We've got flashlights (my favorite went MIA recently, mutter, mutter), a small store of batteries, a half-gross of candles, 8 or 9 (maybe more) oil lanterns, one neglected wick-style oil lamp, and some odds and ends, but we went a step further.

Aladdin lamps are fairly expensive (nothing compared to a generator), involve a little bit of a learning curve, they have a fanatic cult following to rival that of Harley Davidson, are a little awkward to store, don't work as lanterns, and, IMHO, are WELL worth dealing with all of it. They've just been quietly working well for folks without electricity, temporarily or permanently, since the beginning of the 20th Century.

SILENT, steady, white light that lights up a whole room and is plenty bright enough to read by, and much safer than candles (MUCH safer than pressurized Coleman-style lanterns). Each of them is about as bright as a 60 watt bulb, they are AMAZINGLY brighter than a standard oil lamp or lantern. It turns the whole atmosphere of the house around- from "huddling in the dark" to business-as-usual ("I forgot the TV was out").

During the power outage after Isabel we had neighbors come by and ask us why we were the only house with electricity- we were the only one with lights on (that didn't have a noisy generator running in the yard).

Our solution to the storage problem is simply not to. We have one in storage, but the rest are pretty enough that they stay out in the living room and family room all year- everyone assumes they're just Victorian-styled electric lamps, and if (when) the power goes out, we have light in a couple of minutes. You can even buy electric-socket burner replacements and use them as electric lights everyday- takes a few minutes to change them back.

Even the lady in my life has come to like and appreciate them- and that's saying something. They probably won't save your life, but our memories of Isabel blackout are of a pleasant, sort of rustic summer interlude where we read books, talked, and listened to the night sounds outside instead of watching TV. Most folks don't remember it that way.

There's way too much to say about them for one message.

http://www.aladdinlamps.com/lamps/