The 10 Essentials of Preparedness

Store 1 gallon per person per day. Keep a 0.1 micron filter as backup for treating suspect water from taps, creeks, or your water heater tank.

Your water heater holds 40-50 gallons of clean water — learn to drain it safely.

A two-week working pantry of shelf-stable foods you actually eat. Use the copycan rule: buy one extra staple each grocery trip.

A manual can opener is the $12 tool that unlocks 90% of pantry nutrition.

One LED headlamp per bedroom, plus a lantern for common areas. Avoid candles — they cause fires during emergencies.

Headlamps beat flashlights because they keep both hands free.

A trauma-ready kit with dressings, antiseptic, a tourniquet, and a 7-day supply of prescription medications for each person.

Take a Stop the Bleed or basic first aid course — gear is useless without skills.

Toilet paper, hygiene supplies, a portable camp toilet, and garbage bags. When sewers fail, sanitation becomes a health crisis fast.

Line your toilet bowl with a garbage bag for an emergency dry toilet.

A 300Wh+ portable power station keeps phones, medical devices, and a router alive. For longer outages, a portable generator run outdoors.

Never run a generator indoors or in a garage — carbon monoxide kills.

A hand-crank NOAA weather radio, a laminated paper contact card, and an out-of-area relay contact. Texts often get through when calls don't.

Download offline maps for your region before disaster strikes.

Sleeping bags rated for your climate, emergency blankets, and a change of warm clothes. In cold outages, isolate one room to trap heat.

An indoor camping tent in the living room stays 10-15°F warmer than the room.

A multi-tool, duct tape, a gas shut-off wrench, work gloves, and a manual can opener. Keep a headlamp in the tool kit.

Tie a wrench to your gas meter so it's there when you need it.

Waterproof copies of IDs, insurance, deeds, and medical info. Keep $200-500 in small bills — card readers fail when power and data drop.

Seal originals in a fire-resistant safe; carry copies in your go-bag.