Here’s a reader poll. Suppose your power goes out long term. At least a week, maybe indefinitely. What do you miss the most? What are you perfectly happy doing without?
For me, I’d miss my water heater and home heater/cooler. I’d also miss the ability to pump gas at the station–we’d be pretty isolated pretty fast around here.
I wouldn’t miss the television at all. Same for any electronic games.
What about you? What would you miss and what would you be happy living without?
Share your thoughts in the comments section below!
Keep preparing! Angela
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I am 73 wife is 67.
1) A/C, 2) Water heater, 3) gas at pump
My wife says #2 should be T/V LOL!
We have water storage for about 2 weeks and food for 2-4 weeks.
Am considering purchasing at least two 5 gallon military surplus steel jerry cans for extra gasoline. 10 gallons will get us further north with family.
1–ac for health and sanity
2–refrigerator and freezer
3–computor for communication and news
4–gasoline for car and generator
5–ability to cook after propane supply is gone in my grill!
I would miss ac more than heat.
We’re on a well, so I really miss running water. We have lots of water stored, but it gives me peace of mind to turn know we have a (relatively) unlimited supply when the well is available. Also, washing hands and flushing toilets is so much easier when the power is on.
I also really miss my heating pad. It’s one thing to be cold–our power outages are usually during winter storms–but it is far worse to be cold and achey. Haven’t come up with a solution for that yet.
I wouldn’t miss a thing, well, maybe 0bamas soothing words of comfort while everything tanks…
I hear you!!!
Heat if it’s winter, right now it would be my fan though.
Don’t have to worry about my games, I can charge my tablet from the sun, but license checks would eventually get them with the internet out.
Mostly it would be Amazon video, all of my kid’s shows are through my Prime membership, and even though I could charge my laptop it would do no good for that with my DSL down.
AC would be an issue, we live in hot, humid SE Texas. And I don’t want to do without the fridge/freezer. Or gasoline. I like tv, but could do without it, but no internet would give me withdrawals.
A/C or fans (living in the tropics), frig/freezer, eventually water from the tap (working on solar distiller for salty/brackish water
Suggestion for Beth T. above and lack of heat. You can heat bricks in a solar oven even when the temps outside are low. Wrap them in cloth and use to warm your feet/bed/etc.
1. Here in West Texas: AC. Staring a week of 100+ temps in the face, it would be pretty miserable until you got acclimated to (hot) wind only.
2. Internet. As long as the cell phones work you’d have a connection but only so long as your initial charge lasted. A recent outage made me aware I need a solar alternative, soon.
3. Refrigeration.
4. Gasoline. Although we’ve got bikes….
5. Lots of other things. Lots and lots of other things. I can live without them, most certainly, but miss them? Most definitely.
#1. Well pump. Yeah, that would be really bad in a hurry.
#2. Washing machine and hot water heater. 5 kids=lots of laundry and dishes. Dishes by hand aren’t a big deal, laundry by hand though…
#3. Freezer, closely followed by the fridge.
#4. Internet and radio. I love listening to music!
Living in the coolish Pacific NW, a/c is not a big deal, and I have a woodstove for heat. I wouldn’t miss tv/video games, but those are about the only things I wouldn’t miss at all. There’s a lot to be said for modern conveniences!
When I was a kid in the 40’s we didn’t have hot water. My father would heat up a pot of water and put in in the tub. Each kid would take turns bathing. We would stand in the tub beside the pot of hot water and soap up a cloth and wash our selves and wash our hair. Then we scooped out a cup of warm water and poured it over our head. Four or five cups and we were clean and rinsed. After doing that for years It’s no big deal to not have a water heater.
I would miss my well pump and water heater for certain. In the winter I would miss my furnace. In the summer I would miss my dehumidifier. I should say central air, but somehow I think we would be able to manage. However, with the bedrooms being the basement, the dehumidifier would be missed!
We are about to start day 6 without electricity. The temp outside has been in the 90’s. You didn’t say if a generator could be in on the deal. We have a generator we run about half the time. It’s unusual this time of year so it’s been a bit of a wake-up call. Normally we lose power in the winter.
I could easily go without the tv. The first 3 days, communication was spotty. Cell service was down or weak. We were unable to communicate and not being able to check on the adult kids was a bit nerve-wracking.
Take the tv, please. I NEED my cell phone. I have a radio on that but the radio with local stations is nice to have. The gen. is a necessity.
This has been a nice exercise. Ask me in a few more days, however, and I might have a different outlook.