Self-Reliance · Shelter · Shelter Basics
Shelter Basics: what a home must do.
This is the foundation for everything else in this section: what a home needs to provide during a disruption, from warmth and dryness to safety, information, and a place to think clearly. Start here before choosing where to focus your effort.
By Dan Whelan, founder of New World Survival
Researched from government agencies, university extension services, and other published sources. See our sources
Why this matters
In an emergency, a home has one job: keep working.
On average, power outages add up to a few hours a year. U.S. electricity customers averaged about five and a half hours of power interruptions in 2022, and outside major storms the yearly average has held near two hours since 2013.[1] The long outages come with big storms, and those are the ones worth planning for.
Short or long, the test is the same. Can your home keep everyone warm, dry, safe, informed, and calm enough to make good decisions? Those five jobs are the starting point for this whole section. A home that can do all five for a few days without outside help is in good shape, and the rest is refinement.
This area is written for renters and owners, apartments and houses. Nothing here needs special skills, and most of it costs little or nothing because it uses what you already own.
What this area covers
- The five jobs a home has to do when power, water, or heat stops
- A room-by-room walkthrough to find the gaps in your own home
- One known place for the basics: light, radio, first aid, power, and water
- How the right response changes with the hazard
- Not covered here: choosing generators or power systems (see Energy) and full supply lists (see Kits)
The five jobs
What a home has to do when the usual systems stop.
Each job has a few steps that matter most and a guide that goes deeper. Start with whichever one your home handles worst.
Job 1
Warmth and cooling
Keep everyone in a safe temperature range when the furnace or air conditioner stops.
- Choose one small room with few windows as the warm room, keep its doors closed, and keep a warm blanket or sleeping bag for each person.[2] Weatherstripping and caulking done ahead of time keep more heat in.[3]
- Heat only with equipment made for indoor use. Never heat the home with a gas oven or stovetop, and keep grills, camp stoves, outdoor heaters, and generators outside.[4][6] Keep anything that can burn at least 3 feet from a space heater.[6]
- In hot weather, a fan helps only while the indoor temperature stays below 90°F. Above that, a fan can raise body temperature, so know where you would go for air conditioning. Dialing 2-1-1 can find a cooling center.[7]
- Decide now where you would go if the house gets too hot or too cold: a friend or relative, a library, or a warming or cooling center.[6]
Go deeper: Heating, Fuel, and Generator Safety · Cooling during outages
Job 2
Dryness
Keep water out, and get it out fast when it gets in.
- Find the main water shutoff today and make sure it turns. Keep a wrench or pliers nearby for shutting off utilities.[2]
- Dry anything that gets wet within 24 to 48 hours. That window is what keeps mold from starting.[8] Air conditioning, a dehumidifier, and moving air do the drying; the goal is indoor humidity below 60 percent.[8]
- Plastic sheeting and duct tape are already on the basic kit list.[2] Keep them where you can find them to cover a broken window or catch a leak you can reach from inside or from the ground.
- Leave a damaged roof to a roofer. OSHA counts falls among the most common causes of serious work-related injuries and deaths.[9]
Go deeper: Utility Shutoffs · Home Repair Basics
Job 3
Safety
Fire, carbon monoxide, and sanitation are ordinary risks that grow during an outage.
- Smoke alarms belong in every bedroom, outside each sleeping area, and on every level, including the basement. Test them monthly.[10] Working smoke alarms cut the risk of dying in a home fire by 60 percent.[10]
- Put battery or battery-backup carbon monoxide alarms near every sleeping area and on every level.[4][5]
- Run a generator only outdoors, more than 20 feet from windows, doors, and vents, and never in a garage, even with the door open.[4]
- Keep a multipurpose (A-B-C) extinguisher where everyone can reach it. Use it only on a small fire contained to one object, with a clear way out behind you; otherwise get out and call 911.[11]
- If the water or sewer stops working, garbage bags and plastic ties make a lined-bucket toilet.[2] The sanitation section of the shelter-in-place guide walks through it.
