Top 10 Emergency Household Supplies

Every home needs some basic things for emergencies and disasters. These are very basic suggestions and every household will vary, but these are just my top 10 ideas. There are many more tools/products that your home might need depending on your region, if anyone is disabled in the household, elderly, etc.

Outside of food and water, and the tools that go with them like cook set, water purification, etc., here are the top 10 products that I feel every home needs for emergencies and disasters.

Reusable/disposable gloves: I like the reusable rubber gloves that can be cleaned (can be acquired from the dollar store), but you may also want some medical gloves that can be used and thrown away. These will be useful for medical purposes, cleaning, etc.

Trash bags: Garbage bags have so many uses outside of the obvious, holding trash. It can safely store waste (short term), it can be used an emergency poncho, to cover things that may need waterproofing, plus many, many more uses. They’re good to have around!

Candles: Can never have too many candles. Don’t forget the lighters/matches! And be sure to put them somewhere that is easily accessible.

Tarp(s)/plastic: You’ll want lightweight and heavy duty tarps. Tarps will be useful for medical purposes or for closing off a room.

First aid kit : Every household needs a good, well stocked first aid kit. There is nothing wrong with buying a pre-made first aid kit. Many pre-made first aid kits will come with everything you could ever want, plus some! Also don’t forget any medications that your household will need.

Bucket/toilet paper: You’ll still need to go to the bathroom, even during an emergency. In some situations, you may not be able to flush the toilet, or even go outside to go to the bathroom. So you’ll want a bucket, with a lid, and plenty of toilet paper. This may not sound ideal, but it’s one of the best ways to keep waste contained. Be sure to store the bucket away from normal activity, such as in your normal bathroom area.

Tape: I suggest gorilla tape because it’s stronger than duct tape, at least from my experience. But as long as you have plenty of duct tape or gorilla tape around, it’ll be useful for taping plastic in case of broken windows, taping off rooms, etc.

Hammer/nails/boards: You never know if you may need to board up a window or maybe a hole in drywall. Plastic/tarp will generally be okay for short-term but some boards might work better. You never know!

NOAA weather radio: Every household needs to stay connected to what’s going on with the outside world. While I would suggest getting your HAM technician license so that you can stay connected to the HAM community which offers insight into emergencies and disasters, a NOAA weather radio will be great for alerting you to any natural disasters. You may also want to consider a standard AM/FM radio, especially one that takes batteries.

Gas/water shut off tool: This is a handy tool to have as you never know when you’ll need to turn the gas or water off.

Bonus: I’d suggest putting together a blackout kit which encompasses all of your candles, flashlights, matches/lighters, batteries and NOAA weather radio and/or AM/FM radio.

These are just my top 10 and there are many other ideas. What are some other household emergency supplies that you can think of?