7-Day Survival Plan at Home: Water, Heat, Light, Food, and First Aid

The lights go out at 2:13 a.m. Not a flicker—dead quiet. Within an hour, your home slides below 55°F, the tap coughs air, and your phone drops to one bar as the cell tower backup bleeds out. By dawn, the grocery down the street is dark, the traffic lights are dead, and your neighbor is melting snow in a stockpot. This isn’t a wilderness epic; it’s a Tuesday in February during a cold snap, a windstorm, or a grid failure. In Texas 2021, millions lost power and water for days and over two hundred people died. The difference between discomfort and danger isn’t luck—it’s preparation measured in gallons, lumens, calories, and skills.

I’ve spent years teaching home-based resilience and stress-testing gear in real outages, winter storms, and boil-water advisories. A seven-day plan isn’t about “prepping for the apocalypse.” It’s about building the quiet competence to keep a household safe, warm, hydrated, fed, and medically squared away when services stagger or stop.

This guide breaks the problem into five controllable pillars—water, heat, light, food, and first aid—then builds a simple, repeatable 7-day system you can stage this weekend. You’ll get exact quantities (how many gallons per person, how many BTUs to hold 60°F in a cold snap), smart storage and purification methods that don’t taste like a swimming pool, safe heat sources that won’t poison your family, lighting that preserves night vision and morale, a no-cook menu that won’t wreck your digestion, and a first-aid setup that handles the most likely injuries at home.

We’ll avoid gear-for-gear’s-sake and focus on the few items that work, redundancy that matters, and drills that turn theory into muscle memory. If you want a calm, warm house and clear decisions on Day 3—when most people start to fray—read on.

Map Your Home’s 7-Day Baseline: Inventory, Floorplan, Risk Zones, and Daily Consumption Math

You wake at 2 a.m. to the hard silence of a dead grid—no furnace fan, no fridge hum, no streetlights leaking through the blinds. A 7-day outage is survivable at home, but only if you know exactly what you have, where it is, and how fast you burn through it. Before we talk water, heat, light, food, and first aid, map your baseline. It’s the difference between calm execution and panicked guessing.

Inventory with Intent

Walk your home with a clipboard or notes app. You’re not just counting, you’re translating supplies into days.

Consumables: Water, shelf-stable food, fuels (propane, butane, white gas, charcoal), batteries, meds, pet supplies, hygiene.
Infrastructure: Cook kits, filters, power banks, power station/solar, lanterns, headlamps, tools, fire extinguishers, chargers/adapters.
Information: Printed contacts, hard copies of passwords/insurance, local maps, equipment manuals.

Label quantities with usable units. Example: “Water: 14 gallons sealed + 5 gallons in jugs + 40 lbs ice in freezer (≈5 gal water).” “Propane: two 20-lb cylinders (≈430,000 BTU each).” “AAA batteries: 24 count.” “Medications: 30-day supply, exp 10/26.”

Why it matters: Counts are trivia; days are strategy. When you convert inventory to time, you prioritize what to stretch, what to substitute, and what to guard.

Draw Your Floorplan and Risk Zones

Print or sketch each level. Mark:

Shutoffs: Water main, gas, electrical panel; attach the wrench or breaker map right there.
Safe rooms and choke points: Interior room for storms, basement/foundation area for tornadoes, stairwells that bottleneck.
Fire extinguishers (2A:10B:C minimum), first-aid kits, extinguisher dates.
Hazard zones: Tall bookcases, glass-heavy rooms, garages with fuels/chemicals, rooms with many windows (wind/flying debris), flood-prone basements (note historic high-water marks).
Heat/light nodes: Where a safe heater would run (CO detector within 10 feet), where lanterns hang, where you’ll stage power strips.

Why it matters: In the dark, under stress, you’ll move to your map. Pre-marking routes and caches eliminates hesitation and reduces accidents.

Daily Consumption Math (Turn Counts into Days)

Start conservative; you can always stretch later.

