Every household should have enough supplies to sustain itself for at least three days without outside help. That’s the baseline recommendation from federal emergency agencies, and it covers the gap between a disaster striking and relief services reaching your area. The core categories are water, food, first aid, light, power, communication, documents, and sanitation. Here’s what belongs in each one and how much you actually need.
Water: The First Priority
Store at least one gallon of water per person, per day for a minimum of three days. That gallon covers drinking, cooking, and basic hygiene like brushing teeth. A family of four needs 12 gallons just for the three-day minimum, and more is always better.
You’ll need extra if anyone in the household is pregnant, sick, or nursing, if you have pets, or if you live somewhere hot. Commercially bottled water is the most reliable option because it’s sealed and dated. If you fill containers yourself, use food-grade water storage jugs and rotate the supply every six months.
Food That Lasts Without Power
Plan for roughly 2,100 calories per adult per day. That number assumes light physical activity. If you’re doing heavy work like clearing debris or walking long distances, add up to 400 calories. Cold weather increases your needs too, by about 100 to 300 extra calories depending on how low temperatures drop.
Stock foods that don’t need refrigeration, cooking, or much water to prepare. Peanut butter, canned beans, canned tuna, dried fruit, granola bars, crackers, trail mix, and ready-to-eat canned soups all work well. Keep a manual can opener with your supply. It’s easy to overlook and impossible to replace when stores are closed. Rotate food every 6 to 12 months so nothing expires before you need it.
First Aid Kit Contents
A pre-made kit is fine, but most are too small for a family. The Red Cross recommends a family-of-four kit include at least 25 adhesive bandages in assorted sizes, two large absorbent compress dressings, a roll of adhesive cloth tape, two roller bandages (one 3-inch, one 4-inch), sterile gauze pads in both 3×3 and 4×4 sizes, five antibiotic ointment packets, five antiseptic wipes, tweezers, non-latex gloves, an instant cold compress, and an emergency blanket.
Beyond the standard supplies, add a thermometer, hydrocortisone cream for skin reactions, aspirin, and any over-the-counter pain relievers or allergy medications your family uses regularly. If anyone in the household takes prescription medications, talk to your doctor or pharmacist about building an emergency supply. At minimum, keep a written list of every medication, dosage, and prescribing doctor in your kit.
Light, Radio, and Communication
A battery-powered or hand-crank flashlight is non-negotiable. Store extra batteries alongside it and check them twice a year. A headlamp is even more useful because it frees your hands.
A NOAA Weather Radio is one of the most underrated items in an emergency kit. It receives alerts directly from the National Weather Service, including overnight warnings that could save your life while you sleep. Look for a model with three features: a tone alarm that activates even when the radio is muted, SAME technology that lets you program alerts for your specific county, and a battery backup so it works during power outages. Many emergency radios combine AM/FM, NOAA, a flashlight, and a hand crank in one device.
Keep your cell phone charger in the kit along with a portable battery bank. A fully charged 10,000mAh power bank will recharge most smartphones two to three times.
Backup Power for Extended Outages
If you want to go beyond phone charging and keep essential appliances running, a portable power station in the 1,000 to 2,000 watt-hour range can handle a refrigerator, lights, a Wi-Fi router, and a CPAP machine. For households that depend on powered medical equipment, air conditioning, or a furnace, a system in the 3,000 to 5,000 watt-hour range is more appropriate. A small solar panel paired with a power station lets you recharge during multi-day outages.
Important Documents
In an evacuation, you may have minutes to leave. A fireproof, lockable file box kept in an easy-to-grab spot should hold copies of your most critical paperwork:
- Identity documents: Social Security cards, birth and adoption certificates, marriage certificates, passports, military records
- Financial records: bank, loan, credit card, mortgage, and investment account numbers with contact information for each institution, plus deeds, titles, and wills
- Insurance: policy numbers and company contact information for health, home, auto, and life insurance
- Medical: health insurance cards, a current list of prescriptions and dosages, and vaccination records
- Property: ownership records for your home, vehicles, RVs, or boats
Back up digital copies to a USB drive or secure cloud storage as a second layer of protection. Include current photos of each family member and pet in case you’re separated.
Sanitation Without Running Water
When water service is disrupted, hygiene becomes a real problem fast. Stock moist towelettes or baby wipes for hand and body cleaning. Keep a supply of heavy-duty garbage bags and plastic ties for waste disposal. A five-gallon bucket lined with a garbage bag serves as a basic emergency toilet when plumbing fails. Add a bag of cat litter or a commercial waste solidifier to control odor and absorb liquid.
Duct tape and plastic sheeting also belong in this category. They let you seal windows or create a makeshift shelter-in-place barrier if air quality becomes a concern. A dust mask for each family member rounds out this section.
Tools and Miscellaneous Gear
A few small items make a big difference. Keep a wrench or pliers in the kit so you can shut off gas or water valves. A whistle for each family member provides a way to signal for help that carries much farther than shouting and doesn’t drain your energy. Pack local maps in case GPS and cell service are down. A multi-tool, work gloves, and a roll of duct tape handle most improvised repairs.
What to Keep in Your Car
Your vehicle should carry its own smaller kit, especially in winter. Pack blankets or a sleeping bag, extra warm layers (hat, gloves, thick socks), a flashlight with spare batteries, jumper cables, a windshield scraper, drinking water, and high-calorie snacks like trail mix or protein bars. A bag of cat litter or sand gives you traction if you’re stuck on ice. A phone charger that plugs into your car’s power outlet keeps your communication lifeline alive.
Preparing for Pets
The CDC recommends a two-week supply of food and water for each pet, stored in waterproof containers. Include a two-week supply of any medications, a one-month supply of flea and tick preventative, non-spill food and water dishes, a manual can opener, and written feeding and medication instructions in case someone else cares for your animal.
Keep photocopies of veterinary records, vaccination certificates, proof of ownership or adoption, and microchip information in a waterproof container alongside your family documents. Pack a leash, collar with ID tag, harness, and an appropriately sized carrier with familiar bedding. A recent photo of each pet stored with your documents helps if you’re separated during an evacuation.
Keeping Your Kit Ready
An emergency kit only works if it’s maintained. Check it every six months, ideally when you change your clocks. Replace expired food and medications, swap out old batteries, update documents, and refill or rotate stored water. Store the kit somewhere accessible, not buried in the back of a closet. A hallway closet near your front door or the garage works well. If you split supplies between a main kit and a grab-and-go bag, the smaller bag should hold water, snacks, a flashlight, phone charger, first aid basics, documents, and cash in small bills. That bag covers you if you need to evacuate on foot with no time to load the car.