Candles or Flashlights for Power Outages

I keep a L.L. Bean crank flashlight by the bed. Candles and oil lamps I use as stationary lights - not ones to carry around. We plan to invest in a generator later this summer. This is an option you might consider if power outages are frequent and/or long lasting.

Our electricity goes out frequently, especially if we have a storm with a lot of wind. I purchased 2 oil lamps about 50 years ago and we are still using them. We keep flashlights handy all of the time.

Forget the candles. You can buy wind-up battery flashlights from Amazon.com, L.L.Bean and other places. The hand held flashlight comes with a crank that you would turn for about a minute. The light should last about 60 minutes. No candles to worry about and no batteries. I keep one beside my bed in case of a power failure.

The only kind of candles I ever use are the battery operated ones. If there is a chance of a power outage (when there is a possibility of heavy storms) I put one in my bathroom and turn it on when I go to bed. That puts out enough light, so that in case of a power outage, I can see to get hold of the flashlight in my bedroom. The only thing about leaving batteries in a flashlight or anything else is to check every now and then to make sure they aren't leaking any acid. The reason I use the battery powered candles is because I feel they are safer than regular candles in case a person would go to sleep while they are on.