Author of Be Ready for Anything and Bloom Where You’re Planted online course
Yesterday, we went a bit darker with our challenge, so today, we’ll go with a simpler – but very worthwhile – task to balance things out.
If you missed the previous challenges, you can catch up here:
- Day 1
- Day 2
- Day 3
- Day 4
- Day 5
- Day 6
- Day 7
- Day 8
- Day 9
- Day 10
- Day 11
- Day 12
- Day 13
- Day 14
- Day 15
- Day 16
Today’s Challenge
So, let’s come back from the dark side of yesterday’s challenge.
This is a very simple task and will make your life much easier in the event of a late-night power outage.
Add a complete light source to every room of the house. This can be, for example, a flashlight, a candle with a book of matches tucked under the holder (or a lighter – but a candle alone won’t do much good), an oil lamp, or an LED headlamp. (We have these headlamps and love them.) An idea for the kiddos is a toy that glows on demand. We also keep large spotlight-type flashlights beside each door to the outside, a habit we developed when we lived out in the boonies with lots of wildlife.
Here’s an article about emergency light sources for some lighting inspiration.
What is your favorite kind of emergency lighting?
Do you prefer the old-fashioned stuff or the new stuff? Did you have rooms that were missing emergency lighting? What kind of lighting do you suggest for children?
Share your thoughts in the comments! And here’s the forum post where you can win some prizes 🙂
I have flashlights all over the apartment, b/o lights and candles for backup. I also have a couple of solar lights and I wish I had more. Battery operated Walkman radio for keeping up with news, but the local radio stations are not the best for news. The last time we had weather related power outages the local stations had a brief news recap at the top of the hour and (lousy) music the rest of the time! Not very helpful.
My phone is a flashlight. I keep it next to me at night, and I keep candles and matches all over the apartment, I buy them at the dollar store.
All my pants, shirts and jackets have pockets, so I don’t need to duplicate my stash of lights in every room. One or two tiny lights I always have with me will get me quickly to that stash, if needed. And they can always point me to a keyhole in the dark. One of my favorites is the Victorinox Swiss Army Signature Lite knife (2 1/4“ long) with a white LED light and a spring-loaded push-to-light switch. I even once read of a surgeon who carries one on his neck chain for sudden power loss emergencies. The other is an Energizer brand LED light that looks and carries like a ball-point pen in my long out-of-fashion shirt pocket protector. It uses either alkaline or rechargeable Nimh AAA batteries — that are easy to change, even by feel in the dark. An empty clear plastic Tic-Tac box is the most compact carrier I’ve found for four spare AAA batteries.
BTW, when shopping for solar chargeable garden lights, look for ones with an on/off switch. If you can’t turn it off after a fresh charge, it’ll run down immediately and do you no good when you need it.
About LED headlamps: I have a couple that both use either alkaline or rechargeable Nimh AAA batteries. The one with the center over-the-head strap needs to have that cut off so it can be worn around the neck. It’s easier to aim at projects close to you and doesn’t blind somebody working with you whenever you look at them. Alternatively, use one with the center strap for riding a bike, but use one without that center strap around your neck for things like unloading groceries in the dark, changing a tire, etc.
The best single D-cell battery powered flashlights I’ve found (cheap but long lasting) are the Energizers from Walmart. They are rated for a whopping 60 hours of battery time for alkaline batteries, but run well on rechargeable Nimh D-cells (that you have to order).
I like the monster sized candles that just barely fit inside a #10 can, but I prefer to carry them around in a clear Pyrex pitcher with a handle for one-handed carrying, for better light dispersion, and for safety to prevent tipping. If you want some stronger light in one direction, tape a little aluminum foil to one side of that pitcher — shiny side inward.
I still keep several kerosene lamps from the pre-electric era. They are a great reminder of my grand and great grandparents’ generations. Today you can still get them from the Lehman’s catalog or website in Ohio or from the Cumberland General Store catalog. Unlike gasoline, kerosene stores virtually forever.
Modern technology has provided some interesting battery-driven defense lighting gadgetry. One is the military grade green laser (lithium battery powered so you can keep it charged) — about $30 on Amazon. I would not want to be the home invader who got hit in the eyes with one of those. While it’s a felony to temporarily blind an airline pilot with such a laser, a home invader threatening you, your family and/or your stuff should be a different and disgusting case. Oddly enough, the last time I looked on the TSA’s website, such green lasers were still OK for either baggage or carry-on, but you never know when they’ll change their mind.
The other techie gadget is a tactical flashlight that lots of police carry. Again it is lithium battery powered so you can keep it recharged. It is bright enough to severely interrupt an attacker’s plans. And if you find yourself up close, it has a built-in taser to ruin that attacker’s day. So far, it’s still legal to order and own.
–Lewis
adding a few extra flashlights and extra batteries, need to add more candles and lighters
My home is pretty simple. We are full off grid solar. But for emergencies and convenience we have lighting to grab in every room.
1. Bedroom: an LED lamp on my side of the bed, a flashlight on husbands dresser top. An LED headlamp on each dresser.
1.5 Bathroom: is open to the bedroom. So it uses the bedroom lighting if power is off for some reason.
2. Livingroom: an LED lamp by tv, a selection of lights by the Front Door: small bright LED flashlights and headlamps, and a larger very bright spotlight.
2.5 Kitchen: is part of the open living area so shares lighting and access to the front door.
3. Laundry room/Back Door: tiny room and outside door so lighting there is for both… On the wall by the door hang 2 headlamps, 2 small bright LED flashlights, and a very bright LED spotlight.
Home is small but comfortable with just three rooms at 896 sq ft.
On an antique stove in the lliving room are several antique oil lamps. All filled with lamp oil and both matches and a long lighter are with them. I also have candles in the room that could be lit. I’m hunting for and appropriate mirror to hang behind the lamps. That multiplies the light.