All articles
The question you ask the night before, answered in full.
Every article starts from a specific situation and follows it through: how much you need, what it costs, what is not worth buying, and the point where you should stop reading and call a professional — or 911.
72-hour kit & home
Read the full guide →September 21, 2026
72 Hour Kit Checklist: Every Line, Counted
The 72 hour kit checklist, counted for your own household: gallons, meals, lights, batteries, the seven lines people leave out, and where it all fits at home.
September 21, 2026
Emergency Water Storage: How Much, Where, How Long
Emergency water storage, sized and drawn: gallons per person, which containers fit where, the six-month rule, and how to keep it drinkable. Start this weekend.
September 21, 2026
Emergency Weather Radio: How to Choose One That Wakes You
An emergency weather radio earns its shelf only if it wakes you at 2 a.m.: NOAA All Hazards, SAME coding, tone alert, battery backup. Compare before you buy.
September 21, 2026
Extended Power Outage: What to Do, Hour by Hour
An extended power outage fails in stages: hour 0, hour 4, hour 24, hour 72. What breaks at each one, what to do, what to keep or throw out. Start your clock.
September 21, 2026
Why 72 Hours Is the Number Everyone Uses
Why 72 hours? Ready.gov never states the number, yet every campaign uses it. Where it came from, what it measures, and US disasters that beat it. Set yours.
Go bag & EDC
Read the full guide →September 21, 2026
Everyday Carry Essentials: The Five That Matter
Everyday carry essentials: the five items worth adding to your phone, keys and wallet, what each one weighs, and why the rest of EDC is a hobby. Build yours.
September 21, 2026
Go Bag Checklist: Every Item, Every Person
The go bag checklist, item by item and bag by bag: the household bag, one bag for each person, infants, prescriptions, pets, and the gear to leave at home.
Backcountry & self-reliance
Read the full guide →September 21, 2026
Backpacking Water Filter vs Purifier: What Each Removes
Backpacking water filter: what a 0.1-micron membrane stops, what slips straight through, and which of six technologies fits your trip. The sizes, from the CDC.
September 21, 2026
Navigate Without GPS: Map, Compass, Declination
Navigate without GPS: read a USGS topo map, set the magnetic declination for your state, take a bearing and take it back, and fix the turnaround hour first.
Natural disasters
Read the full guide →September 21, 2026
What to Do in a Flood: Before, During and After
What to do in a flood, step by step: watch, warning and emergency, why a foot of water floats a car, and the 30-day insurance gap. Check yours this weekend.
September 21, 2026
Heat Wave Without AC: How to Get Through It at Home
A heat wave without AC is survived by cooling the person first: humidity, the night flush, the fan rule, and what to do if the power fails. Plan yours today.
September 21, 2026
Hurricane Preparedness: 48 Hours, 36 Hours, 30 Days
Hurricane preparedness on the real clock: the 48-hour watch, the 36-hour warning, the surge that kills, and the 30 days a flood policy needs. Start yours now.
September 21, 2026
Tornado Safety: What to Do in the Next Ten Minutes
Tornado safety in the minutes you actually get: watch versus warning, where to shelter with a basement, without one, in a mobile home, at work or in a car.
September 21, 2026
Wildfire Evacuation: When to Go, and What Goes in the Car
Wildfire evacuation, from the first alert to the drive: warning versus order, why waiting for a knock kills, the loading order, and animals. Rehearse yours.
September 21, 2026
Wildfire Home Protection: The First Five Feet
Wildfire home protection works from the wall outward: the 0-5 ft zone, the vents, the gutters, the deck and the roof. Walk your own first five feet this week.
Long-term preparedness
Read the full guide →September 21, 2026
Heat Without Power: Warm Up Before You Burn Anything
Heat without power, in the order that works: how fast a house really cools, the one room to close down, sleeping warm, and the combustion rules. Start tonight.
September 21, 2026
Important Documents in an Emergency: What to Copy
Important documents in an emergency: the FEMA and Operation HOPE checklist, the three copies rule, the photo inventory a claim needs, and who reissues what.
September 21, 2026
Long Term Food Storage: Count Calories, Not Cans
Long term food storage counted in calories rather than cans: how much per person, what really keeps, and the rotation that lasts a year. Size yours this week.
September 21, 2026
Power Station vs Generator: Which One Your House Needs
Power station vs generator, decided on your household rather than the spec sheet: running watts, starting surge, fuel storage, noise and the twenty-foot rule.