The Definitive Loadshedding Survival Guide

Not only are we reliant on electricity for warmth, light and cooking, since the advent of the digital age we now require power for every aspect of our lives, including security, entertainment and both personal and business communication.

And the multiple daily outages we’re currently experiencing – and likely to continue experiencing - not only cause major disruptions in our personal and business lives, they also very quickly wear one down and spike stress levels if not properly prepared.

Initially, most of us only made minor concessions in the hope that load-shedding will be a temporary situation or very sporadic at worst but this is clearly not the case and, as it’s become a regular part of our daily lives, we need to plan accordingly to minimise the stress and disruption.

Short of going completely off the grid, there is obviously nothing we can do to eliminate the frustration of loadshedding from our lives, but with some resourcefulness, a little imagination and a little patience, it IS possible to make the best of a bad situation and get on with our lives.

The first step is to adequately prep our homes as far as possible as this will go a long way in minimising the stress and frustration caused by loadshedding.

If you are as well prepared as you can be when the power does go off, its much easier to keep a level head and get on with your day (or evening) with minimum fuss or interruption and far less stress.

• Check the loadshedding schedule daily – The schedule often changes at short notice so check every day to ensure you are not caught on the hop;
• Keep symbiotic items together – This is especially important for night time outages as it’s not easy to search for things in the dark and this will only add to your frustration. Store matches and lighters with candles, batteries with torches etc;
• Security savvy – Like most systems, our security systems are vulnerable to load shedding so keep an eye on it. If necessary, call in your security consultant to boost your backup power. And, with power outages being the perfect opportunity for thieves to sneak around undetected, make sure your home is secure;
• Stay charged – get into the habit of charging items like phones, tablets and even rechargeable lights overnight if possible. Keep a charger in your car for emergencies;
• Go gas – If you have an electric stove, it’s worth invest in a one or two-plate gas stove so that you can at least heat up some soup and have a cup of coffee;
• Emergency lights – Buy a headlamp for each member of the household and a couple of rechargeable hand-held lamps, stock up on candles and matches and buy a few extra small torches to keep in easily accessible locations around your home;
• Snack attack – Stock up on edibles that don’t require cooking or heating to keep hunger pangs at bay until you’re able to cook the next proper meal. Nuts, dried fruit, cheese, crackers, fruit and biscuits are good options;
• Safeguard electronic equipment – by keeping an eye on the loadshedding schedule you’ll be better able to protect your electronic items. Try to switch off sensitive appliances before the scheduled power interruption to avoid them being damaged by possible power surges when the power comes back on;
• Avoid being stranded – If your garage doors or gates are electronically operated, don’t forget to take your car out the garage before the power is scheduled to go out;
• Freezer smarts – The best way to keep food in your freezer cold for longer during outages is to fill the empty space with containers of water as frozen water will displace air. Remember to leave a little space in the containers for the ice to expand;
• Entertainment prepared – Create a family drawer and fill it with books, magazines, puzzle books, board games and a deck of cards. If your kids are small, add colouring books, crayons and blank paper.
• Consider a long-term solution – If your budget allows, look into investing in a small generator or the option of solar panels.

Don’t forget to bring the pets inside and lock the doors when the power goes off after dark – dogs get scared too and they are far better as safeguarding you and raising the alarm if they are indoors than outdoors where they are vulnerable to being poisoned or incapacitated.

Also, remind your family to be sensible about opening fridges and freezers during load shedding. An unopened refrigerator will keep food cold for approximately four hours, and an unopened freezer will keep food frozen for about 24 hours, so rather get everything you think you will need before the power goes off.

But no matter how well prepared you are, if you are experiencing more than your fair share of outages during the evening and over weekends, then keeping the troops entertained is likely to become one of your biggest challenges.

Especially if there are young children in the family, as their boredom tolerance is considerably lower and you are likely to be driven mad when ‘we’re bored mom!’ becomes a daily mantra.

And, without the distraction of TV and all the digital devices we’ve become accustomed to, we are forced to spend time actually communicating which is not necessarily a bad thing – in fact you may actually begin to enjoy each other’s company.

Below are a few fun suggestions for keeping the whole family entertained:

• Star gazing – if it’s a clear evening, take a blanket out on the lawn, grab a snack or two and challenge everyone to spot Orion’s Belt and identify the Southern Cross;
• Cosy forts – use blankets and sheets to make a fort to make reading and storytelling much more fun for the little ones. If it’s night time, use your headlamps and, while you’re at it, you can also make puppet shadows;
• Glow-in-the-dark – if load shedding occurs at bath time, the little ones are sure to be enticed by a multi-coloured glow stick bath;
• Get some exercise – if its during the day, take the dogs and kids for a nice long walk;
• Make it social – invite a couple of friends over for a good old-fashioned braai or a retro fondue;
• Candlelit picnic – the kids, especially, will love this one and it can easily be done indoors as well. If you have a fireplace, you can toast marshmallows for dessert;
• Interactive games – this is the perfect time to play games like charades and ‘never have I ever’;
• If all else fails – find a nearby restaurant with a generator.

Unfortunately, we have to accept that the frustration of loadshedding with be with us for some time to come and that’s it’s impossible to totally eliminate the inconvenience and stress, but we can certainly make the best of a bad situation – and some really good memories in the process.