What to Put in a 72-Hour Emergency Kit: A Practical Household Checklist

TLDR: A useful 72 hour emergency kit checklist starts with water, ready-to-eat food, essential medications, first aid, lighting, communication equipment, hygiene supplies, clothing, cash, and copies of critical documents. Store at least one gallon of water per person per day for three days, then add supplies for pets, children, disabilities, medical equipment, and dietary restrictions. Keep bulky supplies at home and a smaller, portable go-kit ready for evacuation.

A 72-hour kit is a household emergency supply baseline, not a wilderness-survival pack or a guarantee that outside help will arrive within three days. It should support your household during an outage, storm, evacuation, or other disruption when stores, utilities, transportation, and communication may be limited.

Start with supplies that address immediate health and safety. Once those are covered, improve comfort and resilience with extra clothing, sanitation items, backup charging, tools, and copies of household records. If you are starting from scratch, you can use this checklist alongside our guide to building a family emergency kit from ordinary supplies.

Quick-start essentials

Water for every person, plus additional water required by pets or medical needs
Nonperishable food that household members can safely eat
Prescription medications and essential medical supplies
First-aid kit
Flashlights or headlamps with compatible spare batteries
Battery-powered or hand-crank radio
Phone-charging equipment and backup power
Printed contact information and local maps
Copies of important documents and cash in small denominations
Weather-appropriate clothing, sturdy shoes, and blankets
Hygiene and sanitation supplies
Infant, pet, disability, dietary, and caregiver-specific supplies

How much water and food do you need?

The baseline in Ready.gov’s basic emergency supply checklist is one gallon of water per person per day for drinking and sanitation, with at least a three-day supply. That means one person needs at least three gallons, while a household of four needs at least 12 gallons for three days. This is a people-based minimum; pets, certain health conditions, hot weather, and other circumstances can increase the amount required.

Water is heavy, so divide it according to how the kit will be used. Keep the full household quantity in an accessible home location, but place a practical carryable amount in each evacuation bag. Your evacuation plan should identify where you could obtain additional safe water rather than assuming one person can carry the entire household supply.

Choose at least three days of nonperishable food. Favor familiar items that can be eaten without cooking, extensive preparation, or large amounts of water. Ready.gov also includes a manual can opener in its basic kit guidance.

Canned meat, fish, beans, fruit, or vegetables with a manual can opener
Nut or seed butter if appropriate for the household
Crackers, tortillas, cereal, or other shelf-stable staples
Shelf-stable milk or an appropriate alternative
Ready-to-eat meals that do not require heating
Food for allergies, medical diets, infants, and other individual needs
Disposable utensils and a small supply of paper towels
Pet food packed separately from human food

Avoid building the entire food plan around salty foods or meals that require boiling water. Pack foods your household already tolerates, and check that everyone can open the packaging. Households managing allergies or other restrictions can use a more detailed emergency food plan for special diets.

72-hour emergency kit checklist

Lighting, power, and communication

Flashlight or headlamp for each adult or responsible older child
Spare batteries in the correct sizes
Battery-powered or hand-crank radio
Phone cables and wall and vehicle adapters
Charged power bank assigned to priority phones or medical devices
Whistle for signaling
Printed household contact list
Local road map and marked meeting locations

A phone is valuable, but it should not be the only way to receive information. NOAA Weather Radio carries National Weather Service forecasts, watches, warnings, and other hazard information. Alert-capable receivers can sound notifications for urgent events, although reception and alert coverage vary by location. Check your local transmitter coverage before depending on a radio.

Power banks also need a maintenance routine. Assign available charging capacity to communication and health needs before entertainment, and include cables that actually fit the devices in the kit. A written emergency phone-charging plan can prevent several household members from draining the same backup battery early in an outage.

