Lights Out: Free Printable Power Outage Kit (PDF)

Free printable · English and Spanish

The plan for the night the power goes out

Most homes have flashlights. Very few have a plan. Lights Out is a 25-page printable kit that turns a drawer of lights into one: what to do in the first ten minutes, which light goes in which room, how many batteries to keep, and what to throw out of the fridge. Every safety number in it comes from FEMA, the CDC, the FDA or USDA.

First 10 minutes card
Room-by-room lighting
Battery planner
Kit by outage length
Food safety clock
Carbon monoxide rules
Household plan
Wallet card

Cover of the Lights Out power outage kit, a flashlight beam lighting up a house outline

What’s inside the kit

Twelve pages in English and the same twelve in Spanish, built to be printed, filled in once and kept by the door. Here are six of them.

Page 3 of the kit: the first 10 minutes of a power outage in eight numbered steps — **The first 10 minutes**Eight steps in order, with write-in lines for the time the power went out and when the fridge stops being safe. Tape it to the fridge.

Page 4 of the kit: a room-by-room lighting plan with a light count table — **Light it right, room by room**Which light belongs in the bedrooms, kitchen, stairs and bathroom, and a table to count what you already own.

Page 5 of the kit: battery spares calculator, storage rules and a check log — **Batteries: count, match, rotate**How many spares you actually need, the storage rules that stop leaks, and a log for each clock change.

Page 6 of the kit: checklists for a 1-day, 3-day and 1-week outage kit — **Your kit, by outage length**Checklists for 1 day, 3 days and 1 week, plus the water math for your household.

Page 7 of the kit: how long fridge and freezer food stays cold, and what to keep or throw out — **Food and water: what’s safe**How long the fridge and freezer hold, the 40°F rule, and what to keep or toss.

Page 12 of the kit: a checklist for when the power comes back and a fold-up wallet card — **When the power comes back**A recovery checklist, an outage log, and a wallet card to cut out and keep.

The rest covers carbon monoxide and generator safety, staying warm or cool, powered medical equipment and insulin storage, keeping your phone alive, and a fill-in household plan for contacts, shut-offs and a backup place to stay.

Start with the fridge card, no email needed

The first 10 minutes fridge card from the Lights Out kit

If you print only one page, make it this one. It’s the first ten minutes of an outage in the order they matter, from finding a light safely to keeping the fridge shut and keeping generators outside. The download has the English and Spanish versions on two pages.

Print the fridge card (PDF)

Why I made this

I’ve written about flashlights and outage prep for years, and the bad outage stories nearly always go the same way. People had gear, but no plan. The flashlight was in a drawer with dead batteries, the candles came out, or the generator ran in the garage “just for a few minutes.”

This kit is built around light, because it’s the first thing you lose and the thing that keeps everything else safe. It’s free, and it’s meant to be printed, scribbled on and stuck to the fridge.

James Levinson

For schools, churches and neighborhood groups

You’re welcome to print as many copies as you like and hand them out at community meetings, school nights, senior centers or preparedness events. Link to this page or share the PDF directly. The only rule: keep it free.

En español

El kit incluye la versión completa en español: los primeros 10 minutos, un plan de iluminación cuarto por cuarto, el cálculo de baterías y agua, la seguridad de los alimentos, las reglas sobre el monóxido de carbono y un plan familiar para llenar. Regístrese con su correo arriba y recibirá el PDF con las dos versiones, o imprima gratis la tarjeta de los primeros 10 minutos.

Questions

Is the kit really free?

Yes. You enter your email, confirm it, and the PDF downloads. You’ll also get about one letter a month from me, a few more in outage season, and you can unsubscribe in one click.

Do I need a color printer?

No. Every inside page was designed to print clearly in black and white. Only the cover uses a lot of ink, so skip it if you like.

Can I print it for my school, church or community group?

Please do. Print as many copies as you need and share the PDF with your group. Just keep it free.

Where do the safety numbers come from?

From Ready.gov (FEMA), FoodSafety.gov (USDA and FDA), the CDC, the FCC and the NFPA. The last page of the kit lists which agency said what, so you can check it yourself.

I signed up but the email hasn’t arrived.

It usually takes a minute or two. Check your Promotions and Spam folders for an email from James Levinson. If it’s in spam, mark it as “not spam” so future letters reach your inbox.