Water: Minimum 1 gallon (3.8 L) per person per day for drinking/cooking; 1.5 gallons is more realistic. Formula: people × gallons × days. Four people × 1.5 × 7 = 42 gallons. Pets: ~50 mL/kg/day for dogs, 40 mL/kg/day for cats.
Calories: Adults typically 2,000–2,400 kcal/day in cool weather without heavy exertion. Family of four ≈ 10,000 kcal/day ⇒ 70,000 kcal/week. Audit pantry by labels. Example: 12 cans chili at 360 kcal each = 4,320 kcal (less than half a day for four).
Light/Power: Two 9W LEDs × 4 hours/night = 72 Wh/day. Phones: ~10–15 Wh each/day. Handheld radio listening: ~1–2 Wh/day. A 500 Wh power station supports basic light/charging for ~1 week if you ration; add solar for margin.
Heat (zoned): Emergency goal is room survival, not whole-house comfort. Example: 3,000 BTU/hr catalytic heater used 8 hr/day = 24,000 BTU/day. One 20-lb propane tank (~430,000 BTU) yields ~17–18 days at that rate. Use only heater models rated for indoor use with ventilation and CO alarms.

Common Pitfalls and Quick Fixes

Double counting water (freezer ice, toilet tanks) without converting to gallons—standardize units.
Ignoring special diets and meds—note minimums and expiry; set calendar reminders to rotate.
Overestimating battery life—AA NiMH ≈ 2.4 Wh; a 100-lumen headlamp for 5 hours can burn one AA daily.
Storing fuel without adapters/regulators—test stoves with your cylinders now.
Forgetting tools at the shutoffs—mount the gas wrench and label the main breaker.

Key takeaway: Put numbers on your reality. With inventory translated into days, a marked floorplan, clear risk zones, and honest consumption math, you know your true 7-day capacity. Next, we’ll lock in the most unforgiving variable—water—so you can stretch, sanitize, and stage it intelligently.

Secure Seven Days of Safe Water: Storage Targets, Purification Methods, and Sanitation Logistics

A municipal main breaks during a windstorm and pressure drops to zero. The first hour feels manageable—until you realize faucets won’t save dinner, dishes, or sanitation. Water is where a home survival plan either hums or unravels. Build a simple, redundant system now so seven days feels routine, not desperate.

Set Your 7-Day Target

How much: Minimum is 1 gallon per person per day—7 gallons per adult for a week—for drinking and basic cooking. In hot climates, with kids, elderly, heavy labor, or if you want some hygiene margin, plan 2 gallons/day: 14 gallons per adult for seven days.
Pets: Dogs need roughly 0.5–1 oz per pound per day (a 50-lb dog = 0.2–0.4 gal); cats ~0.1 gal/day. Add it to your math.
Smart storage: Mix formats for flexibility. Examples:
3.5-gallon stackables (WaterBrick-style) for easy carry upstairs.
5–7 gallon HDPE jerry cans with spigots for daily use.
One 55-gallon food-grade drum as “banked” reserve.
Sourcing at home: Your water heater is a hidden 30–50 gallons. Know the steps: cut power/gas, close inlet, open a hot tap to break vacuum, then drain from the heater valve. Keep a hose and nozzle handy.
Rotation and placement: Store cool (50–70°F), dark, off concrete floors. Date containers. Rotate every 6–12 months unless using commercially bottled water with intact seals.

Common mistakes: Relying on flimsy milk jugs (they crack), skipping spigots (makes rationing messy), and stashing everything in a 120°F garage (algae growth and plastic fatigue).

Make It Safe: Purify and Treat

Start with clean, food-grade containers. Sanitize them first: 1 teaspoon unscented household bleach per quart (or 1 tablespoon per gallon) of water, contact 30 seconds, drain, air dry.

Municipal tap storage: If it’s potable and chlorinated, you don’t need to add bleach—fill, seal, and store.
Disinfecting uncertain water (clear, not cloudy):
Unscented bleach (6–8.25%): add, stir, wait 30 minutes. Use 8 drops (1/8 tsp) per gallon for 6% bleach; 6 drops per gallon for 8.25%. You should smell a faint chlorine odor; if not, repeat once and wait 15 minutes.
Boiling: rolling boil 1 minute (3 minutes above 6,500 ft). Boil when in doubt.
Filters and purifiers: A 0.1–0.2 micron hollow-fiber filter (Sawyer/Katadyn style) removes bacteria and protozoa. To address viruses, add chemical treatment (chlorine dioxide tablets) or use an NSF/ANSI P231-certified purifier bottle/press. Turbid water? Pre-filter through cloth/coffee filter before any method.
UV pens work well on clear water; don’t rely on them alone for sediment-heavy sources.

