The 72-Hour Kit Checklist: What to Pack and What to Skip

Emergency planners keep coming back to the same number: three days. After a storm, flood or long power outage, help and normal services usually start flowing again within about 72 hours. A kit that carries your household through that window covers the most likely emergencies without turning your garage into a warehouse.

Start with the basics

• Water: one gallon per person per day, so at least three gallons each. Add extra for pets.
• Food: three days of ready-to-eat food that needs no cooking, like canned goods, peanut butter, crackers, protein bars and dried fruit. Pack a manual can opener.
• Light: a flashlight or headlamp for every person, plus spare batteries. Skip candles indoors.
• Information: a battery or hand-crank radio that receives NOAA weather alerts.
• First aid: a stocked kit, plus a week of any prescription medications and copies of the prescriptions.

Then add the items people forget

• A phone charging bank and charging cables
• Copies of IDs, insurance cards and key phone numbers in a waterproof bag
• Some cash in small bills, since card readers fail when the power does
• Glasses or contacts, hearing aid batteries and other daily-use items
• Work gloves, a multitool, duct tape and a whistle
• Wet wipes, trash bags and basic hygiene supplies
• A change of clothes and sturdy shoes for each person

What to skip

You do not need a bulky "everything" kit to start. Avoid food your family will not actually eat, oversized gear you cannot carry, and gadgets you have never used. A kit you can grab and lift is better than a perfect one that stays in the closet.

Where to keep it

Store the main kit in a cool, dry spot near an exit, in a tote or backpack with handles. Keep a smaller version in each vehicle and a few essentials at work.

Keep it fresh

Put a reminder on your calendar twice a year, when the clocks change, to rotate water and food, check expiration dates, test flashlights and update medications. That ten-minute check is what turns a box of supplies into a kit you can count on.

For official guidance, see Ready.gov and your local emergency management office.