PREPARE. DON’T PANIC.

Grid down preparedness for the people who depend on you

Practical lists, printable checklists and equipment planning for your home, business, school, church or community organization.

By Matt Pasquinilli • Marine veteran, security professional and preparedness author

Start with 72 hours. Build toward two weeks.

Use 72 hours as a starting milestone, not a promise that help or utilities will return by then. Build gradually and keep an evacuation option.

1. Today: Count your people, pets and critical needs. Write emergency contacts and meeting places. Locate supplies you already own.
2. This week: Close gaps in water, no-cook food, lighting, medications, sanitation and charging.
3. Next: Extend toward two weeks where storage and budget allow. Test your plan without relying on Wi-Fi or electronic payments.
4. For 30 days and beyond: Plan resupply, waste removal, cooking fuel, staffing, money and relocation. A larger pile of food does not solve loss of sanitation, cooling or medical support.

Prepare on a limited budget

Inventory first. Add a little extra normal shelf-stable food each grocery trip, rotate it into meals, store safe water, print contacts and keep shoes and lights by the bed. Buy essentials before expensive power systems or specialty survival gadgets. Record quantities and expiry dates so purchases close real gaps.

Home preparedness checklist

• ☐ Write a household contact plan, an out-of-area contact and two meeting places.
• ☐ Store water and foods you can eat without electricity; include a manual can opener.
• ☐ Arrange medication refills, medical-device backup and temperature-sensitive storage with the relevant care provider.
• ☐ Put a flashlight or headlamp where each person can find it. Check smoke and carbon monoxide alarms.
• ☐ Charge power banks; keep matching cables and a battery radio.
• ☐ Plan toilets, handwashing, menstrual products, diapers, trash and pet waste if water service stops.
• ☐ Pack identification copies, contacts, essential medication, small cash, clothing and basic supplies in a carryable evacuation bag.
• ☐ Include infants, older adults, disabilities, language needs, allergies and pets in every part of the plan.
• ☐ Identify safe cooling or warming destinations and transport. Know local alerts and evacuation routes.
• ☐ Practice an outage evening, review gaps and assign a date to fix them.

When the power goes out

Check for immediate danger, account for everyone, use battery lighting, preserve refrigerator/freezer temperatures by keeping doors closed and check official information. Avoid downed lines. Use generators outdoors at least 20 feet from doors, windows and vents, with exhaust directed away; never in a home, garage or enclosed area. Do not backfeed a home through an outlet. Use a qualified electrician for a transfer setup. Never burn grills or outdoor stoves indoors.

Follow evacuation orders. Leave sooner when a building is unsafe or you cannot maintain essential care, safe temperature, water or sanitation. If movement is unsafe, seek emergency guidance and the safest available temporary shelter.

Water, meals and realistic quantities

Water planning baseline: At least one gallon per person per day for drinking and basic sanitation. Hot climates, illness, pregnancy and other needs can require more. Add water for pets, food preparation and any needs beyond the baseline. Organizations must calculate their actual hygiene, toilet and operational needs separately.

Store commercially bottled water or use appropriate cleaned food-grade containers following public-health guidance. Label and rotate supplies. Water is heavy; distribute safely. Follow boil-water or do-not-use advisories; boiling does not remove fuels, salt or toxic chemicals.

Build meals you will actually eat

• ☐ Plan breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks for each person and day.
• ☐ Include ready-to-eat beans, fish or meat, fruit, vegetables, nut or seed butter, crackers and other familiar foods suited to your needs.
• ☐ Check allergens, textures, infant feeding needs and dietary restrictions.
• ☐ Separate foods that need cooking water or fuel from foods ready to eat.
• ☐ Store a manual can opener, utensils, cleaning supplies and safe waste containers.
• ☐ Track refrigerator/freezer temperatures and follow official food-safety guidance. Never taste food to decide whether it is safe.

Simple meal count: people × days × 3 meals. Four people for three days need 36 individual meals, plus snacks. A labeled “serving” may not equal a meal; check calories and nutrition.

Business continuity checklist

Decide what must continue, what can stop and who has authority to close, relocate or reopen. Employee safety comes before maintaining sales.

• ☐ Name an incident lead and backup; publish a paper call tree with staff, landlord, utilities, insurers and key vendors.
• ☐ List essential functions, minimum staffing and dependencies: power, water, internet, payments, refrigeration, access control and suppliers.
• ☐ Set closure and relocation triggers before the outage. Include sanitation, safe temperatures, staffing and accessibility.
• ☐ Back up essential records and test restoring them; keep approved offline forms and contact lists available.
• ☐ Plan manual order tracking and alternate communications. Protect customer and employee information during workarounds.
• ☐ Inventory critical loads with actual watts, surge demand and runtime. Arrange safe professional power installation and fuel logistics if needed.
• ☐ Plan employee welfare, payroll continuity, supplier alternatives and customer updates.
• ☐ Check emergency lighting, exits and whether electronic locks permit safe egress without power.
• ☐ Document losses safely and follow applicable reporting and insurance requirements.
• ☐ Define reopening checks for facilities, food, machinery, data and staffing; assign responsible people.

