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Power Outage Kit: What You Need Before the Lights Go Out

Short answer: A good power outage kit is small: one flashlight per bedroom in the same spot every time, a headlamp for each adult, gear that all runs on AA batteries plus a spare pack, a hand-crank or battery weather radio, and a charged power bank. Skip candles as your light source, they are a fire risk in a dark house.

Taylor walks you through it, with captions.

What you need

LED flashlights, a headlamp, a pack of AA batteries, a hand-crank weather radio, a 10,000 to 20,000 mAh power bank, a charging cable

Step by step

Put one LED flashlight in every bedroom and one in the kitchen. Always the same spot, so a hand finds it in the dark.
Add one headlamp per adult. It keeps both hands free for cooking, the breaker panel or a kid who needs help.
Buy flashlights, radio and lantern that all take AA batteries. One size, one box, no searching for the right one.
Keep a sealed pack of AA batteries in a cool, dry drawer and write the purchase date on it.
Get a hand-crank radio with weather band. When the cell network is down or overloaded, broadcast radio still works.
Charge a power bank on the first of every month, the same day you test the smoke alarms.

Mistakes to avoid

Using candles as your main light. Candle fires go up during outages, especially with kids and pets in a dark house.
Three flashlights that need three different batteries, and a drawer with none of them.
A power bank that was last charged a year ago. Lithium banks slowly lose charge on the shelf.
Keeping the kit in the attic or the garage you cannot reach in the dark.

Common questions

What should be in a power outage kit?

Flashlights, a headlamp, spare batteries in one size, a battery or hand-crank radio, a charged power bank, a manual can opener, water and some no-cook food. Add a list of important phone numbers on paper.

Why not use candles during a power outage?

Candles are a common cause of home fires during outages, because people use them in rooms they leave, near curtains or within reach of kids and pets. LED flashlights and lanterns give more light and burn nothing.

How big should a power bank be for emergencies?

A 10,000 mAh power bank charges most phones about two times, 20,000 mAh about four times. That is enough for a long weekend if the phone is used for calls and texts, not videos.

Does a hand-crank radio really work without power?

Yes. Turning the crank charges a small built-in battery, and many models also take regular batteries or have a small solar panel. A radio with NOAA weather band gives you local alerts when the internet is down.

Power Outage Kit: What You Need Before the Lights Go Out

What you need

Step by step

Mistakes to avoid

Common questions

Being ready isn't about fear.

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