Must Have Emergency Essentials

How to build a grab-n-go survival kit for home + car customized to your family's needs with quality gear

START HERE ... WITH CLEAN WATER

How to have clean water on-the-go or at home if you don't have access to modern utilities
Following a disaster or impending disaster (storm, fire, or flood) your home is the first and best place to keep your family safe.

Staying at home also helps you avoid the risks of traveling. In the event of a disaster, you should stay home for as long as possible. There are some circumstances that may force you and your family to leave your home.

Deciding when to leave your home is a balancing act. If you leave too early, you lose the safety and security of your home and risk losing some of your gear unnecessarily. If you leave too late you risk being blocked in by heavy traffic.

You must determine where you are going and how you will get there BEFORE you leave your home. Leaving without a planned safe destination means you will likely end up as a refugee. This is the worst possible outcome.


AMAZON LINK


A good bug out location provides shelter, warmth and familiarity. Small rural towns with fewer than 10,000 people have the best chance of staying safe and orderly in a disaster or collapse. The farther a town is away from a big city, the more likely it is to be safe from civil disorder.

Tip: Consider a town that's greater than one tank of gas or 300 miles away from a big city. Bonus points if you store food or other preparation items at your destination beforehand.

You MUST have a plan to get to your bug out location.

  • Plan several possible routes and have a paper map you can use to get there.
  • If it's further than a tank of gas from your home you need to plan accordingly.
  • Make sure that your vehicle can accommodate all of the gear AND your family.

DO NOT leave your home if you're not entirely confident you can make it to your intended destination. That is how you and your family end up as refugees.

Here's a great cheat for deciding whether to bug in or bug out from "Beginner Emergency Survival Preparedness" by Jason Ross.

KEEP GEAR ORGANIZED

KNOW WHAT YOU HAVE & WHAT YOU NEED