Troubleshooting: “Pool taste” after bleach? Aerate by pouring between containers; run through an activated carbon element to improve taste. Cloudy water overwhelms disinfectants—always clarify first.

Sanitation and Use Logistics

Hand/food station: Set a 5–7 gallon jerry can with spigot on a counter, a catch basin beneath, soap, and paper towels. Plan ~0.5 gallon/person/day for hygiene if you’re disciplined.
Toilet strategy: Reserve potable water for drinking/cooking. For flushing, collect bathtub water at the first sign of a shutoff (a liner like a WaterBOB keeps it clean). “Bucket flush” with 0.5–1 gallon poured quickly into the bowl. Greywater from dish rinses works here too.
Kitchen discipline: Cook one-pot meals, use lids, and batch dishes once daily. A spray bottle with a few drops of dish soap and a second with diluted bleach (1 tablespoon per gallon) stretches cleaning water.

Key takeaways: Set a hard target (7–14 gallons per adult), diversify containers with spigots, sanitize and rotate, and pair a reliable filter with bleach or boil. Establish a hygiene station and a flushing plan so your drinking reserve stays untouched. With water squared away, we can turn to keeping the house warm and lit when the grid goes dark.

Stay Warm When the Grid Goes Dark: Safe Indoor Heating, Insulation Tactics, and CO/Fire Safety

A cold snap takes the grid down on a Sunday evening. By midnight, your thermostat is a dead ornament and the house is losing heat fast. The goal isn’t to keep every room toasty; it’s to create one safe, warm microclimate you can sustain for seven days without creating new hazards. Here’s how to do that with intention, not guesswork.

Choose and Use Safe Heat

Start by consolidating into one room (150–250 sq ft is manageable) on the leeward side of the house, ideally with few windows and an interior door you can close. If you have a vented wood stove, you’re already set—keep 36 in clearance (12 in with proper shielding), store ash in a metal bin with lid outdoors, and feed seasoned wood for clean burns. For non-vented options, use only heaters rated “indoor-safe,” such as catalytic propane heaters (e.g., 4,000–9,000 BTU units) or UL-listed kerosene heaters.

Fuel math matters. A 9,000 BTU/hr heater running 8 hrs burns roughly:
– Propane: ~3.3 lbs (1 lb ≈ 21,600 BTU; a 20 lb tank ≈ 432,000 BTU)
– Kerosene: ~0.5 gal/hr (1 gal ≈ 135,000 BTU)

Plan for cycling, not constant burn: heat the room to 60–65°F, then cycle off to conserve fuel while you insulate. Always crack a window 1 in on the opposite side of the room and leave an interior door ajar to promote air exchange. Keep 36 in clearance around non-vented heaters, and never use ovens, charcoal, or generators indoors.

Insulate Like a Pro—Build a Microclimate

You win more by trapping heat than by making it. Stack tactics:
– Windows/Doors: Tape plastic sheeting over windows; add heavy curtains or blankets. Use door snakes or rolled towels at thresholds. Cover unused vents.
– Floor: Lay rugs, yoga mats, or cardboard under sleeping spots; cold sinks to the floor first.
– Heat Nucleus: Pitch a small tent inside the room or build a blanket canopy over a table to concentrate body heat. A two-person tent can bump interior temps 5–10°F with two occupants.
– Warmth Multipliers: Fill metal bottles with 140–160°F water (not boiling) and wrap in a towel as hot water bottles. Boil outdoors if using a camp stove, then bring in. Wear moisture-wicking base layers, an insulating mid-layer, and a windproof shell—sweat is your enemy.

