Quick answer
The average American household loses power several times a year, usually for hours, occasionally for days. The plan fits on an index card: light that is not candles, the fridge stays shut, the phone stays charged, and 3 days of water and no-cook food so a longer outage never sends you shopping in the dark. The kit below costs about one dinner out.
Supply numbers are set for 4 people. Change your household size below and every quantity updates.
4 hrs
Fridge holds safe, unopened
48 hrs
Full freezer holds safe
3 days
Supply target
20 ft
Generator distance from windows
How an outage actually unfolds
Minute 1
Check the neighbors' houses. Dark street means grid, lit street means your breaker. Report it; utilities dispatch by report volume.
Hour 1
Lights out of drawers, fridge rule announced to the household, chargers plugged into battery banks. The tone you set now is the tone of the whole outage.
Hour 4 to 48
Fridge gets strategic: eat perishables first, freezer stays sealed. The house runs on the shelf and the kit, which is exactly what they exist for.
Restoration
Power returns in waves. Check the freezer: if there are still ice crystals, it is safe. Restock the kit while the outage is fresh in memory.
Play it out
One dark evening, three decisions
A summer storm takes the grid out at 7pm. Play it honestly.
Scene 1 of 3
7:02pm. The house goes dark mid-dinner-prep. Outside, the whole street is dark too. The utility app says assessing, estimated restoration unknown.
Prefer to read it straight through?
Scene 1
7:02pm. The house goes dark mid-dinner-prep. Outside, the whole street is dark too. The utility app says assessing, estimated restoration unknown.
If you keep cooking by phone flashlight and open the fridge as needed: Dinner gets made, and the fridge gets opened nine times. Each open costs cold air the fridge cannot replace. If the power is back by 10, no harm done. If it is a two-day outage, tonight's browsing cost you the milk and the meat drawer.
If you announce the fridge rule, switch dinner to the no-cook shelf: One announcement: the fridge is a vault until further notice. Crackers, tuna, fruit, and the fancy peanut butter make a picnic dinner. The cold stays banked for when it matters, and nobody has to renegotiate it later.
Field note: An unopened fridge holds safe temperature for about 4 hours; a full freezer for 48. Every door-open spends minutes of that clock. The rule works because it is announced once, not policed all night.
Scene 2
9:30pm. Still dark. The kids think it is an adventure. The candle drawer is right there, and the only flashlight anyone can find has a dying battery.
If you candles on the coffee table, obviously: It looks lovely, and it is the leading cause of outage-night house fires. A knocked candle in a dark, busy living room is a bad combination with the fire department already running a heavy night. It will probably be fine. Probably.
If you headlamps and the lantern from the kit: The lantern owns the living room, headlamps make everyone a cyborg, and the shadow puppets are honestly better than whatever was on TV. Zero open flames in a house full of excited kids.
Field note: Candle fires spike during outages, and storm nights slow every response. Battery light is the whole answer: one lantern per living space, one headlamp per person.
Scene 3
Next morning. Still out, now 14 hours. Your neighbor two doors down runs a portable generator, and he has just wheeled it into his attached garage because it looks like rain.
If you not your generator, not your problem: Understandable, and this is the one where the story insists: generator exhaust in a garage, even with the door open, sends carbon monoxide into the house within minutes. This is the single deadliest mistake in any outage. Say something.
If you walk over with your co alarm and a tarp: Thirty seconds of neighborly logistics: the tarp handles the rain, the generator stays 20 feet from the wall, and your spare battery CO alarm goes on his hallway shelf. He grumbles and thanks you in the same breath. This is what prepared neighborhoods look like.
Field note: Carbon monoxide from generators kills more people in some outages than the storm that caused them. Outside only, 20 feet from openings, exhaust pointed away, CO alarm inside.
The power outage checklist
People in your household
One page per scenario: quantities resize in place, and the link you share always shows this plan.
