OMC-WKS-004 · Version 1.0 · November 2026
Print a copy, pack the bags, and tape the grab lists inside a cupboard by the door. This page is always the most current version.
Purpose and how to use this checklist
Sometimes the safest thing to do is leave: a wildfire, a flood, a gas leak, or an order to evacuate. When that happens, you may have five minutes, or an hour. This checklist helps your household leave quickly, with what matters most, without having to think under pressure.
It has two parts:
- A go-bag for each person, packed now and kept ready, with what they need for about three days away from home.
- Three grab lists for the moment you leave: what to take if you have 5 minutes, 15 minutes or 60 minutes.
It covers the Mobility & Evacuation area of the OmniCORE Readiness Framework: a go-bag for each person and pet, and a grab-and-go drill, are Tier 1 criteria. Your communications plan (OMC-PLN-002) tells everyone where to meet once you’re out.
How to use it: pack the bags (part 1), fill in the “where it is” worksheet so anyone can find things fast (part 3), print the grab lists and tape a copy inside a cupboard by the door, and run one timed drill.
Part 1: The go-bag (one per person)
A go-bag supports one person for about 72 hours away from home. Keep it light enough that its owner can carry it for an hour. A bag that’s too heavy gets left behind. Pack the heaviest items close to the back, and keep each bag where it can be grabbed on the way out.
Water and food
- ☐ Water: 1–2 liters (about 2 quarts) to carry, in sturdy bottles. Three days of drinking water is too heavy to carry for most people, so add a way to treat more:
- ☐ Water filter or purification tablets
- ☐ Three days of compact, no-cook food: energy bars, nuts, dried fruit, nut butter
- ☐ Metal cup or small pot, and a spoon
Health
- ☐ At least 7 days of each person’s prescription medicines, in original packaging, with a printed list of medicines and doses
- ☐ Spare glasses or contact lenses
- ☐ Small first-aid kit, including any personal items (an inhaler, an allergy auto-injector)
- ☐ Hand sanitizer, a few face masks, and wet wipes
- ☐ Sunscreen and insect repellent, if your climate calls for them
Light, power and communications
- ☐ Headlamp or flashlight, with spare batteries
- ☐ Phone charging cable and a charged power bank
- ☐ Two-way radio, if your household uses them, with spare batteries
- ☐ Small battery or hand-crank radio (one per household is enough)
- ☐ Whistle, to signal for help
Documents and money
- ☐ The person’s wallet contact card (OMC-WKS-003)
- ☐ Copies of key documents in a waterproof bag: ID, insurance, medical information (one full set per household)
- ☐ Cash in small bills
- ☐ A printed copy of the household communications plan and a local map with routes marked
Clothing and shelter
- ☐ A complete change of clothes, suited to the season
- ☐ Sturdy shoes, if the person doesn’t usually wear them
- ☐ Rain jacket or poncho
- ☐ Warm layer and a hat, even in summer
- ☐ Emergency blanket or a compact sleeping bag
Hygiene
- ☐ Toothbrush, toothpaste, soap, and a small towel
- ☐ Toilet paper and a few plastic bags
- ☐ Menstrual supplies, if needed
Tools
- ☐ Multi-tool or knife (where legal to carry)
- ☐ Duct tape (a few turns wrapped around a pencil or bottle)
- ☐ Notebook and pencil
For children
- ☐ A small comfort item, a book or a game
- ☐ Their own contact card, and a photo of the child kept in a parent’s bag
For infants
- ☐ Ready-to-feed formula (no water needed) or breastfeeding supplies, bottles, diapers and wipes for 3 days, and a change of clothes
For pets
- ☐ Food and water for 3 days, bowls, leash or carrier
- ☐ Medicines, vaccination records and a recent photo
- ☐ Waste bags or litter
Part 2: The grab lists
When you have to leave, take the go-bags first, then work down the list for the time you have. Each list includes everything in the list before it. Assign each item to a person in advance (the “Who” column in the worksheet), so everyone grabs different things.
If you have 5 minutes
- ☐ People and pets
- ☐ Go-bags
- ☐ Phones and wallets
- ☐ Prescription medicines and medical devices (including chargers)
- ☐ Keys (home and vehicle)
- ☐ Shoes and coats
- ☐ Go: don’t stop for anything else
If you have 15 minutes
- ☐ Everything on the 5-minute list
- ☐ Laptop or tablet, and chargers
- ☐ Extra water and food from the kitchen
- ☐ Pet carriers, pet food, and the pets’ go-bag
- ☐ Glasses, hearing aids, mobility aids
- ☐ Two-way radios and the household battery radio
- ☐ Any irreplaceable small items you’ve listed in advance (photos on a drive, heirlooms that fit in a pocket)
- ☐ Leave a note in your agreed place: where you’ve gone, and when
If you have 60 minutes
- ☐ Everything on the 15-minute list
- ☐ Sleeping bags or bedding, and extra warm clothing for everyone
- ☐ More water and food: enough for several days
- ☐ The household’s original documents (or the safe or box that holds them)
- ☐ Tools, a larger first-aid kit, and a camp stove with fuel
- ☐ Vehicle fueled, or as full as you can get it safely
- ☐ Secure the home: close windows and doors; turn off gas only if officials tell you to or you smell gas (it may need a professional to turn back on); switch off the electricity at the main breaker if flooding is expected; unplug appliances
- ☐ Let your out-of-area contact know you’re leaving, and where to
- ☐ Lock up as you go
Keeping it ready
| When | What to do |
|---|---|
| Every 6 months | Check each bag: replace food and water before expiry, update medicines, swap clothes for the season, test lights and radios, recharge power banks |
| Every 6 months | Run a timed grab-and-go drill (below) |
| Whenever something changes | New baby, new pet, new medicine, new school or workplace: update the bag and the contact card |
| After using any item | Replace it at once |
Twice-yearly checks are easy to tie to fixed dates, such as the start of spring and fall.
Grab-and-go drill. Pick a time. Say “five minutes” and start a timer. Everyone takes their go-bag and does their jobs on the 5-minute list, then meets at the vehicle or the near-home meeting point. Note what took too long, what was hard to find, and what was forgotten. Fix those things, and update the worksheet.
Part 3: Worksheet — where things are and who grabs them
Fill this in together. In a hurry, nobody should have to ask where something is.
| Item | Where it’s kept | Who grabs it |
|---|---|---|
| Go-bags | ||
| Prescription medicines | ||
| Medical devices and chargers | ||
| Keys (home and vehicle) | ||
| Pet carriers, leashes and pet go-bag | ||
| Original documents | ||
| Cash | ||
| Two-way radios and battery radio | ||
| Laptop, tablet and chargers | ||
| Irreplaceable small items | ||
| Extra water and food | ||
| Sleeping bags and bedding | ||
| Tools and larger first-aid kit | ||
| Gas shutoff tool and main breaker |
Our near-home meeting point: ________________________ · Our fallback location: ________________________
Who decides when we leave: ________________ · Date of last drill: ____________
Sources
- US Federal Emergency Management Agency, Build a Kit (Ready.gov)
- OmniCORE, Readiness Framework, Family Grid-Down Preparedness Plan and Family Communications Plan
OmniCORE is an open-source preparedness initiative stewarded by UpRiver Holdings LLC. You may share and adapt this work for any purpose, with attribution to OmniCORE (omnicore.blog). The OmniCORE name is not licensed for endorsement. Do not present an adapted version as an official OmniCORE publication.
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