I read some online write-ups about generators, the had second thoughts. In addition to what you said, you're supposed to maintain and periodically run the generator (like fire it up for 15 minutes every month or two). Knowing myself, I doubt I'd keep up with that maintenance. I've only "needed" a generator twice in a bit over 10 years, so I'd probably skip running it in Winter, then stack a bunch of stuff around it, once Spring rolls around it'll be hard to get to, then by the time I need it it may not have been started for a year or two.

I do have some nice Petzl LED headlamps and I bought several Gerber Bonfire Blaze LED lanterns on clearance a while back. That was enough light to see and read by. I've also got a very nice 19.2-volt Craftsman fluorescent lantern that I loaned my Mom (along with one of the headlamps). I've also got flashlights hanging by their wrist straps on most of the doorknobs in my house. Mainly, I just hate losing all the food in the frige, but I could go through several cycles of that before a generator's paid for. I'd probably do better to look for a nice battery-powered TV (I've got plenty of lights, but not even a single battery-powered radio).

You're right about clothes. A family friend never lost power; she let me wash/dry a load at her house so that I had clean clothes for work. I really didn't think the wind from Ike would be a problem all the way up through Indiana/Ohio, but it sure was.