CO and Fire Discipline

Install battery CO detectors on every floor and outside sleeping areas (follow manufacturer height guidance; CO mixes evenly). Test daily. Symptoms—headache, dizziness, nausea—mean stop, ventilate, and move outside. Keep an ABC extinguisher accessible, check that smoke alarms have fresh batteries, and create 3 ft “no-stuff” zones around heaters. Store fuels outside or in a detached structure; bring in only what you’ll use that day. Candlelight adds ambiance, not heat—keep candles in sturdy holders on nonflammable surfaces, never unattended.

Common Mistakes and Quick Fixes

Room won’t warm: Your space is too big or leaky. Downsize to a smaller room or add window plastic and a tent canopy.
Sooty flame/smell: Incomplete combustion. Increase ventilation, check wicks (kerosene), and clean air intakes.
CO alarm chirps vs. alerts: Chirps = low battery; replace. Continuous alarm = evacuate and ventilate.
Condensation/ice on windows: Vent briefly (2–3 minutes) every few hours. Dry wet clothing in a separate area.
Heater shuts off: O2-depletion sensor kicked in. Improve airflow; don’t bypass safety features.

Key takeaway: Heat smart, not hard. Pair an indoor-safe heat source with aggressive insulation and strict CO/fire discipline. With the room dialed in, you’ll conserve fuel, sleep warmer, and stay safer. Next, we’ll turn to lighting that keeps you productive after sunset without blinding your night vision—or draining your batteries.

Light and Low-Draw Power That Lasts: Battery Math, Charging Loops, and Critical Device Management

The lights go out on day three, right when the weather finally clears. You’ve conserved well, but now it’s about precision: keeping the house navigable after dark, radios talking, and phones alive without burning through your reserves. This is where a little battery math and a tight charging loop turn “we’re coping” into “we’re fine.”

Battery Math That Matters

Know your watt-hours (Wh). Manufacturers love milliamp-hours (mAh), but Wh is what actually tells you how long things run.

Convert: Wh = (mAh ÷ 1000) × voltage. Most USB power banks use 3.7V cells internally. So a “20,000 mAh” bank is roughly 20 × 3.7 = 74Wh. After conversion losses, assume 60–65Wh usable.
Device draw: LED headlamp on low 1W; lantern 3W; phone charging averages ~5–8Wh per full charge; handheld radio on receive ~0.5–1W; small AA-powered motion light ~0.2–0.5W intermittent.
Runtime example: A 3W lantern on a 10.8Wh 18650 (3,000 mAh at 3.6V) runs ~3 hours at 100% brightness. Drop to 1W and you triple that.
Efficiency tax: Plan for 10–20% losses on DC-DC (USB) and 20–40% if you go DC → AC (inverter) → DC (wall charger). If you don’t need AC, avoid it.

Why this matters: once you think in Wh, you can allocate power by task. For a 7-day window, 60Wh/day supports: 4 hours of 1W task lighting (4Wh), two phone charges (16Wh), a radio scanning 12 hours (8Wh), and still have margin for headlamps and sensors.

Build a Simple, Reliable Charging Loop

Keep it modular and standardized.

Source: A 50W foldable solar panel yields ~150Wh on a good summer day (4 peak sun hours × 50W × ~75% system efficiency). In winter/clouds, plan on 60–100Wh.
Storage: 12V LiFePO4 (10–20Ah) is efficient, safe, and cycles well. Or go all-USB: two 20,000 mAh banks give ~120Wh usable combined.
Distribution: Use a quality USB-C PD car adapter or a 12V-to-USB buck converter (90–95% efficient). Avoid inverters unless you must.
Standardize cells: Stick to AA/AAA NiMH (low-self-discharge) and 18650 for lights/lanterns. Use a USB smart charger (0.5–1A per bay) so everything charges from the same loop.

Daily loop: Morning sun → panel → controller → battery/power banks. Afternoon: top off radios, headlamps, and phones. Evening: run lights off device batteries; don’t discharge your main battery at night.

