Jodie Weston
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Editor’s Note: This resource has been combined and updated!
With winter comes the wind, the snow, the ice and the extreme cold. And, more likely than not, winter will also bring the occasional power outage.
Have you asked yourself what you would do if the power went out for a day or two or for even a week? What would you do? Could you fend for yourself? Could you keep yourself warm in the winter and cool in the summer? What about food? Would your refrigerated and frozen items spoil? And yikes! What would you do about money if credit cards and ATMs no longer worked? Did I mention that in all likelihood you would not have internet access either?
Today I would like to provide 15 tips for getting through short-term power outages. These are the power outages that occur during winter storms or when a vehicle hits a power pole. (Longer term, apocalypse type outages are a subject for another time.) Now if you have a good memory, you will recall we discussed this subject back in July. That was summer. And now, with the cold months ahead of us, it would not hurt to have a refresher course.
We count on electricity for heat, food, medical, communication and financial needs. Our appliances and work-saving devices rely upon a source of electricity for operation and even many gas-powered appliances such as furnaces and hot water heaters need electricity to run. The worst thing about it is that when the power goes out, it is likely to be the result of some other emergency such as a hurricane, tornado, or winter storm. This means that the folks that are supposed to fix the problem may be spread wide and spread thin and it may be days before the lights are back on.
A power outage is not something that just might happen. I can pretty much guarantee that it will happen. The more you can do to prepare, the greater the likelihood that you will be comfortable and that will only suffer an inconvenience when the lights go out.
15 Tips to Start Prepping
1. Have flashlights ready in multiple, easily accessible locations around your home. Be sure to also have plenty of fresh, spare batteries. You need one really great flashlight but it is also nice to have a bunch of small, handheld LED handheld flashlights.
2. Have emergency candles plus matches available as well a candle lantern, oil lamp, or propane lantern. Be sure to include some longer, fireplace type matches or a butane wand for lighting fires in your fireplace or outdoors in a fire pit,
3. Have either a battery-operated radio, solar radio or hand crank radio so that you can stay in touch with the world. Make sure your radio is in working condition by testing it at least once a year.
4. Learn how to cook over an open fire, using charcoal or wood or even biomass.
5 Make sure you have a manual can opener for opening cans of food. If you are a coffee drinker, also have a French press available as well as pre-ground coffee,
6. Fill the empty space in your freezer with containers of water. Frozen water will displace air and keep food cold longer if the power goes out. Remember to leave space in containers for ice to expand. Empty milk cartons can be repurposed in this manner.
7. If you use a landline, have at least one phone with a handset cord in your home. Many cordless phones will not work in a power outage. Cell phone users should keep their cell phones charged and at the very least, pick up a cell phone car charger so you can charge the cell in your car if it runs down.
8. If you have an automatic garage door opener, learn how to use the manual release to open your garage door manually. Keep the instructions handy – perhaps taped to the inside of a closet door – so you don’t have to search for them when the time comes.
9. Keep your automobile’s fuel tank at least half full. Many gas stations will not be in operation during a power outage. And please – fill up your tank if a major storm is predicted.
10. Once the power goes out, unplug sensitive electrical equipment such as computers, printers, televisions, and audio equipment. When the power comes back on, there may be power spikes that can damage delicate electronics. I know, it has happened to me. Keeping these items plugged in to surge protector helps but it is still best to unplug these items from the wall completely.
11. Do not open refrigerators or freezers any more than necessary. An unopened refrigerator will keep food cold for approximately 4 hours, an unopened freezer will keep food frozen for approximately 24 hours and even longer if it is located in a cold garage. You will need to throw away any food items that become warmer than 41 degrees. No testing, no tasting. To the garbage it goes. Sorry, that is just the way it is.
12. Keep a supply of books, board games, playing cards and other items available to keep you entertained and amused during a power outage. A bit of chocolate and a bottle or two of wine or whiskey would also help in the amusement area.
