Tips experienced preppers swear by
Fill empty freezer space with frozen water bottles or jugs.
A full freezer stays cold longer (USDA: about 48 hours full vs 24 half full), and the bottles become drinking water as they thaw.
Keep a cooler and an ice plan.
After 4 hours without power, move fridge food into a cooler with ice to keep it at 40°F or below.
Put an appliance thermometer in your fridge and freezer.
It takes the guessing out of 'is it still safe?'
Freeze a cup of water, then put a coin on top.
If you come home and the coin is at the bottom, the freezer thawed and refroze while you were away.
Fill the bathtub before a storm.
Use it to flush toilets and clean if water goes out. Keep kids away from full tubs.
Keep cash in small bills.
Card readers and ATMs need power and internet.
Keep your gas tank at least half full.
Gas pumps need power, and lines form fast before storms.
Keep a manual can opener with your canned food.
Electric openers don't work in an outage.
Keep paper maps in the car.
GPS and cell data can fail. Mark routes home and to your meeting spots.
Practice lights-out nights.
Practice turns a scary event into a familiar one, especially for kids.
Cook a meal on your backup stove once a month (outdoors).
You'll know your fuel, your gear, and your recipes before you need them.
Write your plan on paper.
Phones die. Paper doesn't need charging.
Pick an out-of-area contact.
Long-distance calls often work when local lines are jammed.
Text instead of calling in emergencies.
Texts use less network capacity and often go through when calls don't.
Store water: 1 gallon per person per day.
Ready.gov minimum. Aim for several days to 2 weeks. Replace home-filled water every 6 months.
Rotate your pantry: first in, first out.
Store what you eat, eat what you store, and nothing goes to waste.
Buy one extra each shopping trip.
Builds a pantry slowly, on budget, with no panic buying.
Keep sneakers and socks in your car or at work.
If you ever have to walk home, work shoes won't cut it.
Keep a headlamp, not just a flashlight.
Hands-free light makes cooking, caring for kids, and fixing things easier.
Charge power banks before storms and keep a car charger.
Your car is a phone charger when power is out (run it outdoors only).
Back your car into the driveway during wildfire or storm season.
You can leave faster.
Keep copies of documents in a waterproof bag and on a USB drive.
IDs, insurance, prescriptions and photos are hard to replace.
Test smoke and CO alarms monthly.
Working alarms save lives.
Know where your water, gas and power shut-offs are.
You can stop a burst pipe or leak fast.
Keep a battery or hand-crank radio.
Official info still broadcasts when the internet is down.
Store unscented bleach and check its date.
It can treat water (8 drops of 6% bleach per gallon, wait 30 minutes), but it weakens with age.
Do a 'grab and go' drill with a timer.
You'll find what's missing from your go-bag in 15 minutes, not during an evacuation.
Hide extra medicines and glasses in your go-bag.
They're among the hardest things to replace quickly.
Keep a comfort item in each child's bag.
A stuffed animal or favorite book helps kids stay calm.
Your calm is contagious.
Kids and family take their cue from you. Slow breaths, simple words, one step at a time.