Your head start
0 of 3 days covered
0 of 13 essentials on hand
Tick what you already own.Save this as your real plan →Supplies buy you days. Gear keeps those days livable. Most families discover they start around day 3.
| Item | For 4 people | Why it matters | Covers | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Water · 12 gallons total | ||||
| Bottled water, 24-pack cases | 3 cases (about 7 gal) | Sealed, portable, splits between rooms and the car. | All days | |
| 5-gallon water jugs | 1 jug | The cheapest gallons you can store. Fill spares before the event, not during. | Backup | |
| Water purification tablets | 1 pack | Turns suspect tap or tub water into drinking water after day 3. | Backup | |
| Food, no cooking required | ||||
| Canned protein: tuna, chicken, beans | 8 cans | Eats straight from the can when the stove is out. | No cooking | |
| Canned vegetables and fruit | 9 cans | Fluids and vitamins while the fridge is dark. | No cooking | |
| Peanut butter | 1 large jar | 2,650 calories per jar, no prep, kids will actually eat it. | No cooking | |
| Crackers, tortillas, granola bars | 2 boxes plus a dozen bars | The bread aisle empties first. These keep for months instead of days. | No cooking | |
| Oats and shelf-stable milk | 3 cartons plus a canister of oats | Breakfast without power, and the milk needs no fridge until opened. | No cooking | |
| Power, light, and news | ||||
| Flashlights or headlamps | 5 flashlights | One per person plus a spare. Candles start fires in dark houses. | All week | |
| Batteries in every size you use | 2 packs per size | The thing that runs out on day 2 if you guess. | All week | |
| Phone battery banks, fully charged | 2 banks | Your phone is your flashlight, radio, and lifeline. Top the banks up the moment trouble is forecast. | All week | |
| NOAA weather radio, battery or crank | 1 | When cell towers and wifi fail, official updates still reach you here. | All week | |
| The fridge strategy | ||||
| Coolers | 2 coolers | Hour 4 onward, the perishables worth saving move to ice. | Hour 4+ | |
| Refreezable ice packs | A freezer shelf's worth | They buy the coolers a full extra day, then refreeze for next time. | Hour 4+ | |
| Appliance thermometer | 1 in the freezer | After restoration it answers the only question that matters: did it stay under 40. | After | |
| Battery CO alarm | 1 per sleeping floor | Outages bring out generators and grills. This is the alarm that catches the mistake. | Safety | |
| Health and documents | ||||
| First aid kit | 1 | Minor injuries spike during cleanup, exactly when help is hardest to reach. | All week | |
| Prescription medications | 14-day supply each | Pharmacies reopen slowly. Ask your pharmacist about an emergency refill before you need it. | 2 weeks | |
| Documents in a waterproof bag | IDs, insurance, cash in small bills | ATMs and card readers die with the power. | Grab and go | |
| Manual can opener | 1 | Most of the calories above are locked inside cans without it. | Critical | |
This kit is the foundation layer for every other scenario in the library. Build it once and the hurricane, winter storm, and heat pages get much shorter. Print this page to take it shopping.
In the app
The kit is simple. Keeping it stocked is the app's job.
Provision Planner has a built-in Power Outage scenario. Add your supplies once and it tells you how many days you are covered, which batteries and meds age out, and what to restock after each outage spends part of the kit.
Run the outage scenarioPower Outage scenario
Water
4 days
No-cook food
5 days
Batteries
Restock D cells
Outage alerts for your area
Live
Computed from your real inventory. Updates itself as things expire.
Frequently asked questions
How long does food last in the fridge without power?
About 4 hours in an unopened refrigerator, 24 hours in a half-full freezer, and 48 hours in a full one, per USDA guidance. The unopened part is the whole trick: announce the rule at minute one and the clock runs slow.
Is a generator worth it?
For frequent long outages or medical equipment, yes. For everyone else, battery banks, lights, and coolers cover 90% of outages for a tenth of the cost. If you do run one: outside only, 20 feet from any window or door, with a battery CO alarm inside the house.
What should I do the moment the power goes out?
Check whether neighbors have power, report the outage to your utility, get battery light out before anyone reaches for candles, and announce the fridge rule. Those four moves in the first ten minutes shape the entire outage.
How do I keep my phone alive for a multi-day outage?
Low power mode immediately, screen brightness down, and a charged battery bank per two people. A car can recharge banks as a last resort, but run it outside the garage. The phone is your flashlight, radio, and utility updates in one device, so it gets charging priority.
Explore more scenarios
Every scenario gets the same treatment: the event, the supplies, the timeline, and your number.
Scenario 07Grid Failure
Scenario 01Hurricane
Scenario 05Extreme Heat
Scenario 18Stranded in Your Car
Scenario 08EMP Attack34 scenarios, one libraryBrowse them all →Go deeper: Surviving a Long Power Outage · Power Outage Food Safety · Cooking Without Power · Food Storage Calculator
Food safety timing follows USDA guidance; generator safety follows CPSC guidance. This is general planning guidance: adjust for medical equipment and your household's needs. Photography: NASA image library and Pexels, used under their respective licenses.