We have the canned goods, the dry goods, the water filter, the ammo, an emergency trunk filled with everything you can think of—drugs, first aid, lanterns, etc.
But I’m sitting here in the dark for hours after a transformer blew in our small village. Totally failed our dry run. I can’t get the lanterns working. Our batteries seem corrupted and I don’t have the right kind of batteries in some instances. And I need a lantern that uses another kind of energy too.
Big fail! I’m off to Home Depot when the lights come on to truly get prepared. Glad this happened today. I thought we were in good shape. Didn’t make it an hour.
A generator, even a small one, is a good investment. Then run it once in awhile to test that it will be there when needed. A 1000 watt gen will run the lights and refrigerator and just sip’s gas. Heat is another story though. If in a cold climate, a wood stove or gas fireplace is a good idea.