A well-stocked survival kit covers six basic needs: water, food, shelter, first aid, communication, and sanitation. FEMA recommends building a kit that can sustain each person in your household for at least three days, with one gallon of water per person per day as the baseline. Whether you’re preparing for a natural disaster, a power outage, or keeping a bag in your car, the core contents are the same.
Water and Water Purification
Water is the single most critical item. The CDC recommends storing at least one gallon per person, per day for three days. That covers drinking, cooking, and basic hygiene like brushing teeth. A family of four needs a minimum of 12 gallons just for a three-day window, so storage space matters. Use food-grade containers and rotate your supply every six months.
Beyond stored water, your kit should include a way to make found water safe. Portable filters and chemical treatment tablets work differently, and neither one covers everything. Most portable water filters remove parasites and, if the pore size is 0.3 microns or smaller, bacteria as well. But standard filters don’t remove viruses. Chemical disinfectant tablets kill viruses and bacteria but may not eliminate all parasites. Chlorine dioxide tablets can handle Giardia and have some effectiveness against Cryptosporidium. For the broadest protection, carry both a filter and tablets so they cover each other’s gaps.
Food and Nutrition
Pack at least a three-day supply of non-perishable food per person. The priority is calorie density and ease of preparation. Ideal choices need little or no water, no refrigeration, and minimal cooking. Peanut butter, canned meats, dried fruit, ready-to-eat cereals, granola bars, and crackers all fit the bill. Rice, dried beans, and pasta are excellent for longer-term storage but require water and heat to prepare, so they’re better suited for extended kits at home than a grab-and-go bag.
Packaged convenience mixes that only need water and a short cooking time offer variety without much hassle. Include a manual can opener (easy to forget), disposable utensils, and paper plates. For long-term pantry storage, items like white rice, vegetable oils, dried pasta, salt, powdered milk in nitrogen-packed cans, and baking powder can be stored indefinitely under proper conditions.
You also need enough liquid beyond plain water. The general guidance is about two quarts of drinkable fluid per person per day to keep your body functioning, especially if you’re physically active during an emergency.
Shelter and Warmth
If you’re forced to evacuate or lose power in cold weather, staying warm becomes an immediate concern. An emergency mylar blanket is lightweight and packs down to the size of a deck of cards, making it a staple of any kit. These metalized plastic sheets trap up to 90% of the body heat you’d normally radiate into the air. They’re remarkably effective for their size, but they have a key limitation: they reflect radiant heat only and don’t insulate against conduction. If you’re lying on cold ground, a mylar blanket alone won’t keep you warm. Pair it with a foam sleeping pad or even a layer of cardboard underneath you.
Beyond that, include a tarp or plastic sheeting for improvised shelter from rain and wind, duct tape to secure it, and a change of warm, moisture-wicking clothing. A lightweight sleeping bag or wool blanket adds real insulation that mylar can’t provide. If space allows, a small tent or bivvy sack rounds out your shelter options.
First Aid Supplies
A first aid kit is one of FEMA’s core recommendations, but “first aid kit” can mean anything from a box of adhesive bandages to a trauma bag. At minimum, yours should cover wound care, pain relief, and stabilization. The Mayo Clinic’s recommended supplies include items most people overlook: a rubber tourniquet for severe bleeding, an aluminum finger splint, a triangular bandage that doubles as a sling, sterile saline for flushing wounds, and an eye shield or pad.
On top of those, stock the basics: adhesive bandages in multiple sizes, gauze pads, medical tape, antiseptic wipes, antibiotic ointment, tweezers, scissors, disposable gloves, and over-the-counter pain relievers. If anyone in your household takes prescription medication, keep a rotating supply in the kit along with a written list of each person’s medications, dosages, and allergies.
