Most popular starting point
72-Hour Emergency Kit for Families
Start with a practical 72-hour household emergency kit sized to your family, pets, and vehicles.
Best for
Starting a practical household-ready baseline
What this page covers
Core food, water, lighting, medical, pets, and vehicle basics.
Good first action
Build the 72-hour version first, then expand to 7 or 14 days.
Build your family checklist
Five-minute setup for a household-sized emergency supply plan.
How this checklist helps
A household emergency kit works better when it is sized to the real people, pets, and routines in your home instead of copied from a generic checklist. The most useful first version is a credible 72-hour baseline that covers water, food, light, first aid, communication, and your hardest-to-replace essentials.
Once that baseline exists, you can extend it for longer disruptions or for the hazard that matters most where you live. This page keeps the planning practical: build the core version first, print it, save it on your phone, and review it whenever your household size, medications, or local risk mix changes.
Static sample
Sample four-person three-day kit
This static example shows what a simple household baseline looks like before you customize quantities with the generator.
| Item | Quantity | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Water | 12 gallons | A four-person household using the standard one gallon per person per day baseline for three days. |
| Shelf-stable meals and snacks | 36 meal equivalents | Three meal equivalents per day for four people, using foods that are easy to serve during an outage. |
| Flashlights or lanterns | 4 | Enough light for bedrooms, bathrooms, and a shared living area during a night outage. |
| Battery or hand-crank radio | 1 | A backup way to receive alerts when power, Wi-Fi, or mobile charging becomes unreliable. |
| First aid kit | 1 household kit | Stock the basics first, then add allergy medicine, child-safe medications, and other family-specific items. |
| Phone chargers and backup battery | 1 household set | Helps keep communication, maps, and emergency contact access available during disruptions. |
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