Manage the Criticals, Not the Nice-to-Haves

Communications: Keep one phone off except for two 10-minute check-ins; airplane mode, low brightness, Wi-Fi/Bluetooth off. Use text-first comms.
Lighting strategy: Headlamps on low (5–20 lumens) for movement, a 1W task lantern in the kitchen, red mode after 9 p.m. to preserve night vision and reduce brightness creep.
Radios: NOAA/AM-FM on receive only; schedule scan windows. Handheld ham: low power, short transmissions.
Medical: Battery CPAPs and refrigeration are high draw. Pre-chill coolers with ice; use insulated cases for meds, and allocate power by necessity, not convenience.

Troubleshooting and Common Mistakes

Overestimating solar: Shade, angle, dirt, and clouds cut output fast. Clean panels; tilt toward the sun; use a USB meter to verify current.
Inverter idle drain: Some pull 6–10W doing nothing. Turn off between uses.
Junk cables/adapters: Cheap cables limit current. Use 20AWG+ for USB-A and certified USB-C PD cables.
Mixing battery chemistries: Don’t put Li-ion and NiMH on the same charger unless it’s designed for both. Label cells; rotate as pairs.
Cold kills capacity: Keep batteries above 50°F; pocket-warm critical spares.

Key takeaway: Think in Wh, run DC where you can, and schedule usage. A modest panel, a couple of solid banks, and standardized lights create a resilient loop. Next, we’ll turn to food—keeping meals hot and morale higher when the grid stays dark.

Cook and Eat Without Refrigeration: 7-Day Menu Planning, Fuel Strategy, and Indoor-Safe Stoves

Scenario: Power’s Out, Fridge is Warm, and Dinner’s in an Hour

A winter storm knocks the grid offline on a Sunday night. By Monday morning, the fridge is a lukewarm cabinet. You can still eat well for a week—if you plan smart, cook efficiently, and use the right indoor-safe heat.

A 7-Day Menu That Doesn’t Need a Fridge

Use perishables first, then shift to shelf-stable, quick-cook staples. Target meals that hydrate you, cook fast, and leave no leftovers (or can safely be kept below 40°F outdoors in cold weather).

Days 1–2 (Perishable Triage): Scramble eggs and cheese (breakfast). Soup with chopped veggies and sausage from the freezer (lunch). Pasta with jarred sauce and thawing ground meat (dinner). Use a cooler with frozen water bottles and a thermometer; eat anything that hits 40–45°F first.
Days 3–7 (Shelf-Stable Staples):
Breakfast: Oats (1 cup oats + 2 cups water + pinch of salt; 5–7 minutes), peanut butter on tortillas, instant grits or cream of wheat.
Lunch: Canned soup or chili over instant rice (1 cup rice + 1 cup boiling water; cover 5 minutes), tuna/chicken packets with crackers.
Dinner: Red lentil curry (1 cup lentils + 3 cups water; 12–15 minutes) with spice packet and coconut milk; couscous + canned chicken + olive oil; dehydrated mashed potatoes + canned beans + salsa. MREs or freeze-dried entrees are a no-refrigeration ace—just add hot water.

Why this works: Fast-cooking foods slash fuel use and water time. Tortillas trump bread (no crumbling, long shelf-life). Lentils, couscous, instant rice, and potatoes convert heat to calories in minutes.

Indoor-Safe Heat: Stoves and Setups

Butane tabletop stove (8 oz canisters): Widely used for indoor hot-pot; use on a stable, nonflammable surface, crack a window 1 inch, and keep a battery CO alarm nearby. Great flame control for real cooking.
Alcohol stove (denatured alcohol or yellow HEET): Simple, reliable, low CO emissions; best for boiling and simmering with a windscreen and pot lid.
Gel chafing fuel (Sterno) and folding stove: Safe for warming and gentle boils; slow but steady.
Flameless ration heaters (FRH): Heat MRE pouches with a splash of water—no flame.

Avoid indoors: Charcoal, propane camp stoves, gas grills, and backpacking canister stoves without proper ventilation. If you must, only in a ventilated garage with the door fully open and a CO alarm—otherwise, don’t.

Fuel Math: How Much for a Week

Plan two 20-minute hot sessions per day (breakfast, dinner) plus an extra 10-minute boil cushion: about 50 minutes daily.

