Item of the Week--Batteries

Back in February, it got really cold here in Texas. Don't roll your eyes! It was actually 13º one morning. Because of the temps, most of the state did rolling blackouts to keep up with the power demands. I didn't know this and was completely disconcerted to be right in the middle of making breakfast for my kids and having the lights go out. I went to get a flashlight or two and they were ALL DEAD. Despite having this sign on my flashlight shelf (Apparently my children are illiterate):

I realized then that I have a very large hole in my preparedness: light. I have a bunch of candles and a case of little one-use lamps, but that's about it. I wanted to research oil lamps right away so I went to Panera to use their internet (my electricity was out, remember?) but they had no power either. I realized we were out of milk so I went over to SuperTarget. They had minimum power--barely any lights on--and were only accepting cash. It was incredibly surreal and made me panic about the end of the world even more.

Which brings me to this week's preparedness item: batteries. Yes, kids blow through AA's like nobody's business. You need to have lots of these on hand. And C's and D's since these are the main batteries for flashlights. Let's not forget 9V because is there anything more annoying than a chirping fire alarm?

I think stocking up on batteries is worth a special trip to Costco or Sam's. They're so much cheaper there. Wherever you decide to shop, get some batteries this week! Being in the dark is no good!