Emergency preparedness kit checklist: what FEMA and Ready.gov say to keep at home

Ready.gov is the federal government's preparedness site, run by FEMA. Its Build a Kit page is what most people mean by a "FEMA emergency kit" or a "72-hour kit". Below is the full list, with water worked out for two-person and four-person homes, plus the details people usually miss, such as what to do with the fridge in a power outage and why cash matters. Ready.gov blocks automated access, so we checked its current wording through its indexed pages and published PDFs on 29 October 2026.

What is on the FEMA emergency kit list?

Ready.gov splits its list in two: a basic kit that every home should have, and additional supplies that depend on your household. The table covers the basic kit. Where FEMA gives no number, we say so rather than invent one, and we have not added prices because FEMA does not publish any.

Source: Ready.gov Build A Kit, checked 29 October 2026. Ready.gov says to store items in airtight plastic bags and keep the whole kit in one or two easy-to-carry containers.

Additional supplies to consider

Ready.gov's second list is about your own household. It includes prescription and non-prescription medications, glasses and contact lens solution, infant supplies, pet food and extra water for pets, cash or traveler's checks, copies of important family documents, a sleeping bag or warm blanket for each person, a fire extinguisher, matches in a waterproof container, feminine and personal hygiene supplies, mess kits or paper cups and plates, paper and pencil, and activities for children. Ready.gov says the list is only a starting point and that you should add what your family needs.

Is a 72-hour kit the same as a FEMA kit?

Close enough. Older Ready.gov checklists asked for supplies for at least three days, which is where the popular "72-hour kit" name comes from. The current Build a Kit page uses the phrase "several days" instead. FEMA's in-depth guide, Are You Ready?, goes further on water: depending on where you live, it says you may wish to keep 3, 7 or even 14 days on hand. Three days is the floor, not the goal.

How much water do you need?

FEMA's rule is one gallon per person per day, covering drinking and sanitation. Water is heavy and dull to buy, so it is the item people skimp on most. The table shows the totals for common household sizes.

Our arithmetic from the Ready.gov rate. The 7 and 14 day columns follow FEMA's Are You Ready? guide, which suggests 3, 7 or 14 days depending on where you live. Add water for pets.

How do you plan the food?

Ready.gov asks for non-perishable food for several days. The practical way to plan is per meal: three days for a family of four is 36 meals, so count how many cans, pouches, crackers and snacks that really takes. Choose food your household already eats, so stock gets used and replaced rather than thrown away.

• Keep a manual can opener with the food. An electric one is useless in an outage.
• Store it well. Ready.gov says to keep canned food in a cool, dry place and boxed food in tightly closed containers.
• Bin damaged cans. FEMA's Are You Ready? guide says to throw out any can that is expired, swollen, dented or corroded.
• Think about special diets, allergies, infant supplies and pet food.

What should you do in a power outage?

A power outage is the most likely reason you will open the kit, and it brings other problems with it. Card readers, ATMs, chargers, routers and many heating systems all need electricity. Ready.gov's power outage advice covers the main risks:

• Keep the fridge shut. An unopened refrigerator keeps food cold for about four hours; a full freezer holds its temperature for about 48 hours.
• Throw out risky food. Discard perishable food that has been above 40 degrees Fahrenheit for two hours or more.
• Use generators outside only, at least 20 feet from windows, doors and attached garages.
• Fit carbon monoxide detectors on every level of your home, and never heat your home with a gas stove or oven.
• Keep a radio and a charged backup battery so you can follow alerts.

Why does FEMA list cash?

Because when the power or the payment network goes down, a card stops working. Ready.gov's financial preparedness page says to keep a small amount of cash at home in a safe place, because ATMs and credit cards may not work during a disaster when you need supplies, fuel or food. FEMA's Emergency Financial First Aid Kit (EFFAK) ties the amount to your household's basic daily needs and says to store it with the kit.

FEMA does not set a dollar figure. Its Are You Ready? guide does suggest small bills, with twenties as the largest, because stores may not be able to make change. Our guide to how much cash to keep at home works out a realistic number from USDA food cost data and explains the insurance limits on cash.

Home kit, go bag or car kit: what is the difference?

Ready.gov suggests more than one kit: a full kit at home and smaller portable kits at work, in the car or anywhere else you spend time. It also says to keep a kit of emergency supplies in your car in case you are stranded.

The home kit column follows the Ready.gov list. Ready.gov does not publish a separate itemized go bag or car list, so those columns are our reading of the same checklist: the items you could not easily replace if you had to leave.

How do you keep the kit up to date?

Ready.gov's current advice is to replace expired items as needed and rethink your needs every year, updating the kit as your family changes. FEMA's older Are You Ready? guide suggests a check every six months. Either way, putting a fixed date in your calendar makes it easier to remember. Building it gradually during normal shopping trips also spreads the cost.

September is National Preparedness Month. FEMA's 2026 theme was "Americans Stand Ready", with materials at Ready.gov for households and community groups.

Where does gold fit, beyond the first few days?

Briefly: not in your emergency kit. Gold is a poor emergency currency. Stores do not price groceries in ounces, a one-ounce coin is worth thousands of dollars and cannot be split to make change, and bullion dealers may be closed or offline in a disaster. FEMA lists cash for a reason.

There is also an insurance catch. The standard HO-3 homeowners form published by the Insurance Information Institute limits theft cover for "money, bank notes, bullion, gold" and coins to $200 per loss unless you buy extra cover. Your own policy may differ, so check it before keeping gold or cash at home.

Where some people do use gold is as a long-term store of value outside the banking system, which is a separate decision from a few days of supplies. Physical gold is not a promise from a bank, but it is not FDIC-insured either, its price can fall, and it pays no interest. Read whether gold is a safe haven for how it behaved in past crises, and US gold storage options for where to keep it. For the wider plan, including what protects your bank balance, see our beginner's prepping guide and what happens if a bank fails. For buying gold in the US, start at our US gold hub.

Not financial advice. GoldVetted provides general information to help you compare options. It is not personal financial, tax or legal advice. Gold prices go down as well as up, and you may get back less than you pay. Check tax rules with the official source or a qualified adviser before you act.