Build a starter emergency kit from what you own

What you need

The Be Ready checklist covers 3 days at home. Your starter kit needs something from each group:

• Water: 3 litres per person, per day, for drinking.
• Food: things that keep and that your household normally eats.
• Hygiene: hand sanitiser, wet wipes and bathroom products.
• Light and warmth: a torch, spare batteries and warm layers.
• Communication: an FM radio and a charged power bank.
• Money and documents: cash, cards, copies of key papers and a list of numbers.
• Medical: a first aid kit and your essential medicines.
• Baby and pets: if they apply to you.

You also need one place to keep it all. Use a box, crate or bag you already have.

What you probably already own

Take a box and walk around your home. Use this list as you go.

Kitchen

• Clean plastic bottles or jugs with lids, for tap water.
• Tins of beans, soup, fish or vegetables.
• Dried fruit, nuts, crackers and cereal bars.
• A manual tin opener.
• Bin bags and food bags.

Bathroom

• Plasters, a thermometer and antiseptic cream.
• Painkillers you normally use.
• Spare toilet roll and period products.
• Wet wipes and hand gel.

Bedrooms and airing cupboard

• Spare blankets or a duvet.
• Sleeping bags.
• Hats, gloves, thick socks and fleeces.
• Hot water bottles.

Hall, drawers and shed

• Torches and loose batteries.
• A head torch from camping or running.
• An old radio that runs on batteries.
• Power banks and phone cables.
• Spare keys.

Desk or filing drawer

• Copies of passports, birth certificates and insurance details.
• Instructions for any medical equipment.
• A few notes and coins.

Write it down

Make a paper list with:

• Emergency contacts.
• Your power cut number, 105, or 03457 643643 in Northern Ireland.
• Everyone’s regular medicines and doses.
• The frequencies of local radio stations.

Fill the water

Fill your clean bottles from the cold kitchen tap. Label them with the date. Swap them every 6 months. Our guide on how much water to store has more tips.

What to buy, if anything

Now tick off what you found. Most homes are left with only a few gaps. Our checklist tool shows you what is missing.

Low-cost ways to fill the gaps

• Add one item to your normal shop each week, such as a tin or a pack of batteries.
• Buy food you will eat anyway. Then you can use it and replace it without waste.
• Check what friends or family have spare. Many people have an unused torch or power bank.
• Charity shops sometimes have blankets and radios.

The most common gaps

• An FM radio that works without mains power. See our guide to wind-up radios.
• A power bank. See our guide to power banks for power cuts.
• A bright torch or lantern. See our guide to torches and lanterns.

You do not need a ready-made kit. If you are thinking about one, our page on ready-made versus DIY kits compares the two.

For the full list, read what to put in an emergency kit.