A go bag is the bag you pick up when you have minutes to leave home: a wildfire, a flood, a gas leak, an evacuation order. It holds what you need to get through about three days on your own: water, food, medicine, copies of your documents, and the few tools that make those days bearable. Ready.gov and the American Red Cross both recommend one, and the Red Cross counts a three-day supply for an evacuation.
Pack one bag per person, sized to what that person can carry for a long walk. A sturdy backpack is better than a suitcase: it leaves your hands free. Children can carry a small bag of their own with a few light things and something familiar.
The checklist, in nine categories
1. Water
Ready.gov counts one gallon (3.8 liters) per person per day, for drinking and for sanitation. Three days of that is too heavy to carry, so keep most of it at home or in the car and pack a way to make more water safe.
- Bottled water: 2–3 liters (about ¾ gallon) per person
- A water filter or purification tablets
- A collapsible bottle or bag to carry water you find
2. Food
- Three days of non-perishable food that needs no cooking: energy bars, nuts, dried fruit, crackers, ready-to-eat pouches
- Emergency ration bars, which keep for years
- A manual can opener, if you pack cans
- A spoon, a cup and a few zip bags
- Something familiar for children: a favorite snack goes a long way on a bad day
3. First aid and medicine
- A first aid kit: bandages, gauze, tape, antiseptic wipes, gloves, scissors, tweezers
- Prescription medicine for at least seven days, the supply the Red Cross recommends, and a written list of doses
- Pain relievers, anti-diarrhea medicine, antacids and antihistamines
- Spare glasses, or contact lenses and solution
- Dust masks or N95 respirators, for smoke and debris
- Hand sanitizer and disinfecting wipes
4. Documents
- Copies of passports, driver's licenses and ID cards
- Insurance policies, and the deed or lease to your home
- Medical information: prescriptions, allergies, conditions, vaccination records
- A paper list of emergency contacts, in case your phone dies
- Recent photos of each family member and pet, to help find them if you are separated
- All of it in a waterproof pouch
What to copy and how to keep it safe is in the emergency documents guide.
5. Cash and keys
- Cash in small bills: card terminals and ATMs go down with the power
- Spare keys to your home and car
6. Tools
- A flashlight or headlamp, with spare batteries
- A multi-tool or pocket knife
- A whistle, to signal for help
- Duct tape and a few zip ties
- Work gloves
- A lighter, or matches in a waterproof container
- A paper map of your area, with your evacuation routes marked
7. Shelter and warmth
- An emergency blanket, or a sleeping bag if you have room
- A rain poncho
- A change of clothes, a warm layer, socks and underwear
- Sturdy, closed shoes you can walk in
- A hat and gloves in the cold months, a sun hat in the hot ones
8. Communication
- A phone charger and a charged power bank
- A battery-powered or hand-crank radio, ideally a NOAA Weather Radio
- Spare batteries for everything that takes them
- Your family's meeting place and an out-of-area contact, written down
- A pen and a small notebook
9. Personal care and hygiene
- Toothbrush, toothpaste and soap
- Toilet paper and moist towelettes
- Garbage bags and plastic ties, for sanitation
- Menstrual products
- Sunscreen and insect repellent
Extras for children, older relatives and pets
- Babies: formula, bottles, diapers, wipes and a change of clothes
- Children: a comfort toy, a book or a game, and a card in their bag with your name and phone number
- Older relatives: spare hearing aid batteries, chargers for medical devices, mobility aids and extra glasses
- Pets: three days of food and water, a leash or carrier, waste bags, vaccination records and a photo
Where to keep your go bag
By the door you would leave through, or in a closet on the way to it, where everyone in the house knows to find it. Ready.gov suggests a kit in three places: at home, at work, where you should be ready to shelter for at least 24 hours, and in the car, in case you are stranded. The work and car kits can be smaller; they are often called get-home bags.
Keep it somewhere cool and dry. Heat shortens the life of water, food, batteries and medicine, so a car trunk in summer is a poor home for anything you will need to rely on.
Keep it ready
A packed bag is not a finished one. Every six months, check the dates on water, food and medicine, recharge the power bank, swap clothes for the season and make sure the children's still fit. The kit maintenance guide has the full routine.
In GoBag+, these nine categories are already set up. Tell the app how many people you are packing for and the recommended quantities adjust; mark what you have, and it shows what is still missing. With Premium, it alerts you before anything expires.