Building Your 3 Day Home Emergency Kit
BUILDING YOUR 3-DAY HOME EMERGENCY KIT
Sheltering in Place with Confidence
Time Required: 3-4 hours to assemble
Cost: $150-300 for family of 4
Not every emergency requires evacuation. In fact, many situations are safest when you shelter in place, staying home while waiting for power to be restored, water service to resume, or a local hazard to clear.
Power outages affect millions of Americans every year. Hurricanes, earthquakes, and accidents can leave neighborhoods without utilities for days. Your home emergency kit is designed for these shelter-in-place situations. It's more comprehensive than your go-bag because you're not carrying it, you're staying home with access to more supplies. But you're still without normal resources like electricity, running water, or open stores.
This guide helps you build that foundation, with tips for expanding to 7 days, 2 weeks, or longer if you choose. Print out the Your 3-Day Home Emergency Kit Checklist and mark it up as you move through each module to see which gaps might exist.
Understanding Shelter-in-Place Situations
Common shelter-in-place scenarios:
Power outages (storms, heat waves, infrastructure failure)
Water service disruption (pipe breaks, contamination, repairs)
Severe weather (stay indoors until it passes)
Hazmat situation (dangerous materials spilled nearby—stay inside with windows closed)
Pandemic or quarantine (reduce contact with others)
Post-earthquake (home is safe but services disrupted)
Winter storms (unsafe to travel)
Why 3 Days?
FEMA uses 72 hours as the baseline because:
Most power outages are resolved within 3 days
Emergency services can typically reach everyone within 72 hours
It's a manageable amount of supplies to store and afford
It handles the majority of shelter-in-place situations
Reality check: In major disasters (hurricanes, major earthquakes), it can take longer. That's why we'll also discuss how to scale up to 7+ days.
What You're Preparing For
During a 3-day shelter-in-place, you might face:
No electricity
No running water (or contaminated water)
No heat or air conditioning
No refrigeration
No phone or internet
No open stores
No hot water
Limited or no outside help
Your home emergency kit addresses all of these.
Before You Start: What You Already Have
Take inventory first:
Walk through your home and note what you already have:
Canned goods and non-perishables in pantry
Bottled water
Flashlights and batteries
First aid supplies
Medications
Camping gear
Manual tools
Don’t worry you're not starting from zero, you're filling gaps strategically.