Prepper Gear List: What to Buy First for a Midwest Home

The lights flicker, the furnace clicks off, and you head for the junk drawer hoping the flashlight still works. That is the moment this list is for. It is the gear a Midwest family should have on hand before the first winter outage, sorted by what you will need first, with what to look for when you buy it. Each item links to the full guide on this site if you want the details.

Water first

Water is the first thing you run out of, so it comes first on the list.

Food-grade water containers. 5–7 gallon jugs are easy to carry and fill; larger barrels work for long-term storage. Use containers made for drinking water, not old milk jugs. Plan on at least 1 gallon per person per day, for at least 3 days. See Water Storage for a Family.
A way to make water safe. Keep plain, unscented household bleach and a dropper (6% bleach: 8 drops per gallon; 8.25% bleach: 6 drops), a filter rated 1 micron or smaller for parasites (about 0.1 micron or less to remove bacteria too), and purification tablets in your kits. See Water Purification: Boil, Filter, Bleach, Tablets.
The water you already own. Your water heater holds 30–50 gallons or more. Learn how to shut off the inlet and drain it before you need to: Your Water Heater Is an Emergency Water Tank.

Light and batteries

Candles feel cozy in an outage and start a lot of house fires. Battery light is safer.

Headlamps: one per person, so everyone has both hands free.
Battery lanterns: two, for the rooms where the family gathers.
Flashlights: one per bedroom, plus one in the kitchen.
Batteries in as few sizes as possible. Buy lights that take the same size so one stash covers them all, and keep 9-volts taped or capped, because their terminals can short against metal and get hot.

More in Candles vs. Lanterns vs. Headlamps and Batteries: What to Buy, How to Store, When to Rotate.

Alerts when the phone is dead

A NOAA weather radio with SAME. You program your county code, and it only sounds for alerts in your area. It can wake you when a tornado warning is issued at night, even if your phone is dead or the cell network is down. See NOAA Weather Radios Explained.

Carbon monoxide alarms

Outages are when people run generators, camp stoves and heaters they don't use the rest of the year. That is why the CO alarm belongs on a gear list.

A battery-backup CO alarm on every floor and near every sleeping area. Look for the UL 2034 listing on the package and the back of the unit.
Spare batteries of the right size, kept with your flashlight batteries.
A replacement date. The sensors wear out: the CDC says to replace detectors every 5 years or as the manufacturer directs. A single chirp every 30 to 60 seconds often means the alarm has reached the end of its life, not just a low battery.

See A CO Alarm on Every Floor Before the First Outage Night.

Backup power

Many prepared households end up with both a battery power station and a gas generator. Start with what you need to keep running: the fridge, the sump pump, phones, a CPAP.

A portable power station. Check the watt-hours (how much it stores), the continuous watts (what it can run at once), the battery type (LiFePO4 lasts more charge cycles), and how it recharges. Start with Portable Power Station vs. Generator, then What a Power Station Won't Run. Comparing two popular models: Bluetti Elite 100 vs Jackery Explorer 1000.
A generator, sized for your house. See How to Size a Backup Generator and Starting Watts and Running Watts. It runs outdoors only, at least 20 feet from the house and away from windows, doors and vents: Generator Safety.
The right extension cords. A 12-gauge cord is the go-to for a fridge, freezer or sump pump at 25 to 50 feet; use 10-gauge for heavy loads or runs of 50 to 100 feet. A thin 16-gauge cord is for lamps and chargers, not a fridge. See Extension Cord Gauge for a Generator and a Fridge.
A safe way to connect to the house. Never backfeed through an outlet. A transfer switch or interlock kit, installed by an electrician, is the safe way: Transfer Switch vs. Interlock Kit Explained.

Heat and food

A plan for one warm room, with blankets and sleeping bags gathered in one place. See Keeping One Room Warm in a Winter Outage and Heating Your Home Without Power, Safely. Keep anything that burns at least 3 feet from heaters, stoves and fireplaces.
Food that needs no fridge and no cooking: canned goods, peanut butter, crackers, granola bars, dried fruit. Have at least 3 days of it. A closed fridge keeps food cold for about 4 hours, and a full freezer holds for about 48 hours (about 24 if half full). See Cooking When the Power's Out and A 3-Month Food Supply on a Normal Grocery Budget.

Sanitation

When the water or sewer is out, a bucket toilet keeps the house livable.

Two 5-gallon buckets with tight lids
Heavy-duty 13-gallon kitchen bags and a box of contractor bags
A 20-plus-pound bag of clumping or clay cat litter
Hand sanitizer with at least 60% alcohol, and a large pack of body wipes
A 2- to 5-gallon water jug with a spigot for handwashing

The full setup: Sanitation and Hygiene When the Water Is Off.

First aid

A real home first-aid kit, not the little box of bandages under the sink: bleeding control, wound care, burn care, splints for sprains and breaks, and the medicines your family takes. Training matters more than the gear. See Building a Real Home First-Aid Kit, and if someone in the house uses insulin or a medical device, Insulin When the Fridge Is Off and Home Oxygen, CPAP and Other Medical Devices.

Kits that put it all together

A 72-hour kit for staying home through the first three days: 72-Hour Kit Checklist for Midwest Families.
A winter car kit, because a Midwest winter can strand you on a highway for hours: Winter Car Kit, Midwest Edition.
A bug-out bag for the rare time you have to leave: Bug-Out Bag Checklist.
A grab-and-go document binder and some cash: The Grab-and-Go Document Binder and Emergency Cash: How Much and Where to Keep It.

You don't need all of it this weekend. Water, light, a weather radio and a CO alarm on every floor cover the first night of most outages. Add backup power and the rest as the budget allows, and see What to Buy in October for a November Outage for what to pick up first this fall.