Communication and Navigation
When the power goes out and cell towers are overwhelmed, a battery-powered or hand-crank radio becomes your lifeline to official information. A NOAA Weather Radio with SAME (Specific Area Message Encoding) technology is especially useful because you can program it to alarm only for your specific county, so it filters out warnings that don’t apply to your area. These radios can automatically broadcast emergency alerts, watches, and warnings issued by the National Weather Service.
Your kit should also include a cell phone with a portable charger or backup battery, a whistle for signaling rescuers (sound carries much farther than your voice), and local maps. GPS apps are great until your phone dies or loses signal. A paper map of your area with pre-marked evacuation routes takes up almost no space and never runs out of battery.
Tools and Lighting
A reliable flashlight with extra batteries is essential. LED flashlights last significantly longer per set of batteries than older incandescent models. Pack at least one flashlight per adult and consider a headlamp, which frees up both hands.
A multi-tool combines several functions in one compact package: knife blade, pliers, screwdriver, can opener, and wire cutter. Look for one that feels balanced in your hand and has a secure grip, since you may need it for everything from cutting rope to prying open a jammed door. FEMA also recommends a wrench or pliers for turning off household gas and water valves. A dust mask helps filter contaminated air from debris, smoke, or dust after storms or structural damage.
Sanitation and Hygiene
Sanitation gets overlooked until it becomes urgent. When plumbing fails, you need a plan for human waste and basic cleanliness to prevent illness. A practical sanitation kit starts with a medium-sized plastic bucket with a tight-fitting lid, which doubles as storage and an improvised latrine. Add heavy-duty garbage bags and ties for waste disposal, toilet paper, a small shovel for digging a latrine outdoors, and disinfectant spray.
For personal hygiene, pack soap, hand sanitizer, baby wipes, and moist towelettes. FEMA includes garbage bags and plastic ties in its basic kit specifically for this purpose. Gallon-size resealable bags are useful for isolating soiled clothing or storing clean supplies separately.
Important Documents
Keep copies of critical documents in a waterproof, portable container inside your kit. This should include identification (driver’s license, passport), insurance policies, bank account records, medical records, and emergency contact information. Digital copies on a USB drive or secure cloud storage provide a backup if the physical copies are lost. Having these accessible can make the difference between a quick recovery and weeks of bureaucratic delays after a disaster.
Kits for Infants and Young Children
Children under two have needs that a standard kit won’t cover. The CDC recommends packing ready-to-feed infant formula in single-serving containers, since it doesn’t require mixing with potentially unsafe water. If you use powdered formula, include bottled water, a liquid measuring cup, and a food-grade mixing container with a lid. Breastfeeding families should pack disposable nursing pads and, if pumping, breast milk storage bags, a small cooler with ice packs, and a manual pump as a backup in case of power outages.
For all families with young children, include at least one large pack of diapers, two packs of baby wipes, diaper rash cream, a baby carrier (sling, wrap, or structured carrier), extra blankets, age-appropriate nonperishable snacks, infant pain reliever with acetaminophen, a thermometer, a bulb syringe, and your child’s vaccination records. A small camp stove with fuel and a pot for boiling water can be used to sanitize feeding supplies and make water safe.
Customizing Your Kit
The lists above form a solid foundation, but every household has specific needs. Pet owners should add food, water, medications, leashes, carriers, and copies of vaccination records for each animal. People who wear glasses should keep a spare pair in the kit. If anyone in the household uses hearing aids, oxygen equipment, or mobility devices, include backup batteries and any necessary accessories.
Climate and geography shape your kit too. In hurricane-prone areas, prioritize extra water, tarps, and waterproof storage. In earthquake zones, sturdy shoes (to walk over broken glass), a pry bar, and heavy work gloves become more important. Cold climates call for hand warmers, insulated clothing layers, and a higher-calorie food supply since your body burns more energy staying warm.
Review and rotate your kit every six months. Replace expired food, medications, and batteries. Update documents and clothing sizes for growing children. A survival kit that sits untouched in a closet for three years is likely full of dead batteries, expired supplies, and outdated information.