Survival Light: 4 Overlooked Ways To Brighten A Room During A Blackout

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Each year, blackouts become far more frequent. It simply makes sense to have some kind of backup plan to provide light in the family home.

Sure, you have a flashlight and a candle, but you can do so much more to make your home brighter.

Here are four ideas – ideas that you even might want to incorporate in your off-grid adventures, such as camping.

1. A bottle with a flashlight. A water bottle and a flashlight can be transformed into a bright lantern you can sit on the table or kitchen counter. Peel off any paper or labels from the bottle. Fill the bottle with water and leave off the lid. Put your flashlight on top of the bottle, with the light facing into it. You can wrap a strip of duct tape around the flashlight to keep it in place. The water will refract the light, creating a nice, bright orb that will allow your hands to be free. Similarly, you can place a headlamp around the bottle or jug, and point the light inward.

2. A balloon and a flashlight. You will need to blow up the balloon. Go bigger or smaller, depending on how big you want your lantern. Keep the balloon pinched while you work the end over the light end of the flashlight.

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The flashlight will keep the air from leaking. Turn on the flashlight and watch the balloon light up, creating a lantern. You can hang a few of these from the ceiling or prop the flashlight in a jar, empty can or even duct tape it to a surface so you can have light without holding it with your hands.

3. Solar outdoor lights. Yes, the kind that you pop in the ground along your pathways are perfect for inside. You can hang them or stick them in a vase or Mason jar in the center of the room. Cluster several together if you need additional light.

4. Multiple candles. A single emergency candle is fairly bright, but it probably isn’t going to be bright enough to light up the kitchen table or the living room. You can enhance the brightness by clustering two or three together. Use string or a rubber band to tie them together and pop them in a pickle jar or old jam jar. The light will reflect off the glass and be bright enough for everyone to see clearly. Putting a mirror behind the cluster of lights will reflect the light back into the room.

Whether you use a candle or a flashlight, the key is to refract the single beam of light to make it appear bigger and brighter. Using water, a mirror or glass is the key to transforming a single candle or flashlight beam into a room-brightening lantern.

Do you have advice on creating “survival light”? Share your tips in the section below: 

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