Free preparedness & off-grid know-how
Grid-Down Guide
What to do when the power goes out for hours, days or weeks, and how to live more independently off the grid. Plain-language guides, checklists, calculators and videos, all of it usable offline.
Power's out nowThe first hour, step by step.WaterStore it, find it, make it safe.Food & the fridgeWhat to keep, what to toss, how long.Stay warmHeat one room safely, without power.
Start here
Read these first.
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The essentials
Water, food, heat, light, power and health.
WaterHow much to store, how to store it, where to find hidden water in your home, and how to make questionable water safe to drink.
Food & the FridgeKeep refrigerated food safe during an outage, know what to toss, and build a two-week pantry that needs no power.
Cooking Without PowerSafe ways to cook a hot meal when the stove is dead — camp stoves, grills, rocket stoves, solar ovens and the old-fashioned fire.
Staying Warm — and CoolKeep your family safe through a winter outage without central heat, and through a summer outage without AC.
LightSafe, long-lasting light for a dark house — what to buy, how many batteries you need, and why candles are a last resort.
Backup Power & GeneratorsChoose and size a generator or battery power station, connect it the safe and legal way, and store fuel properly.
First Aid & HealthThe skills and supplies that matter most when help is slow to arrive — bleeding, CPR, burns, breaks, and a well-stocked kit.
Sanitation & HygieneWhat to do when you can't flush — build a two-bucket toilet, handle waste safely, and keep everyone clean and healthy.
CommunicationStay informed and in touch when phones, internet and TV go dark — weather radios, two-way radios, ham radio and a family contact plan.
Safety & SecurityFire, carbon monoxide, utility shutoffs and protecting your home and neighborhood during a long outage.
Plan & prepare
Kits, plans and hazards, including our own Inland Northwest weather.
Emergency KitsThree kits that cover almost everything — the stay-at-home supply, the grab-and-go bag, and the car kit — with printable checklists.
Family Plan & DocumentsThe paperwork, money and decisions to sort out ahead of time, so an emergency is a hassle instead of a disaster.
Medications, Kids, Elders & PetsExtra planning for the people (and animals) who are most at risk when the power goes out.
Winter Storms & IceGet your home, car and family ready for snow, ice and windstorms — the most common cause of long outages in the Inland Northwest.
Wildfire, Smoke & Heat WavesSummer brings its own outages — fires, planned power shutoffs, smoke and extreme heat. Here's how to get ready for all of them.
Spokane & the Inland NorthwestLocal hazards, history, phone numbers and websites for Spokane, eastern Washington and north Idaho.
Off-grid living
Solar, wood heat, wells, gardens and livestock.
Going Off-Grid: Where to StartWhat "off-grid" really means, the five systems every off-grid home needs, and how to get there one step at a time.
Solar & BatteriesHow off-grid solar works, how to size panels and batteries for your loads, and what to know about winter sun in the Northwest.
Wells, Rain & Water SystemsKeep water flowing without the grid — backup for well pumps, hand pumps, rain catchment, cisterns and filtration.
Wood HeatHeat with wood safely and efficiently — choosing a stove, how much firewood you need, seasoning, splitting, and preventing chimney fires.
Growing FoodStart a productive garden — what to grow for real calories, raised beds, a Northwest planting calendar, season extension and saving seeds.
Preserving FoodSafely store your harvest without a freezer — pressure canning, water-bath canning, drying, root cellaring and fermenting.
Small LivestockBackyard chickens, rabbits and goats — what they need, what they give back, and how to keep them through winter and emergencies.
Waste & CompostComposting toilets, septic care, gray water and turning yard and kitchen waste into garden gold.
Skills
Old-fashioned skills that never stop being useful.
Fire CraftStart a fire reliably in any weather — the fire triangle, tinder and kindling, ferro rods, and building and putting out fires safely.
Essential KnotsSix knots that handle almost every job — tarps, loads, lines, loops and joining ropes.
Map & CompassFind your way when GPS and phones fail — reading a topo map, using a compass, declination, and simple tricks without either.
Tools, Fuel & Fix-It SkillsThe tools worth owning, the fuel worth storing, and the basic repairs that keep a house running when nobody can come fix it.
Keep it when the internet goes down
Save the whole guide on your phone or computer with one tap, or download a ZIP for a USB stick. Pages, pictures, checklists, calculators and 5 full handbooks all work with no connection.
Calculators
Quick answers for your household.
Watch & learn
Short videos from FEMA, the CDC, the Red Cross, university extensions and more.