13. Be wary of the possibility of carbon monoxide poisoning, which is caused from exposure to odorless fumes created by charcoal grills, camping stoves or generators that are operated inside a home or garage. Never, ever burn charcoal or use gasoline or propane-powered equipment inside your home. Don’t even do it in your garage or on your porch. Use such equipment only when you’re completely outdoors.
14. Notify your power company in advance if you use special healthcare equipment like oxygen generators or dialysis equipment that require power. Most power companies have the ability to note this in their records and will prioritize the response to your home.
15. If your budget allows, acquire a portable generator. Learn to safely use your generator and test it monthly. And don’t forget to store enough fuel to run the generator for up to a week. Alternately, you can look into solar generator options which are becoming increasingly reliable. Remember, your portable generator does not have to run full time. Your refrigerator will be just fine without power over night when it is not being opened and closed repeatedly.
Other Recommended Preps for Power Outages
We have covered basic power needs but what are some of the other essentials that you will want to have on hand during a power outage?
The following items will help you to sail through a power outage:
- Solar battery charger Very handy for charging batteries to power flashlights and other battery powered devices.
- Stock supplies for bundling up. Blankets are good, but a nice toasty sleeping bag or down comforter is better. A heavy jacket and socks are good, too. Plan to add layers for staying warm in a grid down scenario. Long johns, covered by clothing and topped with a jacket will serve you well. Don’t forget hats, scarves, and fingerless gloves, so that you can stay warm and still function.
- Store foods that require very little in terms of warming or cooking. These foods should be items that your family normally eats. Suggestions? Canned meats, peanut butter, crackers, canned fruits and veggies granola bars, and cold cereals. If you are a coffee drinker, include some instant coffee as well.
- Chemical light sticks. They are more versatile than you might expect. (Here are 10 reasons you need them in your emergency kit.)
- Amusements. Books, games, and playing cards. My favorite? A couple of decks of Canasta cards.
- The Spirit of Adventure. Okay, I had to throw that in. Let’s face it, a positive attitude plus your emergency preps will help you soldier through an extended power outage.
How to Survive a Long-Term Power Outage Grid Failure
Okay, so the short-term power outage is now a long-term – grid down – failure. What now?
Day One: Cities are Hit the Hardest
- Thousands are trapped in elevators
- All electrical appliances are shut down and inoperative, including refrigerators, freezers, heating units, air conditioners
- Water faucets run dry
- Because there is no water, toilets no longer flush
- ATM machines are inoperative
- Banks and other businesses are shuttered
- Emergency generators provide pockets of power and light but, for the most part, there is profound darkness everywhere
- Battery-powered radios and cell phones still operate but there is no word as to the cause or scale of the power outage
- Gas stations without generators cannot pump fuel
Day Two: Confusion Reigns
- Drugstores and supermarkets have been stripped clean of all goods
- Law enforcement personnel are overwhelmed by medical emergencies and scattered outbreaks of looting
- Batteries on laptops and cell phones are dying
- Radio updates offer conflicting descriptions of the outage and there is no credible news relative to the expected duration
- Officials disagree as to whether residents should find shelter or evacuate (but to where?)
- Bridges and tunnels are backed up for hours
Day Three: No Gas, No Water, and No Food
- All gas stations have run out of fuel
- Water is at a premium
- FEMA has provided emergency generators to pump water and keep sewage systems operational, but supplies are limited
- Millions of “Meals Ready to Eat” have been distributed.
