Here’s a fun question to stir some panic into your morning coffee: If the power went out right now, or the tap water suddenly decided to take a day off, would you be prepared? Before you start nervously glancing at your cupboards, let’s agree on one thing. Being ready for emergencies doesn’t mean you have to transform into a full blown doomsday prepper. It just means that you are sensible enough to pack rescue supplies just in case something inconvenient or mildly dramatic happens.
As it turns out, a well-equipped home is less about stockpiling canned beans like a nervous squirrel and more about having a few key items and having it sorted out. Think of it as grown up-ing with flair.
Water. Glorious water.
Let’s kick off with the most obvious thing: You should always have prepared water. You can go without Wi-Fi for a day. Well, maybe, but water? Absolutely not. You should keep bottled water, reusable containers of water, and even a small filtration system or purification tablets with you. Having a backup water supply means you can survive power outages, plumbing mishaps, all that one time the city sends out a ‘boil water’ notice 3 hours too late. A couple of liters per person per day is the general recommendation, but honestly having a little more never hurts. Hydration is life, people.
You need food that won’t judge.
Emergency food doesn’t have to be bland, sad, or involve chewing for 17 minutes. Sure, shelf stable items are key, but there are plenty of options that won’t make you question your life choices. Emergency preparedness means stocking in things like nut butters, granola or energy bars, tin soups and beans, instant noodles and dried fruits and nuts. And yes, chocolate does count if you’re riding out a storm or waiting for the lights to come back on. A little Cocoa therapy goes a long way. Just remember to rotate your stash every so often so you don’t end up getting expired ravioli from last decade.
Lighting.
Candlelight is lovely until you actually need to see when the lights go out. Having an actual plan beats waving a phone flashlight round like a confused lighthouse keeper. Make sure that you have torches and flashlights, LED lanterns and spare batteries to hand. Yes, it’s good to have candles, but you don’t really want scented ones to burn your eyes and you don’t want to have candles, but nothing to light them with. You also need to know where these things live in an emergency. A torch buried somewhere in the third drawer of chaos is basically useless.
A first aid kit.
For this one, you need to make sure it’s not just plasters and hope a proper first aid kit is the unsung hero of emergency preparedness. You don’t need a medical degree, just the basics. Your kit should include bandages, antiseptic wipes, painkillers, tweezers, a digital thermometer, allergy medications and gauze. If you have prescriptions or need for oxygen, making sure that you have a backup supply out of the way handy is a good idea. This is your household equivalent of a good friend who always shows up when things get messy.
Tools.
You don’t have to be a DIY legend to have tools to hand. You don’t even need to have the entire hardware aisle. An electric screwdriver with Allen key heads, a duct tape dispenser, a manual can opener, and a small toolkit can really help. Zip ties can fix everything, and when something goes wrong, even just having the right screwdriver with the right head can make you feel like a competent adult.
Communication that doesn’t rely on your phone.
Phones are great until they’re not. Power outages happen, batteries die, and charging cables mysteriously vanish into the ether. Useful backups include power banks, car chargers, and a battery powered or wind up radio. A radio may seem quite old school, but during emergencies it’s often the most reliable way to get accurate updates without doomscrolling.
Warmth.
If the heating goes out, you want more than just optimism. Stock up on blankets, warm clothing, and hot water bottles as long as you have a safe portable heater if you can. Layering isn’t just a fashion statement, but it is survival, so you need to make sure that you can stay warm in a power outage.
Being prepared in an emergency is smart, and having your home ready for said emergencies isn’t dramatic or paranoid. It’s comforting and surprisingly empowering.
