If you have small children, there’s a pretty good chance that you have about 3 dozen toys that require batteries in order to drive you right up the wall.
Actually, I use that as an excuse to have a decent store of batteries for when the power goes out. I have flashlights that use common AA or AAA batteries stashed all over our house. Why so many? Let’s say you’re in the shower late one night and the lights go out. How far from your shower is the nearest flashlight? Think you could find that flashlight in pitch black darkness, soaking wet in your birthday suit? Maybe it’s inappropriate to be stumbling around in all of your naked glory looking for that flashlight (company, kids, whatever). Can you find your clothes and put them on in the dark, without tripping over the bathroom scale and cracking your head open on the sink? Now you’re bleeding all over the place, have a case of the swimmy-heads, and are still naked in the dark. Just put a stinkin’ flashlight in the bathroom.
On to the point of this post. Storing batteries for when the power is out for more than a couple hours.
For the past year or so, I’ve been using a “hardware organizer” for keeping batteries in one spot and organized. With it’s dividers, I can keep the batteries oriented in such a manner that keeps their contacts from…contacting and causing them to drain while they just sit in the box.
If the dividers are too far apart, I just cut a piece off of one of the many cardboard Amazon boxes that show up every week at my house. Reuse, Reduce, Recycle, right?
Even though I do use this organizer, it’s best to keep batteries in their original packaging. This is the best way to make sure the contacts on the end of the battery don’t…uh, contact. However, if you buy batteries in bulk like I do (Christmas time is really good for this.), once you bust the bulk packaging batteries go everywhere. NOW they go into the organizer’s divided sections.
Take care of yourself…and your batteries.
The One Right Tool 