Household Checklist
Evacuation Bag Checklist. Every item in the bag checked, charged, and current.
An evacuation bag is a maintenance habit as much as a purchase. Food expires, medications change, power banks drain, and clothes stop matching the season. This checklist tracks every item in the bag and when each one needs attention, so the bag works on the day you have to leave.
22
items in six sections
3 days
of water per person, staged for the car
7 days
medication buffer
2x/yr
March and November reset
Section 1
Water and Food.
The bag carries what you would drink on a walk and a way to make more. The full three days of water, the Red Cross evacuation standard, waits beside the bag in sealed cases and rides in the car.
Water
- Carry one liter of water, a filter, and chlorine dioxide tablets
- Stage three days of water per person beside the bag, ready for the car
Food
- Pack three days of food that needs no cooking
Section 2
Light, Radio, and Power.
A headlamp keeps both hands free, a NOAA weather radio carries official alerts when the phone cannot, and a charged power bank keeps the phone working for the calls that matter.
Power and Lighting
- Store a headlamp that takes replaceable batteries, plus two spare sets
- Keep a charged power bank and the cable your phone uses
Communications
- Get a battery-powered or hand-crank NOAA weather radio
Section 3
Health and Air.
A week of medication, a written list of what you take, a first aid kit you have actually opened, and N95 respirators for smoke and dust.
Medical
- Pack a first aid kit you have opened and restocked
- Build a 7-day medication buffer
- Write your medication list with dosages and contacts
- Keep a supply of N95 respirators and learn to fit them
Section 4
Shelter and Clothing.
Clothes are the first shelter. A tarp is the second. Shoes you have already walked in are what make the rest of the bag usable.
Shelter and Safety
- Pack a tarp and 50 feet of cord
- Pack a full change of clothes for the coldest night you are likely to get
- Keep broken-in walking shoes next to the bag
Section 5
Tools and Sanitation.
A few small tools cover repairs and signaling. Sanitation supplies keep a household healthy away from running water.
Tools
- Pack a multitool with pliers, a blade, and a can opener
- Pack two ways to start a fire, kept dry
Communications
- Attach a whistle to the outside of the bag
Sanitation
- Pack wipes, toilet paper, soap, and trash bags
Section 6
Documents, Cash, and the Plan.
Paper copies prove who you are when the phone is dead. Small bills work when card readers do not. The meeting point and contacts turn a bag into a plan.
Documents
- Keep copies of key documents in a waterproof pouch
- Write your emergency contacts and keep a printed copy
Financial Resilience
- Pack cash in small bills
Transportation
- Pack a paper map of your region and a simple compass
Evacuation
- Identify your household meeting point and one out-of-area contact
Gear
Essentials. Start here.
A NOAA weather radio, a real first aid kit, and water staged for the car cover the items people most often skip.
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