- Backup food and water supplies do not exist
End of Week One: You are On Your Own
- Emergency rations have been depleted
- Hundreds of the elderly and infirm have died
- Hundreds of thousands of refugees have migrated to areas where there still is power
- Unequipped to house or feed them, some states have instituted plans to keep the refugees out
- Only the military can maintain a semblance of order and there are not enough troops to go around
- Millions of people are, essentially, on their own
Week Two and Beyond: Board Up the Windows and Protect Yourself from Looters and Thugs
- With no end in sight, hiding and defending your goods is a full time job and a number one priority
- Law enforcement personnel are abandoning their post in order to secure their own families
- Like-minded neighbors band together to do inventory of resources and exchange goods via barter
- Neighbors canvass each other for skills that can be put to good use for the collective good
- Stockpiled food is rationed to the minimum amount needed to maintain necessary caloric levels
- Hunting, fishing and foraging for food begins and stored goods begin to dwindle
- FEMA is nowhere to be found
Electronic Armageddon?
A while back NatGeo put out a documentary that deals with both a natural and a nuclear EMP.
THE FINAL WORD
A word about generators: Using a properly connected whole house generator of adequate size during a power outage will reduce or almost eliminate the impact a power outage has on your life. Before you buy such a generator, talk to an electrician about the size and type you need as well as the installation costs.
Think about what you want your generator to run. For the basics, a generator can be used to keep food cool, provide lights and electricity for stovetops, computers, telephon, s and television, and to power furnace blowers and pumps. Less important is power for washing machines, dishwashers, and ovens.
The best way to use a generator is to connect it to your home using a transfer switch installed by a licensed electrician. This will keep the power from overloading the wiring in your home. It will also keep the power from your generator from traveling back into the power lines, which could seriously injure or kill people working on power lines. Alternately, you can connect equipment directly to the outlets on the generator. If that is your method of choice, be sure that any extension cords are of the proper length and gauge to handle the power requirements of the connected equipment.
Just remember, Mark Twain said, “Climate is what we expect; weather is what we get.” A power outage is inevitable. There is really no excuse not be prepared.
Bargain Bin: Here are some useful items to have on hand when the power is out.
Ambient Weather Emergency Solar Hand Crank Radio: This is becoming a popular choice with Backdoor Survival readers. This unit is a Digital AM/FM NOAA Weather Alert Radio and a powerful 3 LED flashlight, with smart charger, all in one portable package.
Coleman Candle Lantern: When the lights go out, there is nothing like a Coleman. They last forever because spare parts are always available. A candle lantern will not give out the bright light of say, a propane or kerosene lantern. On the other hand, candles are likely to be available when other fuels are not.
Coleman Rugged Battery Powered Lantern: This sturdy Coleman has a runtime of up to 28 hours on the low setting and 18 hours on the high setting but does require D cell batteries. Personally, I have both a battery operated and propane lantern. Of course, by now you know that I like redundancy with my preps.
Dorcy LED Wireless Motion Sensor Flood Lite: I have two of these (so far) and feel that these lights are worth double the price.
AA and AAA Solar Battery Charger: Another popular item. This unit will charge up to 2 pairs of AA or 1 pair of AAA batteries via USB or solar power.
Chemical Lighting aka Light Sticks: These are inexpensive, portable and easy to use. These come in a number of colors so take your pick.
EcoZoom Versa Rocket Stove: Burning twigs and pinecones, this stove will cook a big pot of rice in under 20 minutes. The stove is solidly built and will burn charcoal as well. There is also a version that only burns biomass for slightly less money’.
Bicycle Canasta Games Playing Cards: Heck, you need something to keep yourself entertained!
100 Hour Plus Emergency Candle Clear Mist: My number one choice for emergency candles. This liquid paraffin candle will burn for over 100 hours. t is also odorless and smokeless, making it a great emergency light source that can be extinguished and re-lit as often as needed. Very safe to use.
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205 Responses to “How to Prepare for and Stay Comfortable During a Power Outage [Short term and Long Term]”
Excellent information – thank you, Sandra, for sharing your experience.
I travel to Uganda a couple of times of year and don’t have power most of the time. LED headlamps with multiple settings and movable heads are great for just about everything, including reading and close work like crochet. I got a Kindle Paperwhite specifically for travel there. The battery can last 3-4 weeks if you keep it on Airplane mode, and it is backlit. It uses way less battery than an iPad or phone for reading.
