How to Prepare for Emergencies When You Don’t Have Any Closet Space
Living in a small space doesn’t mean you can’t make room for essential emergency supplies. My thoughtfully curated supplies fit in one backpack (17 pounds), with the fire extinguisher and water filter stored under the kitchen sink.
P.S. I’ve added an update regarding coronavirus at the bottom of this post.
See what I packed in this video:
When I was researching what supplies I should have on hand, preparedness websites proved to be informative but needlessly fear-mongering—constantly predicting unlikely end-of-world scenarios (in hideous typography!). While you don’t need to prepare for a zombie apocalypse, plenty of incidents justify being prepared with basic emergency supplies:
Severe storms like earthquakes, fires, hurricanes, winter storms, tsunamis.
Protests or sports rallies that turn into riots.
Terrorist attacks or mass shootings.
What worries me isn’t the emergency itself, but the fact that most people in the city aren’t prepared for one. The news headlines always show the people directly impacted, but the majority of people are indirectly affected by an emergency when power and services are limited. In areas of self-reliance (like Maine, where I’m from), it’s much less likely for people to become aggressive with their neighbors—whether in the store buying essentials or something more sinister like robbery for supplies, or simply taking advantage of a precarious situation. When you’re prepared ahead of time, you can steer clear of tense scrambling if an emergency happens.
How you can prepare without buying anything
Register for emergency alerts in your area. Knowing an emergency is happening is the first step to reacting to one. Here are some links:
Know where your local medical, fire, and police stations are in case you need help or want to offer help to others.
In case cellphones aren’t working, have a designated meeting spot that’s a safe distance from your home.
Gather supplies you already have in one place (many people have some camping gear which often doubles as emergency supplies).
Emergency supplies to stock
I’ve organized my emergency supplies into the first minute, hour, and day so you can prioritize your purchases to cover the most essential supplies first.
There are pre-made emergency supply bags you can purchase, but they probably have things you don’t need. Also, they tend to be conspicuous and I think it’s a bad idea to broadcast that you’re prepared if you end up leaving home with your supplies.
FIRST MINUTE
Breath of Life Emergency Escape Mask
The Breath of Life™ provides the wearer 15 minutes with the ability to breathe without inhaling smoke or fumes, even in very hot conditions. You can see it in action here.
If a fire breaks out in your building, the one down the hall may not be enough.
In case there is a hot door, broken glass, or debris to move.
Your eyes and hands are your most important tools.
In case you need to break a door or window to leave your building.
FIRST HOUR
Batteries
Candles
Cash in small bills
Medication you need
Map
A physical map with marks for fire stations, hospitals, police station, and meeting point (home, nearby back up, far back up).
I used for these during the NorCal fires when the air in San Francisco was smokey.
FIRST DAY
Blankets
I don’t keep these in my bag, but have enough blankets in the house to keep warm if the heater brakes.
Cold brew
No one wants to face a zombie apocalypse with caffeine withdrawals.
Food
My bag has canned tuna, peanut butter, kind bars, and beans. I recommend setting a calendar reminder to check your food expiration dates every 6 months.
Potassium iodide protects the thyroid gland against internal uptake of radioiodines that may be released in the unlikely event of a nuclear reactor accident. Learn more →
Powered by hand crank with cell phone charger
Sanitizer
Water
Rather than storing a few gallons, I use the LifeStraw water purifier to save space.
Other pro tips
Make a list of your emergency supplies. That way if you don’t put everything in one bag, you won’t have to remember what is important and will be able to gather it quickly.
If you do leave your home with your emergency supplies, do not bring more than 25 pounds per able-bodied adult, or 20% of your body weight, depending on how far you need to travel on foot.
I found this book to be a helpful overview of how to handle emergencies, organized by situation: The Ultimate Situational Survival Guide: Self-Reliance Strategies for a Dangerous World.
P.S. February 27, 2020 Update:
With the coronavirus spreading and causing some uncertainty, I’ve decided to do a little prudent preparation to potentially save me a big headache later. Living in New York City (or any city) means I probably have a stronger immune system, but it’s also a place where exposure can happen faster. I read a very interesting but math-heavy article on Epsilon Theory about communication around coronavirus cases vs. how fast diseases actually spread statistically. TL;DR it’s suspected there has been underreporting.
Given the unknown nature of this one and the asymptomatic “incubation period” of up to 14 days, I’ve outlined some precautions I’m taking. This is not fear mongering, but just some common sense stuff that we should probably all be doing anyway:
Stocking up on non-perishable foods in case we need to hunker down at home for a while. Things like lentils, quinoa, canned tuna, mayo, nuts. Stuff I eat anyway so if this proves unnecessary, I will just grocery shop less later on.
Washing my hands as soon as I get home. I usually do this, but really making sure I do.
Wiping down my phone, door handles, and faucets each night with a disinfectant wipe. Pretty sure our phones are dirtier than toilet seats lol.
Avoiding the subway, especially during rush hour, and walking where I need to go. Bonus: great exercise and saves on ride fare.
Cutting down on travel and group outings for the next few weeks. Another money saving bonus!
Staying hydrated and being mindful of how my body feels. Often times my “get shit done” mentality kicks in and I just power through if I’m not feeling well. But I’m taking the next few weeks to give myself permission to take things a bit slower and check in with how I feel.
Be well everyone!
P.P.S I sent this note out my subscribers and one of my readers wrote back sharing that her and her husband have been in quarantine for 22 days related to coronavirus.
They have tested negative so far and she shared that her training as a Registered Dietitian in sanitation and safety helped them avoid infection along with a healthy diet of lots of veggies and fruits to keep their immune systems strong.
Here’s her tips:
Have a separate thermometer for each person
Tag or color code your towels (including dish towels) so you don’t share
Stock up on paper towels, trash bags, alcohol pads, and n-95 masks
Refill medications if you take any
Also stock really good hand cream since you’ll need it from the frequent 25-second hand washing
Stay well, friend ❤️
What’s in your emergency bag? Did I miss anything?
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