need it is much easier than trying to find it after a storm when everyone else is shopping for the same thing.
Related: Homemade All Natural Bug Spray for Mosquitoes and Ticks
16. Portable Solar Panel
A small portable solar panel can give you another way to keep essential electronics charged during a longer outage.
Being able to charge a phone can be especially useful if you need weather updates, emergency alerts, maps, or a way to contact family members. A charged phone can also provide a flashlight when you need one.
Solar panels aren’t a replacement for a properly sized backup generator or battery system, but they’re a useful addition to an emergency kit and can keep smaller devices running when the grid is down.
Related: Getting the Most Out of Solar Panels
A Little Preparation Goes a Long Way
You don’t have to buy everything on this list at once. Start with the basics your household would need first: water, food, lighting, first aid supplies, sanitation items, and a way to open and prepare food.
Then add the other items as your budget allows.
A power outage is much easier to deal with when you aren’t making a last-minute trip to a crowded store looking for flashlights, batteries, bottled water, and canned food. A few supplies tucked away at home can give you more options and make an inconvenient situation much easier to handle.