I used to use whole bean coffee, but I always had an unopened can of ground for emergencies, and a camp coffee pot/percolator that makes great coffee. We are in a new house and had just moved here when we had a big storm in late Jan. We had no supplemental heat, so my son and I collected a bunch of medium sized rocks from our pond, rinsed and dried them, and put them on the covered front porch. If we’d lost power, we could heat a few in the grill for about 45 min, bring them inside in a cast iron pot, and have heat for a few hours. We didn’t have to try it in either of the storms we had – we were iced in but didn’t lose power. But at least we had SOMETHING if we’d needed it. I haven’t figured out a solution to that problem – we don’t have room for a wood burning stove. I’m going to try to figure that out by next winter, though!
Jennings, Please be very careful about using any rock from a water source!!! They have been known to explode from the moisture trapped in the rock turning to steam as it heats.
As far as a wood stove you can check out YouTube for ammo can stoves/heaters. They are fairly easy to build and store. The only drawback is a way to vent the exhaust. If you have slide up/down type windows and some plywood, should be an easy fix.
We had an ice storm here in NC several years ago and the power was out for 5days.
We had a small buddy heater. Connected to 20lb gas grill tank. Set on 9000 BTU it heated three rooms including a bathroom for 21/2 days per tank running for 24hrs. We put the heater in the bathroom and my mother in law and handicapped daughter slept in adjacent bedrooms. No sx of CO poisoning. No odor of gas at all. Great system. Have CO detectors now but doubt problem. Have 3 little Buddy heaters and about 8 20lb tanks. Cooked on Coleman propane stove with another tank and a Coleman L found in camping section of Walmart. Can have propane heat, cooking, light all from one tank for several days.
i am honestly not being rude or mean but people need to learn how to tent camp!! go camping for a week, take what you think will be necessary and see how you make out.
we moved to tn in 94, and i think it was the winter of 95 or 96 we had a major snow storm hit and ended up without power for 9 days. kids, i and a then boyfriendd made out just fine. we were experienced tent campers. when the power went out in came the lanterns, the camp stove and the kerosene heater! oh, and the winter boots. the heater and the winter boots had come with us when we moved out of upstate ny.
i cooked on top of the kerosene heater and on my camp stove. lighting was no problem, we had 4 lanterns and a bunch of candles. aluminum foil works just fine to reflect light in the direction you need it. mirrors work great too to bounce light off of to make for a “bigger” light. we had books, cards, board games and had a blast reconnecting!
the temper thing? not so much but we did have an extra kid with us. son’s friend was ‘stuck/snowed in’ with us. after 7 days the 3 kids did get to bickering with each other. i took the son’s buddy home as soon as his mom let us know that they had power back. so that did make my house quieter and more peaceful!!
my kerosene heater finally died and i really want to get another one. tho i hate to broadcast or admit it? but when i do, i will be taking that stupid big wire cage that they put on them now, off!!!
Great idea. Tents can be used inside as well as out. Set one up in the living room during an extended cold weather power outage and you can sleep comfortably without heating the whole house.
I’m with you. An event like this is just an added time of doing something unexpected and fun. No time for disaster or bored feelings, this means time for doing things we just haven’t had time to do. No generator, no kerosene heater and I still did great for the 4 days we didn’t get out.
(1) “The Amazing 2000-Hour Flashlight” is available on Amazon (both Kindle and paperback). It shows how to add a 30-cent resistor to a $5 flashlight and create a light that runs 2000 hours on one battery.
(2) Use aluminum foil as a reflector around candles and kerosene lamps. Cheap, available, safe. Tape it to the wall or mount it on cardboard. Put it under the lamp to shine upwards as well as behind the lamp. Put it on the ceiling to prevent black soot marks that may build up with extended running of oil lamps and candles.