Go deeper: Smoke Alarms and CO Detectors · Generator Safety
Job 4
Information
Know what is happening without depending on home power or the internet.
- Keep a battery or hand-crank radio and a NOAA Weather Radio with tone alert.[2] NOAA Weather Radio broadcasts official warnings around the clock from your nearest National Weather Service office, including non-weather hazards such as chemical releases.[12]
- Keep a cell phone charger and a backup battery, and charge both before a storm.[2]
- Sign up for your community's alert system.[3] The emergency alerts guide covers every channel.
- Keep paper: local maps and a written contact list, in case the phone dies.[2][6]
Go deeper: Emergency Alerts · Family communication plan
Job 5
A place to think clearly
Light, clear paths, and a little routine keep small problems small.
- Have a flashlight for every person in the house, and use flashlights instead of candles.[5][6]
- Keep halls and doorways clear, and check that doors and windows open easily. Plan two ways out of every room.[13]
- Keep the basics in one known place so nobody searches in the dark. The emergency zone guide shows how.
- Set aside books, games, or puzzles, especially for children.[2] Check on neighbors and relatives who live alone.[7]
Go deeper: Emergency Zones in the Home · Family Safety Planning
Find your gaps
Which job does your home handle worst?
The Home Preparedness Walkthrough takes you room by room through doors, windows, alarms, utilities, lighting, and exits, so you know where to put your first hour of effort.
Start the walkthrough →
All guides in this area
Four shelter basics guides, all four ready.
If you read only one, read the walkthrough. It turns the five jobs into a list of what your own home is missing. The other three explain what shelter means, where to keep the basics, and how the right response changes by hazard.
The Home Preparedness Walkthrough
A room-by-room audit of doors, windows, alarms, utilities, lighting, and exits. Spot the gaps before an emergency does.
What Shelter Means in Preparedness
The difference between staying home and being sheltered, and why a functional home is the foundation of every other part of preparedness.
Emergency Zones in the Home
How to designate and stock one central location for flashlights, first aid, radio, charger, and water. The place everyone in the household goes to first.
Shelter Priorities by Situation
Fire, power outage, severe weather, chemical spill: the right shelter response differs by hazard. A reference guide for quick decisions.
Also in Shelter & Home Security
Make Your Home Safer in One Weekend
Five actions with time and cost for each.
Heating, Fuel, and Generator Safety
Staying warm without fire or carbon monoxide risk.
Staying Home Through a Long Disruption
When the outage runs into weeks.
Staying Safe in a Disaster Shelter
If home stops working and you need to go.
Quick start
Three steps for one evening.
Before reading every guide, these three steps cover the jobs that protect life first: fire and carbon monoxide warning, control of your utilities, and light and information in the dark.
Test every smoke and CO alarm
Press the test button on each one and replace weak batteries. Replace smoke alarms every 10 years and CO alarms on the maker's schedule or every 5 years.[10][4] If a level or a sleeping area has no alarm, that is the first purchase.
Time: 10 minutes · Cost: $0 if all alarms work · Renter-friendly: yes
Find your shutoffs
Locate the main water valve, the electrical panel, and the gas meter if you have one. Turn the gas off only if you suspect damage or officials tell you to, because only a qualified professional can turn it back on.[6] Shutoff steps vary by utility, so confirm yours with your provider.
Time: 20 minutes · Cost: $0 · Renters: ask the landlord where they are
Put light, radio, and power in one place
Gather a flashlight for each person, a battery or hand-crank radio, and a charged phone battery on one shelf everyone knows.[2] Most homes already own some of this. The emergency zone guide fills in the rest.
Time: 30 minutes · Cost: often $0 to start · Renter-friendly: yes
Common questions
Shelter basics, answered.
What does shelter mean in household preparedness?
