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Kits and Planning

Go-bags, documents, and the plan

When you leave in a hurry or the systems are down, paper and cash carry you. Keep copies of what matters, money that works without power, and the small comforts that hold morale.

Start with the full guide

Field guideStockpile Essentials Field GuideThe master checklist: 239 items across 16 categories, the shelf life class of each, and the 20 multi-use items that cover the most jobs. 39 pages.Open the field guide

Field guideWalk-Around Preparedness AuditA walk through your home and land that scores 15 systems from 1 to 5 across 200 checkpoints. The lowest score is where to work next. 33 pages.Open the field guide

Field guideThe Preparedness LogbookThe one paper document that holds who to call, what everyone needs, where the shutoffs are, and what is on the shelf. 25 sections, 30 pages.Open the field guide Master guideWhat to Stock: The Long Shelf Life Master ListOne list of what to stock, sorted by need, with the real shelf life of each item, how to store it, and the products I buy.Open the full page

Do the paperwork once, keep it forever

A single waterproof folder of copies, plus a record of your gear, plans, and supplies, is worth its weight in a crisis. The Preparedness Logbook field guide is built to hold all of it in one place.

Type

Event

Skills 1

Skill Packing a Backpack: Heavy Close and Centered, Light on Top, and the Things You Need Outside Heavy against the spine between the shoulder blades; bulky and soft below it; light on top; the things you need all day outside

Guides 19

Guide After a Flood: The Supplies That Matter, in the Order They Matter Water first, then dry and warm, then power and cleanup; floodwater is never a water source Guide Barter Items Worth Stocking: What People Actually Trade for When Money Stops Working Small, cheap, consumable and hard to make at home is what trades: lighters, batteries, coffee, tobacco, soap, salt and seeds beat gold every time Guide Camping Essentials: The Top 10, the Full Campsite List and the Backpacking Cut The top three are water and a way to purify it, the right clothing, and the right food; everything else on the list is comfort Guide Car Survival Kit: Two Bags That Cover a Dead Battery, a Flat, a Ditch and a Night in the Cold Two bags: a large one under the back seat for recovery, repair and warmth, a small one in the glove box for the tools you reach for first Guide FEMA 2024 National Household Survey Findings 83 percent took at least three preparedness actions, up from 57 percent in 2023 Guide Off-Grid Property: What to Check Before You Buy the Land Water you can legally use, sun for the panels, a road you can drive in February, and zoning that lets you live there: check those four before anything else Guide Overnight Readiness Pack Loadout (Breakwater Fogland 25L) Fogland 25L: IP68 submersible, 2.1 lbs empty, floats with over 40 lbs of gear Guide Preparing Your Home: The Seven Systems That Keep a House Running Without the Grid A house that can run three days with no grid, no tap and no phone covers nearly every emergency most families will ever see; build toward two weeks from there Guide Survival Bucket for Under $300 from Walmart Everything fits in one 5 gallon bucket and costs under $300 at Walmart Guide Sweden's "In Case of Crisis or War" Pamphlet: Key Lessons Sweden's target: self-sufficient for at least a week, three liters of water per person per day. I store 1 gallon per person per day for at least two weeks Guide The Backup Laptop: What Goes on It, How It Is Stored, and the Faraday Case It Lives In Wiped laptop, every document and map loaded, powered off at 50 to 80 percent charge, sealed in a Faraday bag, booted twice a year Guide The Bug-Out Bag: 72 Hours on Your Back, Packed by the Problem It Solves One packed bag per person, 72 hours of supplies, by the door; the bag is packed for weight on your back, the grab-and-go box for reach at the truck Guide The Drive by the Door: Photograph Everything You Own and Keep the Papers Where a Fire Cannot Reach Them Three copies: the computer, a portable SSD in a Faraday jacket and fireproof bag, and a second drive at a relative's house Guide The Grab-and-Go Kit: One Box That Covers Water, Fire, Bleeding, Navigation and Contact One sealed box, packed by problem: water, fire, cooking, navigation, bleeding, contact, repairs; tools live in a separate kit Guide The Pill Bottle Survival Kit: 16 Things in a Bottle That Fits Any Pocket The kit you always have beats the kit you left in the truck: 16 items, one bottle, a few ounces Guide The Print Shelf: 21 Books to Own for When the Internet Is Not There A printed book needs no battery, signal or power; buy the medical, the preserving and the reference books first Guide What to Stock: The Long Shelf Life Master List Most of the best things to stock are cheap, dry, and keep for a decade or longer: salt, honey, white rice, wheat berries, vinegar, baking soda, and pool shock. Guide Why Bugging Out Early Is a Mistake Prepare to leave, but plan to stay Guide Wilderness Survival: The First Hour, the Order of Work, and the Skills That Get You Found Rule of threes: 3 hours without shelter, 3 days without water, 3 weeks without food. Shelter first, food last

Reference charts 2

Reference Emergency Scenarios: Find Your Situation, Fast Find the situation, note the compound, open the recipe. Reference Find a Recipe by What You Need to Do (Cross-Reference Index) Look up the need, open the chapter, pick the recipe.

Tools 1

Tool Missing Child Information Checklist Compile it ahead of time, store it securely and review it periodically

Audit questions

From the walk-around audit. Tap a question for what a good answer looks like.

Who are you responsible for, including part-time and elderly family?

Count everyone the plan has to carry: the household, the parent across town, the kid home from college, the neighbor who will come to your door. Good means the roster is written, with each person's needs, in the Preparedness Logbook, and every number on this site is multiplied by it.

Does anyone have special needs: infant, elderly, disability, medical device?

Formula, diapers, a walker, a CPAP, oxygen, a powered chair: each one is a supply line or a power load the plan has to cover first. Good means each need is written next to the name and its supplies and power are sized before anything else. Medical Preparedness covers the medical side.

Are pets and livestock counted in every plan?

A dog drinks a gallon a day; the goats need hay and unfrozen water; evacuation means crates and carriers. Good means the animals are on the roster with their feed, water, medicine and a way to move them. The grab-and-go kit includes theirs.

Who handles water, food, and first aid?

If the answer is 'me' for all three, the plan fails the day you are hurt or away. Good means each job has a name and a backup, and the person who owns water knows where the drums, the filter and the pool shock are without asking.

Who handles defense and communication?

Good means one person owns the radios, the check-in schedule and the out-of-area contact, another owns the doors, lights and watch, and both have trained a backup. The communication plan and the security page describe the two jobs.

Who is responsible for children, the elderly, and animals?

In an evacuation someone has to be holding the kid, the leash and grandmother's medication list while everyone else loads the truck. Good means that person is named, is not also the one carrying water, and the children know the meeting points and how to call for help and give the address.

Score this in the audit

Common mistake

Keeping the only copy of everything on a phone or in the cloud.

Skills to learn

build a document kit · plan a route · manage a cash reserve

When it matters

Blackout Winter Storm Wildfire and Evacuation Flood Water Outage EMP Rising Prices and Shortages

Kits and Planning

Skills 1

Guides 19

Reference charts 2

Tools 1

The checklist

Documents, Cash and Comfort The boring stock that saves the day

Everyone in the Household The needs that do not fit a general list

Bug-Out and Go-Bags One packed bag, ready to walk out the door

Audit questions

When it matters