The Power Outage Survival Guide for Moms

When the lights go out in winter, many moms become the family's planner, cook, nurse, and calm voice all at once. The Power Outage Survival Guide for Moms, Winter Edition, is a 72-page guide built around a simple seven-day plan to keep your family safe, fed, and comfortable, written with real households and real routines in mind.

Start with the problem in front of you

A quick-start page covers what to do right now when the power goes out: get everyone outside for a fire, a carbon monoxide alarm, or a gas smell; find a battery light; account for every person and pet; keep the refrigerator and freezer closed and write down the time; and decide early whether you have safe warmth, feeding, water, and medical care through the first night.

Eighteen chapters, organized for busy days

• Make a family plan and prepare before the storm
• The first fifteen minutes, the first hour, and the first night
• Keep everyone safely warm
• Fireplace maintenance and safety, building and managing a fire, and firewood for seven days
• Water and simple hot-water jobs
• Food safety and a seven-day menu
• Babies and toddlers
• School, children, and calm routines
• Battery backup for small devices, with a power budget
• Hygiene, toilets, and pipes
• Medicines and medical equipment
• Pets are family too
• When and how to leave
• Seven days and what comes next

Worksheets that do the thinking with you

Quick-topic pages help with a wood estimate, a water count, a seven-day menu, baby care, a power budget, and the decision to leave. Worksheets A through L give you planning pages for contacts, caregivers, supplies, and destinations. A Resources section lists 45 numbered sources and suggests which handouts to print before a storm, when a website, phone, or network may be unavailable.

Trusted sources behind the advice

Safety guidance is supported by government agencies including the National Weather Service, CDC, FEMA and Ready.gov, the U.S. Fire Administration, EPA Burn Wise, CPSC, FDA, NIST, and NHTSA, together with the American Red Cross, the American Veterinary Medical Association, Penn State Extension, and relevant manufacturer instructions. Menus, budgets, and worksheets are presented as original planning examples, not agency guarantees.

Calm routines for children

A dedicated chapter on school, children, and calm routines helps you keep days predictable, while the babies and toddlers chapter covers safe sleep, feeding methods, and keeping little ones warm, including in car seats.

Who it's for

Moms, dads, grandparents, and caregivers responsible for children during a winter outage, including families with infants who need safe feeding and sleep, children who need calm routines, relatives with medical equipment, and pets. It turns a stressful week into a series of manageable daily steps.