Personal Safety & Emergency Basics
A household emergency plan, tailored stay and go supplies, contact and document system, hazard cards, and completed practice drill.
Household Emergency Planning Kit
Build a practical communication, supplies and access plan before an emergency occurs.
You’ll make: A locally informed communication plan, supply inventory, access questions and review calendar.
Before you begin
Households, people living alone, trusted supporters and learners planning a fictional household.
- Use a fictional household if you do not want to record private details.
- Find your local official emergency-management and warning information.
- List ordinary access, transport and communication needs without sharing diagnoses or exact addresses.
Take it one step at a time
Find the local instructions
Different hazards call for different actions and warnings.
- Identify the official local warning channels and emergency-management information; record where to check updates.
- Choose two relevant hazards and write which official instructions you would follow for each.
- Ask about accessible warning formats, transport or shelter arrangements relevant to the household.
- Discuss the plan with household members without attempting a hazardous drill or ignoring an actual warning.
Check: The plan names official information sources and does not use the same response for every hazard.
Plan communication and meeting
People may be apart when normal communication is interrupted.
- Agree on a household check-in method and an alternative if a phone or internet connection fails.
- Choose an appropriate local meeting option and an alternative according to official guidance; keep exact locations in a private version.
- Confirm that any chosen out-of-area contact or support person agrees to the role.
- Make a minimal private contact card and ensure each appropriate person can access it without unlocking someone else’s account.
Check: Household members can explain the check-in method, backup and agreed contact role.
Inventory before buying
Supplies should fit actual needs and avoid duplicate purchases.
- Use the official emergency-supply guidance to list water, food, light, communications and other household-specific needs.
- Mark what is already available, usable and portable, then identify gaps and any expiry or replacement dates.
- Ask qualified providers about prescribed-medication continuity or powered-equipment needs when relevant; do not invent a medical backup plan.
- Budget for a manageable next purchase using actual quotes, and identify local support if a required need cannot be met.
Check: The inventory distinguishes existing supplies, gaps and questions requiring a qualified answer.
Review the plan safely
A paper plan is stronger when people can find and explain it.
- Walk through the plan verbally in a safe setting and check that members can find the private contact card.
- Review escape/access information using official guidance; do not enter hazards, operate unfamiliar utility controls or test medical equipment unsupervised.
- Store supplies where appropriate authorized people can find them and note maintenance or expiry reviews.
- Set a review after a household change and a regular calendar check; update one identified gap.
Check: A safe discussion reveals any missing contact, access or supply step and assigns a follow-up.
Your ready-to-use checklist
Checks are temporary and are not saved to your account. Download your current checklist before leaving or reloading. The kit ZIP contains the original blank checklist.
0 of 10 checked
Your checklist download is a text file with your current checked and unchecked items. You can add notes in your own app. It does not save an account record.
A fictional first supply purchase after an inventory
A practice household has a $60 one-time allowance and already owns other necessary supplies. The listed purchases are illustrative inputs, not a complete kit or local price claims.
Edits are temporary and are not saved to your account. Download your current budget before leaving or reloading. The kit ZIP and supplied-budget link contain the original example.
One-time costs $50.00
Monthly costs $0.00
One-time allowance left $10.00
This comparison covers only the listed costs. Add any omitted commitments in your downloaded worksheet.
Supplied example reasoning: The selected one-time purchases total $50, leaving $10. If the water-storage quote rises to $20, the total is $58 and the balance is $2. Money left over does not prove the household is prepared: compare quantities, needs and missing items with official guidance. The table does not cover every emergency need, prescribed-care requirement or evacuation cost.
The one-time allowance is compared only with one-time costs. Any monthly costs need a separate ongoing budget. Use fictional numbers here. Your budget download includes current inputs and separate period totals. CSV totals are a snapshot, with no formulas; recalculate them after editing and add only rows labeled cost, never the allowance or summary rows.
Write your next-step plan
Use the worksheet in the kit, or a notebook. Fictional answers are enough for practice.
- Which official local warning and instruction sources will you use?
- Which two hazards are relevant, and how do their instructions differ?
- What is the household check-in method and backup?
- Which role has agreed to help if local communication is disrupted?
- Which supplies are available, usable and due for review?
- What access, prescribed-care or equipment question needs qualified guidance?
- Which next purchase or support request addresses a verified gap?
- When will the household review and safely discuss the plan again?
Keep learning in the Course Library
These courses are for learners ages 14 and older. Open a course to check its preparation and project requirements.
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Sources and scope
This kit prepares a paper plan and is not emergency-response certification. During an actual emergency, use current official instructions and appropriate emergency services. Do not undertake hazardous drills, operate unfamiliar utilities, or use generators or fuel-burning equipment in enclosed spaces. Medical and powered-device backup needs require qualified guidance. Keep actual contacts, locations and health information private.
- Ready.gov: make a household emergency plan
- Ready.gov: emergency supplies
- U.S. Fire Administration: prepare for home fires
- National Weather Service: family severe-weather planning
LifeStarter’s guide and fictional examples are original. External resources keep their publishers’ terms.