Actually fic related.

[impulsereader]

Though it is a weird, random sort of question. Do you keep emergency candles in the house, and if you do, where do they live during times of non-emergency? Not zombie apocalypse emergency, just power outage emergency.

Comments

[litlover12.livejournal.com]

I don't think we do. We have emergency flashlights in the drawers of the bedside tables.

[impulsereader.livejournal.com]

Very good. We have mainly flashlight as well, with possibly some ancient tea lights which would just be embarrassing to employ. Thanks!

[litlover12.livejournal.com]

We do have a few tea lights scattered around, but I don't really think of them as "emergency" candles, as they're more for decorative purposes. Usually we rely on the flashlights -- oh, and we have a couple of lanterns in a closet, too.

[impulsereader.livejournal.com]

Yes, my tea lights were (once upon a time, as they are now dusty) also meant to be decorative, but I would so totally be sitting in the dark "..." "..." "Oh, wait, I have tea lights!"

[nuranar.livejournal.com]

Not weird to me. We have lots of violent storms, and hence a fair number of blackouts. ;)

The candles in my house (really just extras from decorating, etc) are in a kitchen drawer. In my parents' house, in a drawer of the china cabinet or under the sink. Of course, we also have a fair number of useable oil lamps about (for decoration, but also functional for reenacting and blackouts), so the biggest scramble when the power does go out is not for candles, but for matches!

[impulsereader.livejournal.com]

This is very helpful, thank you. My own experience/instinct strongly suggested the kitchen, and specifically under the sink (everything odd seems to end up there, doesn't it?) and having an oil lamp around might be both helpful and plausible in the scenario I'm writing, so that's awesome! Thanks very much. Oh, also the reminder that John will need matches as well, that's a great practical tip which I've just connected...super kudos to you!

[nuranar.livejournal.com]

Haha, you're welcome! Come to think of it, we don't use them actually *during* bad storms; too dangerous, since we're huddling in the hall in case of tornado/broken windows from hail. Also important is the battery-powered radio, so we can hear the live broadcast about exactly where the worst parts of the storms are, and if/where tornado(s) are on the ground. The candles and lamps are used afterward or during non-severe storms, when we're just trying to function in the dark. I have taken a shower by candlelight once, and more than once I've brought a candle and matches into the bathroom in case the power when out during my shower.

[chloris.livejournal.com]

I don't know if we have emergency candles but all our candles are kept in a cabinet in the dining room since that's the room where we are most likely to actually use candles. As for flashlights, they tend to end up wherever we use them last which means I have no idea where they are! Though we do have a battery powered lantern we keep in the garage with the camping gear. I don't know if that helps. :)

[impulsereader.livejournal.com]

Well, in a pinch, all candles are 'emergency' candles. *g*

All info is helpful here, as I'm trying to figure out if this is something which is universally agreed upon in an unconscious sort of manner, or if it varies wildly.

So thank you for weighing in!

[pargoletta.livejournal.com]

I do, actually. They live in the drawer next to the refrigerator.

[impulsereader.livejournal.com]

kitchen is seeming pretty common...

[azriona.livejournal.com]

Emergency candles, no. But we do have random votives around, usually for use in the bathroom. I've got flashlights scattered around the apartment, and we use those for blackouts, except Andrew keeps finding them and playing with them, so it's something of a game trying to remember where he's stashed them.

[impulsereader.livejournal.com]

Flashlight hide and seek in the dark! I love it. I remember liking playing with flashlights as a kid. It seems a little odd looking back, but I was definitely enamored. Lots of things you can do with them, I suppose.

[azriona.livejournal.com]

Hey, anything that buys me five minutes of peace is worth it. :)

[quarryquest.livejournal.com]

I remember my grandmother having a candlestick and candle, plus matches, by the bed in each bedroom in case of power failure. We were fascinated. My father always had a pack of candles on a shelf in the garage when we were kids (the tall one, up high, a way from children where often our medicine was put when we got a bottle of antibiotic from the doctor) and now it is kept somewhere in a cupboard in the kitchen. I have votives around the place, but I also (like others who have responded here) have a torch in each room; one in the living area (a solar powered one that keeps itself topped up) and one by my bed. I also always carry a small torch in my rucksack, and have had to use that in anger as the power often knocked out when I am staying with garienos when they get thunder storms round here.

[impulsereader.livejournal.com]

Interesting. This is proving to both show a pattern and vary wildly.

[entangled-now.livejournal.com]

We have candles, and torches, in a drawer in the living room, there are some in the kitchen too!

[mizz-history.livejournal.com]

Cupboard under the stairs!

[impulsereader.livejournal.com]

Hee. Your candles live with Harry. I love that you have a cupboard under the stairs!

[mizz-history.livejournal.com]

Most homes in the UK have one, paricularly older ones. It also holds the hoover and dog food.

[northernwalker]

NO CANDLES!!!!!

Seriously, not safe. Save them for romantic dinners. That's what my Community Emergency Response Team training taught us.

I have flashlights in every room that live in specific spots. The bedroom electric lantern is on the dresser, there's a heavy-duty flashlight right by the front door, a small one in the kitchen by my blender, a small one in the bathroom by the sink and a mini one in my purse.

[impulsereader.livejournal.com]

You win. I think you're the most prepared for the power outage. :-)

[northernwalker]

I prefer "well-prepared" to paranoid, even if the latter is more accurate. :)

[f-m-r-l.livejournal.com]

In the pantry above the emergency water supply. Also some in the shed with other disaster preparedness items. Three different kinds of flashlights magnetized to the refrigerator, with another flashlight and a lantern in the shed with other disaster preparedness items. Plus, of course, there's the flashlight function on my phone and dinner candles in the sideboard.

I blame one too many weeks snowed in out in the middle of nowhere. It's amazing, when one needs it, how much a candle can contribute in the way of heat.

[impulsereader.livejournal.com]

I'm actually getting a little worried about the fact that I think we have two flashlights and I'm not sure where either of them is located.

[djarum99.livejournal.com]

Junk drawer in the kitchen, along with the flashlight. I know I'm late to this party :-( Just got back from getting my mom set up at home after four weeks in the hospital and a rehab facility, so I'm still woefully behind on the intarweb doings. Hoping to catch up, again, this week, maybe. Laundry. Must do laundry.

[impulsereader.livejournal.com]

No need to be sorry, and I'm still writing, so all info is good!

Gah, I hope your mom will at least be feeling better now that she's home. Being in your own space again can do wonders for morale.

Laundry, hmmmm, sounds less fun than LJ, especially with new Once Upon a Time on the loose. :-)