First aid, medications, and medical devices

A stocked first-aid kit and instructions
Prescription medications stored as permitted by their labels and your care plan
Nonprescription medicines your household routinely uses
Copies of prescriptions and a current medication list
Glasses, contact-lens supplies, hearing-aid batteries, and other daily aids
Medical-device chargers, backup batteries, adapters, or manual alternatives
Cooling equipment and a power plan for temperature-sensitive medication
Written medical, allergy, and emergency-care information
Face coverings, disposable gloves, and hand sanitizer

Personalize this section rather than treating a general checklist as complete. CDC guidance calls attention to medications, medical supplies, assistive technology, specialty foods, infant supplies, and pet needs. Disability-focused guidance also recommends planning for communication aids, mobility supports, accessible storage, charging, backup power, and refrigerated medications where applicable.

Documents and cash

Photo identification copies
Insurance policy and contact information
Medical information and medication lists
Property, vehicle, lease, or mortgage records relevant to recovery
Emergency contacts, including an out-of-area contact
Pet identification and veterinary information
Copies of household emergency and evacuation plans
Cash in small denominations
A waterproof document pouch

CDC preparedness guidance identifies identity documents, insurance information, medical records, property records, emergency contacts, and cash as useful emergency paperwork and financial resources. Keep portable copies in the kit, but do not put every original document in a bag that could be lost or stolen. Secure originals appropriately and protect digital copies with suitable access controls.

Clothing, warmth, hygiene, and sanitation

Change of clothes for each person
Season-appropriate layers, rain protection, and warm hats where needed
Sturdy, closed-toe shoes
Work gloves
Blankets or compact emergency blankets
Toilet paper, moist wipes, soap, and hand sanitizer
Toothbrushes and toothpaste
Menstrual products and continence supplies
Diapers, wipes, and diaper-disposal bags
Trash bags with ties
Personal hygiene products and spare masks

Pack clothing by season and evacuation conditions, not just by the calendar date when you assembled the kit. The American Red Cross includes sanitation supplies, extra clothing, sturdy shoes, blankets, documents, and cash in its emergency-kit guidance.

Tools and practical household items

Manual can opener
Multipurpose tool or basic hand tools
Wrench or pliers for utility shutoff, if appropriate for your home and local guidance
Duct tape and plastic sheeting for general temporary repairs
Fire extinguisher appropriate for the home
Waterproof matches or a lighter, stored safely
Paper, pencil, and permanent marker
Spare house and vehicle keys
Local maps
Copies of relevant utility shutoff instructions

Ready.gov includes a whistle, local maps, sanitation items, a manual can opener, and a wrench or pliers for turning off utilities in its basic guidance. Learn the correct procedure before an emergency; do not operate a utility valve merely because a tool is available. Follow directions from the utility or local emergency officials.

Keep a home supply cache and a portable go-kit

One bag rarely handles both sheltering at home and evacuating on foot. A home cache can hold the full water supply, additional food, blankets, sanitation materials, and larger backup-power equipment. A go-kit should prioritize what household members can realistically carry: medications, medical equipment, documents, communication tools, some water and food, clothing, and immediate hygiene supplies.

Home supply cache	Portable go-kit
Full three-day water baseline and additional household water	A carryable water supply plus a plan to obtain more
Bulk food and sanitation supplies	Compact, ready-to-eat food
Larger lighting and backup-power equipment	Headlamp, radio, power bank, and cables
Extra bedding and clothing	One practical clothing change and weather layer
Household tools and repair materials	Only essential lightweight tools
Secure records and replacement supplies	Portable document copies, contacts, medications, and cash

Place go-kits near an exit that remains accessible, but account for children, theft risk, temperature extremes, and medication-storage requirements. If household members spend substantial time at work, school, or in a vehicle, consider smaller location-specific kits rather than assuming everyone will be home.

Add supplies your household cannot safely do without

Babies and children

Add diapers, wipes, formula or safe feeding supplies, bottles, familiar foods, medications, comfort items, and copies of caregiver contacts. Include age-appropriate identification and make sure another responsible adult understands feeding, medication, and care routines. CDC provides a dedicated emergency checklist for pregnant people, infants, and children.