(3) Bathing without a tub. (How I was brought up, FWIW.) Take a basin of water to a private room. Place it on the floor beside the bed or in front of a chair. Soap up a washcloth and wash your face first. Rinse out the cloth and wipe the soap off your face. Repeat the process for arms, legs, torso. Do armpits, groin, and feet last. The rinse water gradually becomes soapy but this was the traditional, weekly, Saturday-night bath before church on Sunday morning. At least we had soap. Hallelujah!
Daddy first, then mommy, and then the baby. They all used the same water. That is where they got the expression, “don’t throw the baby out with the wash water”.
Urban Legend. Cute but not too helpful.
Not such an urban legend. It was tradition in any families who had to draw water from a well. I know because I come from 3 family lines where this was done for many generations. In primitive areas, it’s still done this way.
Hmm. I was raised in a house with a wood cookstove, a dug well & hand pump, and a privy. There was no running water in the house. There was always a bucket of water in the kitchen that had been carried in from the well. And some years there was a drought and water was scarce. But nobody ever bathed in anybody else’s bath water. Ever. Ditto for kith and kin and grandparents on all sides.
The Mylar space blankets also work as reflectors. Just tape or pin to a wall.
I made my reflectors by recycling my chocolate chip bags (if you look, I know 2 brands which are mylar). I just opened them up, and glued them patchwork style to 3 sides of a cardboard box which I put behind my candles but also behind my terracotta heaters which I used candles to heat. No, you won’t notice what looking at a thermometer, it’s based on a differ law of physics —where the heat radiates to other warm bodies like the human and animal bodies. Been using this principle for 3 decades and didn’t even know it. lol
The reflector cardboard is new as of this winter and are now part of my BOB preps. Easy and lightweight too, most certainly more mobile than pinning to a wall too. 😉
While without electricity in Oklahoma for 6 days I found that I was glad to have gotten a 45 watt solar system setup. This kept my cell phone charged as well as my android (which has the kindle app on it). And that still didn’t require full time use of the solar array. I could have also ran the CFL lights that came with it. I also had a 3.5 kkw generator that I used twice a day to keep the refrigerator and freezer cold enough that I lost no food. Still took about $40 in gasoline, but saved in the long run. I now have a 5 gallon water despenser that has both hot and cold spiggots. It is a 110 volt system, so I could run it on my generator while running the freezer and refrigerator. Or use it for room temp drinking water if no power is available. I keep two full 5 gallon bottles ready, in addition to the one on the dispenser. Should last me about 2 weeks.
Ya. She did seem a bit overly concerned about the dangers from a kerosene heater. Those things are great!
One thing I learned from this article, if things are bad for a really long time, people who want to help by offering things in demand at a higher price than normal will be unnecessarily demonized and prevent from doing so. Even by those with the best of intentions, including your neighbors?
In Defense of Price Gouging
“their greed means less suffering” …
//www.lewrockwell.com/2005/09/john-lott/in-defense-of-price-gouging/
Oh, you mean like these A__Ho____ going around buying up all the 22LR ammo available & trying to sell it for twice what they paid for it? Or: “well, it’s just business…” What are you a F______ banker, you POS!
Well, yes, actually. Those people do provide a service for those willing to pay the price.
The only problem is if they misrepresent their product as something better than it is.
In the early days of the Iraq occupation there was a terrible shortage of gasoline for the local market precisely because the military in it’s infinite wisdom established price controls. The result was that you could get gasoline at pre-invasion prices if you were willing to sit in line for 24 hours. That means drivers had to value their time at Zero in order to get gas “cheaply”.
The alternative was to go to the illegal black market, pay the Gougers the real market rate for bringing tankers of gasoline into a war zone, and getting gas without a long line.
No one in their right mind is going to take the time, trouble, and risk of bringing a truckload of $400 generators into a disaster area, probably from a long way away, and sell them for $400. They fronted their money for inventory, they fronted their vehicle, and they fronted their own time. If they are prohibited from making the venture worthwhile, they aren’t going to bring you or anyone else a generator during the emergency.