Test: Run a 30-minute tabletop: the power, internet and card terminal fail during your busiest hour. Who decides what happens in the next ten minutes?

Schools, churches and organizations

Scale by people present, hours of care and services required. Coordinate with your approved emergency plan and local responders. A school caring for children has different responsibilities from a household.

• ☐ Create site-specific roles, backups and a paper roster/accountability system.
• ☐ Include visitors, contractors, transportation staff and people needing assistance.
• ☐ Identify safe shelter areas and evacuation destinations with receiving arrangements and transport.
• ☐ Plan water, meals, toilets, handwashing, medical care, cooling/warming, accessibility and sleeping arrangements if needed.
• ☐ Set supervision and relief staffing; include overnight awake coverage where required.
• ☐ Use approved guardian verification and reunification procedures for children and dependent people.
• ☐ Maintain redundant communications and scheduled updates; test radios on each site without assuming cellular or internet service.
• ☐ Inventory supplies by location, quantities, accessibility, responsible owner and next inspection date.
• ☐ Set relocation decisions early enough to mobilize and travel before essential services fail.
• ☐ Exercise the plan, record lessons and assign corrective actions with deadlines.

Relocation decision rule: Estimate the earliest essential service failure. Subtract mobilization, travel, receiving time and a safety margin to find the decision deadline. Validate those assumptions locally. Do not wait until the last water container is empty.

Keep sensitive rosters, medical information and security details in controlled internal records. This public guide deliberately uses general examples.

Amazon preparedness product lists

Start with the first items you lack, then compare upgrades. These are purchasing categories and selection criteria, not claims that every search result is suitable or personally tested. You may find lower-cost options locally. Do not buy a generator or large battery until you have a safe operating location and a load plan.

For complementary everyday safety equipment, visit Home Security & Personal Protection Gear.

Preparedness books: practical guides and blackout fiction

Use nonfiction to develop your plan and fiction to explore choices under pressure. Fictional events are storytelling, not evidence of an imminent threat. Amazon shows current formats and availability.

Grid Down and EMP Preparedness

Nonfiction. A practical handbook for individuals, households, businesses and groups covering prolonged outages, essential needs and continuity planning.

View on Amazon (paid link)

Before the Lights Return

Fiction. An unexplained blackout during a school day puts Jack Mercer and his community to the test. A short thriller about faith, courage and helping neighbors.

View on Amazon (paid link)

No Safe Road

Fiction. A Thanksgiving road trip becomes a survival journey after an unexplained blackout. In preparation; purchase availability has not been confirmed.

Purchase link forthcoming.

The 72 Hour Stockpile

Nonfiction. A Family Guide to Emergency Preparedness and Stockpiling Food and Water. Covers household planning, food, water, budget preparation and checklists. Purchase availability has not been confirmed.

Purchase link forthcoming.

Practical School Security

Nonfiction. An action guide for school leaders and safety teams, with responsibilities, communication, daily operations and emergency planning.

View on Amazon (paid link)

Explore all books by Matt Pasquinilli

Print-and-fill planning worksheet

Print this page or use your browser’s Print → Save as PDF. Mark completed items on paper and keep a copy with your supplies.

Household / business / organization: ___________________________
Plan owner and backup: ___________________________
People / pets / planning days: ___________________________
Water target / stored / gap: ___________________________
Meals required / stored / gap: ___________________________
Critical medical or accessibility needs: ___________________________
Power loads / backup runtime: ___________________________
Out-of-area contact / paper phone list location: ___________________________
Meeting place / alternate destination: ___________________________
Closure or relocation triggers: ___________________________
Transport / receiving contact: ___________________________
Next inspection / exercise date: ___________________________

Keep the plan ready

Monthly: check charging and accessible lights. Every six months: review supplies, expiration dates, contacts and family/staff changes. After each outage or drill: restock and fix the gaps. Follow manufacturer maintenance schedules for equipment.

Official planning resources

Use current local emergency instructions and manufacturer directions for the situation you face. This page is general educational planning guidance.

• Ready.gov: emergency supply kits
• Ready.gov: power outages
• Ready.gov: business preparedness
• CDC: creating and storing emergency water
• FoodSafety.gov: food safety during a power outage

Prepared October 30, 2026. Build a plan you can practice, maintain and afford.