Compare a portable go-kit with a longer stay-at-home reserve
Evacuation and sheltering at home are different logistics problems. This tool makes the difference visible by comparing the quantities associated with a shorter portable plan and a longer household reserve. The goal is not to declare one option better; it is to show why the same household needs a different strategy when supplies must be carried, loaded into a vehicle or moved quickly rather than stored in place.
Go-Kit vs. Stay-at-Home Planner
See how household size and portability change the quantities and priorities.
What this tool is helping you decide
A go-kit has to move with you. A home reserve can be larger, heavier and more redundant. Treating both as the same checklist often produces a bag that is too heavy or a home supply that is too small. Portability forces choices: documents, medications, communication, water for the first part of the trip and destination planning become central. At home, weight matters less, so water, sanitation supplies, shelf-stable food and backup-power planning can be built with more redundancy.
How the estimate works
The planner uses household size and separate planning horizons to compare baseline water and food coverage. It is designed to expose the scale difference, not to tell you that every household must use one exact duration. The portable side uses a three-day planning horizon while the home side uses fourteen days to make the logistics contrast easy to see. Those horizons are planning examples; local guidance, hazards, storage space and likely evacuation destinations may justify different durations.
Where the result can be wrong
Evacuation instructions from local authorities take priority over a generic planner. Vehicle access, pets, medications, mobility needs, destination and route conditions can change what you need to carry. Water is particularly heavy, so a portable baseline should be combined with a realistic destination and resupply plan rather than assuming a household can carry its entire home reserve. Keep critical documents and medications accessible, and avoid packing a bag so heavily that the people expected to carry it cannot move safely.
Questions people ask about this tool
Why is the home plan longer?
A stay-at-home reserve is designed for a disruption that may last beyond the first few days and does not have the same weight constraint as a go-kit.
Should I pack all stored water in the go-kit?
No. Portable water is limited by weight; evacuation planning also includes routes and destinations where more water may be available.
What if I have pets?
Add carriers, food, water, medications, records and destination planning for each animal.
Does this tool tell me when to evacuate?
No. Follow local official instructions and hazard-specific guidance.