We live in a time now where electricity is absolutely necessary to get some things done. Not too long ago, I experienced a power outage and was bored out of my mind; It was driving me crazy. What happen to the days when that happened, and I was able to be content with doing something that didn’t involve electricity? Next time this happens, I will be prepared, and I want you to be as well.

Family Meeting

When is the last time you and your family actually sat around and talked to one another? Not many families talk these days. Many families do not spend enough time talking about stuff. At dinner tables, there are not many times when the table is full and everyone is talking to everyone. It is very important to be close to your family because many times when I speak to people, they tell me stories about how families are broken apart, how parents dislike their children, and how children dislike their parents. Talking can always be a fun way to pass time quickly while the power is out and build a nice bond that was lacking for so long.

Hide and Seek!

Oh how I loved this game growing up. I remember it progressing into night Hide and Seek and all the neighborhood kids would participate. Good times, eh? Not to worry, you still can play this game old or young! I recommend playing at night so if your power goes out at night – perfect solution! All you need is a flashlight and you are ready to play hide and go seek in your house. Another fun thing to do with a flashlight is play flashlight tag. The person “it” has a flashlight and tries to find you, and then tag you.

Board Games

If you ever had the pleasure of meeting my parents and asking them if I liked board games, they would laugh and say no! I was never into board games, but I do have to admit, it can sometimes be fun with a lot of people. These days, they make them extra interactive and 21st century-esque. Many board games have been made into computer games. Can’t play those with the power out though. But don’t you miss the original games themselves? Games like Risk, Monopoly, and Clue are all great choices for you and your family to play. A way to make it more fun is to play in candle light. By the way, I dominate in Monopoly!

Read

The most easy way to pass time is to read a book. Take that book that you have been dying to read, but never had time for it. Read it by candlelight; It is so relaxing. I am not a big reader of books, but the next outage I have will give me more of a reason to finish up Stephen King’s Under The Dome.

Work

Do you have a deadline for something that needs to be done? Is it homework for school or work that your boss has told you to do? Do you need to type a paper? If so, right it by hand. Right your thoughts on a piece of paper and then when the power comes on, you will be well on your way to finishing the paper. If you need research, go to a library and research through books or through your own collection of books. That is, if anyone has an encyclopedia collection anymore.

iPod/iPhone/iPad

Though you need electricity to charge this gadgets up, they are equipped with a heck of a battery life so for me, listening to music is a must. If you have an I pod, this is a great time to listen to it. If you do not have an I pod, you can play a hand-held gaming device, PSP, Nintendo DS, or any others out there.

In the event you lose power, you will remember this post. Of course, when one is bored, we can come up with some with the craftiest solutions. We all take advantage of electricity and once we lose it, we don’t know what to do with ourselves, but if you look back at when we didn’t rely so heavily on electricity, it’ll make it easier to do without at least for a couple of hours.