During a power outage, one of the first things you’ll need to do is find a way to light your home. If you can’t see anything, it’s going to be hard to accomplish the other tasks you have ahead of you! While there are a few obvious solutions here, such as flashlights, there are actually a variety of other options depending on what you’ve got lying around. As a note, any solution that requires an open flame is going to be a dangerous solution to your problem. You can use something like a candle if you really have no other options, but don’t leave the room with the open flame in it and extinguish the flame when you’re done using it.

3

Crayons

  1. Crayons are flammable, so they’re a cheap way to create some light. Wax-based crayons are basically identical to candles, and you likely have a few laying around. Take a crayon and set it safely in a candle holder with tall sides. Use a lighter or match to ignite the top of the crayon and use that as a candle. Just be careful and don’t leave the crayon out of sight while you’re using it for light.[3]
    • Keep the paper on the crayon. It’ll help it keep its shape and prevent it from burning out too quickly.
    • If you can’t get the candle to light, break the tip off so that the paper at the top is exposed and light that.
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4

Olive oil, twine, and wire.

  1. You can create a makeshift lantern with a few household items. Grab a mason jar. Unwind a metal hanger, or pull out some stiff metal wire. Wrap the wire into a 2–4 in (5.1–10.2 cm) tall coil that will fit inside of the jar. Clip off a length of twine and wrap it around the metal. Fill the bottom 1 in (2.5 cm) of the jar with olive oil and set the coil inside. Light the tip of the twine and you should have a consistent source of light for a few hours![4]
    • Make sure there’s roughly 14 in (0.64 cm) of twine sticking out past the top of the metal before you light it. You need a little bit of extra fabric at the beginning to keep the flame from getting out of hand.
    • This is not the safest option available, and you should only do this if you have no other options. Do not leave your makeshift lamp out of your eyesight while you’re using it, and extinguish the flame when you’re done.
    • This should work with basically any cooking oil. If you have any sardines lying around, there’s probably olive oil in there.
5

Bacon grease and wick

  1. You’ll also need a toothpick to turn the bacon grease into a candle. This will only work if you’re storing bacon grease in a flame-resistant container, such as a mason jar. Use the toothpick to poke a vertical hole in the middle of the grease and push a loose wick inside. If you don’t have a wick, you can cut a thin strip of fabric off of a cotton rag or shirt and use that. Then, light the wick or fabric with a lighter or match. The bacon fat will melt and the oil it produces will keep the flame going.[5]
    • To reiterate, this is not going to be the safest option available, and you should only do this if you don’t have any other options available.
    • You can do the same thing with Crisco if you have a container you don’t need.
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6

Glowsticks

  1. If you have glowsticks packed away somewhere, crack them for light. You may have some leftover glowsticks from a Halloween party or tucked away in an emergency kit. These are typically good for a few hours of light, and they’re extremely safe to use.[6]
    • If you’re stocking up for a power outage in the future, there are military-grade light sticks you can buy that will provide much more light than a traditional glowstick.
    • If there’s been a large power outage and your local stores are all out of flashlights, try swinging by a party supply or big box store and picking up some glowsticks. It’s unlikely anyone else will have gotten to them.
    • You may have some glowsticks in the trunk of your vehicle if you drive and you have an emergency kit. Don’t light any road flares inside, though.
7

Flashlights

  1. This is the safest and easiest way to produce cheap light. If any of your flashlights don’t turn on, try replacing the batteries. This should give you access to a consistent light supply for the immediate future while you work on making other preparations to stay warm or save food.[7]
    • If you’re buying a flashlight to prepare for a power outage, buy at least one hand-cranked flashlight that doesn’t require batteries. That way, you’ll always have a light source if you run out of batteries.
    • You probably don’t want to jump right to the flashlight on your phone. You may need the battery to place emergency calls in the near future.
    • Flashlights are exponentially safer and more consistent than candles when it comes to creating light during a power outage. If you have a choice, use your flashlights.[8]
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9

Water bottle lantern

  1. You can turn a small flashlight into a big light source with water. Grab a clear jug—the bigger the better—and fill it up with water. Then, grab a flashlight and set it up so it’s resting directly against the bottle. The light will refract in the water and spread out to illuminate the room. If you need a mobile light source, just hold the bottle and flashlight together and walk around with it.[10]
    • This won’t work as well if the jug isn’t totally transparent.
    • You can do this with a smaller water bottle as well, but the bigger the container is, the stronger the light will be.
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10

Mirrors

  1. You can use a mirror to amplify any smaller lights you have. If there’s any kind of light coming in from outside, set a mirror up at an angle so the light reflects into your home. If you only have a small reading light, you can clip it to the edge of a mirror to amplify the light. Pointing a flashlight at a mirror is also a great way to spread the light out and illuminate an entire room.[11]
    • This works because mirrors reflect light much better than any other surface or material. Any light source hitting the mirror will be spread out in a wider direction, which can make it much easier to see.[12]

Community Q&A

  • Question
    How can I make light come back on when there is a power cut?
    VermontGal
    VermontGal
    Top Answerer
    You cannot. If the power is off, it is something that the power company must address. You can call the power company to report an outage, but the rest should be handled by professionals.
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Warnings

  • Never use charcoal or gas barbeques, camping burners, or generators inside of your home. These emit carbon monoxide, which is poisonous.[15]
    ⧼thumbs_response⧽
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About This Article

Eric McClure
Co-authored by:
wikiHow Staff Writer
This article was co-authored by wikiHow staff writer, Eric McClure. Eric McClure is an editing fellow at wikiHow where he has been editing, researching, and creating content since 2019. A former educator and poet, his work has appeared in Carcinogenic Poetry, Shot Glass Journal, Prairie Margins, and The Rusty Nail. His digital chapbook, The Internet, was also published in TL;DR Magazine. He was the winner of the Paul Carroll award for outstanding achievement in creative writing in 2014, and he was a featured reader at the Poetry Foundation’s Open Door Reading Series in 2015. Eric holds a BA in English from the University of Illinois at Chicago, and an MEd in secondary education from DePaul University. This article has been viewed 41,488 times.
11 votes - 80%
Co-authors: 12
Updated: August 25, 2021
Views: 41,488
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