{"id":92,"date":"2025-08-28T10:30:56","date_gmt":"2025-08-27T22:30:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/downstreamcollective.nz\/?p=92"},"modified":"2025-09-01T18:29:58","modified_gmt":"2025-09-01T06:29:58","slug":"the-go-bag-post","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/downstreamcollective.nz\/?p=92","title":{"rendered":"The Go-Bag Post"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>As discussed in the <a href=\"https:\/\/downstreamcollective.nz\/?p=27\">Intro to Preparedness<\/a> post, there are several different situations for which you might need supplies. This post discusses the \u201cgo-bag\u201d (grab\u2019n\u2019go bag, bug out bag, SHTF bag, etc), or what you will ideally take with you if you are at home and need to evacuate to a friend\u2019s place, family member\u2019s place, or to an evacuation centre.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A lot of guides will tell you to keep a bag of goods stashed somewhere near your door so you can grab it in a hurry and know you\u2019ve got the essentials. This isn\u2019t <em>wrong<\/em>, but it\u2019s not the whole story.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Especially if money is tight, some of your evacuation needs will double as everyday items. (Wallet and phone, for a couple of obvious examples!) But you do want to be able to grab everything in a short period of time. I suggest the \u2018fridge list\u2019 \u2013 a quick checklist on your fridge that specifies what items aren\u2019t in the bag and need to be thrown in before you scarper. Under pressure, it can be hard to think and remember calmly, and having the ease of the checklist minimises the risk of forgetting something important.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It might look like this:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Wallet<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Cell phone<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Prescription meds (fridge)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Power-bank (middle pocket of work bag)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Raincoat (hanging in front hallway)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Sleeping bag (wardrobe shelf)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>As for what should be in your go-bag, here are some suggestions, in no particular order (customise according to your resources, preferences, and needs):<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Wallet (including <span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">CASH<\/span>)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Cell phone<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Prescription medicines<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Power-bank<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Charging cable\/s (USB and\/or wall plug)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>First aid kit, including painkillers, antihistamines, etc.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Menstrual products (if relevant)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Toilet paper and hand sanitiser<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Underwear and socks<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Warm gloves and base layers (depending on climate)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Toiletries (toothbrush and toothpaste, deodorant, etc)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Rubbish bags<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Water and snacks<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Playing cards or other small game<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">This is not a complete list<\/span>. Feel free to add to it. If you are responsible for another person you will need to have supplies for them as well, including any personal items or medications. The same goes for pets! Whether this is a separate bag or you just have one large bag is up to you but be prepared to carry your bag in case you are evacuating on foot (roads damaged).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Finally, it\u2019s good to do a stocktake of any perishables in your bag on a regular basis \u2013 things like food, water, medications, batteries, etc. I use daylight savings changes as a reminder to check expiry dates (at the same time as I check my smoke alarm batteries), but any significant date will work, and you can set a calendar reminder if that makes it easier to remember.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>As discussed in the Intro to Preparedness post, there are several different situations for which you might need supplies. This post discusses the \u201cgo-bag\u201d (grab\u2019n\u2019go bag, bug out bag, SHTF bag, etc), or what you will ideally take with you if you are at home and need to evacuate to a friend\u2019s place, family member\u2019s place, or to an evacuation centre. A lot of guides will tell you to keep a bag of goods stashed somewhere near your door so you can grab it in a hurry and know you\u2019ve got the essentials. This isn\u2019t wrong, but it\u2019s not the whole story. Especially if money is tight, some of your evacuation needs will double as everyday items. (Wallet and phone, for a couple of obvious examples!) But you do want to be able to grab everything in a short period of time. I suggest the \u2018fridge list\u2019 \u2013 a quick checklist on your fridge that specifies what items aren\u2019t in the bag and need to be thrown in before you scarper. Under pressure, it can be hard to think and remember calmly, and having the ease of the checklist minimises the risk of forgetting something important. It might look like this: As for what should be in your go-bag, here are some suggestions, in no particular order (customise according to your resources, preferences, and needs): This is not a complete list. Feel free to add to it. If you are responsible for another person you will need to have supplies for them as well, including any personal items or medications. The same goes for pets! Whether this is a separate bag or you just have one large bag is up to you but be prepared to carry your bag in case you are evacuating on foot (roads damaged). Finally, it\u2019s good to do a stocktake of any perishables in your bag on a regular basis \u2013 things like food, water, medications, batteries, etc. I use daylight savings changes as a reminder to check expiry dates (at the same time as I check my smoke alarm batteries), but any significant date will work, and you can set a calendar reminder if that makes it easier to remember.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[12,11],"class_list":["post-92","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-preparedness","tag-evacuation","tag-go-bag"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/downstreamcollective.nz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/92","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/downstreamcollective.nz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/downstreamcollective.nz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/downstreamcollective.nz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/downstreamcollective.nz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=92"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/downstreamcollective.nz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/92\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":99,"href":"https:\/\/downstreamcollective.nz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/92\/revisions\/99"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/downstreamcollective.nz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=92"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/downstreamcollective.nz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=92"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/downstreamcollective.nz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=92"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}