Three days is what most rescue services ask every home to manage alone. It fits in one cupboard and costs about as much as a decent night out. Start here even if you plan to end up in a bunker.
The list
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A warm blanket or sleeping bag for each person You may already have this , 10 min. Without it: a cold night with no heating.How Toilet paper, wet wipes, soap, bin bags You may already have this , 10 min. Without it: illness spreads fast without clean hands.How 9 to 12 litres of drinking water per person Free , 10 min. Without it: nothing to drink when the tap stops.How Cash in small notes and coins Free , 15 min. Without it: you cannot buy anything when card machines are down.How Copies of key documents, on paper and on a USB stick Free , 1 hour. Without it: weeks of paperwork after a fire or flood.How A family plan: where to meet, who to call Free , 10 min. Without it: nobody knows where anybody is.How Start an emergency fund, even a small one Free , 15 min. Without it: every emergency also becomes a money emergency.How Three days of food that needs no cooking Low cost , one shop. Without it: you queue with everyone else, or go hungry.How A manual tin opener (the electric one is now a paperweight) Low cost , 5 min. Without it: a shelf of tins you cannot open.How A torch or headlamp for each person, plus spare batteries Low cost , 15 min. Without it: you do everything else in the dark.How A battery or wind-up radio Low cost , 15 min. Without it: no news once phones and internet go.How A charged power bank and the right cables Low cost , 15 min. Without it: a dead phone by the first evening.How A first aid kit you have actually opened once Low cost , 30 min. Without it: a small cut becomes a real problem.How A week of any medicine someone at home depends on Low cost , 30 min. Without it: you run out while the pharmacy is shut.How Three days of food and water for every pet Low cost , 10 min. Without it: you share your own food and water.How Your ticks stay on this device.
What to get
Water containers Shop bottles work. So do clean, food-grade jerrycans. Headlamp Hands free beats a torch in your teeth. Wind-up or battery radio FM is enough. DAB eats batteries. Power bank, 10,000 mAh or more About two full phone charges. First aid kit Buy one, then add what your family really uses. Manual tin opener Two, because one always vanishes.
Level 2: Two weeks