How do I build a basic home emergency kit?

A basic home emergency kit covers the first 72 hours after a disaster — most public emergencies (hurricane, wildfire, ice storm, extended power outage) have the same core needs, and a single kit handles them all. The federal standard from Ready.gov and FEMA is the same checklist.

The non-negotiable core (~$150–$200):

• Water: 1 gallon per person per day, 3-day minimum. For a family of four, that’s 12 gallons. Buy a case of 24 bottled waters, or fill clean 1-gallon containers and rotate them every 6 months.
• Food: 3-day supply of non-perishable food. Canned beans, tuna, peanut butter, crackers, dried fruit, granola bars. Avoid anything that requires cooking unless you have a camp stove.
• Manual can opener.
• Flashlight + extra batteries. A headlamp is even better — leaves hands free.
• Battery or hand-crank NOAA weather radio. Lets you get emergency updates if cell networks are down.
• First aid kit. Either buy a pre-made one (~$20) or assemble your own with bandages, gauze, antiseptic wipes, tweezers, scissors, pain reliever, and any personal medications.
• Whistle. To signal for help.
• Dust masks. One per person, in case of debris or poor air quality.
• Moist towelettes, garbage bags, and plastic ties. For sanitation.
• Local maps. Paper, in case GPS is unavailable.

Important documents (the part most people forget):

• Copies of ID, insurance cards, and prescriptions.
• Bank account and credit card numbers (the routing/account, not the cards themselves).
• A printed list of emergency phone numbers.
• A small amount of cash in small bills.

Store digital copies on a USB drive in the kit. Originals go in a fireproof home safe or a bank’s safe deposit box.

The “extras” worth adding (~$50–$100):

• A change of clothes and sturdy shoes per person.
• Sleeping bag or warm blanket per person.
• Phone charger and battery bank — a 10,000 mAh power bank will recharge a phone 2–3 times.
• Multi-tool or basic hand tools — wrench to shut off gas, pliers, screwdriver.
• Matches in a waterproof container.
• A printed family emergency plan — meeting points, out-of-state contact, evacuation routes.

Build it in four weekends, not one Saturday.

• Week 1: Water, flashlight, batteries, radio, can opener.
• Week 2: First aid kit, sanitation supplies, dust masks.
• Week 3: Food (and a date to rotate it every 6 months).
• Week 4: Documents, cash, chargers, family plan.

Common mistakes:

• All water in one place. If the kit is damaged or inaccessible, you lose everything. Split water between the kit, the car, and (if possible) a small stash at work.
• Forgetting to rotate. Food and water expire. Pick a recurring date — start of daylight saving time is a common one — to swap out anything past its date.
• Not testing the radio. Some radios need programming for your local frequency before an emergency. The first time you need it is not the time to discover the batteries are dead or the antenna doesn’t work.

The kit doesn’t need to be fancy. It needs to exist, to be accessible, and to actually contain fresh supplies. A $150 kit in good shape beats a $1,000 kit you never opened.

A reliable home emergency kit is a small investment that makes this easier: home emergency kit.