Preparedness guides
Practical steps for households, organized into five areas. Every safety claim links to an official source.
Take the 2-minute readiness quiz Start with the Home Readiness Plan
Practice
Drills and a plan that ties it all together.
Your Home Readiness Plan
One plan that organizes home prep into five areas and builds it up in stages, starting with 3 days.
The Power-Out Weekend Drill
Practice a planned power outage at home for a day so you find the gaps while it's easy to fix them.
Energy
Power, fuel, heat and light.
Battery Audit: Know What You Have and Keep It Charged
Count every battery size your gear uses, keep coin cells away from kids, keep chargers and power banks topped up, and size a power station with simple watt-hour math.
Fuel Storage: How Much Gas to Keep and How to Keep It Safe
Figure out how much fuel your car and generator really need, store it in approved cans outside your living space, and rotate it before it goes stale.
Fuel Transfer Pumps and Water-Separating Filters
Move fuel from cans to engines without spills or sparks, and filter out water before it reaches your small engines.
Generators: Test Runs, Spare Parts, and a Safe Cord Plan
Test your generator on a schedule, keep the parts it eats on hand, plan your extension cords ahead of time, and always run it far from the house.
Maintenance Spares: The Parts and Tools That Keep Gear Running
Keep the oil, filters, plugs, chainsaw parts, and basic tools your equipment needs, and track upkeep in a dated log.
Propane: Topping Off, Storing, and Checking Your Tanks
Fill propane tanks before storm season, store them upright outdoors, check for leaks with soapy water, and know when a tank is too old to refill.
Supply
Food and a pantry you actually eat from.
Build Your Own Food Storage or Buy a Kit?
An honest side-by-side of building your own food storage and buying pre-packed long-term kits, plus the one calculation that tells you the real cost per day.
Build a Backup Pantry in Three Tiers
Build a backup pantry in layers: extras of what you already eat, then bulk staples, then fats, vegetables, proteins, and seasonings, sized with simple calorie math.
Reserve
Budget, cash, documents, spares and security.
Keeping Your Home Secure in an Emergency
Simple, legal ways to protect your home, documents and supplies before, during and after a disaster.
Preparing on a Budget, Without Debt
Get ready step by step with free planning first, then one or two extra items per grocery trip, and never with borrowed money.
Water, medicine and safety
Water, medicine, first aid, fire and carbon monoxide.
Heat and Fire Safety: Staying Warm Without Power
Stay warm safely when the power is out, care for wood stoves and chimneys, use space heaters correctly, and keep extinguishers and alarms ready.
Medicine, First Aid, and Key Documents
Work out a medicine buffer with your doctor or pharmacist, keep a written medicine list, stock a family first aid kit, plan for medical devices that need power, and protect copies of your key documents.
Emergency Water: How Much to Store, How to Keep It, How to Make It Safe
Store at least a gallon per person per day, keep it clean and dated, and know how to boil, disinfect, or filter water if your supply runs out.
Communications
Radios, alerts, contact plans and evacuation.