Build a Power Outage Kit Around Light, Water, Cold Food and Critical Devices

Build the kit to cover several days without lights, refrigeration, communications or normal shopping. Start with water, food, light and critical medical needs—not a generator or a collection of miscellaneous gadgets.

Power outage kit checklist

Need	What to store	Useful quantity or threshold
Water	Sealed bottled water or filled food-grade containers	1 gallon per person per day for several days, plus more for pets, heat, illness or medical use
Food	Shelf-stable meals and snacks that require little water or cooking; manual can opener	At least a several-day supply
Light	LED flashlights or lanterns and the correct spare batteries	At least one flashlight per person; place lights where they can be found in darkness
Communication	Battery or hand-crank radio, NOAA Weather Radio, written utility and emergency numbers	Include batteries that fit the radio
Phone power	Charged power banks, charging cables and a vehicle charger	Enough stored energy for essential calls and alerts—not assumed all-day entertainment use
Cold food	Refrigerator and freezer thermometers, cooler, frozen gel packs	Refrigerator at 40°F or below; freezer at 0°F or below before the outage
Health	First-aid supplies, prescriptions, glasses, hygiene supplies and device-specific backup equipment	Follow the medication label, clinician and device manufacturer—not a generic runtime estimate
Safety	Working smoke and carbon monoxide alarms with battery backup; fire extinguisher	Alarms belong in their proper installed locations, not packed away in the bin
Information and payment	Local map, copies of IDs and insurance information, written contacts and some cash	Keep documents waterproof and portable
Household-specific supplies	Infant, older-adult, disability and pet supplies; blankets or hot-weather supplies	Pack for each person’s actual needs and climate

Ready.gov recommends keeping the main supplies in one or two easy-to-carry containers and tailoring them for pets, older adults and prescriptions. Its baseline list includes several days of food and water, a radio, flashlights, first aid, batteries, sanitation supplies, chargers and a backup battery (Ready.gov emergency kit checklist).

For a baseline water supply, calculate:

people × days × 1 gallon = minimum stored gallons

A four-person household preparing for three days therefore starts at 12 gallons. Add water for pets and any extra needs. Ready.gov notes that children, nursing mothers, sick people and people in hot climates may need more. Commercially bottled water should remain sealed in its original container and be stored in a cool, dark place; water filled into household food-grade containers should be replaced every six months (Ready.gov water guidance).

Add the items that make this an outage kit

A generic disaster kit can still leave a household unprepared for the specific problems electricity loss creates.

• Put an appliance thermometer in both cold-storage compartments. The CDC advises setting the refrigerator to 40°F or below and the freezer to 0°F or below. Keep a cooler and frozen gel packs ready.
• Layer the lighting. Use automatic power-failure lights for orientation, flashlights for each person and lanterns for rooms. The layered power-failure lighting plan explains placement.
• Match batteries to equipment. Write the required battery size on the kit inventory; do not assume one pack fits every radio, lantern and alarm.
• Size portable power by the required load. List each essential device’s watts and required hours. Battery runtime figures are estimates, and conversion losses reduce usable energy. Use watt-hours rather than amp-hours alone when comparing backup capacity.
• Keep paper instructions. Include the utility outage number, medical-device instructions, evacuation contacts and the location of cooling or warming centers. A dead phone should not erase the plan.

If the power is already out

1. Find the lights and report the outage. Check the utility’s outage information rather than repeatedly opening the refrigerator.
2. Keep refrigerator and freezer doors closed. The CDC’s closed-door estimates are 4 hours for a refrigerator, 48 hours for a full freezer and 24 hours for a half-full freezer. After four hours, move refrigerated perishables to a cooler with ice or gel packs and hold them at 40°F or below (CDC food-safety guidance). See the full temperature-based food safety guide.
3. Conserve phone power. Lower screen brightness, use low-power mode and reserve calls or messages for necessary communication.
4. Act early on dangerous heat, cold or medical risk. Go to a powered location if indoor conditions are unsafe or a critical device cannot remain powered. Ready.gov advises planning alternate power for medical devices and checking with local officials about open heating or cooling locations (Ready.gov power-outage guidance).

Medical devices need their own written plan

Record the device’s input power, battery runtime, charging method and the point at which the user must relocate. Ask the manufacturer or distributor whether the device can safely use a particular battery system or generator. The FDA advises notifying the utility and fire department about power-dependent medical equipment. Anyone who depends on a device to stay alive should seek emergency services immediately if it cannot be supported (FDA medical-device disaster guidance).

Refrigerated medicines require drug-specific instructions. Ask the pharmacist or clinician how long each medicine can tolerate higher temperatures and what replacement plan applies; do not use the refrigerator’s food timetable as a medication rule.

Keep combustion hazards out of the kit plan

Never use a gas oven or stove to heat the home. If a portable generator is part of a separate backup-power plan, operate it outdoors at least 20 feet from the home. Never run it in a home, garage or shed. CPSC also calls for working CO alarms outside sleeping areas and on every floor (CPSC generator and alarm guidance).

Store the kit where everyone can reach it, not behind an electric garage door or in a flood-prone basement. Review it at least annually and before forecast severe weather: charge power banks, test lights and radios, replace expired food and medicine, replace self-filled stored water every six months, and update the household’s medical and contact information.