And you have the option of deciding that you, who did not buy a generator before the emergency, would rather not pay $1200 for a generator which sells in good times for $400. Others will decide to pay the current market price, which is not $400.
Personal non-emergency example: I was camping in New England and went to a flea market where I saw a vendor using a folding chair. I wanted one, so asked where to get one, and what it would cost. She told me she got it 50 miles away for $15. I had the options of looking around locally and maybe not finding one, or making a 100 mile round trip, spending time finding the store, and buying a chair for $15. Instead I offered her $30 for her chair. She was happy with making a profit, I was happy not spending a lot of time and a lot of gas. Win/win.
Buying important things in good times, and putting them aside for bad times is exactly what prepping is all about. If you don’t prepare, you need to realize that important stuff may be available only at higher than normal prices.
Otherwise you have the option of driving a few hundred miles and buying a $400 generator for $400. Your option.
Penrod,
Some years ago my older sister and I had a bait shop here. One day a couple of men came in and one looked at the price we were charging for a case of beer. He started yelling that he could get it a lot cheaper in town. My sister told him “fine, go to town and get it”. His buddy pointed out to him that it would cost a lot more to drive the 70 mile round trip to the nearest town and they would loose most of the day fishing. The man paid the price we were asking. So, I almost never complain about the price of an item. Either I will pay what is asked or I will look elsewhere, knowing it may take much longer to get whatever I’m wanting for a lower price.
Exactly, Jim. Convenience has a price. If you are willing to forego convenience, you can have a lower price. We saw the same thing in national parks last summer: the further we got from a population center, the higher the prices in the parks, because the sales volume goes down and the cost of inventory rises, but the sellers still have to make enough to live. People who can’t abide by that like price controls….which eliminate availability for everyone.
I was a full time employee and part time grad student in Atlanta when Hugo hit Charleston, SC. I owned an old Ford station wagon that I thought about driving to Home Depot and filling with supplies and driving down to Charleston to sell. I’d have to miss class and a day of work but the highly inflated price for plywood, duct tape, and plastic would have compensated me. Then they hastily enacted anti-price gouging laws with threats of enforcement. So I stayed in class, informing my Economics professor of my decision after he defended the laws that very day, saying “normal rules of Economics don’t apply in emergencies.” He became unglued.
Hi Mark. Too bad the prof wasn’t better at his profession. He should have known that high local prices attract supply. If the Charleston prices for plywood, duct tape, and plastic sheet were suddenly 3 or 5 times prices elsewhere, a rational person would divert their resources to that area because they can maximize profits. That gets the goods where they are most needed. Maximizing profit serves the whole community by making scarce goods available where they are most needed.
Instead we teach that people should rush huge quantities of goods in, expending unusual resources to do so, out of the goodness of their hearts, and that people who try to maximize personal gain are not merely bad people, but criminals.
And rightly so.
A reasonable markup for the extra labor/transportation cost is just that, reasonable. To mark up products double and triple in the face of a huge disaster is criminal and not in keeping with the teachings of ANY of the major (and most of the minor ) religions.
You can safely use propane camp stoves or kerosene heaters inside IF you’re smart enough to open a window for ventilation. Yes, you will loose some heat but you aren’t running stuff inside without ventilation. Lack of ventilation is what kills people.
A great resource for kerosene info is Miles Stairs who also sells wicks for lamps and heaters. He also give his opinions on various makes and models of heaters for both normal and emergency use.
//www.milesstair.com/kero_heaters.html
I keep several days worth of fuel for both my kerosene heater and my Big Buddy LP heater. During normal times they’re for use in my garage but they’re also back-up heat for in my house. I’m in Minnesota so cold weather isn’t a maybe, it’s a given.
I simply expect to put my Coleman propane camp stove on my electric range if I ever have to use it indoors. My kitchen window is several feet away which should give more than enough air flow.
