What Should Be in a Go-Bag? A Practical Evacuation Checklist

A good go-bag is not a portable warehouse. And it isn't a collection of every survival tool someone on the internet has ever recommended. Its purpose is simple: keep important portable supplies together in case you need to leave quickly. That's it.

A go-bag supports an evacuation plan. It does not replace one. Current Red Cross guidance recommends maintaining a go-kit with at least three days of supplies that you can carry with you. The words "you can carry" matter. If the bag becomes so heavy nobody can realistically move it, you've created storage — not a go-bag.

Start With the Bag

You do not necessarily need an expensive tactical backpack. Choose something that is comfortable, durable, appropriately sized, easy to organize, and easy for the intended person to carry. If multiple adults are evacuating, spreading supplies across more than one bag may be smarter than making one person carry everything. Children should not be given bags that are too heavy simply to make the household inventory fit.

1. Water

Water is heavy, so evacuation water requires compromise. Include a practical portable supply. Then consider collapsible containers, appropriate portable filtration or treatment, and knowledge of your intended destination. Do not mistake a filter for water itself. The most important evacuation question may be: where are we going, and what safe water will be available there?

2. Food

Choose portable foods that store well, require little preparation, fit dietary needs, provide useful energy, and are foods people will actually eat. Include a manual can opener if necessary. For children or infants, include appropriate food/formula. For pets, pack food separately or distribute it based on your household evacuation plan.

3. First Aid and Medication

Include a compact first-aid kit. But personalized medical needs are even more important: prescription medications, medical instructions, spare glasses, necessary medical equipment, allergy information, and important medical contacts. Do not assume that the generic first-aid kit in a commercial go-bag covers your household's medical needs.

4. Lighting

Pack at least one dependable flashlight or headlamp. Headlamps are especially useful because evacuations often involve carrying bags, children, pets or other equipment. Include appropriate batteries or charging.

5. Phone Charging

Add a charged power bank and the correct charging cable. Don't assume every family member uses the same connector — check before packing. Vehicle charging may provide another layer if the evacuation is by car.

6. Emergency Information

Include a way to receive information that doesn't depend entirely on home electricity or internet. A compact emergency/weather radio may make sense depending on your plan. Also maintain written emergency contacts. Phones get lost. Batteries die. Networks fail. Paper still works.

7. Important Documents

You don't necessarily need to carry every original document you own. But you should determine what information you may need if you're displaced. Consider appropriately protected copies of identification, insurance information, medical information, emergency contacts, pet records, and critical household information. Keep sensitive information secure. A waterproof document pouch can be useful.

8. Clothing

Pack a basic change of clothing appropriate to your climate and season: socks, underwear, weather-appropriate layers, sturdy footwear, rain protection, and a warm layer. Your bag should change seasonally if your climate changes significantly. A summer bag in January may not be much help.

9. Shelter and Warmth

Depending on your evacuation plan, consider a lightweight emergency blanket, bivvy, poncho, tarp, and utility cordage. These are particularly valuable when transportation or shelter arrangements may be uncertain. But if your actual evacuation destination is a nearby family member's home, don't fill half your bag with wilderness equipment you are unlikely to use. Build for the plan.

10. Hygiene and Sanitation

Include a toothbrush, small toothpaste, soap or sanitizer, wipes, toilet paper/tissues, menstrual products, necessary personal-care items, small garbage bags, and diapers where applicable. Emergencies don't eliminate ordinary human needs.

11. Children

For young children, think beyond food: diapers, wipes, formula, bottles, medication, a comfort item, a small activity, and identification/contact information appropriate to your circumstances. Evacuation is stressful enough without forgetting the item your child depends on to sleep.

12. Pets

Pets need evacuation planning too: leash, harness, carrier, food, water, bowl, medication, waste supplies, vaccination/medical information, and a recent photograph. Current Red Cross guidance specifically recommends including pet carriers, leashes, food, bowls and relevant supplies in emergency planning.

13. Cash

An appropriate amount of emergency cash can be helpful if electronic payment systems are unavailable. Choose an amount appropriate to your circumstances and store it discreetly.

14. Maps

If you're relying entirely on phone navigation, consider adding a paper map relevant to your area or evacuation route. Ready.gov includes local maps among basic emergency supplies. Know more than one route where practical.

15. Useful Small Items

Depending on your household and plan: a whistle, work gloves, notebook and pen, a basic utility tool, spare keys, dust masks appropriate to common emergency-kit use, and small repair items. Avoid turning the bag into a collection of objects with no defined purpose. Everything should earn its weight.

What Should NOT Be in Your Go-Bag?

• Anything you can't explain.
• Anything so heavy it prevents you from moving.
• A huge quantity of redundant gadgets.
• Items you have never learned to use.
• Expired food or medication.
• Dead batteries.
• Old clothing that no longer fits.
• Documents containing unnecessary sensitive information.

A go-bag should make evacuation simpler, not harder.

The Go-Bag Test

Once your bag is packed: put it on, walk with it, carry it down stairs, put it in your vehicle, have the intended person lift it, find the flashlight without emptying the entire bag, find the first-aid kit quickly, find important documents quickly. If the bag only works when sitting neatly on a bed for a photograph, redesign it.

Keep It Current

Review your go-bag at least periodically and whenever your household changes. Check food, medication, batteries, power banks, children's clothing sizes, seasonal clothing, documents, pet needs, and contact information. A go-bag is not "finished forever."

Most Important: Know Where You're Going

Before congratulating yourself on the bag, answer: where would we go? How would we get there? What if our normal route is unavailable? Where would household members meet? Who is our out-of-area contact? That is the difference between a go-bag and an evacuation plan.