A personalized 72-hour kit scaled to your household — water, food, pets, infants & meds. FEMA / Ready.gov-aligned.
Drives water, food & per-person supplies.
Counted for water/food; adds kid items.
Adds ready-to-feed formula, diapers, wipes.
Each pet adds food & water (3-day min).
Pet water scales by body weight.
FEMA floor is 3 days (72 hrs).
Adds a 7-day Rx/OTC supply.
Roughly doubles water needs.
Adds extra water & feeding supplies.
Adds accessibility & device-power items.
Your personalized kit
Enter your household above
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Re-check your kit every 6 months: rotate water and food, and refresh medications and infant formula before expiration (Ready.gov maintenance guidance).
Emergency Preparedness Kit Checklist — guide & how to use
What it does
The generic FEMA/Ready.gov supply list is long and one-size-fits-all, so most families never finish a kit. This tool turns that list into a personalized 72-hour emergency kit: enter how many adults, children, infants and pets are in your household plus a few flags (medications, hot climate, pregnancy/nursing, accessibility needs), and it computes the exact water gallons, food days and item quantities you should store, then builds an interactive checklist you can tick off and print.
How to use it
Enter your household — adults/teens, children, infants, and pets (with average pet weight).
Set your horizon — days of supply (minimum 3; many managers now advise 2 weeks).
Flip the flags — medications, hot climate, pregnant/nursing, accessibility/medical-equipment needs. Conditional sections appear automatically.
Tick items as you assemble them — progress is saved in your browser. Use Copy result or the Share / Print-to-PDF buttons for a copy.
Worked example
A household of 2 adults, 1 child, 1 infant, and 1 dog (~40 lb), no medications, not a hot climate, planning the 3-day FEMA baseline:
People water: (2 + 1 + 1) people × 1 gal/person/day × 3 days × 1.0 heat = 12 gallons.
Pet water: 1 pet × 40 lb × 1 oz/lb/day × 3 days = 120 oz → 120 ÷ 128 = 0.94 → rounded up to 1 gallon.
Total water to store: 12 + 1 = 13 gallons (~49 liters).
Food: at least 3 days of non-perishable food for 4 people, plus kid-friendly snacks and ready-to-feed infant formula for 3 days.
Turn on a hot climate and the people water doubles to 24 gallons; flip on medications and a 7-day Rx/OTC supply is added on top of the 3-day base.
The formulas (FEMA / Ready.gov-aligned)
TOTAL_PEOPLE = adults + children + infants
DAYS = max(3, days) — never below the 72-hour floor
HEAT_MULT = 2.0 if hot climate else 1.0
WATER_GALLONS = ceil(TOTAL_PEOPLE × 1 gal/day × DAYS × HEAT_MULT)
PET_WATER_GALLONS = ceil(pets × pet_weight × 1 oz/lb/day × DAYS / 128) (min 1 gal if any pet)
MED_SUPPLY = 7 days when medications = yes (exceeds the kit base on purpose)
TOTAL_WATER = WATER_GALLONS + PET_WATER_GALLONS — the headline storage target
Accuracy & disclaimers
This is a preparedness planning aid, not medical, veterinary, or official emergency-management advice. During an actual emergency, always follow guidance from local authorities and ready.gov.
Water: 1 gallon per person per day is FEMA's general planning figure covering drinking and sanitation; actual drinking need is ~¾ gallon/day and varies with age, health, exertion and climate. We round up and let you flag hot weather.
Medication (7 days) reflects FEMA's recommendation and intentionally exceeds the 3-day base. Follow your prescriber/pharmacy and rotation rules; the tool cannot account for refrigerated meds or controlled-substance refill limits.
Pet water (~1 oz/lb/day) is a dog-based upper bound — cats and small animals need less. Confirm with your vet for animals with medical conditions, and match pet food to the animal's normal diet to avoid GI upset.
Food is expressed in days/person-days, not calories — FEMA does not publish a calorie target. A ~1,200–2,000 kcal/person/day figure is only a general planning reference.
Infant guidance favors ready-to-feed formula because it needs no (potentially unsafe) water; per CDC, check and rotate formula monthly.
The kit assumes sheltering in place or short evacuation; it does not replace a full family communication/evacuation plan or region-specific hazards (wildfire go-bag, hurricane shutters, etc.). Standards reflect FEMA/Ready.gov and CDC guidance current as of 2025–2026 — re-verify at ready.gov.
Common mistakes this kit avoids
Counting only drinking water and forgetting sanitation — the 1 gal/person/day figure already bundles both; don't halve it.
Forgetting pets, or giving pets human-sized portions — pet water scales by body weight, not 1 gallon per pet.
Stocking only 3 days of medication to match the kit — FEMA recommends 7 days.
Using powdered formula that needs clean water you may not have — prefer ready-to-feed.
Building the kit once and never maintaining it — water, food, batteries, meds and formula expire; rotate every 6 months.
Storing everything in one heavy bin with no lightweight grab-and-go subset.
Frequently asked questions
How much water do I need for an emergency kit?
FEMA/Ready.gov recommends storing 1 gallon of water per person per day for both drinking and sanitation. For a 3-day (72-hour) kit that's 3 gallons per person. In hot weather or for nursing/sick people, water needs can roughly double. This tool multiplies people by days and adds a heat multiplier, then rounds up to whole gallons.
How many days of supplies should an emergency kit have?
The FEMA baseline is 72 hours (3 days). Many emergency managers now advise building toward 2 weeks where storage allows. This tool never plans below the 3-day floor and lets you scale the horizon up.
How much medication should I store?
FEMA recommends a 7-day supply of prescription and over-the-counter medications — intentionally longer than the 3-day kit base. Follow your prescriber and pharmacy rules; the tool cannot account for refrigerated meds or controlled-substance refill limits.
How do I calculate water and food for pets?
Plan a minimum 3-day food and water supply per pet (Ready.gov). Pet drinking water scales with body weight at roughly 1 ounce per pound per day (a dog-based upper bound). The tool multiplies pet weight by days, converts ounces to gallons, and rounds up so a small pet never gets zero.
Why ready-to-feed infant formula instead of powder?
Per CDC guidance, ready-to-feed formula is preferred in an emergency because it needs no potentially-unsafe water. Powdered or concentrate formula requires clean water you may not have. Check and rotate infant formula monthly as a baby's needs change quickly.
Is this emergency kit checklist free?
Yes. It is 100% free, runs entirely in your browser, and is printable.