Preparedness does not begin with buying everything at once. It begins with understanding what your household needs and making steady improvements with the resources you have.
A practical bug-in plan prepares you to remain safely at home when severe weather, a power outage, a temporary supply disruption, or another emergency makes normal routines difficult. This checklist will help you build that plan one manageable layer at a time.
START WITH YOUR HOUSEHOLD, NOT A SHOPPING CART
Before purchasing supplies, think about the people and animals who live in your home. A household’s needs can change according to age, health, mobility, climate, location, and available space.
Consider:
- How many people live in the household
- Infants, children, or older adults
- Prescription medications and medical equipment
- Mobility, vision, hearing, or communication needs
- Food allergies and dietary restrictions
- Pets or service animals
- The weather conditions common in your area
- How your household would function without electricity or running water
Preparedness should fit your household. A generic supply list is only a starting point.
WATER
Safe drinking water should be one of your first priorities. The American Red Cross recommends storing one gallon of water per person per day, with a two-week supply for use at home when possible.
Your water plan should include:
- Drinking water for every household member
- Additional water for cooking and basic hygiene
- Water for pets
- Clean, food-grade storage containers
- A method for safely collecting additional water
- A reliable water filter or purification method
- Clear instructions for treating questionable water
- A schedule for checking and rotating stored water
Store water in a cool location away from chemicals, gasoline, pesticides, and direct sunlight.
Boiling or disinfecting water may kill many harmful microorganisms, but it will not remove heavy metals, salts, fuel, or many other chemicals. Follow instructions from local authorities when contamination is suspected.
FOOD AND SAFE COOKING
Build your emergency food supply around meals your household already eats. Familiar foods reduce waste, make rotation easier, and provide comfort during a stressful situation.
Consider storing:
- Shelf-stable foods requiring little or no preparation
- Canned meat, beans, fruit, and vegetables
- Rice, pasta, oats, and other dry staples
- Crackers, nuts, dried fruit, and snack foods
- Shelf-stable milk or powdered milk
- Food appropriate for infants or special diets
- Pet food
- A manual can opener
- Disposable plates, cups, and utensils
- Trash bags for cleanup
Choose foods that can be prepared safely with the equipment you have. Never use charcoal grills, camp stoves, or other fuel-burning cooking equipment inside the home, garage, or another enclosed area.
During a power outage, keep refrigerator and freezer doors closed. According to the CDC, an unopened refrigerator generally keeps food cold for about four hours. A full freezer may maintain a safe temperature for approximately 48 hours, or about 24 hours when half full.
When food safety is uncertain, throw it away. An emergency is not the time to risk foodborne illness.
LIGHT, POWER, AND TEMPERATURE
A short power outage can quickly affect lighting, communication, food safety, medical equipment, heating, and cooling.
Prepare with:
- Flashlights for several rooms
- Headlamps for hands-free lighting
- Spare batteries in the correct sizes
- Rechargeable lanterns
- Fully charged power banks
- Charging cables for household devices
- Battery-powered fans when appropriate
- Blankets, warm clothing, and sleeping bags
- Safe methods for managing extreme heat or cold
- Battery-powered smoke and carbon-monoxide detectors
- A plan for electrically powered medical equipment
Flashlights are safer than candles during a power outage.
Portable generators must remain outdoors, more than 20 feet from windows, doors, and vents. Never operate a generator inside a home, basement, garage, or carport—even when doors or windows are open. Use a battery-powered or battery-backup carbon-monoxide detector whenever operating a generator.
HEALTH, MEDICATIONS, AND FIRST AID
Health needs do not pause during an emergency. Prepare for both everyday care and minor injuries.
Include:
- A properly stocked first-aid kit
- Prescription medications
- A current medication list
- Copies of important prescriptions
- Over-the-counter medications your household regularly uses
- Spare eyeglasses or contact-lens supplies
- Hearing-aid batteries
- Thermometers
- Basic personal protective equipment
- Medical-device chargers or backup batteries
- Written instructions for important medical equipment
- Emergency contact information for doctors and pharmacies
Review expiration dates regularly. Ask your healthcare provider or pharmacist how medications should be stored during extended power outages and whether an emergency refill plan is available.
SANITATION AND HYGIENE
Maintaining cleanliness becomes especially important if running water, sewer service, or trash collection is interrupted.
Keep practical supplies such as:
- Soap and hand sanitizer
- Toilet paper
- Moist towelettes
- Feminine hygiene products
- Diapers and wipes
- Toothbrushes and toothpaste
- Heavy-duty trash bags
- Plastic ties
- Household disinfectant
- Disposable gloves
- Paper towels
- A bucket and liners for emergency sanitation
- Supplies for safely managing pet waste
Store these items together so they are easy to find when normal facilities are unavailable.
COMMUNICATION AND INFORMATION
Reliable information helps you make safer decisions. Social media can spread useful updates, but it can also circulate rumors and outdated instructions.
