Our power went out last August during a heat advisory. 98 degrees outside. No AC. No fans. My phone was at 12 percent. I sat on the floor in my underwear eating melting ice cream directly from the carton and questioning every life choice that led me to this moment.

I’ve since assembled what I call the “power outage survival drawer” and it has saved me twice. You don’t need a generator or a whole-house battery. A few things you probably already own will get you through 24 hours.

Before the power goes out: stock this drawer

Freeze water bottles — the big 1-liter kind. When the power dies, move a couple to the fridge and a couple to a cooler with your perishables. The ice bottles keep things cold for hours and turn into drinking water when they melt. Two birds, one frozen brick.

Charge everything. The moment a storm warning pops up, plug in your phone, your power bank, your laptop, your Bluetooth speaker — everything with a battery. A fully charged 20,000 mAh power bank will charge a phone four or five times. That buys you two days of communication.

Get a battery-powered fan. The little ones that take D batteries cost maybe fifteen bucks at any hardware store. Buy one now, put batteries in it, stick it in the outage drawer. When the power goes out and it’s 90 degrees inside, you will name this fan and consider it family.

During the outage: keep the cold in

Do not open the fridge. Every time you open the door, you lose about four hours of cold retention. A full fridge stays cold for about four hours; a full freezer for about 48 hours if you keep the door shut. Eat the stuff that spoils fastest first — dairy, meat, leftovers — but plan what you’re grabbing before you open the door.

Close blinds and curtains on sun-facing windows. This one move can drop the indoor temperature by several degrees. If you have blackout curtains, even better. Keep the dark side of the house dark and the heat stays out.

Stay cool with no AC

Wet a bandana or a small towel with cool water and drape it around your neck. Cooling your carotid arteries cools your whole body efficiently. Wrists and ankles too — run cold water over your pulse points every half hour.

Sleep on the lowest floor of your house. Heat rises — the basement or ground floor will be the coolest spot. If you have a tile or concrete floor somewhere, lay a thin blanket on it and sleep there. It sounds dramatic but it’s ten degrees cooler than an upstairs bedroom.

Also: unplug everything. When the power comes back on, there’s often a surge that can fry electronics. Leave one lamp switched on so you know when the power’s back — then plug everything else in one at a time.

• Before outage: Freeze water bottles, charge all devices, buy battery fan
• Fridge discipline: Keep door closed — each open costs ~4 hours of cooling
• Cooling tricks: Wet bandana on neck/pulse points, blackout curtains, lowest floor
• When power returns: Unplug everything, reconnect one at a time to avoid surge damage