Butane: One 8 oz can burns ~90–120 minutes on high. For 7 days: 350 minutes ≈ 3–4 cans. Stock 6–8 for margin and cold temps.
Alcohol: Expect ~1 oz (30 ml) to boil 2 cups with a good windscreen and lid. At 4 cups/day, ~2 oz/day; for 7 days, 14–20 oz. Store in a sealed metal bottle.
Sterno: One 7 oz can lasts ~2 hours; plan 4–6 cans/week if relying on it.

Boost efficiency with retained-heat cooking: Boil 5 minutes, then nest the pot in towels or a cooler (no ice) to finish. Always use lids and a windscreen.

Pro Tips, Pitfalls, and Safety

Cold-weather butane: Canisters lose pressure under ~40°F. Keep fuel indoors or warm a can in your pocket before use.
No leftovers unless you can keep them <40°F (outdoor temps, snow cave, or a cooler with ice). Otherwise, finish the pot.
Measure water: Dehydrated foods are thirsty; budget 0.5–1 gallon/day for drinking and cooking. Don’t waste fuel boiling more than you need.
Don’t refill alcohol stoves when warm. Let them cool to the touch first.
Tools you’ll kick yourself for forgetting: manual can opener, long lighter, pot with strainer lid, heatproof gloves, and a thermometer for the “balcony fridge.”

Key takeaway: Pair a safe indoor stove with quick-cook staples and a realistic fuel plan. You’ll eat hot, eat well, and stretch fuel all seven days. Next, we’ll lock in your medical readiness—first aid and meds that ride out the outage with you.

First Aid That Holds for a Week: Kits, Medications, Triage Protocols, and Infection Control at Home

A winter storm knocks out power and road access for days. Your neighbor slices his forearm on sheet metal, your kid spikes a fever overnight, and your partner’s asthma acts up because the house is cold and dusty. The difference between a manageable week and a medical emergency is the kit you built, the meds you stocked, and the triage plan you can execute under pressure.

Build a Week-Strong Kit, Not a Junk Drawer

Why: A focused, reliable kit keeps you from improvising when minutes matter.

What to stock (quantities matter):
– Bleeding control: 1 CAT or SOFTT-W tourniquet, 2 pressure dressings (4–6 in), 2 packs hemostatic gauze (e.g., QuikClot), 2 rolls cohesive wrap.
– Wound care: 60 mL syringe + 18-gauge catheter for irrigation (delivers ~7–10 psi), 1 L normal saline or DIY (1 L clean water + 9 g salt), 4×4 gauze (100), non-adherent pads (10), tape (1-in and 2-in), Steri-Strips, tissue adhesive, tweezers.
– Immobilization: 1 SAM splint, 2 triangular bandages, elastic wraps.
– Monitoring: digital thermometer, pulse oximeter, automatic BP cuff, notebook and Sharpie.
– Protection: nitrile gloves (20+), eye protection, CPR mask.
– Topicals: povidone-iodine or chlorhexidine for skin; petroleum jelly; triple antibiotic; 1% hydrocortisone.
– Meds: 7-day supply of all prescriptions; OTC acetaminophen, ibuprofen, antihistamine (cetirizine for daytime, diphenhydramine for night), loperamide, oral rehydration salts, honey for cough (not for kids <1), inhaler spacer.

Storage and rotation: Keep meds and adhesives cool, dry, and in the dark (20–25°C). Label kit and meds with purchase and “rotate by” dates; review every 6 months.

Smart Med Use: Dose, Don’t Guess

Why: Correct dosing keeps symptoms controlled without sidelining you with side effects.

Acetaminophen: Adults 650–1,000 mg every 6 hours (max 3,000 mg/day if no liver disease). Kids: 10–15 mg/kg every 4–6 hours.
Ibuprofen: Adults 200–400 mg every 6–8 hours (max 1,200 mg/day OTC). Kids: 10 mg/kg every 6–8 hours; avoid in dehydration.
Diphenhydramine: 25–50 mg every 6 hours; sedating—use judiciously. Consider non-drowsy cetirizine 10 mg daily.
Loperamide: 4 mg, then 2 mg after each loose stool (max 8 mg/day OTC). Pair with ORS: 1 packet per 1 L water; sip 100–200 mL after each stool.

