You have probably got more than most people. The point of this checklist is to find the gaps: the category you skipped, the person you did not plan for, the skill nobody has practised. A kit is only as strong as its weakest category.
Water
4 litres per person per day, 14 days minimum, then build to 30. Filters, tablets, rotation schedule.
Food
14 days minimum, then build to 90. No-cook calories, a spare can opener, first-in first-out rotation.
Power & light
One headlamp per person, power banks, solar, and backup sized against the loads that must actually run.
Communication
Hand-crank radio, licence-free two-way radios, whistles, and the plan written on paper.
First aid & medical
Trauma kit, general kit, each person's medications written down, 30+ days of essentials where allowed.
Documents & cash
Copies of ID, deeds and medical records, cash in small bills, waterproof pouch, encrypted backup.
Tools & repair
Multi-tool, saw, duct tape, paracord, tarps, and the utility shut-off tools for water and gas.
Hygiene & sanitation
Soap, bleach, bin bags, and an emergency toilet plan. Disease does more damage than the disaster.
Special needs
Infants, pets, and older or disabled members — the people who need the most planning, planned for.
Skills
Fire, water purification, bleeding control, navigation, mains shut-off. The things that do not fit in a bag.
Get the printable checklist
Five pages, print-ready and readable on a phone, including the household emergency plan card. Enter your email and it downloads right here.
Your checklist is ready
It is downloading now, and a copy is on its way to your inbox.
Where to start if you are starting today
Do not try to buy the whole list. Work one category at a time, in this order, and you will close the dangerous gaps first:
- Water for 14 daysThe first thing you run out of, and the hardest to improvise.
- A way to purify more waterFilter plus tablets. Storage runs out; purification does not.
- Light for every personA headlamp each, and spare batteries in every size you use.
- A radio that needs no gridHand-crank or battery. Information is the resource nobody plans for.
- The plan card, filled in and printedFree, takes ten minutes, and it is the item most households are missing.
Not sure where to start? The 30-day test shows what would fail first in your home and turns your answers into a plan.
The plan behind the checklist
The First 30 Days is the step-by-step grid-down plan: what to do in the first hour, the first week, and every week after that.
What would fail first?
The 30-day test walks you through a month without the grid, gives a tip after every answer and builds your personal plan.
The gap a checklist cannot close
You can buy every item on this list and still be stuck on the question that matters: how do I actually do this, right now, with what I have? GenesisBox answers that — calm, sourced, from a library that works with zero grid and zero internet.
General preparedness guidance, not a substitute for professional, legal or medical advice. Always follow the instructions of your local emergency services. GenesisBox is a product of FINQUP Technology OOD, Sofia, Bulgaria.