Stock the Supplies That Make an Outage Safer

For a basic power outage kit, store water, food that needs no cooking, safe lighting, phone charging, medicines, temperature-control supplies, and working smoke and carbon-monoxide alarms. Keep everything where household members can reach it in the dark, with flashlights placed near beds, stairs, exits, and the electrical panel.

Enter your household size and planned outage period, then mark the supply groups you already have.

If the power is already out, check power-dependent medical equipment first. Move to a powered location if indoor heat or cold is becoming unsafe, report the outage, and keep refrigerator and freezer doors closed.

Power-Outage Supply Checklist

Need	What to Keep	Amount or Coverage
Water	Commercially bottled water or properly stored tap water	1 gallon per person per day for several days, plus water for pets
Food	Shelf-stable meals and snacks requiring little or no water or heat	At least a several-day supply
Lighting	LED flashlight or headlamp for each person; battery lanterns for shared rooms	Spare batteries matched to every light
Communication	Charged power banks, phone cables, car charger, and battery or hand-crank weather radio	Enough capacity for essential phones and alerts
Food protection	Refrigerator and freezer thermometers, insulated coolers, frozen gel packs or water containers	A thermometer in each appliance; cooler space for priority perishables
Health	First-aid kit, prescriptions, medication list, and device-specific backup power	Follow the refill and backup plan agreed with a pharmacist or medical provider
Fire and CO safety	Working smoke alarms, battery-powered or battery-backup CO alarms, and a suitable fire extinguisher	Follow alarm instructions and local code
Temperature	Warm layers, blankets, and sleeping bags; water, light clothing, and a plan for an air-conditioned location	Enough for every household member
Sanitation	Soap, hand sanitizer, moist towelettes, trash bags, toilet paper, and hygiene products	Several days
Household needs	Manual can opener, pet food, infant supplies, eyeglasses, hearing-aid batteries, cash, and key contacts	Match the people and animals in the home

This baseline follows Ready.gov’s emergency-kit guidance, including one gallon of water per person per day, several days of nonperishable food, a radio, flashlights, batteries, first aid, and phone backup power.

Water remains a priority even where tap service is normally dependable. A power failure can stop a private well pump or disrupt water treatment and distribution. Store pet water in addition to the one-gallon-per-person amount; the cited guidance does not provide a universal pet quantity.

Choose foods that can be eaten without cooking, and include a manual can opener if any supplies are canned. Match the selection to allergies, medical diets, infants, older adults, and anyone who has difficulty chewing or preparing food.

Use Lighting Without an Open Flame

Put a flashlight or automatic outage light near beds, stairs, the electrical panel, and exits. A headlamp leaves both hands free when checking equipment or moving through a dark home. A battery lantern can light the main occupied room without trying to illuminate the entire house.

Do not make candles the primary source of blackout lighting. The U.S. Fire Administration recommends flashlights instead of candles during an outage because open flames can tip over or ignite nearby material (USFA candle safety). A layered power-failure lighting plan separates immediate bedside lighting from room lighting and task lighting.

Match spare batteries to the equipment before storing them. Label loose batteries and charging cables so household members do not have to test incompatible supplies in the dark.

Protect Refrigerated and Frozen Food

Keep appliance thermometers in both the refrigerator and freezer. Before an outage, the FDA recommends keeping the refrigerator at 40°F or below and the freezer at 0°F or below. It also recommends freezing water containers and gel packs and having coolers available for outages expected to exceed four hours (FDA food and water guidance).

Once power fails, keep both appliance doors closed. An unopened refrigerator generally keeps food cold for about four hours. A full freezer holds its temperature for about 48 hours, while a half-full freezer holds it for about 24 hours.

These times are planning windows, not permission to ignore measured temperature. Frozen food can be refrozen or cooked if it still has ice crystals or measures 40°F or below. Never taste food to decide whether it is safe (FoodSafety.gov outage chart). Use the refrigerator food-safety thresholds for item-level decisions.

Coolers and frozen packs are most useful when reserved for priority perishables rather than repeatedly opened for drinks. Keep the thermometer with the food so decisions are based on temperature rather than the cooler’s appearance or the outage duration alone.

