It’s been nearly a week of snow, snow and more snow. The Washington, D.C. area set records for snowfall and for consecutive days of the Federal government and the D.C. government being closed. My husband and I set records for consecutive days of talking to no one else except each other. How did we survive? Well, the Internet helped a lot. And my husband’s unbelievably huge DVD collection. And the fact that we only lost power for two and a half hours. But there were some other key things that I was really very glad we had with us, and I’d like to make a note to keep this stuff on hand, just in case disaster strikes.

• iPhone – I did not have to worry about whether we had power or not to check Twitter, e-mail and news websites thanks to my iPhone. Oh, and I could post photos of our deep snow to Facebook easily, too. It charges fast and keeps its charge. I’ve got a solar charger, too.
• Battery-operated radio - The radio offers updated information and music. In a power outage, sometimes you just need some tunes to keep you sane. Be sure to keep batteries on hand.
• Dry goods and canned foods - Fresh veggies are the best when you can get them, but when you can’t get out, it is a huge relief to have a good stash of things that are easy to make by just adding water, or by just heating them up. Stuff like ramen noodles, instant soup, canned soup and vegetables, as well as pasta and rice all keep well without refrigeration for long periods.
• LED nightlights that convert to flashlights when the power goes out or a circuit breaker trips. These are very low-energy and we keep one in every room, so when the power went out, these went on. They’re not super powerful, but they are enough to help you find what you need, like the other members of your family.
• Heavy-duty flashlight or camping lantern – It’s useful to have something like this to light up an entire room that isn’t a candle. Because candles are, well, flammable, and dangerous, especially around pets and children.
• Long-burning fireplace logs – If you have a fireplace — which I definitely recommend if you are going to experience a power outage in the cold — stashing a six-pack of these long-burning logs in your basement won’t keep your house toasty, but it will give you some light and comfort with much less work and ash than a wood fire.
• Water filter – Rather than a case of bottled water, which has an expiration date and creates plastic waste, we have chosen a large filter for our refrigerator. This works just fine for two or three people. Larger family groups may want to consider an extra filter or storing one or two large bottles of water for emergencies.
• Candles – Rather than candlesticks, if you have pillar candles or tall votives, these will be much easier to move around your house and safer to leave burning for a length of time. Be sure that you don’t leave any candle burning near drapes or on a tablecloth: use heat-resistant plates to catch any drippings. And never leave a flame unattended.
• Gas stove – This is a long-term decision, along with having a fireplace. Those of us with gas stovetops were able to warm up soup or make pancakes for breakfast even when the electricity went out.
• Matches – Most of our gas stoves have electric lighters now. So without matches or a lighter on hand, our gas stoves, fireplaces and candles would all be useless. Matches are much less popular these days as smoking is being phased out, so be sure you have a handy box of kitchen matches on hand, as well as a long barbeque lighter for those hard-to-get-at places.

P.S. Here’s a great recipe that is a tasty way to use your canned beans. Black & White Bean Primavera Salad

Got some other ideas? Please comment to share the wealth!

I really enjoyed the DC Ad Club’s luncheon speakers today, Brad Beckstrom of ApolloBravo Mobile Marketing and Rohit Bhargava, Sr. VP of Ogilvy’s Digital Influence group, author of “Personality Not Included” and Word of Mouth Marketing and Social Media expert.

Rohit talked about word of mouth marketing and how it can be integrated into your advertising, marketing or PR. His philosophy was interesting, and I was impressed to see that Guy Kawasaki wrote a foreword for his book. So I bought one of the signed copies he had there. Reading it now.

Brad filled us in on some recent stats from the CTIA (cellphone industry association) that are pretty astounding. Overall, I was impressed to know that cellphone ownership in the USA has now surpassed that of home PCs and web access. Plus, while more and more people have phones, the number of minutes Americans spend making phone calls has stayed pretty static. But the number of text messages (SMS) has grown exponentially. Of course these SMS messages can be used by companies to contribute to word of mouth campaigns.

Besides the book, I took away one big idea: word of mouth marketing is not something you can buy. But you can push it with advertising you buy or create, whether it’s guerilla marketing, or print, radio, TV advertising or SMS messages with three little words: “tell a friend.”

It’s the last week of Fishnet Music, a record store I opened 3 years ago with my friend Lisa and her mother Terry in Ocean City, MD.
Our doors will close Friday, March 31 after lots of blood, sweat and tears – mine has been mostly remote, e-mailing ads and website updates from DC, after the first summer of driving back and forth every weekend.
If you live down there, please stop by and get some great deals on CDs and records at our close-out sale. If not, think of us this week. It’s hard to say goodbye. We met some wonderful bands that played in-store performances for us, and really enjoyed giving people an alternative place to look for and learn about music.
www.fishnetmusic.com