Organically Aussie

Recently, the small town where I live experienced a widespread blackout, which not only affected our town directly, but most of the surrounding towns. We were out of power most of the day, which realistically shouldn’t be a problem for people. The issue is that so many people have so much reliance on electricity that what should have been a minor inconvenience became very worrisome and had hundreds of people flocking to the singular store in town that had a backup generator to buy bread, milk and meat. I was keeping up with the updates on Facebook, and when I tell you every other person was asking what shops were still open and what fast food places were open (which none were, by the way), I was completely shocked that so many people had absolutely no emergency provisions or plans in place for when something like that happens. Lets be frank, a 12 hour blackout shouldn’t be an issue for anyone, but it concerned me that it really was for so many people, so I thought I would make a blog post about ways to be more prepared for an emergency situation.

1. Food

Making sure you have access to plenty of shelf stable food that can be cooked in a pot or pan is of the utmost importance. Foods like:

• Canned tomatoes
• Canned vegetables
• Canned meats (tuna, chicken, salmon)
• Rice
• Pasta
• Eggs
• Flour
• Sugar
• Baking powder
• Powdered or long life milk
• Oats
• Beans and legumes (canned or dried)
• Nuts and seeds
• Assorted herbs and spices that your family enjoys

Also, having access to a garden that you can access fresh produce without the need of a fridge or freezer is also beneficial, though not always possible. Having access to gas cooking is also important. My family is lucky that we have a gas stove top that is usable without power, we just need matches to light the flame. If you don’t have a gas stove top, you can buy small camping stoves from a camping store for reasonably cheap. Make sure you also have gas available for it too.

If you are someone who keeps a lot of meat or food in a freezer, I would highly recommend you invest in a generator and large petrol can to power it, to protect your investment. If you rely on tanks and water pumps for water access to the house, I also recommend a generator to power the pumps, or you can keep a sizable amount of bottled water on hand so you can cook and to drink.

I also recommend that you get accustomed to cooking from scratch and using the foods which you choose to keep for these emergency situations. There is no point in keeping canned tomatoes and spices if you have never made a pasta sauce before. Also, you need to be ok with the fact that your meals during a blackout will not be fancy or complicated. The meals I prepared during our blackout was one lunch which I used some paleo approved hotdog sausages (which were already sitting out defrosting), potatoes, zucchini and silverbeet from my garden, with plenty of herbs and spices of course, all cooked in one pan, I also made a dinner which was made of tomato passata sauce, herbs and spices, fresh basil from the garden, Worcestershire sauce and dried pasta. Neither of these meals were fancy, but were very tasty. Learning to cook is a fundamental skill. Being able to take very basic ingredients and turn them into a meal is a skill and an art form.  

• Entertainment

In the age of screens and gaming devices, children can have a hard time in a blackout as the use of these is basically non-existent until the power returns. Having things like board games, books, arts and craft supplies can make the time pass more easily. It is a good way to spend some time together as a family. My family spent hours during our recent blackout playing board games together. If the weather permits, getting outside is a great way to spend some time. My family keeps many outside activities, like a swing set, climbing frame, trampoline, balls, cricket set, and many others. It’s a great way to keep spirits up and keep boredom at bay.

• Other stuff

So, we have food, cooking and entertainment under control, what about the rest? Here is a quick list of other stuff to keep on hand for an emergency

• Candles
• Matches
• Lighter (though I strongly recommend NOT using a lighter when lighting the gas flame for cooking)
• Extra blankets (for when its very cold)
• Clothes line (for when the power is off for multiple days, you will need to wash clothes by hand and obviously a dryer will not be of any use)
• First aid kit (this is one that should be made tailored to your own family, but make sure to include band aids, bandages, gauze, antiseptic, tweezers, bandage scissors, etc
• Battery powered torches (and the batteries to power them)
• Animal food (access to shops will likely be cut off during an emergency, so make sure you can feed any animals you have)
• Toilet paper
• Paper towels (don’t want to add to laundry requirements during this time)
• Tissues
• Gentle cleaning products like laundry liquid and dish washing liquid. You don’t want to be using harsh chemicals when hand washing your laundry and plates
• A large pot for heating water
• All important documents in an easy to grab place. This includes, but is not limited to, birth certificates, passports, marriage certificates, banking information, tax documents, insurance information.
• If the emergency is a weather event (fire, flood, storm, cyclone), ensure you have a go bag ready for each member of the family (including pets) with basic essentials and keep them in the car or beside the door to make sure you have fast and easy access to them. Ensure things like a few sets of clothes suitable to the season, underwear, period products (I would suggest disposable for hygiene purposes), hair brush, tooth brush and tooth paste, wet wipes, deodorant, nappies, baby wipes, formula and bottles, anything else you need for babies or toddlers, shelf stable snacks, and the important documents from above.

I hope you found this post informative and helpful. Please do some of your own research and ensure you are prepared. It is so important to be prepared, but not scared, because being prepared means you don’t have to worry about these situations.

Ashlee xx