HOW TO SURVIVE LOAD SHEDDING
A Layman's Guide
All is well, the TV is on, the kids are occupied and calm. Pots are simmering and hubby got his feet up. You're home and it has been a long day....and then....
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It happens. Load Shedding. Eskom strikes again. You feel the sadness creep up into your soul as you scramble, scratch and fumble around looking for your phone to activate the torch app. Meanwhile the kids have 101 questions about the obvious and your mind hasn't processed "the we need light" part properly yet. Know the feeling?
Well, here are some suggestions and ideas
Luminous paint. Paint a one of the kitchen drawers with luminous paint so when the lights go out.....glowing drawer. Why do I need a glowing drawer? That's your emergency drawer. Matches, candles, lamps, torches etc.
Or one could invest in rechargeable bulbs. Clever bulbs that have their own batteries that charge while the power is on and then stay on when the power goes out. I personally love these bulbs however, they are a bit pricey so, I would not fit the entire house rather the necessary areas like kitchen, bathroom, outside....OK maybe the living room.
Nothing worse than not being able to cook or God forbid we can't make a cup of tea/coffee. For me the obvious choice here is gas. Two plate stove is all you need really. One for the kettle and one for the pot. There a range of gas stoves to choose from. If your a camper then don't break the bank your only gonna whip it out for those three hours of load shedding then pack it away after. If your already on gas good for you. Work safely with gas.
To keep devices charged there is a power station ( a big larnie power bank) which can charge most devices and power lights. These cost a pretty penny so in your emergency drawer have spare emergency power banks to top up cell phones.
For surviving load shedding the fridge and deep freezer can remain off for the three hour shut down. Fridge will retain its cold for 4-6 hours freezer 24hrs. Freeze up a few bottles of water and when the power fails pop the frozen water bottles into the fridge. Also a full fridge holds its temperature longer.
TV? ....leave it of even the devices for that matter. Devices (cell phones) are there for any emergencies illness, accident etc. Talk to each other it's only three hours. Dust off the old board games.
Oh p.s. remember switch off appliances at the plug sockets to protect them from returning spike or surge. Or purchase surge protector it looks like this.
The name of the game is "be prepared." So in closing, when the lights go out don't rise to the occasion, sink to your preparation.
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