Things to Do Without Electricity

By Linda Patton ~ July 11, 2015

Today I read Kristian Hansen’s Blog Post “Things to do Without Electricity” and it inspired me. I think it would be interesting to hear how different people would pass the time without electricity, so my post today will list different things I like to do when the power goes out.

1. Cooking-My family loves to camp. When the power goes out, we light up the grill or, even better, build a fire. Having no power gives us a great excuse to cook those camping recipes that we’ve always wanted to try. I love this time because everyone chips in and we work as a team. Sometimes we even find new foods we like to eat.

2. Experimenting-my bunch loves to experiment, and this gives them opportunity to try out all of their fun gadgets. Whether a Coleman stove, an air mattress inflator, or a battery powered television, they enjoy learning how to use them. Even if these gadgets have nothing to do with electricity, the outage seems to spark a desire to try them out.

3. Playing games-We break out the candles and whatever games we unearth from the closet. I like playing games because it brings my entire family to one “level”. When we have electricity, my son loves video games, and we all go off by ourselves and do different things on the web or our phones. When the power goes out and we get out that board game or deck of cards, everyone plays the same game.  If someone has more experience, they still depend on strategy and choices made by humans.   

4. Puzzles-Something we rarely take time to do. Not one of us can walk away from an unfinished puzzle, which means we spend an entire afternoon relaxing together.

5. Talking-The silence that stems from the lack of electricity also triggers communication. The quiet time seems to promote thinking, which in turn gives them something to discuss.

 6. Hobbies- Each member of my family has their own creative talent along with many shared interests. I like to crochet, and most of us like to build things. Sometimes we will work on a project together. Most of the power outages that we have lived through happened during the winter, which means making Christmas presents together. Playing musical instruments is something we can do. My son and daughter both play the alto saxophone, what a perfect time for them to pull them out and play together. Other instruments we play include guitar, bass, piano, and drums.

7. Reading-Every one of my crew loves to read. The kids love to set up a hammock, or climb a tree and read outside-during both the winter and the summer. I prefer going to my room to read, and my husband reads wherever he feels comfortable at the time. Having a group quiet time somehow brings us closer as a family.

Electricity does have an impact on our world, as would the lack of it. When we go camping, we set up a tent without electricity. If you ask any member of my gang what they would most like to do on any given day, they would say, “Go camping.” They don’t mind leaving behind their electronic devices, although it makes them all too happy to pick them back up again when we get home.  We never truly appreciate something, until we have to be without it for awhile.