Organize Essential Supplies
You've already found what you own in Skill 01. Now give it one home. The goal is that any adult in the house can put a hand on light, information, first aid and charging within thirty seconds, without power.
A well-stocked house you can't search in the dark is worse than a small box by the door.
- Gather what you already own into one known place
- Choose a spot that works with no lights on
- Separate the grab-fast items from the deeper stock
- Set a simple check rhythm so batteries aren't flat when you need them
- One container
- Standard
- A lidded plastic tub or a duffel bag.
- Low cost
- A sturdy cardboard box.
- Already have
- A drawer or the bottom of a hall cupboard.
- What you already own
- Standard
- Torches, batteries, power bank, radio, first-aid supplies, manual can opener.
- Low cost
- Nothing new needed to start.
- Already have
- The items you marked 'I have it' in Skill 01.
- A label and a list
- Standard
- A printed contents list taped to the lid.
- Low cost
- Marker on the lid.
- Already have
- A note on your phone as a backup copy.
Use battery lighting, not candles or open flame — flame is a leading cause of fire during outages. Store any fuel outdoors in an approved container, well away from the house, pilot lights and living space. Never run a generator or any fuel-burning appliance indoors, in a garage or in any enclosed space, and never use a cooker or barbecue for heating indoors. Keep medication in its original labelled packaging and follow the storage instructions on it.
Verified guidance · Ready.gov (FEMA) — Build A Kit
- 01Pick the spot before you pack anythingSomewhere on the main floor, near an exit, that you can reach without stairs, without keys and without a light on. A hall cupboard beats a loft every time.
- 02Walk the house and collectBring the torches, spare batteries, power bank and cable, radio, first-aid supplies, manual can opener and a whistle to that spot. Most households find this takes ten minutes and costs nothing.
- 03Split it into grab-fast and deep stockGrab-fast is light, information and charging — the things you want in the first five minutes. Deep stock is food, water and spares, which can live where there's room. Don't bury the grab-fast items under the deep stock.
- 04Add the paper layerYour household communication card, copies of important documents, a paper map of your area, and some cash in small notes. Card machines and cash points both depend on power.
- 05Add the personal layerA few days of any regular medication in its original labelled packaging, spare glasses, hearing-aid batteries, baby or pet needs, and anything a specific member of your household can't do without.
- 06Test everything you just packedSwitch each torch on. Tune the radio. Charge the power bank to full. Anything that doesn't work now definitely won't work later.
- 07Store batteries loose, not loadedLeaving batteries inside torches for years is how you find a leaked, corroded torch. Keep spares in their packaging beside the torch instead, unless it's the one torch you use regularly.
- 08Tell the household and set a check dateShow everyone the spot. Put a twice-a-year reminder in your calendar to test the lights, recharge the power bank and swap any medication that's near its date.
Verified guidance · Ready.gov (FEMA) — Build A Kit
- Every torch lights on the first press
- The power bank actually holds charge overnight
- No corrosion or white crust around battery compartments
- Nothing in the box that expired two Christmases ago
- Keeping the kit in the loft, the shed or behind the car
- One torch for a household of four
- Rechargeable everything and no way to recharge it
- Building the box and never opening it again
- A second small kit in the car covers the times you're not home
- Headlamps beat handheld torches when you need both hands
- Small notes and coins — nobody makes change in a blackout