Shelter means a home that keeps doing its basic jobs when outside systems stop. It keeps people warm or cool, keeps water out, keeps ordinary risks like fire and carbon monoxide in check, keeps the household informed, and gives everyone a calm place to make decisions. A home that can do those five things for a few days without help is the foundation for every other kind of preparedness.
Should we stay home or leave during an emergency?
Follow official instructions first. When officials say to shelter in place, stay; when they say to evacuate, go. Without an order, the Red Cross advises leaving if the home becomes too hot or too cold, or if someone depends on a medical device that needs power. Many communities open warming centers, cooling centers, and charging stations during long outages. The shelter-in-place guide covers staying put by hazard.
How do I keep warm in a power outage without risking carbon monoxide?
Gather everyone in one small room, keep its doors closed, and dress in layers with a blanket or sleeping bag for each person. Never heat the home with a gas oven or stovetop, and keep generators, grills, and camp stoves outdoors. Run a generator more than 20 feet from windows, doors, and vents, and keep battery-powered CO alarms near sleeping areas and on every level.
Can I use a propane or kerosene heater indoors?
Use only a heater its maker designed and labeled for indoor use, and follow its manual exactly. The Red Cross warns never to use outdoor heaters indoors, and the CDC says not to use portable camp stoves or flameless chemical heaters indoors. Keep anything that can burn 3 feet away, and have working carbon monoxide alarms on every level and near sleeping areas. The heating and fuel safety guide compares the options.
Where should I start if I have done nothing yet?
Spend one evening on three things. Test every smoke and carbon monoxide alarm, find your water, electric, and gas shutoffs, and put a flashlight, a radio, and a charged phone battery in one place everyone knows. Then walk the house room by room to find the remaining gaps. The Home Preparedness Walkthrough is the place to begin.
Connected guides
Where shelter basics connects next.
The handbooks explain what to look for before you buy anything. Most of what this page asks for is already in your home.
Shelter-in-Place
When staying put is safer than going out, and how the steps change by hazard.
Heating During Outages
Backup heat options and how to run them safely when the furnace stops.
Water Preparedness
Storing water for drinking and sanitation, and making it safe when service stops.
Renters and Small Spaces
The five jobs in an apartment, without drilling or changing the locks.
Weather Radios Handbook
What tone alert and SAME coding mean, and which radios are worth the money.
CO Detectors Handbook
Plug-in, battery, and combination alarms, and where each one belongs.
Emergency Lighting Handbook
Flashlights, headlamps, and lanterns that keep a dark house calm.
Fire Extinguishers Handbook
Ratings, sizes, and where to mount them so they are used correctly.
Your Local Risks
Which hazards your area actually faces, so you prepare for the likely ones first.
Sources
- U.S. Energy Information Administration. "U.S. electricity customers averaged five and one-half hours of power interruptions in 2022." Today in Energy, January 25, 2024. eia.gov. Accessed October 2026.
- FEMA. "Build A Kit." Ready.gov. Accessed October 2026.
- FEMA. "Winter Weather." Ready.gov. Accessed October 2026.
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. "Carbon Monoxide Poisoning Basics." January 2026. cdc.gov. Accessed October 2026.
- FEMA. "Power Outages." Ready.gov. Accessed October 2026.
- American Red Cross. "Power Outage Safety" and "Winter Storm Safety." redcross.org. Accessed October 2026.
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. "About Heat and Your Health." July 2026. cdc.gov. Accessed October 2026.
- U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. "A Brief Guide to Mold, Moisture and Your Home." epa.gov. Accessed October 2026.
- Occupational Safety and Health Administration. "Fall Protection." osha.gov. Accessed October 2026.
- National Fire Protection Association. "Smoke Alarms." nfpa.org. Accessed October 2026.
- U.S. Fire Administration. "Choosing and Using Fire Extinguishers." usfa.fema.gov. Accessed October 2026.
- National Weather Service. "NOAA Weather Radio All Hazards." weather.gov. Accessed October 2026.
- National Fire Protection Association. "Home Fire Escape Planning." nfpa.org. Accessed October 2026.
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