The first hours of an outage, a storm or an evacuation order. Most of what makes them calmer is done beforehand: a kit everyone can find, a plan on paper and a car with fuel in it.
Start with these six
Each one is a short job you can finish this week.
Build a three‑day home kit
Ready.gov's list fits in one or two plastic bins or a duffel bag, kept in a spot the whole family knows.
Water: 1 gallon per person per day, for several days
Several days of food that keeps without a fridge, plus a manual can opener
A battery or hand-crank radio, flashlight, spare batteries, first aid kit and whistle
A wrench or pliers for the utilities. Tick it all off with the 72-hour checklist
