A Light Checklist For Emergency Preparedness

Are You Emergency-Ready?

We all hope that terrible things won’t ever to happen to us. However, a natural disaster, a catastrophic emergency, or a global pandemic can happen at any time—whether we like it or not.

There are fortunately a couple of small items you can collect at home to make the catastrophic a little less terrible if it should ever come. This is the act of being prepared, also commonly known as preparedness. The purpose of preparedness is to strengthen how you’re able to respond to, and recover from a disaster or emergency. The added bonus is peace of mind.

To make it easy, we’ve gathered a checklist of items that are helpful to have in any emergency preparedness kit! Most of these are items that you likely already have around the house, but it’s most helpful to gather them into a ready-to-grab bag for when disaster strikes.

The Preparedness Checklist

ESSENTIALS

• Cash
• First aid kit (include band-aids, Neosporin, ace bandage and clips, vinyl gloves, alcohol swabs, and a thermometer as the bare necessities)
• Face masks (to help filter contaminated air)
• Local maps

FOOD

• Water (one gallon per person per day for several days, for drinking)
• Food (at least a several-day supply of non-perishable food, including important items such as infant formula or pet food)

TECHNOLOGY & TOOLS

• Battery-powered or hand crank radio and a NOAA Weather Radio with tone alert
• Multi-tool
• Manual can opener (for non-perishable food)
• Flashlight or headlamps
• Waterproof matches
• Extra batteries
• Cell phone with chargers and a backup battery
• Wrench or pliers (to turn off utilities)

HYGIENE

• Boulder Clean Disinfecting Wipes (for surface sanitation)
• Boulder Clean Dish Soap (to hand wash dishes)
• Moist towelette and/or toilet paper (for personal sanitation)
• Boulder Clean Laundry Detergent Sheets (to hand wash clothes)

Extra Preparedness Essentials

• Important family documents such as copies of insurance policies, identification and bank account records saved electronically or in a waterproof, portable container
• Water purification tablets
• Traveler’s checks
• Garbage bags
• Boulder Clean All-Purpose Cleaner
• Backpack(s)
• Sleeping bag or warm blanket for each person
• Complete change of clothing appropriate for your climate and sturdy shoes
• Paper cups, plates and plastic utensils
• Paper towels or napkins
• Paper and pencil
• Cards or small games

For more information, we recommend you learn more at Ready.gov and Fema.gov