The Complete 72-Hour Kit Checklist for Your Family

Why Three Days

Ready.gov tells households to store at least a three-day supply of food and water, and at least one gallon of water per person per day for drinking and sanitation. That is the public recommendation. It is a starting point. Some disasters interrupt help for longer than three days. We are not attaching a day count to Katrina, Maria, or any other named storm in this article, because those durations vary by neighborhood and we are not citing a single official timeline for them.

Build the three-day kit first. Add more when you can.

The Core List

Water

1 gallon per person per day, so 3 gallons per person for 72 hours
A portable filter or purification tablets as backup
A clean container you can refill

If you have to treat water, use CDC's instructions: a rolling boil for one minute, or three minutes above 6,500 feet.

Food

A three-day supply of food you will actually eat
A manual can opener
A few no-cook calories, such as bars or peanut butter, if the stove is out

First Aid

Assorted bandages, gauze, and tape
Antiseptic wipes
Tweezers and scissors
Pain relievers you already use
At least several days of prescription medications, more if your clinician will prescribe a longer emergency supply

Light and Information

A flashlight or headlamp and spare batteries, or a hand-crank light
A battery or hand-crank radio that receives NOAA weather alerts
A whistle
A charged phone battery

Extras That Earn Their Space

Ready.gov's basic list is the right foundation. These additions are ordinary household items that solve problems the basic list does not spell out. They are not secret omissions.

Cash in Small Bills

ATMs and card readers stop when power or data links stop. Keep small bills, ones through twenties, where you can grab them. A couple of hundred dollars is plenty for many families. There is no official dollar target.

Copies of Documents

Put photocopies or photos in a waterproof bag:

Identification for each person
Insurance cards and policy numbers
A lease or a record of the address
A list of medications and emergency contacts

An earlier version of this article said 40 percent of families displaced by Hurricane Harvey could not prove they owned their home. We are not repeating that figure. The practical step is the same: do not leave your only copies in a drawer that might flood.

Glasses and Comfort Items for Children

A spare pair of glasses belongs in the kit if someone needs them to function. For children, a small familiar toy, a crayon, and a snack lower the temperature of a bad night. That is care, not clutter.

Sanitation

Toilet paper, soap, and hand sanitizer
Heavy trash bags
Wipes
Menstrual supplies and diapers if your household uses them
A bucket with a tight lid, if you want a backup toilet

A Few Tools

A multi-tool
Duct tape and work gloves
Dust masks
A wrench for shutting off utilities, if your valves need one
Local paper maps

One Change of Clothes

Sturdy shoes, a rain layer, a warm layer, and extra socks. Swap them when the season changes.

Home Kit and Car Kit

The home kit can live in a bin. The car kit should be smaller and always in the vehicle: a blanket, water, a flashlight, jumper cables, and a paper map of your area. Ready.gov's winter guidance adds jumper cables, sand or cat litter for traction, warm clothes, and snacks if you drive in snow.

The Five-Minute Test

If you had to leave quickly, could one person grab one bag? Pack the kit. Put it near the door you would use. Tell everyone where it is. You do not need a story about a specific wildfire to justify that habit.

Keep It Current

Twice a year, when you change clocks or smoke-alarm batteries:

Rotate food and water
Replace medications that expired
Update the contact card
Swap clothes for the season
Test the flashlight and the radio

Where the App Helps

Prep Roadmap's first phase is named 72-Hour Basics. The tasks match this list: water at one gallon per person per day for three days, 72 hours of ready-to-eat food, a first-aid kit, light, a paper communication plan, document copies, and cash. Later phases extend the same idea toward two weeks and beyond. The roadmap is free on the website.

Check items off as you buy them. The best kit is the one that is actually in the closet.