Last year we lost power twice, once for less than a week thanks to Hurricane Irene and then for 10 days thanks to Snowpocalyse. After three massive storms in 12 months, I’ve worked out my own version of a storm-prep checklist.

My Emergency Prep To-Do List:

– Fill the propane tanks, top off the cars, fill the gas cans for the generator & chainsaw. We use a 2 burner coleman stove attached to a propane tank for cooking

– Pick up 2 cycle engine oil and bar oil for the chainsaw — this is one everyone forgets. Last year the hardware stores ran out very quickly and you can’t run a chainsaw without bar oil.

– Get cash, 15 gal. of water, dry/canned goods for a week, paper plates/cups/bowls. Dishes in the dark, bleh.

– Do all laundry. It’s terrible to go into a 10 day power outage almost out of clothes!

– Gather radio, candles, matches, lighters, and flashlights into one central location or you’ll be hunting for them in the dark.

– Make sure flashlights and radios have working batteries + extra batteries. When it gets dark by 5:30, you go through a lot of batteries.

– Charge all cell phones, kindles, computers. Kindles are vital for long, cold, stormy afternoons. Keep the cell phone off except to check in with the world twice a day.

– Put everything that can blow away or get crushed in the garage. Especially patio furniture.

Everyone forgets to do the laundry. Last year we went into Snowpocalyse with almost no clean clothes. With two kids, getting on top of laundry before 10 days without power is important.

We got really lucky this year. We lost a giant 50’+ tree in our back yard and a couple of chimney caps but that’s nothing. The kids got to stay home for three days because of blocked roads and power outages so we played cards, obsessively watched the news, and caught up on reading. We feel incredibly thankful that we were spared the worst of it. To all our friends and family who are still struggling without heat and power — we feel your pain. Our doors are open.