I dream of the day when I’ll have a remote retreat, an escape from the various trials this world can throw our way.  In my perfect world, my retreat is complete with solar roof panels that will provide comforts even if the power grids are down.  I’ve noticed that as sustainable living becomes a more mainstream idea, smaller more compact solar chargers are available.  Take this one for instance solar charger .

Available from Amazon, this small charger will fully charge a cell phone in 2 hours.  It takes approximately 24 hours to solar charge its internal battery and can be used for ipods and mp3 players.  There are larger, more expensive solar chargers that can accommodate digital cameras and even laptops.  This small charger is under $40 and would be a great way to keep your kids occupied and comforted with their music.  During an emergency, familiar is good as it’s hard to predict what troubles we may have and anything we can do to make the adjustment easier for the kids will make it easier on everyone else.

I plan on picking up at least one of these less expensive chargers.  Don’t forget to use it periodically to keep it working and keep in a dry place.  This would be perfect for my bug out bag, maybe Santa will bring me one.