People inquire about what should be in a power outage kit when cold weather and storms move in. A friend of mine lives in Northern Idaho. As the winter weather set in, a terrible windstorm came with it knocking out the power. Her family had to figure out how to stay warm during a power outage for 10 days! Could you keep your family safe and warm for a week without power?

So, what should be in a power outage kit? There are several essential items to consider when preparing for a power outage during the winter: light, warmth, radio, charging electronics, etc. Below is a list of 10 categories to help you get organized and ready for the winter.

What Should Be in a Power Outage Kit

1. Heating Options

The Big Buddy is a portable propane heater that is safe for indoor use and heats up to 450 square feet.  It has an auto shut-off if:  it’s tipped over, if the pilot light goes out, or if it detects low oxygen levels.  Click here to see five emergency heating options.

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2. Power Failure Lighting

Tip:  When there’s a power outage, place an active glow stick in each bathroom. It makes it easier to find the bathroom, and you won’t need as many lanterns. Lanterns stay in the main gathering place for your family, like the kitchen or bedroom. Keeping the family together in one room will save on resources. Luci Solar Inflatable Lanterns are my preferred off-grid lighting source. With battery-powered lighting, you can go through a lot of batteries. These can last up to 50 hours and recharge quickly with a bit of sunlight. I’ve used them for over seven years in my car, at home, and camping. Unlike flashlights and battery-powered lanterns, there was never a problem with battery acid leaking.

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3. NOAA Radio & Flashlight

My preferences for an emergency radio are:

• digital station finder
• AA battery operated
• FM/AM/NOAA
• battery life indicator
• note: I only use the radio’s energy for broadcasting radio stations, not for recharging devices or any other unique features it comes with.

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4. Battery Bank or Power Station

It is common in this era to rely on our mobile phones for so much. In a power outage, you are more likely to use your phone even more for texting, calling, entertainment, reading, taking notes, taking photos, etc. So it’s essential to have a backup power source! A 20,000mAh battery bank can charge a smartphone several times.

I’d recommend saving up for a minimum 500wh power station if you can afford it. It can charge a smartphone around twenty times, so if you have multiple phones, tablets, earbuds, and smartwatches, this option would be a better fit.

You’ll need a minimum 2000wh power station with solar panels to attempt to power a fridge during a power outage.

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5. Cooking Stove

The first day without power is fun. You get to eat the ice cream before it melts in your freezer and have cereal for breakfast, lunch, and dinner (before the milk goes bad). For the next couple of days, you eat through the soup, crackers, bread, and any snack items in the house. On day 4 of no electricity, that’s where people start to panic because they haven’t prepared. It’s typically not safe to use a camping stove because of carbon monoxide poisoning, so be sure to have a carbon monoxide detector close to a propane camp stove. Below is a photo of a flameless cooking pot and a propane camp stove.

Related Article:  6 Methods to Cook Indoors Without Electricity

This article does not cover a meal plan with off-grid cooking options, but it can be a helpful prep to consider. I personally don’t keep food and water in this kit because I keep it in a different location, but it’s accounted for. The list of basic essentials doesn’t all need to be in your emergency kit as long as you have a plan for it.

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6. Matches

Matches can light candles, cooking stoves, and the propane heater if the igniter fails. Burnt matches are also helpful in covering up funky smells in the bathroom.

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7. Batteries

Batteries are used for the radio, flashlights, carbon monoxide detector, smoke detector, and fan on the propane heater. The radio, flashlights, and headlamp all use AA batteries and the propane heater fan uses 4 D-cell batteries for the heater.

The following three items are not stored with this kit but should be mentioned.

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8. Food

Some examples of easy meals are oatmeal, soup, tuna on crackers, peanut butter on pancakes, chili, pork & beans, and premade meals. Below are emergency meals that last 30 years, unlike typical boxed and canned food that goes bad after 2-5 years.

9. Water

A power outage doesn’t typically affect the water unless your home gets water from a well with an electric pump. However, water pipes can freeze and break during the winter, making it necessary to turn off the main water until the pipes can be repaired.  Note: Stored water should be rotated by adding fresh water routinely.

Click here to learn more about it.

10. Hygiene Supplies

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Where to Store Emergency Kit

You’ll want to keep your kit in a place where the temperature doesn’t fluctuate too much.  This will prolong battery life which is said to diminish with every 15-degree increase or decrease.

1. coat closet near the entry door.
2. in your off-grid room
3. basement (stacked on totes or on a shelf to prevent water damage)
4. under a coffee table

Adding glow-in-the-dark duct tape, stickers, or paint can make your emergency kit easier to find in the dark.

Emergency Kit Dimensions

• 16 inches tall
• 22 inches across
• 16 inches wide
• weighs 24 lbs

Items also in the emergency but not listed above:

• two extra propane tanks (seen in the picture above)
• a hose that allows the heater to connect with a twenty-pound propane tank
• Mr. Heater storage bag – the bag is sold separately.

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Originally posted on Nov. 28, 2015.  Updated and reposted March 7, 2017.