Emergency Packing Plan

Have you ever sat down to make a list of what you would need to get out of your house in an emergency? I’ve gone over this a few times in my head. What would I need to take? What could I get by with leaving behind? The honest truth is that it will depend on the emergency. If we have time and can make multiple trips, the majority of this will make the trip with us. If we have to fit everything we can in two vehicles I’ll probably have to cut this list at least in half. The thought of leaving my home and a lot of the things in it behind is a pretty terrifying thought though. As part of being prepared for all emergencies I forced myself to make a whole home emergency packing list. 

The Method

As with a lot of my lists, I just went through what was already there. I walked through each room and wrote down what would be important to take. It’s important that you do this in your own home because I’m positive we don’t store things in the exact same spots as you! If you are in a hurry you don’t want to be digging through totes to decide if they are important or not. Depending on the scenario, there are a couple of things that I would like to bring with me but will leave behind if time and space don’t allow it. Depending on the scenario that we are facing there may be more of these that get left behind. For that purpose, there are two lists that follow.

The Slow List

The first list is everything that I would bring if we are able to make multiple trips and we aren’t in a hurry. This is something I could see if there was all of the sudden some sort of war that happens on American soil. It does not seem like that will happen but it’s something I think it’s important to be aware of as a possibility. I like to prepare for as many scenarios as I possibly can to make sure our bases are covered. 

The Fast List

This version of the list basically says we have 2 vehicles that we can pack full of stuff and that is it. We get one chance to get as much as we possibly can into our two vehicles and get the heck out of our house. This could be something like some weird weather event like a hurricane on Lake Michigan. I’m not even sure that could happen! Again, this could be preparing for some sort of warfare as well. 

Slow Emergency Packing Plan

Basement

• Food
• Canning Supplies
• Drying Rack
• Laundry Detergent
• Emergency Prep Supply
• Hunting Totes
• Bows
• Paper Goods
• Pictures
• Sleeping Bag
• Air Mattresses
• Buckets

Front Living Room

• Book Selection
• Bibles
• Box of Dog Supplies
• Coats
• Towels
• Extension Cords
• Blankets
• Board Games 

Back Living Room

• Blankets

Office

• Documents & Checkbooks
• Sewing Supplies
• Knitting Supplies
• Spaghetti Bowl
• Jewelry (2 necklaces)
• Harddrive
• Laptop

Spare Bedroom

• Seeds & Supplies
• Ammo 
• Weapons

Bedroom

• Clothes

Garage/Entryway

• Food
• Hats & Gloves
• Boots
• Heavy Coats & Overalls
• Tools
• Dog Food
• Chicken Feed Pellets 

Kitchen

• Hand Tools
• Cast Iron
• Stainless Bowls
• Stainless Plates
• Glassware
• Lighters
• Food
• Pots
• Cleaners

Dining Room

• Cookbooks
• Dog Food & Bowls

Barns/Outdoors

• Tools/Fasteners
• Canning Supplies
• Animal Supplies 
• Hoses
• Any Type of Fuel
• Grill
• Cook Stove
• Extension Cords
• Animals
• Heaters

Upstairs Bathroom

• All Gray Totes
• Towels
• Toilet Paper

Bottom Bathroom

• Toilet Paper

Fast Emergency Packing Plan

Basement

• Food
• Canning Supplies
• Emergency Prep Supply
• Hunting Totes
• Bows
• Paper Goods

Front Living Room

• Bibles
• Box of Dog Supplies
• Towels
• Extension Cords
• Blankets

Back Living Room

• Blankets

Office

• Documents & Checkbooks
• Sewing Supplies
• Harddrive

Spare Bedroom

• Seeds & Supplies
• Ammo 
• Weapons

Bedroom

• Clothes

Garage/Entryway

• Food
• Hats & Gloves
• Boots
• Heavy Coats & Overalls
• Tools

Dog Food

Kitchen

• Hand Tools
• Cast Iron
• Stainless Bowls
• Stainless Plates
• Lighters
• Food
• Pots

Dining Room

• Dog Food & Bowls

Barns/Outdoors

• Tools/Fasteners
• Canning Supplies
• Hoses
• Any Type of Fuel
• Heaters
• Cook Stove
• Extension Cords

Upstairs Bathroom

• All Gray Totes
• Towels
• Toilet Paper

Bottom Bathroom

• Toilet Paper

In Summary: Whole Home Emergency Packing

If I’m being fully transparent here, this has been my most unnerving list to make. Just forcing my brain to think about these things is very uncomfortable. However, I would rather be uncomfortable for a few minutes now than to be in a situation where I could be uncomfortable for the foreseeable future because I failed to plan. I would rather be uncomfortable now than be panicked if some sort of emergency does happen.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m sure emotions will still be high but at least I can give this list to my husband and say “go” so we can divide and conquer to get our poop in a group as quickly as possible. It’s a difficult practice, but well worth the time and effort that it takes.

Have you done this before? Is your list longer or shorter than you expected? I tend to want to take it all but I realize that is very impossible in emergency situations. We’re going to keep some of those big vacuum sealing bags for blankets, clothes, etc to make sure we can take as much as possible in a situation where we might not have enough space.