Household Survival Kits

Home emergency kits, sized by who lives in your house. There are kits for one person, for two, for a family of four, and kits built for kids. Each one arrives packed with food, water, light, and shelter, and nearly all include a first aid kit, so the deciding and the shopping are already done. No spreadsheet required.

A few things still need to come from you. Prescription medications, copies of your important documents, and anything specific to your household are yours to add. That is true of any pre-packed kit, and it is worth knowing before you buy rather than after.

Start with your household size, but if you already know which weather your area tends to get, the disaster survival kits may be a better starting point for you. Either way, a household emergency kit is one of the few things you can decide once and stop thinking about.
mom holding child and looking at contents of family kit on counter

Find the right kit for your household

Choose based on who you're preparing for and the level of coverage you want.

MOST COMPLETE

Guardian

Our most complete 72-hour option for households wanting broader emergency coverage.

See Guardian → BEST VALUE

RapidShield

A solid 72-hour foundation with the essentials at a lower price.

See RapidShield → FOR TWO OR FOUR

SideBySide

A ready-to-grab 72-hour backpack kit in two- and four-person sizes, hand-assembled in the USA.

See SideBySide → ONE PERSON

SureStep

Our lightest full kit, designed for one person sheltering at home.

See SureStep → KIDS FULL KIT

Junior ReadyPack

A fuller emergency kit for a child who can carry and manage their own supplies.

See Junior → KIDS COMPACT KIT

Mini Mate

Under 3 lbs. A lightweight option for younger children or as an add-on to your family kit.

See Mini Mate → POWER OUTAGES

NightWatch

Sized for the whole household during blackouts and winter storms. No food or water, so it pairs well with any 72-hour kit above.

See NightWatch →

Why Every Home Needs an Emergency Survival Kit

What should a home emergency kit include?

Seven categories, whoever makes the kit: food, water, first aid, light, communication, shelter and warmth, and hygiene.

FEMA and the American Red Cross both recommend at least 72 hours' worth per person. Our full kits are built to that. Several carry US Coast Guard-approved drinking water and food rations with a 5-year shelf life, so there is no cooking, no rehydration, and no rotating stock for the life of the kit.

How do I know what size kit I need?

Count everyone, including children. Then round up if you're between sizes.

  • One person. The SureStep at 9 pounds, built to sit at home and wait.
  • A couple or two roommates. The 2-person Guardian or RapidShield. Also the right pick if you live alone, since the extra water matters more than the extra pound.
  • A family of four. The 4-person Guardian or RapidShield, both shipping as two backpacks so the weight splits between two adults. The contents are not divided evenly, so open both and redistribute when they arrive.
  • Children. The Junior ReadyPack at 7 pounds for school-age kids, or the Mini Mate under 3 pounds for younger children or a spare at school.

Do I need a different emergency kit for an apartment?

Same seven categories, less room to store them. If you're in an apartment or a smaller home, the 2-person kits and the SureStep cover the essentials without a closet to spare.

Water is the piece that gets tight, so a case under the bed or a few gallons in a hall cupboard does more than a bigger backpack would.

How much water can a kit actually hold?

Less than the standard, and it's worth being plain about.

Ready.gov, FEMA's preparedness campaign, recommends one gallon per person per day. For a family of four over three days that's twelve gallons, about a hundred pounds. No backpack carries that.

What these kits carry is ready-to-drink water for the first hours plus a way to treat more. The rest lives at home beside the kit. Even a case under the bed changes your first day.

Where should I store it?

Somewhere you can reach in the dark, on the floor you actually live on. The full kits run from 9 pounds for the SureStep up to 25 for a 4-person Guardian, and survival items for home do no good in a basement you'd have to go looking for.

What should I add to a home emergency kit myself?

  • A week of prescriptions.
  • Copies of ID and insurance, in a waterproof bag.
  • Extra water stored at home.
  • Comfort items for children, chosen by them.
  • Two people who know where the kit is.

Is 72 hours enough?

It's the floor, not the goal.

Seventy-two hours is the standard for evacuation. For sheltering at home, both FEMA and the Red Cross suggest working toward two weeks of water where you have room. Start here, then build.

Your Family's 72-Hour Emergency Survival Plan