I thought I would put some other ideas for a blackout kit together as a follow up to my earlier post where I focused on a basic kit for your home. In most parts of the United States we have a reliable power grid network. Thanks to our nation’s power company’s personnel and equipment, short term outages are usually restored quickly. It seems like they frequently occur during a weather event and many times it’s at night.

So, if the lights go out, a blackout kit can be useful and comforting to your family, especially if you have young children in the home. At work it could be useful for you and your co-workers if everyone needs to get to a central place to wait out the storm or event. With a few simple and inexpensive supplies stored in a convenient spot you can be ready to cope with the darkness for a short term.

I’m sure there are a few homes and businesses that might be able to afford an emergency generator that cranks up automatically and powers everything up. If that’s your situation, great, but you probably still need a blackout kit, just in case it fails to start for some reason.

So here is what a basic blackout kit list looks like.

Lights:

• Several basic small LED flashlights with extra batteries, maybe one for each family member.
• LED Headlamp for light while working with both hands free.
• Glow Sticks, the kind you snap and shake.
• Candles and matches

Communications:

• Small AM /FM radio and or a weather radio with spare batteries

Food & Water:

While power outages seldom affect city water supplies, if you are on well water it will.

• Bottles of water, at least one per family member
• Snack bars, granola bars, energy bars
• Individual servings of nuts, hard candy, M&M’s
• Manual can opener for opening canned goods

First Aid:

• Small basic bobo kit
• First aid manual

Shelter:

Unless your home sustains damage from a storm your family should be comfortable but a couple of items might make it more so.

• Mylar Survival Blankets, at least one for each family member
• Compact emergency rain ponchos

Entertainment:

• Board games & deck of cards

Misc.:

• Some cash in small domination’s in case you need some supplies and they can only accept cash while power is out.

 

To improve your kit as money resources allow I would consider adding the following.

Lights:

• Emergency lights that stay plugged into outlet and come on when power fails. One in each bedroom and several strategically placed around home.
• Oil lamps, extra oil and matches for longer term outages.

Communications:

• Handheld HAM Radio such as a Baofeng UV5R allows you to receive local shortwave information. If you have a basic HAM license you can also communicate with other HAMs in your general area.
• Prepaid cell phone like a TracFone with a different provider than your everyday cell phone in case their service is interrupted.

Food & Water:

• Water purification tablets
• Water filter straw
• Water filter similar to a Berkley
• Several day’s supply of long term storage food from Mountain House
• Small stove to heat water and food like a MSR or Solo Stove

First Aid:

• Take a basic first aid course from the Red Cross or another provider
• Improved first aid kit with basic trauma supplies
• Over the counter medications for headaches, pain, fever, nausea, diarrhea, cramps, and sinus congestion.

Shelter:

Basic set of camping gear.

• Sleeping bags for each family member
• Rain suits for each family member
• Indoor safe propane heater and extra propane bottles
• Lots of spare batteries

Misc.:

• More Cash in small domination’s just in case your bank and ATM is down for several days.

 

Additional ideas and comments are welcome at the link below.