Build a UK grab bag you can actually carry
A grab bag, sometimes called a go bag, is the bag you pick up if you have to leave home at short notice. The useful version is not a survival rucksack. It is a bag someone in the household can carry, packed around the people who live there.
This page helps you build that list. For the item-by-item packing advice, use the full grab bag guide.
Built around publicly available UK emergency preparedness guidance.
Who should build one first
Most UK disruptions ask you to stay put, so a home kit is the usual starting point. A grab bag matters more if you would struggle to gather documents and medication quickly, or if your address has a known flood risk.
Households with a baby, pets, or someone on regular medication get more from a personalised list than from a generic packing pile. The bag has to work for the people who will actually pick it up.
What the builder personalises
The builder asks who is in the household, whether there is a baby or pets, how long you want the bag to cover, and what you can spend. The grab bag location is already selected from this page.
You get quantities and reasons, then tick off what you already own. The aim is a bag you will still be able to lift in a hurry, not a list that fills every litre of a rucksack.
The full packing guide
Use the guide when you want the packing detail: which documents to copy, how heavy the bag should be, what to add for children or pets, and what to leave out. This page does not repeat that list. It turns the same job into a household-specific checklist.
How this sits next to a home or car kit
A home kit is for staying put. A car kit stays in the boot for roadside waits. A grab bag is for leaving quickly with what you cannot replace. Build them as separate lists if you want more than one. Start with the job you are most likely to need.
A grab bag for two adults
A sample of what the builder produces for a ready-to-leave bag. Add children, a baby or pets in the builder and the list changes with you.
Bottled drinking water
Mains water can be interrupted or put under a boil notice. Bottled water needs no power and no preparation.
How much: 12 L (3 L x 2 people x 2 days)
Manual tin opener
An electric opener is useless in a power cut, and a stocked cupboard you cannot open is not a food supply.
Shelf-stable food
Food that keeps without a fridge and can be eaten cold if you have no way to cook.
How much: 4 days of food (1 day of food x 2 people x 2 days)
LED torch
A phone torch drains the battery you need for calls. A proper torch is the most useful thing in a power cut.
How much: 2 torches (1 per person)
Spare batteries
Torches and radios are only as good as the batteries in them. Keep a sealed set that does not get raided for toys.
USB power bank
Keeps phones alive for calls, alerts and torch use. Charge it every few months so it is ready.
Battery or wind-up radio
If the mobile network or your broadband goes down, local radio is how you find out what is happening.
Spare charging cables
A power bank with no cable is a brick. Keep spares in the kit rather than borrowing from the kitchen drawer.
Plus 17 more items in the full list, including warmth, hygiene and documents.
Common questions
- Can I get a grab bag list for my household?
- Yes. Open the builder from this page and the grab bag kit type is already selected. Change who you are packing for and the list updates.
- Will the list change for children or pets?
- Yes. Adding children, a baby or pets changes the extras that are hard to improvise at short notice. The builder treats those as part of the same bag, not a second generic checklist.
- Is a grab bag the same as a car emergency kit?
- No. A car kit stays in the vehicle for breakdowns and short delays. A grab bag is for leaving home. The lists overlap a little, but the jobs are different.
- Should I use the packing guide or the builder first?
- Use the packing guide to understand what belongs in the bag. Use the builder when you want a list scaled to your household, with what you already own ticked off.
- Do I need a special rucksack?
- No. A 25 to 35 litre rucksack most households already own is usually enough. The test is whether someone in the house can carry it up and down the stairs.
Build a grab bag list
Answer four questions and we will turn this into a ready-to-leave checklist for your household. The builder opens with the grab bag type already selected.
Build a grab bag listRelated reading
- What to put in a grab bagThe short list for a bag you can pick up and leave with.
- What should be in a UK emergency kit?The categories most households need, and why.
- Car emergency kitWhat belongs in the boot for breakdowns and winter waits.
- Reviewing your kit twice a yearTen minutes, twice a year, keeps a kit from expiring.
My Emergency Kit is an independent service and is not affiliated with or endorsed by the UK Government or emergency services. Our suggestions are general information for UK households, not professional, medical or emergency advice. In an emergency call 999.