Preparedness Quick Tip: Keep a Flashlight Handy

Light.  When the power goes out, there is nothing quite as comforting or useful as having a source of light.  But when the power goes out, do you know where your light is?  Keeping a flashlight in a pre-determined spot (or two spots or five or more) can help you get the light on faster when it is suddenly dark.

There should always be a light source near you that you know you could find in the dark.  Choose a place and keep your light there.  In our home, we have a flashlight on top of the refrigerator, in the bathroom cupboard, by each side of our bed, and the kids are supposed to have lights by their beds.  There are
emergency flashlights that plug into your wall power outlet and are ready to use when the power goes out.

If you share your house with other people (especially if some of those people are children), it’s pretty much guaranteed that some of these lights will migrate and not return, or if they are where they are supposed to be they’ll have dead batteries.  That’s why I have lots of light locations.  One of them is going to be there and work!  Do some periodic checks to make sure your lights are charged and in the right location.

Another place you want a flashlight handy is in your vehicle.  I’ve tried a few of the dynamo self charging type flashlights in my car and not had very good luck with them being able to hold a charge after a couple of years in the car.  Sweet husband has a Streamlight flashlight that hooks to a charger in his truck.  It works much better and gives a huge amount of light, but is much more expensive as well.  Find something that works for you and your budget and get a light source in your vehicle.

I also like to keep a keychain light on my key ring.  This has saved me more than once when I entered a dark building, walked with the kids from the car to the house at night, needed to find the key hole to unlock the front door, and needed to jump start a friend’s car at night. Make sure you get one that you don’t have to be squeezing it constantly for the light to stay on–it’s worth spending the extra couple of dollars to get one that will stay on by itself.

When you need a light, you need one.  Keeping a flashlight in a specific location can make seeing the light a much easier process when you’re caught in a dark situation.