Another great resource for powering your house during an emergency is Steve Harris’s podcasts from The Survival Podcast. With an 800w inverter people managed to run their critical loads for days during Sandy’s aftermath.
//www.solar1234.com/
Steelheart
Lighting seems to be a problem in their situation.I would suggest the 2000 hr. flashlight. They are so cheap they could have 4 or 5 of them and I think that they would have had enough light for about anything.Sandra you should check into them via Gaye’s website. I’m going to get the printed version as I couldn’t print the electronic version. There are only 2 of us but we are going to have 2 of them as soon as I get the book. Thanks for sharing your adventure.
Last summer we camped in our camping trailer at our new property w/0 electric or running water for a month. I invested in 3 of the $10 solar yard lights at Walmart. Soaks up the sun during the day, provides light at night. Also have smaller ($1) sidewalk lights for small rooms like a bathroom or storage room. Save the candles for when there’s not enough sun for the solar lights! Also, you can get the solar lights that actually recharge an AA battery within the solar light. Battery power for other things. For water, we use the 5 gallon water jugs and a hand-pump dispenser. No electric or battery needed.
We’ve invested in a couple different brands of solar lights and were disappointed in the amount of light given off… we could barely see to get downstairs. Could you recommend a high quality, bright light?
I always hear about those crank chargers for your phone. When we were without power after Sandy, I tried using one and what a PITA! The first thing I bought after getting back electricity was USB chargers that take AA batteries. Load 4 batteries, plug in your phone, kindle, light, fan, etc and turn it on. It will charge my iPhone 5 which is very temperamental about its electric source. I have since gotten a lithium battery pack which will charge my iphone and it has saved my phone from going dead when out for the day away from a power source.
Hi Dawn. Those chargers are great. We tried two of the Rayovac 7-Hour Power Back Up chargers on our last camping trip for phones, iPads, and Kindles, and they were wonderful. They do chew up AA batteries, so you need to stock enough, but if the options are batteries or no electronic communication/reading, it seems like an easy choice.
You do NOT need to use these as chargers. Just plug in and start using your device. The battery pack acts a a supplemental power supply without needing to charge your device’s battery first. We now keep them in our vehicles as that is the likeliest place we would be in an emergency, other than at home. If we were home, the vehicle would be too.
sandra, thank you for your excellent article. i have two suggestions: 1. if you get headlamps with at least a dozen led’s on them, you should have no problem reading or crocheting with them; at least it’s plenty of light for me, and i need a bright light, and; 2. the “no rinse” brand of body wash and wipes are fantastic, much better than baby wipes. more than once i have used no-rinse products in the hospital–i’m a “hot mama”, and my sweat is pretty strong, so you can imagine what i’m like in an overheated hospital! but after a sponge bath with one of those products i was fresh as a daisy! they’re a bit pricey, but absolutely worth it (except for the shampoo, which in my opinion just gunks up the hair). by the way, a man i knew in childhood lost his sight when he was quite old, and learned to crochet by touch; he spent the last few years of his life making himself useful by crocheting afghans for local nursing homes and people in the community. of course, he couldn’t see what color yarn he was using, but for an afghan that works!
I too love the No-Rinse bath wipes and have a case of them 🙂
But honestly, until you made this comment I thought I was the only person on the planet that would rather have dirty hair then using the no-rinse shampoo. It gunked up my hair as well but I know of others than love it. It must have something to do with the texture of our hair – mine is thick, course and kinky. (I straighten it with a flat iron daily – I am still a girly girl at heart.)
well, you just proved your theory wrong, because my hair is thin, very fine and very straight! i used to try to do something with it, but finally gave up, and now just put it in ponytail. that’s about as girly as i get, except for liking pink, lol.
Try vinegar & water ( 25% – 75%) for a rinse to get the gunk out. The vinegar smell wears off and it leaves your hair nice & shiny. I use it regularly to remove the gunk that regular shampoo leaves in my hair. Hope this helps.