Keep Phones and Emergency Information Available

Keep at least one charged power bank, the correct cable for every essential phone, and a car charger. Add a battery-powered or hand-crank NOAA weather radio so weather warnings and public instructions do not depend entirely on cellular service.

The CDC power-source checklist also includes emergency lighting, extra batteries, appliance thermometers, backup alarms, and adapters for essential equipment. Keep utility contact information and key household contacts on paper in case a phone cannot be charged or unlocked.

A battery label is not a runtime promise. For a rough estimate, divide usable watt-hours by the connected load in watts. Conversion losses, battery age, temperature, and cycling reduce actual runtime. The amp-hours and watt-hours guide explains that calculation and the difference between battery capacity and appliance demand.

Put Medical and Temperature Needs First

List everything in the home that depends on electricity. That may include oxygen equipment, CPAP, mobility equipment, refrigerated medicine, powered beds, well pumps, communication devices, and heating or cooling equipment.

For each essential device, record its wattage, expected battery duration, required adapters, and the powered location you will use if backup power runs out. Keep the device manufacturer’s instructions and the medical provider’s emergency plan with the equipment rather than only in an online account.

Food-storage rules do not automatically apply to refrigerated medicine. The FDA advises keeping a cooler and frozen gel packs available, following the medicine’s storage instructions, and contacting a pharmacist, clinician, or manufacturer if medicine was outside its specified temperature range (FDA medicine guidance). Do not guess whether appearance or temperature makes a medicine usable.

Outage supplies cannot make every indoor temperature safe. If a home becomes dangerously hot or cold, move to a powered location identified by local officials. In hot weather, fans may provide comfort but may not prevent heat illness when conditions are very hot, according to CDC outage guidance. The decision points in how to stay cool without power cover when cooling supplies are no longer enough.

For cold-weather outages, keep warm layers, blankets, and sleeping bags for each person. Do not use a charcoal grill, camp stove, gas range, or oven to heat the home. Combustion equipment can create carbon monoxide even when the room does not appear smoky.

Plan Generator Use Before the Outage

Treat a generator as a separately planned system rather than an all-purpose item to improvise with after power fails. Stock only approved fuel containers, the fuel specified by the manufacturer, and heavy-duty outdoor-rated extension cords suitable for the connected loads.

Know the running and starting watts of each load before connecting it. Prioritize specific equipment rather than assuming the generator can power the whole home, and follow the generator and cord manufacturers’ instructions.

Operate a portable generator outside, more than 20 feet from windows, doors, and vents. Never run one in a home, basement, shed, attached garage, or other enclosed space. Opening doors or windows does not make indoor operation safe. Use battery-powered or battery-backup carbon-monoxide detection inside the home (CDC carbon-monoxide guidance).

Fuel belongs outside living areas and must be stored according to its manufacturer’s directions and local fire rules. Do not refuel equipment in a way that conflicts with the manufacturer’s instructions.

Store the Kit Where It Can Be Reached

Keep most supplies together in one or two easy-to-carry containers, but leave immediate-use flashlights where they can be found without crossing a dark room. Store food in a cool, dry place. Label medicine plans, batteries, cables, and adapters clearly.

Separate supplies that must remain in daily use, such as prescriptions or medical equipment, from the main container. The kit should contain the written plan and required backup accessories even when the device itself cannot be stored there.

Keep cash, copies of key contacts, and local evacuation or shelter information with the kit. Review pet food, infant supplies, hygiene products, eyeglasses, and hearing-aid batteries whenever the household changes.

Test Safety Equipment and Rotate Supplies

Every month: test smoke and carbon-monoxide alarms and replace batteries when needed, as the CPSC recommends.

Every six months:

• Charge power banks and rechargeable lights.
• Test flashlights and radios.
• Replace expired food, medicine, and batteries as appropriate.
• Confirm that cables still fit current phones and medical devices.
• Recalculate supplies after household or pet changes.
• Review utility contacts, evacuation routes, and nearby heating or cooling locations.

Disconnect sensitive electronics during an outage if it is safe to do so. Ready.gov notes that power can return with momentary surges or spikes that may damage connected equipment (Ready.gov power-outage guidance).