Stash

[Emerald]

On the matter of candles-I would not get the tapers only due to the fact that they waste quite a bit of the wax as it runs down the sides and pools- I like the little votive in the tins--tea-lights I think they are called- I can get them for about 100/ $1 at the holiday sales and they are much easier to use, provide plenty of light and-they don't drip every where.
I have one in a jelly jar with a pack of matches and a piece of tin foil around one side(inside) and then put a lid on it-one of these is in every room in the house and they provide emergency lighting for when the power goes out.
The tin foil around one half reflects the light from the candle back into the room and if you put the whole thing in front of a mirror then it castes even more light. It is amazing how much light one little tea-light will give you in an emergency.

They can also be used for lighting wet/damp wood for fires too- just take it out of the little tin cup and place on the tinder between two smaller logs and light it and make the little tepee of wood over the lit candle- the wax will melt into to the wood and kindling and the whole thing will go up very well! (crayons will also melt into wood and once you get a bit of fire going add the crayon and it will melt into the wood and just keep the fires going till the wood really gets going. )

 

[tortoise]

I always figure peanut butter and crackers is a good short term food option. Make sure you. If you're on medications, make sure you always have about a week's worth.

I'm not sure if it's more dangerous for me to have extra meds around or to run out! I'll have to think about it. TY.

 

[tortoise]

On the matter of candles-I would not get the tapers only due to the fact that they waste quite a bit of the wax as it runs down the sides and pools- I like the little votive in the tins--tea-lights I think they are called- I can get them for about 100/ $1 at the holiday sales and they are much easier to use, provide plenty of light and-they don't drip every where.
I have one in a jelly jar with a pack of matches and a piece of tin foil around one side(inside) and then put a lid on it-one of these is in every room in the house and they provide emergency lighting for when the power goes out.
The tin foil around one half reflects the light from the candle back into the room and if you put the whole thing in front of a mirror then it castes even more light. It is amazing how much light one little tea-light will give you in an emergency.

They can also be used for lighting wet/damp wood for fires too- just take it out of the little tin cup and place on the tinder between two smaller logs and light it and make the little tepee of wood over the lit candle- the wax will melt into to the wood and kindling and the whole thing will go up very well! (crayons will also melt into wood and once you get a bit of fire going add the crayon and it will melt into the wood and just keep the fires going till the wood really gets going. )

Ooo! Good idea! After I got divorced and got my house back, I was TOTALLY broke. I used votive candles with mirrors for lighting instead of electricity. I had also gotten them on Christmas clearance. I'll make a note to get some again this year. ... When my fiance isn't looking beause he will think I am crazy.

 

[Emerald]

Just watch out for the scented one--while I do enjoy a scented candle every so often, when you end up using them for all the light in the room the scents can become very overpowering in short order!
I went out and picked up the unscented little ones right after that!

 

[tortoise]

Just watch out for the scented one--while I do enjoy a scented candle every so often, when you end up using them for all the light in the room the scents can become very overpowering in short order!
I went out and picked up the unscented little ones right after that!

Yeah - I tried to get unscented but ended up with vanilla.

 

[FarmerChick]

well if we aren't preparing for "D" day------then most chances are you will be warned about a big storm coming your way about a week before and you can buy some supplies or store extra water etc up for this storm--if power goes out for like 3-4 days

so I don't think you would need tons

soups buy a bunch of canned soups ya'll love in a pinch I could survive on Cambells soups for years lol

you got it covered
heat
light
cooking
(and think about water for animals--fill up extra outside tubs for handy watering)

but get some extra water jugs prepared so if you hear a big storm then you can fill up the bathtub to flush toilets (I do this) and I am sure to fill up alot of water jugs.


I have 4 freezers and one freezer is just ice bottles almost. I filled up 2 liter soda bottles and keep those froze. That way I can be sure I have ice/cold if needed....other than that, a storm of 3-4 days should be easy to handle. We sure all go thru those stupid outages lol

edited to say---if I hear a possible big storm fill up all gas tanks in vehicles

 

[Emerald]

Another thing that I try to keep on hand is those little packets of the super glue(I like the gel best) they have a pouch with three tubes for a buck at most dollar stores and you never know when you might need one-usually I use what I need and then find that the rest of that tube(unless I need it with in the week) drys out so I tend to just keep a few three packs in the cupboard.
Just fixed my tennis shoes yesterday as I can't afford new ones this week! Darn sole started coming away from the shoe! Why can't they make my favorite shoe more STURDY!

 

[Bettacreek]

This is more my idea. I don't really see the world crashing in my lifetime. Even if it did, stashes and such wouldn't help, unless you have tanks and live in Fort Knox to keep it safe from bandits. In my opinion, major emergencies would include being laid off, getting hurt and not being able to work for a few months, if renting, being evicted for some crazy reason (landlord losing money so must sell or whatever), Getting hit with a medical bill, so being short a good bit of money for a few months, etc. Minor "emergencies" would be something like this, power being out for a few days, big storm hitting and being stuck at the house, someone being pretty sick for a week or just plain and simply not WANTING to go anywhere for a week. Or, in my case, with my financial situation, running out of money and waiting for the next bit of money to come. I like to not have to think about running out of food mostly. We've got enough candles if the power goes out to keep us capable of "surviving" the night for a few nights, not to mention the boys' turtle night light (battery operated) to keep them from freaking as they go to bed. The pantry has dry/canned goods that we just buy while grocery shopping. It's not really an "emergency stash" as others would think, but we certainly wouldn't go hungry if the power went out (we have grills and charcoal, not to mention the woods behind the house for wood if we ran out of charcoal). We have plenty of lighters around the house, since my mother and I both smoke and lose lighters, buy new ones, then find the old ones. Water could be an issue for us, as we don't have water stored. If the water goes out, we do have plenty of bottles of tea, cans of soda, etc. While they're not healthy, they won't kill you if you have to drink them for 2-3 days.
ETA: If the power/water went out for a few days, I could honestly go without a shower in an emergency, and I don't have any issue taking a crap in the woods.

 

[FarmerChick]

yup I can crap in the woods also



that was super funny

 

[Emerald]

Bettacreek--If you look at tag sales/yard sales/thrift stores etc... you can find the older solar path lights and some of them used two AA sized batteries or some of the ones I have now have one AAA battery- depending on what size your boy's turtle light needs you can get these path lights for next to nothing due to the fact that the batteries that came with them died. I buy them up and then get good new AAA or AA batteries and then use them as chargers - Just charge them all day long then pop those good batteries out and put them in my little things that need them...
Great way to keep good batteries when you have no power to charge them normally or when you run out of regular batteries.
I have also just taken them in the house when we have lost power too-they might not be the brightest, but they are safer than candles for kids, and they charge right back up the next day(well if you have sun that is lol) Some of the brand new ones that I got this year from the kids for Mother's day even charge on cloudy days! Sure they don't stay lit that long but still a little is better than none..