Lessons I Learned In The Dark (aka Surviving a Blackout) Part 3

This is the final installment on living through a longterm blackout. This issue focuses on the aftermath and how to restore your life back to normal.

Clean out the fridge and freezer. If you have not done this while without power, completely clean everything out of the fridge and freezer. While it is empty, give it a good wipe down. Before adding food back, give it time to return to a safe temperature.

Laundry. I'm sure you have tons of laundry to do if it has been several days without power. Sort everything, including all of the blankets and sheets that were used and start tackling this chore. Laundry can easily run while you are doing other things around the house.

Put everything back in its place: Items get pulled from every nook and cranny of the house during a power outage and they need to find a home once the power is back on. Do not fall into the trap of thinking you will do it later because 6 months down the road, the items will still be sitting out. I'm talking about the extra blankets, radios, games, etc that were pulled out just to survive.

Enjoy a warm meal. Take time to enjoy having a warm house, warm shower, and warm meal. After days of living off fast food and peanut butter, try to cook something nice in those first few days. That meal will taste 10x better than normal after the random eating of previous days.

I hope you have enjoyed this series on living without power. I would love to hear tips from others as I know there are plenty more out there. The biggest lesson I learned from going 9 days without power is to be prepared.