Prescription continuity: Keep a sealed 7-day buffer of critical meds (inhalers, BP meds, seizure meds, insulin—store as labeled). Set calendar reminders to backfill after any use. Ask your clinician for an emergency refill plan; don’t freelance antibiotics.

Triage at Home: Allocate Calmly, Document Relentlessly

Why: Triage is resource management under stress.

Primary survey (ABC): Airway, Breathing, Circulation—fix life threats first. Massive bleeding? Apply tourniquet 2–3 inches above the wound (not over joints), tighten until bleeding stops and no distal pulse; note the time on the strap/skin.
Categorize: Red (immediate), Yellow (can wait), Green (minor/self-care), Black (expectant). It’s a mindset that prioritizes.
Track vitals: Time, pulse, respirations, BP, SpO2, temperature, pain score. Reassess every 15–60 minutes depending on severity. Documentation prevents drift and guides decisions.

Common mistakes: Tourniquet too loose (“still oozing” means it’s not working), skipping vitals, burning time on minor issues while a serious one smolders.

Infection Control: Keep Clean Zones Truly Clean

Why: In a 7-day window without easy medical backup, preventing infection is your win condition.

Sick room: One room, good airflow, dedicated caregiver if possible. Masks for coughs; open a window a crack for ventilation; space heater outside the doorway if using combustion heat.
Hand hygiene: 20 seconds with soap or 60–70% alcohol rub before and after patient contact, wound care, or meds.
Wound irrigation: Irrigate open wounds thoroughly (think 500–1,000 mL for dirty lacerations) with your syringe setup; avoid hydrogen peroxide inside wounds—it harms tissue. Close small, clean edges with strips/glue; leave dirty punctures open to drain. Daily checks: redness >1 cm spread, increasing pain, fever, or red streaking means escalate.
Surface disinfection: For hard surfaces, 0.1% bleach solution (1/3 cup regular 5–6% bleach per gallon water; 4 tsp per quart). 1-minute wet contact time, then air dry. Double-bag contaminated waste.

Troubleshooting: If bandage soaks through, add pressure layers—don’t peel off the original. If fever persists >48 hours or the patient looks worse despite fluids and rest, seek telemedicine or EMS if available.

Key takeaways: Build a kit you can run for seven days, dose meds correctly, triage like a resource manager, and treat cleanliness as a medical intervention. Run a home drill this month—time your responses, find the gaps, and fix them while the lights are still on.

When the street goes dark and the house gets quiet, the homes that stay steady aren’t lucky—they’re practiced. The plan you built here is simple on paper and strong in reality: measure before you buy, stage before you store, rehearse before you need it. Baseline math tells you what to prioritize. Water is the backbone. Heat must be safe before it’s warm. Light and power are about conservation and recharging loops, not hero batteries. Food is a menu plus fuel, not just cans on a shelf. First aid is protocols and hygiene, not just a bin of supplies.

Make it real this week:
– Print your floorplan, mark gas/water/electric shutoffs, and tape it inside a kitchen cabinet. Add two local emergency contacts.
– Set a hard water target: at least 1 gallon per person per day for drinking/cooking plus a separate sanitation reserve (aim 7–14 gallons per household). Fill, label, and date containers; test one purification method.
– Build your power loop: headlamps for each person, a charged battery bank per phone, and a way to refill them (vehicle adapter or small solar). Put chargers and cells in one labeled tote.
– Stage heat and cooking: verify CO/smoke alarms, place a fire extinguisher by your heat source, and set out your indoor-safe stove with a 7-day fuel count and a carbon monoxide monitor nearby.
– Refresh your kit: check meds and dosages, add wound irrigation and gloves, and print a one-page triage/infection-control card.

Run a 12-hour off-grid drill next weekend and debrief. Small reps build real confidence. You’ve turned seven uncertain days into time you control—keep tightening it, and your home becomes the calm in the outage.

7-Day Survival Plan at Home: Water, Heat, Light, Food, and First Aid