Supply lists

I recommend everyone get 50 or more of these. They're cheap, one of the densest ways to store calories, need no water or cooking, and are made not to make you thirsty. 5-year shelf life.

Steel safety cans beat plastic. The spring-loaded lid lets pressure out as the fuel warms, so keep them outside the house: a shed or detached garage, out of the sun.

Stored gasoline goes stale. Treated fuel stays usable for up to 24 months, according to the maker.

If you're not an electrician, portable panels are much harder to get wrong. Plan to buy more of the same model as you expand: mismatched panels wired together drag each other down. Check your power station's solar input limits first.

If someone is shot or badly hurt, help may not come in time. A stocked trauma bag lets you act until it does. Take a Stop the Bleed class so you know how to use it.

Heat kills, and on battery power efficiency is king. ENERGY STAR rates this inverter window AC at 15.0 CEER, better than the heat-pump window units we found on Amazon, and it draws about 710 W at full cooling (per the listing), less once the room is cool. It doesn't heat, and that's no loss: Midea's heat-pump version stops heating below 41°F outside, which is when cold turns dangerous.