Set up a home kit for the first night without power
Make light, phone charging, food, and water easy to reach before the lights go out.
At 9 p.m., an outage can turn a normal house into a series of small searches. Where is the lantern? Which drawer has the charger? Can dinner be eaten without an electric stove? Put the answers in a few predictable places and practice finding them before you need them.
Pick one place to start
Choose a shelf near the route you normally take into the house. Put a battery lantern, working flashlight, spare batteries, and a charged power bank there. Label the cable by the device it fits. Give another household member the same location so the system still works when you’re away.
Place a second small light near the stairs or sleeping area, wherever darkness would cause a fall. Try walking to the kit safely with the lights on and check that no boxes, pets’ bowls, or loose cords block the route. Keep batteries out of children’s reach.
Plan dinner without opening the fridge
Write down two meals your household could make from shelf-stable foods you already eat. Put the manual opener with those foods. If your household needs infant supplies, a special diet, or pet food, count those separately. Store drinking water using the CDC’s emergency water guidance and make sure someone can lift the containers.
During an outage, keep refrigerator and freezer doors closed as much as possible. The CDC says a closed refrigerator keeps food safe for about four hours without power. Use its guidance to decide what to discard. If anyone relies on refrigerated medication or powered medical equipment, make an outage plan with their clinician or pharmacist in advance.
Run a 15-minute kitchen-table drill
- Unplug a charger and see whether your power bank and cable can actually charge your phone.
- Set out one no-cook meal and write down anything you had to borrow from another room.
- Confirm you can reach stored water and that everyone knows the household contact plan.
- Review CDC carbon monoxide guidance. Keep fuel-burning generators outdoors, away from doors, windows, and vents.