Preparing for an emergency comes down to four things: supplies to survive several days without outside help, a plan so your family can reconnect, knowledge of your home’s critical systems, and documents you can grab in minutes. Most households can get meaningfully prepared in a single weekend, and the difference between having a plan and not having one is enormous when a disaster actually hits.
Water and Food: The Non-Negotiables
Water is your most urgent need. The CDC recommends storing at least one gallon per person, per day for a minimum of three days. That covers drinking, cooking, and basic hygiene like brushing teeth. A family of four needs 12 gallons just for a three-day scenario. If you have the space, building toward a two-week supply is a smarter target, since many disasters (prolonged power outages, contaminated municipal water) can stretch well beyond 72 hours.
For food, start by building a surplus of what you already eat. Canned meats, peanut butter, rice, dried beans, pasta, ready-to-eat cereals, and dried fruits all store well and require minimal preparation. Packaged convenience mixes that only need water and short cooking times are especially practical when utilities are disrupted. Focus on foods that give you enough calories to stay functional, and aim for variety so you’re not grinding through the same meal for days. A two-week to one-month surplus of canned and shelf-stable goods is a reasonable household goal.
For longer-term storage, white rice, dry pasta, wheat, salt, vegetable oils, powdered milk (in nitrogen-packed cans), and baking powder can all last years in proper containers. Dried beans and lentils round out nutrition at low cost. Rotate your stock by using and replacing items before they expire.
Building Your Supply Kit
Your home kit should support your household for at least three days without electricity, running water, or access to stores. Beyond water and food, the essentials include a battery-powered or hand-crank radio, a flashlight with extra batteries, a manual can opener, a whistle to signal for help, dust masks, plastic sheeting and duct tape for sheltering in place, garbage bags and plastic ties for sanitation, and basic tools like a wrench and pliers.
Keep important family documents in a waterproof, portable container or save them electronically. This means copies of insurance policies, identification (driver’s licenses, passports), bank account records, and any legal documents you’d need if your home were inaccessible for weeks. Having digital backups on an encrypted USB drive or secure cloud storage gives you a second layer of protection.
Store your kit somewhere accessible, not buried in a basement you might not be able to reach. A hall closet near your front door or a clearly labeled bin in the garage works well. Check it twice a year (many people tie this to daylight saving time changes) to rotate food, replace expired batteries, and update documents.
First Aid Supplies
The American Red Cross recommends a family first aid kit include adhesive bandages in assorted sizes, sterile gauze pads (both 3×3 and 4×4 inch), a gauze roll bandage, adhesive cloth tape, two absorbent compress dressings, triangular bandages for slings, antibiotic ointment packets, antiseptic wipes, hydrocortisone ointment, an instant cold compress, an emergency blanket, nonlatex gloves, tweezers, and an oral thermometer.
Add any prescription medications your household relies on. Keeping a rolling two-week surplus is ideal; talk to your pharmacist about getting a slightly early refill to build that buffer. Include over-the-counter basics like pain relievers, anti-diarrheal medication, and any allergy medications your family uses regularly. Write down emergency phone numbers on paper and tuck them into the kit, because your phone may be dead when you need them most.
Making a Family Communication Plan
After a disaster, your family may not be in the same place. A communication plan solves the “where are you, are you safe” problem before it becomes a crisis. Start with two meeting locations: one close to home (a neighbor’s yard, the mailbox at the end of your street) and a second farther away in case you’re evacuated or can’t return to your neighborhood.
Designate an out-of-state friend or relative as your family’s emergency contact. After a disaster, local phone networks are often jammed, but long-distance calls to unaffected areas tend to get through more easily. Every family member should carry that contact’s name, address, and phone number. For kids, write it on a card in their backpack. Make sure everyone has a cell phone or at least a prepaid phone card.
Practice the plan once. It doesn’t need to be elaborate. A five-minute conversation at dinner where everyone confirms the two meeting spots and the out-of-state contact number is enough to make the plan stick.
Knowing Your Home’s Utility Shutoffs
Knowing how to shut off gas, electricity, and water can prevent a secondary disaster inside your home. Walk through these before an emergency happens, not during one.
Gas
Only shut off your gas if you smell gas, hear it escaping (hissing, whistling, or roaring), see a broken gas line, or suspect a leak. Know where your gas meter is located and keep a crescent wrench stored nearby. To close the valve, give it a quarter turn in either direction so the handle runs across the pipe (horizontal) rather than along it. Once you shut off gas at the meter, do not turn it back on yourself. Your gas utility must perform a safety inspection and relight appliance pilots.
Electricity
Every adult in the household should know where the circuit breaker panel or fuse box is located. Post shutoff instructions right next to it. When cutting power, shut off individual circuits first, then pull the main breaker. When restoring power, reverse the order: main breaker first, then individual circuits one at a time. Never enter a flooded basement to reach your electrical panel, because water conducts electricity.
Water
Learn where your home’s water shutoff valve is (it’s not the same as the water meter). If you see or suspect broken water or sewage lines after an earthquake or flood, shut off the water immediately to prevent contaminated water from flowing into your home.
Your Car Kit
A separate, smaller emergency kit belongs in your vehicle. Breakdowns and severe weather can strand you far from home. Ready.gov recommends keeping jumper cables, flares or a reflective triangle, a blanket, a car cell phone charger, a paper map, an ice scraper, and cat litter or sand (for tire traction on ice) in your trunk. Add a flashlight, bottled water, a few granola bars, and basic first aid supplies. Swap out seasonal items: the ice scraper and extra blankets matter in winter, while extra water becomes critical in summer heat.
Preparing for Pets
Pets need their own supplies. The CDC recommends a two-week supply of food and water for each animal, stored in waterproof containers, along with non-spill bowls, a manual can opener, and feeding instructions in case someone else needs to care for your pet. Include a two-week supply of any medications and a one-month supply of flea, tick, and heartworm preventatives.
On the document side, keep photocopied veterinary records (vaccination history, rabies certificate, most recent test results), proof of ownership or adoption records, microchip information, and a recent photo of each pet. Many emergency shelters and hotels that accept pets will require proof of vaccination. Store all of this in a waterproof container alongside your family’s important papers. If you’re evacuating, your pet goes with you. Identify pet-friendly shelters or hotels along your evacuation route in advance, because figuring this out under pressure wastes critical time.
Putting It All Together
The biggest mistake people make is treating emergency preparedness as a single, overwhelming project. Break it into steps. Week one: buy water and start building your food surplus. Week two: assemble your first aid kit and gather documents. Week three: walk through your utility shutoffs and finalize your family communication plan. Week four: put together your car kit and pet supplies. Within a month, you’re more prepared than the vast majority of households. Then set a calendar reminder every six months to check expiration dates, update medications, and refresh anything that’s been used or degraded.