Every year around this time I think about it. Then I decide to not bother and wait and see. But maybe it’s time. Especially with Lee lurking around.
I generally have most of the bits and parts of a emergency kit around the house. The stuff we are supposed to have that between one year and the next tends to go wandering to other places in the house. But we have everything. Or most everything.
We have water. Since I have been living under a boil water order for the last several weeks, that’s not an issue at the moment. We do have canned food, although I’m not sure what century some of it may be from. And if the power goes out for a long period of time, I also have freezer that will need to be emptied. I plan to start with any ice cream that may be in there. Other stuff will keep longer.
We have several manual can openers. We use one. The others just hide in drawers to pop up and prevent you from getting them open when you need to get into them. But they’re there. Just in case.
First aid kit? Check. Battery powered flashlights and radio? No problem. Although I should probably check batteries. The flashlights are one of the items that tend to wander most and get used by various grandchildren. They often get returned in less than ideal condition, so they need a quick check.
I usually have a bit of cash tucked away, just in case. And various other items we have collected over the years for camping that would come in handy.
But one thing I don’t have is a generator. I know a lot of people have gone with having some form of backup power around over the last few years. I haven’t bothered. Yet.
I know people with larger units that have automatic transfer switches. If the power goes off, they hardly even notice. I also know other who have smaller units, enough to run a freezer and refrigerator and maybe a television, but that’s about it. But it still keeps them going when the electricity isn’t.
A generator seems like a good idea. But I usually don’t start seriously thinking about buying one until I actually need one, and by then it’s usually too late.
But maybe I should have one around.