Prefer a printable list? Download our free two-page emergency checklist and check what your household already has.
A torch in the kitchen drawer is a good start. A torch you can find in the dark, with batteries that work, is better. That small difference sums up a useful household emergency kit: ordinary supplies, organised so you can use them when daily routines stop working.
Start with what you already have. Then fill the gaps that would make a power outage, interrupted water supply or short evacuation harder for your household.
How much should you keep at home?
Get Ready Queensland’s emergency kit guidance recommends food for three days and a minimum of 10 litres of drinking water per person for that period. For a household of four, that means at least 40 litres of drinking water. Allow separately for pets and any extra water needed for cooking or hygiene.
Treat that as a starting point. Your local risks, access to shops and individual needs may call for more. Someone living alone in a unit will organise their supplies differently from a family on a rural property.
A household emergency kit checklist
- Water: drinking water stored in suitable containers, with enough manageable bottles that you can move some if needed.
- Food: familiar shelf-stable meals and snacks, including options you can eat without cooking. Put a manual can opener with the tins.
- Light: a torch or headlamp, a battery lantern for a shared room, and the correct spare batteries or charging cables.
- Information: a battery radio, charged phone and power bank, plus important phone numbers written on paper.
- Health: first-aid supplies, prescription details, glasses and any personal medical items. Discuss medicine supply and storage needs with your pharmacist.
- Hygiene: soap, toilet paper, rubbish bags, menstrual products and other supplies your household uses.
- Documents: secure copies of identification, insurance details and your household emergency plan.
- Personal needs: infant supplies, pet food, mobility aids and a change of clothes suited to the weather.
Use the list to check cupboards before shopping. It is easy to overlook something simple, such as a phone cable, while spending money on equipment you may rarely use.
Choose lighting you can use comfortably
A headlamp leaves both hands free when you are carrying a child, finding clothes or opening food. A lantern can light the table so several people can share one light. Keep a small torch somewhere predictable rather than relying on your phone for every job.
If lighting is a gap in your kit, our Weisshorn LED camping lantern two-pack is one option to compare. Check the battery requirements and keep the necessary batteries with the lights. Gear you already own and know how to use may do the job just as well.
Keep home supplies separate from a grab bag
A cupboard can hold much more than a bag you need to carry. Use your home kit for staying put, and a smaller grab bag for leaving quickly. Include the items you cannot easily replace away from home, along with a written reminder for last-minute essentials such as medicines.
A 10-litre roll-top dry bag can help organise spare clothes or bagged documents. Follow its closure instructions, and do not assume it will protect electronics during prolonged submersion.
Give everything a place and a check date
Choose a reachable storage spot and tell everyone where it is. Put the first light near the front. Label the box clearly, keep a short inventory inside and write down the next food or battery check date.
After a camping trip or an outage, replace what you used. Otherwise, a kit can look complete while its most useful pieces are somewhere else.
For your next step, work through our Queensland power outage guide. It covers what to do when the lights actually go out.
Plan your next step
For more detail, see how much emergency water to store and what to pack in an evacuation bag.