Chapter 2 · Your emergency kit2.5 Home kit: complete list
Chapter 2 · Your emergency kit

2.5 Home kit: complete list

2 min read

In this section (7)
  1. Water and food
  2. Light and power
  3. Information and communication
  4. Health
  5. Sanitation and hygiene
  6. Tools and safety
  7. Temperature: heat and cold

Based on the Ready.gov and American Red Cross lists, adapted for an urban home. The checklist version is on the worksheet at the end of the chapter.

Water and food

Light and power

  • One LED flashlight or headlamp per person, plus an area lantern for the living room.
  • Spare batteries in the same size for everything.
  • Charged power banks for each phone, cables, and a car charger.
  • Optional: portable battery power station (no combustion, safe to use indoors) and a folding solar panel to recharge it.

Information and communication

  • NOAA radio with SAME alerts (set to your county's SAME code) and AM/FM, battery-powered or hand-crank (chapter 1).
  • One whistle per person.
  • Paper maps of your area and of the evacuation routes to your meeting place outside the city.
  • Printed family communication plan (chapter 1), notebook, and pencils.

Health

  • Complete first-aid kit with a tourniquet (contents detailed in chapter 7).
  • Prescription medications, spare glasses, contact lens solution, hearing aids and their batteries.
  • Over-the-counter medications you already use: pain relievers, anti-diarrheals, antacids, laxatives, antihistamines, oral rehydration solution. Always use the dose on the label.
  • Thermometer.
  • N95 masks (wildfire smoke, dust, flood cleanup). They protect against particles, not gases.

Sanitation and hygiene

  • 5 gal bucket with lid, heavy bags, and cat litter or sawdust: emergency toilet (chapter 21).
  • Trash bags, zip ties, wet wipes, hand sanitizer, soap, disinfecting wipes.
  • Unscented bleach and a dropper (chapter 3).
  • Feminine hygiene products, adult diapers if needed, toothbrushes and toothpaste.
  • Nitrile gloves and work gloves.

Tools and safety

  • Wrench or pliers to shut off utilities (Ready.gov). Locate your main electrical switch and water valve today.
  • Multitool, duct tape, scissors, heavy plastic sheeting (to seal a broken window or shelter in place).
  • ABC extinguisher in the kitchen.
  • Smoke detector and battery-powered carbon monoxide detector.
  • Waterproof matches or a lighter (for outdoor use only; never candles for lighting).

Temperature: heat and cold

  • Heat: battery-powered or rechargeable fans, towels for wetting, spray bottles, electrolyte drinks, dark or reflective curtains for sunny windows. The CDC warns that fans give relief but do not prevent heat-related illness when temperatures are in the high 90s °F (about 35–37 °C): if your home becomes dangerous, go to an air-conditioned place (chapter 10).
  • Cold: one sleeping bag or thick blanket per person, hats, gloves, thermal clothing, wool socks, emergency thermal blankets. Choose a small room to concentrate the heat (chapter 14).
  • A complete change of season-appropriate clothing and sturdy shoes per person.