Prepare several ways to receive and share information:
- A battery-powered or hand-crank emergency radio
- Wireless emergency alerts enabled on mobile phones
- Local weather and public-safety alert applications
- A written household contact list
- An out-of-area emergency contact
- A designated family meeting location
- Printed local maps
- Portable phone chargers
- Charging cables kept with emergency supplies
- A communication plan for children and older relatives
Make sure everyone knows whom to contact and where to meet if household members are separated.
HOME SAFETY AND PRACTICAL TOOLS
You do not need an enormous collection of equipment. A few dependable tools can solve many problems during a disruption.
Useful items may include:
- A multipurpose tool
- An adjustable wrench
- Pliers and screwdrivers
- Work gloves
- Duct tape
- Plastic sheeting
- Rope or utility cord
- A whistle
- Fire extinguishers
- Spare house and vehicle keys
- A basic sewing or repair kit
- Supplies for safely securing damaged doors or windows
- A dedicated natural-gas shutoff wrench, stored near the meter in a protected and easily accessible location
Learn where your home’s water, electrical, and gas controls are located. Ask your utility company in advance whether homeowners should operate the gas shutoff and learn the correct procedure before an emergency. If you smell gas or hear hissing, leave immediately and contact emergency services or the gas company from a safe location. Once natural gas has been turned off, never attempt to restore it yourself; only a qualified professional should turn it back on.
DOCUMENTS, MONEY, AND HOUSEHOLD RECORDS
An emergency can interrupt access to banks, cloud accounts, and government services.
Protect copies of important information, including:
- Personal identification
- Insurance policies
- Medical information
- Prescription records
- Emergency contacts
- Property records
- Vehicle information
- Pet vaccination records
- Account and policy telephone numbers
- Recent household photographs for insurance documentation
- A written inventory of valuable property
Keep paper copies in a waterproof, portable container. Store protected digital copies separately. A reasonable amount of small-denomination cash can also be useful when electronic payment systems are unavailable.
PETS AND INDIVIDUAL NEEDS
Every member of the household should be included in the plan.
Depending on your household, prepare:
- Pet food and water
- Bowls and feeding supplies
- Leashes, harnesses, and carriers
- Medications
- Vaccination and veterinary records
- Waste-cleanup supplies
- Comfort items for children
- Infant formula and feeding supplies
- Mobility aids
- Backup batteries for assistive devices
- Written communication cards
- Supplies for sensory or cognitive needs
Keep essential items where they can be reached quickly. A plan is only useful when the people who need it can use it.
BUILD THE PLAN IN LAYERS
Do not allow the size of a two-week preparedness goal to prevent you from beginning. Build your supplies gradually.
BEGIN WITH ONE DAY
Prepare enough water, food, medication, lighting, and communication supplies to make it through one full day without outside assistance.
EXPAND TO THREE DAYS
Add enough supplies to manage a long weekend without power, running water, shopping, or normal services.
BUILD TOWARD ONE WEEK
Increase food, water, sanitation supplies, medications, backup power, and household necessities.
WORK TOWARD TWO WEEKS
The American Red Cross recommends working toward a two-week supply of food and water for use at home. Build this layer over time through normal grocery shopping and thoughtful rotation.
Preparedness is not a contest. Each layer gives your household more options than it had before.
THE TEN-MINUTE BUG-IN ACTIVATION CHECK
When an emergency begins, take a few minutes to assess the situation instead of reacting blindly.
- Confirm what has happened using official information.
- Determine whether authorities have issued evacuation or sheltering instructions.
- Account for every household member.
- Bring pets inside when it is safe to do so.
- Charge phones, power banks, and necessary devices.
- Fill clean containers with water if service may be interrupted and authorities have not warned that the water is contaminated.
- Check medications and medical equipment.
- Adjust the refrigerator and freezer to their coldest safe settings if an outage is expected.
- Secure outdoor items and close windows when appropriate.
- Review the conditions that would require your household to leave.
Continue monitoring official announcements. Conditions may change after the first decision is made.
KNOW WHEN THE CHECKLIST IS NO LONGER ENOUGH
Bugging in is appropriate only while the home and surrounding area remain reasonably safe.
Be prepared to leave when:
- Authorities order an evacuation
- Fire, flooding, structural damage, or hazardous materials threaten the home
- Indoor temperatures become dangerous
- A household member cannot receive necessary medical care
- Safe water and sanitation cannot be maintained
- Violence or another immediate threat makes remaining unsafe
- Your planned departure route may soon become unusable
Your bug-in supplies should support your ability to stay safely, but they should also help you leave when circumstances change.
Preparedness is not about proving that you can remain home under every condition. It is about recognizing which option offers your household the greatest safety.
Read the related guide: Bug In or Bug Out? How to Know When Staying Home Is Safer →
OFFICIAL GUIDANCE AND FURTHER READING
American Red Cross — Survival Kit Supplies
CDC — What to Do to Protect Yourself During a Power Outage
CDC — Carbon Monoxide Poisoning Basics