Another option to canning and freezing is dehydrating. Combine that with a vacuum sealer and you can have good shelf life for fruits and vegetables along with keeping good flavor.
Ken
We've actually been looking at a very good (and large) food dehydrator, so it's definitely on the list. We like canning because the only disposable items are the lids, and they're cheap and easy to store lots of them. I've contemplated a vacuum sealer but we're trying to cut back on the plastic we consume, as we're out in the boonies and have no garbage pick-up.
We have had many outages but that was the longest by a few days. You are right you need to be prepared. I started keeping from 75 to 125 gallons of diesel fuel on hand. I also ordered a 15KW PTO generator to back up my 6.5KW diesel stand alone generator. Previously my backup was a gas unit. I have water if I have power. We also keep a supply of canned food on hand. We have a coleman gas stove if we need to cook and can heat with wood.
I'm contemplating getting either a diesel or LP generator, since we always have much more diesel and propane on hand than gas.
Good job preparing. A full bathtub and Alternate heat is essential. I hope you get you power back soon.
We went 10 days in the winter of 98. After that, I don't like generators much. I'd rather find scalled back alternatives. I'm thinking about a small 12V pump for my well as a backup. Just enough to keep the water flowing.
Our house does have a hand pump with good leathers over a sand point well in the basement. I just haven't had the time to blow out the sand from the foot valve so we can get water out of it. It's on the list.
One way to check your readiness in a power outage is just to turn off the main breakers to the house for a day.
We plan on doing more of that this winter.
Don't forget a manual coffee grinder. I still remember one morning over 20 years ago when I was reduced to banging coffee beans with a waffle head claw hammer to make coffee.
We've been using a hand coffee grinder exclusively for quite some time, as it is. No worries there!
That's a big 10-4 on the coffee grinder. I was using a mortar and pistil.
That sounds like absolutely no fun at all.
We're now on day four. Some people in the area are reporting restoration of power. We're at the end of the line... literally, so we'll likely be the last to be restored. Our electric company has announced that they are confident that all services should be restored by the end of today! We'll hope for the best, but plan for the worst. All is well, as we have fallen into a routine. Even my 15 year-old daughter is handling the whole ordeal with dignity and grace. She just thinks about the generations before us who never had electricity and lived full lives. After that, a little lost electronic entertainment seems pretty trivial. We're pretty proud of her attitude!
Yesterday, after I posted this thread, we decided to check on the neighbors to see how they are faring. We found one who is not doing quite as well as we are, as her husband is stuck in Alaska at the moment due to stormy conditions there, and she's not strong enough to pull the rope on her generator. The other neighbors have been helping her out as well, so she's not suffering, as such, but you could see the weariness in her eyes. We invited her over, but she's putting on her tough face and staying put, so we cooked up a turkey bake and some apple crisp and brought some over to her. She seemed to really appreciate that.
We'll trek into town today for a few fresh groceries and another 5 gal. of gas just to be on the safe side. We're not out of food or gas, but why tempt fate? Tonight, we'll get a welcome break, as we have tickets to a concert in town. We'll eat at a restaurant and baby ourselves for the evening. After that, whether we have power or not, we'll come home to a warm house and count our blessings. We could be much worse off.
Joe
