Batteries and small power

Cells and sizes

Standardise. If the torches and radio take AA or AAA, stock those and not a museum of odd sizes. Buy a modest number and rotate them into the TV remote so you are not hoarding a decade of leaking cells. Rechargeable cells plus a small charger are better if you have any way to top them up.

Lithium primary cells cost more and handle cold and long storage better. They are worth it for a torch that sits in a car. Log the packs with a date and do not mix old and new cells in one device.

Charging without the grid

A power bank, charged as a habit, covers a day of messages. A solar panel or a car charger covers the next day if you have sun or a vehicle. Keep cables that fit the phones you own now, not the phone from 2014. Label them.

A small inverter on a car battery is useful and easy to abuse. Do not drain the battery you need to leave with. Run the engine outdoors if you must charge, never in the garage with the door down.

What not to promise

A fridge without power is a twelve-hour problem, then a food-safety problem. Eat the fridge and freezer first, in a sensible order, and do not refreeze thawed meat. Your deep store is the tins and dry goods, not the ice cream. Holdfast cannot see the freezer; keep that list on paper on the freezer door if you care about it.