The 90-Day Stockpile Checklist

Water: 360 gallons for four people, 90 days

• The math: 4 people × 90 days × 1 gallon = 360 gallons (CDC baseline, drinking and basic hygiene)
• Bulk anchor: seven 55-gallon tanks or barrels covers it with a small margin
• A gravity filter sized for the household, plus spare filter elements
• Treatment backup: unscented bleach or treatment drops, dated and rotated
• Bottles and jugs filled for the first 3 days while bulk storage is set up
• Containers off concrete, out of sunlight; water preserver where the maker calls for it

Food: 720,000 calories, in layers

• The math: 4 people × 90 days × 2,000 calories = 720,000 calories (children change the total; the food calculator does your household exactly)
• Layer 1: a 30-day working pantry of food you already eat, rotated weekly
• Layer 2: freeze-dried entrées and buckets for days 31 to 90, counted by calories, not servings
• Layer 3: bulk staples (rice, beans, oats) in Mylar with oxygen absorbers for the cheapest calories
• A protein layer: freeze-dried meat, beans, or peanut butter, so entrées are not the whole diet
• Salt, oil, honey or sugar, spices, coffee or tea: morale is a supply category
• Every container labeled with contents and purchase month

Power, heat, and light

• A sized solar kit or a generator plan (generators live at BackupPowerGuides)
• Battery storage matched to the fridge-and-lights load, not to the whole house
• Two lanterns and a flashlight per person; candles last, never first
• A backup heat source rated for indoor use, plus a carbon monoxide detector with batteries
• Warm-room kit: blankets, sleeping bags, door seals for one room

Health and sanitation

• A stocked first-aid kit and 90 days of prescription medications where your prescriber allows
• The bucket toilet: lined bucket, tight lid, heavy bags, cat litter or sawdust
• Soap, sanitizer, bleach, and two weeks of paper goods per month of plan
• Feminine hygiene and infant supplies for the people actually in the house
• Work gloves, dust masks, and eye protection for cleanup work

Communications and information

• A battery or crank radio for news and NOAA weather
• An out-of-area contact everyone texts (calls fail, texts get through)
• Printed local maps and a written contact list, not just phone contacts
• A radio schedule: fixed check-in times instead of all-day listening

Documents, money, and stored value

• Documents in one waterproof bag: IDs, insurance, deeds, medical list
• Photos of every room and valuable, backed up outside the house
• Small cash in small bills: two weeks of household spending
• Stored value beyond cash, if your layers above are done: see the metals and barter guide

Vehicle and go-bags

• A packed 72-hour bag per adult, staged by the door
• A vehicle kit: food bars, water, blanket, flashlight, jumper cables or a jump pack
• The car kept above half a tank during your risk season
• A paper route out of town that avoids flood crossings and chokepoints