Forget the Milk, Get Water and Gas, and Charge Your Electronics

I know we have to do some prep work before possible outages mid-week, but I don't understand why people buy milk.

Why Are We Expecting Outages?

Here we go again. WABI-TV 5's Todd Simcox says we're in for some more high winds on Wednesday. As of Monday morning, he was predicting wind gusts up to 55 mph inland, and up to 70 (yes, SEVENTY) mph along the coast. So...power outages are kind of a given. The good news is that we have some warning to get prepared for what may or may not come to pass.

What's the Problem With Milk?

The typical Maine joke is 'gotta get the bread and the milk,' right? But I've never understood that. Just before Christmas, we lost power for 6 days. The milk, along with everything else in our refrigerator, was nasty by the time the power came back on. It was a case of putting the trash can in front of the fridge and just scooping everything out. So why would I run out and buy milk before a potentially extended outage?

At my house, it's peanut butter, jelly, and bread, the ultimate outage meal. Nothing needs to be refrigerated and it's tasty. You have protein with the peanut butter, grain from the bread, and sugar from the jam. Perfect! And we buy a flat of individual water bottles so there's plenty to drink that, again, doesn't need to be refrigerated.

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Are There Other Ways to Prep For An Outage?

But food is not the only thing to prep before the storm. In December, Covid and Christmas held our attention and we missed the weather forecasts. So when the big wind took out our power, and then a tree took down our electrical lines, we had no gas for our generator. Thanks to our landlord, we got filled gas cans until the driveway could be cleared. Equally important is water because, as anyone with a well will tell you, no power means no water. That includes no water in the flush, which quickly turns into a concert porta-potty (or at least, smells like one). In the past few weeks, I smile every time I hit that handle and watch the water swirl in the bowl. Spend some time today filling buckets and/or the tub with water, just in case.

Stay safe on Tuesday and Wednesday. Here's hoping this turns out to be a much smaller deal than in December.