Light Kits

The most common issue we deal with in my neighborhood is power outages. Sometimes they happen as a result of an emergency, and sometimes they just happen on their own. A power outage during the day is fairly benign; a mild annoyance at the worst, nonetheless a seemingly comical event as you watch your kids enter panic mode because the WiFi no longer works and they all of the sudden don't know what to do with themselves. I almost welcome these periodic outages just so I can tell them, "Welcome to my childhood." But a power outage after dark is a little more stressful as we quickly begin to realize how much we take our lights for granted. In those first moments of darkness, do you know where some flashlights are? Do they have batteries? Are the batteries still good? Do the these flashlights even work? This is not the time to be looking all around the house for a flashlight, and then find out the batteries are labeled "Best by 1999", and have been corroding ever since. So, the goal of this module is to help you put together a dedicated "Light Kit" that will always be ready the second the power goes out.

This module is a really easy one to put together. Sure, everyone has a few lights that circulate around the house, lights that we commonly use for everyday projects. Their locations can usually be guessed, such as in the tool box, maybe the junk drawer, or in a night stand somewhere. Don't change that; those lights are for everyday use around the house. I do, however, recommend having at least a couple lights set aside in a dedicated place, ready to go the moment the power goes out. I call this my "Light Kit" and here's how it works:

I keep a few dedicated lights, such as a couple flashlights, a couple headlamps (highly recommend these as they allow you to use both hands), and a couple LED lanterns in a small plastic bin. You may also consider keeping some candles or a few glow sticks in there. I store this bin in a location that my whole family knows about (in our case, it is in our hall closet). I refer to this bin as our "Light kit," and it whenever the power goes out, this bin is the first thing we grab. I do NOT keep these lights in a "Ready" state, which is to say, I do not keep batteries installed in them. These lights may go unused for long periods of time, and I just don't need a bin full of flashlights with dead batteries. Even when off, devices produce an ever slight draw on the battery, eventually depleting the batteries completely. And once a battery is completely depleted, it runs the risk of leaking, corroding, and damaging the device it is installed in. This corrosion is the quickest way to render an otherwise great flashlight, useless. So, while I do not keep batteries installed in these lights, I do keep a fresh supply of batteries in the bin, ready to go when needed. And I make sure I have enough batteries to supply each light with at least 2 rounds of batteries. I personally keep a Costco package of AA and AAA batteries in this bin. We go through these all the time anyway, so whenever our house supply runs low, we grab one of these packages from the light kit and replace it with a brand new one the next time we go to Costco. This way, we know our "Light Kit" Lights as well as batteries are always good to go. 

You could probably round up enough extra lights from around the house to sufficiently supply your "Light Kit," but if not, building a "Light Kit" from scratch is quite inexpensive. Below is an example of my "Light Kit." At a minimum, I prefer a couple handheld flashlights, a couple headlamps, and a couple lantern style lights. All of these lights are LED's and all take either AA or AAA batteries. I also throw other lights in here as it has become the home for all of our flashlights. Whenever someone is camping, sleeping outside, or just needs a flashlight, they know where they are all kept. This is just fine, as long as I know the primary lights that 'belong' in this "Light Kit" are always ready to go for their designed purpose.