30 Days of Preparedness Day 13: Practice Living Without Electricity

September is National Preparedness Month and is something we celebrate every year with our 7 Day Challenge (have you signed up yet???) This year we are also participating in a little blog hop called the 30 Days of Preparedness. You can check out each day’s post over at the Prepared Bloggers Network site and get a crash course in emergency preparedness this month. We will be featured on September 13th but you get to have a sneak peek of our day today!

Our post is DAY 13 which is an ACTION DAY! You get to practice living without power on this day. It will be a good warm-up if you plan to join in the 7 Day Challenge coming on a surprise day sometime in September. So let’s turn off that power and get started! Here are 5 action items to do to participate today:

1. ACTUALLY TURN OFF YOUR POWER
It’s very easy to accidentally flip on a light switch when you are supposed to be practicing living without power. There are a few ways you can “turn off” the power to practice today. You can turn off your main circuit breaker but that will cause your fridge to turn off too which you might not ACTUALLY want to do. So we recommend going to your circuit box and flipping the breakers on all the switches except your fridge circuit. If you don’t want to mess with your breakers you can tape duct tape over all the switches and sockets and unplug everything just to keep you “honest”.

2. Cook all three meals using the powerless cooking methods from day 10
Cooking is one of the biggest immediate concerns when the power goes out. You may have a barbecue grill or camp stove but there are other options you should consider as well. We did a powerless cooking class showing a variety of options you can use ranging from free/inexpensive tools to more substantial tools useful for long term powerless situations. You can also view DAY 10 of the 30 Days of Preparedness series for more ideas!

3. Don’t use your fridge or freezer foods
Even if you haven’t actually turned off the power to your fridge, it’s a great way to practice by only using items that are shelf stable or from your pantry. It’s nice to have freeze-dried or canned meats to add some bulk to your meals, but there are lots of meatless recipes you can make too. Use our Shelf Stable Cookbook for lots of ideas on pantry meals you can cook.

4. No electronics!
In a technological society it may be harder than you think to go without your electronics for even a day. Today will be a good day to practice unplugging. That means no tv, no cell phones, no computers! This may especially be a struggle for kids who may not understand the benefit of “practicing” this. Plan fun activities that don’t involve electronics. We like using a crank lantern and telling ghost stories at night. Candlelight board games are fun too. Be creative and have fun.

5. No air conditioner or furnace
One of the hardest things about having no power is the lack of heating and cooling devices in our homes. It’s good to practice days like this in extreme weather to know how you will manage in a true emergency. If you don’t have a fireplace, you’ll want to have some other powerless means of providing heat. If you live in extremely hot areas it will be equally as important to have a way to stay cool. We put together a list of 50 ways to keep cool when the power is out to help with some ideas.

Thanks for joining the Prepared Bloggers as we work our way through 30 Days of Preparedness. September is National Preparedness Month so you will find everything you need to get your preparedness knowledge and skills into shape.

Take one post each day, learn as much as you can about the topic and make it a part of your preparedness plan.

Day 1 – Ready, Set, Get Prepared! Welcome to 30 Days of Preparedness from PreparednessMama
Day 2 – The Family Meeting Place and Escape from Laughingbear Adventures
Day 3 – I’m Safe! How to Communicate with Family in an Emergency from PreparednessMama
Day 4 – Does Your Family Have a Fire Escape Plan? from Home Ready Home
Day 5 – Preparedness For Pets from The Busy B Homemaker
Day 6 – The Escape Exercise from Laughingbear Adventures
Day 7 – It all Falls Apart Without Mental Preparedness from PreparednessMama
Day 8 – It’s a Matter of Emergency Kits from A Matter of Preparedness
Day 9 – Nine Great Emergency Light Sources Other Than Flashlights from Food Storage & Survival
Day 10 – Cooking Without Power from Mama Kautz
Day 11 – The Importance of a Shelter & Staying Warm and Dry from Trayer Wilderness
Day 12 – The Importance of Having The Right Tools In Your Pack from Trayer Wilderness
Day 13 – Practice Living Without Electricity from Food Storage Made Easy
Day 14 – How We Choose The Right Gear – (including the MultiFlame Tool) from Trayer Wilderness
Day 15 – Water Storage & Purification from The Busy B Homemaker
Day 16 – Food and Water for a 72 Hour “Go Bag” from Homestead Dreamer
Day 17 – 8 Foods You Should Be Storing and How from Melissa K Norris
Day 18 – Planning Your Pantry from The Organic Prepper
Day 19 – Stocking Up on Non-Food Items from Living in Rural Iowa
Day 20 – Dutch Oven Cooking: Off-Grid Before Off-Grid Was Cool from The Backyard Pioneer
Day 21 – Pressure Canning the Harvest from Timber Creek Farm
Day 22 – Personal Protection & Awareness from Living in Rural Iowa
Day 23 – KISS First Aid from Herbal Prepper
Day 24 – Mommy, I have to go Potty! from Mom With a Prep
Day 25 – Fire Starting 101: The Why and How of Lighting a Fire for Survival from Food Storage & Survival
Day 26 – How to Filter and Purify Water from Prepared Housewives
Day 27 – How To Make A Shelter from Trayer Wilderness
Day 28 – Put Your Preps to the Test with 24 Hours Unplugged from The Organic Prepper
Day 29 – What Is Char and Why You Should Have It To Start A Fire from Trayer Wilderness
Day 30 – How To Utilize Bushcraft Skills and Forage From The Wild from Trayer Wilderness