Power Outage Go-To Box with Duracell

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone.

It’s July and in Arizona that means Monsoon Season and some of the coolest lightening shows of the year. The beauty comes with a price like crazy rain, rough winds, and sometimes no power. I can not tell you how many times we have come home over the years to find our power out and we have no idea where our Duracell powered flashlight is. We can add to the stress that my phone always seems to be almost dead. No bueno! The lack of preparedness on my part has lead to the kiddos panicking and all of us glued to the kitchen table waiting for the power to come back on. Knowing that the storms are coming again and thanks to #CollectiveBias and the #PrepWithPower campaign, this past weekend we went on a mission to create a Power Outage Go-To Box just in case. Our goal is to be prepared so that we can be in charge of the situation and enjoying it, instead of the situation getting the best of us.

What You Need:

Lanterns
Flashlights – for safety and fun. See below for ideas
Duracell Batteries – for backups
Emergency Phone Charging Kit – we found one that is battery powered
Coloring Kits
Dice – for dice games. See below for ideas
Glow sticks – always fun. See below for ideas
Snack – Any excuse for a treat

How To Put It Together:

Step 1: Make a List of everything you want to include in your kit. The kiddos loved that they were able to add their ideas into the kit and were very excited to make the list for me. Don’t forget to add Duracell batteries to your list. It’s always nice to have extras just in case.

Step 2: Shop! We only needed to visit a handful of areas at Walmart to find the main items on our list. We will break it down for you, so you can save time when you go to fill your kit.

Sports and Leisure: Grab your lanterns and mini flashlights. The lanterns are inexpensive and a great way to light up an area. Get 2 so you can send them with a kiddo to the bathroom or upstairs because no child seems to want to go anywhere in the dark and you don’t want the rest of the family left in the dark while someone is in need of the restroom. On the way over to Sports & Leisure you will usually pass the toys and the coloring kits are on the end of the isles.

Electronics: Head on over to Electronics to the cell phone accessories section to choose from a range of chargers. We chose a phone charger that is battery powered.

Battery Centers: Located usually just in front of the Electronics/Entertainment section and in the front of the store near the cash registers. Get enough of the right sizes of Duracell batteries for all your battery powered items.

Duracell batteries are located on every side of these Battery Center Stations.

Party Favors: Located in the Party Section. The kiddos wanted to get Glow Sticks, and there are a lot to chose from.

Storage Containers: After you have the majority of your supplies, find a durable plastic tub that will be able to hold all your items in one place. We picked out a purple container so it will be easy to find.

Additional items you may want to get: Snacks and dice. My daughter was concerned that we wouldn’t be able to cook our Smores with no power, so we picked up some spreadable chocolate (next the the Peanut Butter) and marshmallow creme (above the regular marshmallows on the shelf) to go with our graham crackers.

Step 3: Put Your Kit Together and put it in a place that will be easy to reach in the dark. My husband put the kit on top of the kitchen cupboards the other night. After I thought about it, I realized that was not the best place for me to have it. He can reach it without stepping on the counters. Me? No way! And I do not want to try it when it is dark. Short girl syndrome! So, I am going to make room for it in our pantry on an upper shelf.

Dice Game Ideas: Keep/roll dice in a tiny plastic container to keep them from rolling all over the table. Dice game possibilities are endless. Below are just a couple ideas for dice games.

See how many times each person can write up to the number 100. Player 1 gets to write. Player 2 rolls. When player 2 gets a double Player 1 must stop and give the pencil to Player 2. Player 2 gives dice to Player 3. Repeat. First person to 100 wins.
Practice math skills – add each dice up

Glow Stick Game Ideas: