Being prepared for a national grid power failure is a great long-term goal. But are you even prepared for something simple as a short-term power outage? This could be due to severe weather, stress on local power resources, or random events like a car accident taking down a power line. Mother Nature can be one moody lady, and bring in her fair share of power outages. Having a plan for living through a temporary power disruption, and having some basic items readily available is important. It's one of those things that you're better off planning for in advance. At some point, we all will experience some type of power outage, so as a preventive measure why not have a few essentials on hand to help get you through a short term power outage.

Flash Light: During the day, natural light will usually be fine, but it will help to have a properly functioning flashlight on hand for a trip to the basement, attic, crawl space, closets, etc. 

Extra Batteries: You'll want to stock a variety of extra batteries that will fit your flashlights and any other battery operated items you might need.

Bottled Water: If you rely on water from your fridge or if your water supply relies on an electrical pump, having bottled water on hand is a necessity.

Hand Sanitizer: Having hand sanitizer is a great option should you need to conserve water. 

Candles & Matches: It can't hurt to have additional light sources that don't run on batteries, but be sure to not leave these unattended.

Dry Shampoo: This may not be the most conventional item to stock when your power goes out but what if you don’t have hot water or a working hair dryer? If an outage happens while you're getting ready, a girl still needs to keep that coif fresh. You can also read about my favorite dry shampoo here.

Some other items to keep handy: Blankets, Hand/Pocket Warmers, Glow Sticks (extra sources of light & also could be fun).

Take some time to inventory your own needs and see what other items you can add. Think of this as your lights out kit. This is a great beginning step for teenagers or college students to help get them on their way to having a prepared mindset. Depending on your household size, store multiple kits around the house for easy access. You'll want the kits to be easy to find for all family members. Depending what you build, this should be a kit that doesn't get touched or used regularly. We are all notorious for not swapping out dead batteries for new batteries and the last thing you want during an outage is to find a kit with either no batteries or dead batteries. Just be sure that you do a check on these supplies every few months to ensure they are all working order.