Owning an emergency kit is the first step in being prepared for the unexpected emergency or disaster. The second step is making sure your kit is well stocked, contains the right tools, and is ready to be used. In order to prepare an emergency kit, you need to know what you're going to need. You might be thinking that you'll need different supplies depending on differing situations, right? Absolutely, depending on what emergency you find yourself in will determine what supplies and tools you'll need. That being said, how can you possibly decide what to pack? Easy. Every emergency kit has a foundation – a list of supplies that absolutely must be included. After you have packed these items, you can then pack additional tools and supplies.

If you purchase a kit from Survival-supply.com, every kit comes with the basic foundational supplies of water, food, hand crank or battery operated radio, flashlight, batteries, first aid kit, whistle, moist toilettes, garbage bags, wrench or a pair of pliers, a can opener, local maps and a cell phone with a solar charger. If you are building your own emergency kit, make sure you check out Survival-supply.com's build your emergency kit section to see the supplies on their emergency kits list. FEMA also offers an extensive emergency kit list for kit builders including an additional supply list, first aid kit list, and a supply list for unique needs.

Never attempt to build your emergency kit from memory. The last thing you want to do is forget important supplies like a blanket, flashlight or extra batteries. Even if you think you wont forget the necessities, its better to be safe than sorry, so check them off that list! After you've built your kit, keep a list of the supplies you included. If you add supplies, add them to your list, as well. You should keep the list of supplies in your kit; that way, when it comes time to replace supplies, you'll always know what you started with. Part of having an emergency kit is making sure it's ready to be used at any moment.