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In a hurry? The one I'd buy from each shelf.
- First aid kitLewis-Plast 90-piece kitUnder £15
- Cash and paperworkFireproof document bag, A4Under £20
First aid kit
The official list: waterproof plasters, bandages, a thermometer, antiseptic, eyewash, sterile dressings and gloves, medical tape and tweezers.
Lewis-Plast 90-piece kit
Most homes
Covers nearly everything on the official list in a zip bag. Add a thermometer and you’re done.
St John Ambulance home first aid kit
A family, kept stocked
Better dressings, a proper guide leaflet, and the money goes to people who turn up at fun runs with a defibrillator.
St John Ambulance workplace kit (BS 8599-1, small)
A big household or a workshop
Built to the workplace standard, in a wall-mountable case. More burns dressings and eye wash than a home kit.
A kit is not a skill. St John Ambulance and the British Red Cross both run short courses, and the Red Cross first aid app is free.
Medicines
I’m not qualified to advise you on medicines and wouldn’t if I were. The official advice is short:
- Request repeat prescriptions in good time, up to five working days before you need them, so you’re never down to the last strip when something goes wrong.
- Keep a written list of everyone’s regular medication and doses.
- If you rely on powered medical equipment, join the Priority Services Register and talk to whoever supplies the equipment about power cuts.
- Ask your pharmacist what a sensible home medicine cabinet looks like for your household. They’re very good at it and it’s free.
Hygiene
The official list says hand sanitiser, wet wipes and bathroom products. The national memory says loo roll.
- Toilet roll, one spare bulk pack beyond what you’d normally hold. One. We all remember 2020 and none of us came out of it well.
- Hand sanitiser for when the water’s off.
- Wet wipes, which go in the bin and never down the loo.
- Soap, toothpaste, period products, nappies. A month’s spare of whatever your household gets through.
- Heavy-duty bin bags, which have more emergency uses than any gadget.
Cash and paperwork
Card machines and cash points need power and a data connection. Keep some cash in the house in small notes and coins. How much is your business; enough for a few days of bread, milk and a taxi is the idea.
Then the paperwork: copies of passports, birth certificates and insurance policies, plus a handwritten list of phone numbers. You don’t know anyone’s number any more. Nobody does.
Fireproof document bag, A4
Copies and a float of cash
A zipped pouch that shrugs off water and buys time in a fire. Lives in the emergency box.
Master Lock fire chest
Originals
A small lockable chest rated for fire and water. Heavy enough to be a nuisance to a burglar and to you.
Babies and pets
- Ready-to-feed formula, as you may not be able to boil water. Nappies and wipes.
- A fortnight of pet food and any pet medication. Water for them too.