Pets and service animals

Pack food, water, bowls, medication, a leash or harness, waste bags, a carrier where appropriate, vaccination information, identification, and a recent photo. Add bedding or another familiar item if space permits. Determine in advance which evacuation locations accept pets and what documentation a service animal may need.

Disability, access, and caregiver needs

Include mobility-device accessories, communication boards, written instructions, backup batteries, charging equipment, hearing-aid supplies, sensory items, and accessible packaging. Store essential items where the person who needs them can reach and identify them. If evacuation requires physical assistance, assign people and backup people before an emergency.

Dietary restrictions and chronic health needs

Pack foods that are safe for each person, including any preparation tools needed to use them. Account for glucose monitoring, ostomy supplies, respiratory equipment, injectable medication, refrigeration, and waste disposal where relevant. CDC emphasizes adapting emergency supplies to personal health needs rather than relying solely on a standard kit.

Prescription medication may require more than three days

Medication planning does not fit one universal quantity. CDC disability-preparedness guidance says to consider keeping at least a one-week supply of prescription medicine, while its checklist for pregnant people, infants, and children recommends at least two weeks of prescriptions. Supply limits, insurance rules, controlled-substance regulations, expiration dates, and storage requirements may affect what is possible.

Ask a pharmacist or clinician how to maintain continuity safely. Discuss refills, prescription copies, dosing information, refrigeration, transport, backup power, and what to do if a dose is delayed. Never change dosing or transfer medicine to an unsuitable container simply to fit it into a bag.

Make communication part of the kit

Equipment helps only when the household has a plan for using it. Print phone numbers because a damaged or dead phone may make stored contacts inaccessible. Choose an out-of-area contact who can receive status updates when local lines are congested, and designate one nearby meeting place plus another outside the neighborhood.

Write down each household member’s phone number, workplace or school, medical contacts, and evacuation assistance needs.
Choose primary and backup meeting locations.
Assign one out-of-area contact and give that person the household plan.
Mark evacuation routes, shelters, hospitals, and important addresses on a paper map.
Place a copy in each go-kit and give one to every household member who can carry it.
Practice sending a short status message and explain when household members should call, text, or conserve battery power.

Store and maintain the kit

Use clearly labeled, water-resistant containers and divide supplies into modules such as food, first aid, documents, lighting, and sanitation. This makes it easier to find one item without unloading everything. Put frequently needed medical and communication equipment where it can be reached first.

Review the kit every six months. CDC’s checklist for pregnant people, infants, and children specifically recommends checking expiration dates and equipment functionality on that schedule. Also inspect the kit after using supplies and whenever medications, household members, addresses, pets, dietary needs, or seasonal hazards change.

Replace expired food, medicine, and first-aid supplies appropriately
Inspect water containers for leaks or damage
Test flashlights, radios, alarms, cables, and power banks
Recharge batteries and replace damaged charging cables
Update clothing sizes and seasonal layers
Update contacts, insurance information, prescriptions, and identification copies
Confirm that every household member knows where the kits are
Reassess whether each portable bag is still manageable for its intended carrier

Build the kit in stages if money is limited

Do not delay the entire project while trying to buy every optional item. Start with supplies that protect health and communication, using suitable household items you already own when practical.

Store the three-day water baseline and familiar nonperishable food.
Organize essential medications, medical supplies, and first aid.
Add flashlights, a radio, batteries, charging cables, and a power bank.
Print contacts, plans, and document copies; add small-denomination cash as your budget allows.
Pack clothing, blankets, hygiene supplies, and sanitation materials.
Add household-specific and location-specific items.
Upgrade containers, organization, and backup equipment after the essentials are covered.

The best next step is simple: calculate your household’s minimum water requirement, gather the medications and medical equipment nobody can safely go without, and place those needs at the top of a written checklist. Then build the home cache and portable go-kits around the people who will actually use them.