The grab bag: what to pack in case you have to leave in a hurry

The UK government's Be Ready guidance asks households to keep a grab bag of essentials in case they must leave quickly. It takes an hour to put together and sits ignored for years, which is the point. When the police officer at the door says you have ten minutes, you pick it up and go.

The principle

The grab bag answers one question: what would I need for 24 to 48 hours away from home, with no notice, if I could never go back for anything? Documents and medication are the irreplaceable items. Everything else is comfort. Keep it under 8 kg and pack it once, properly, in a rucksack rather than a holdall, so you have both hands free.

What goes in

• Document folderCopies of ID, insurance, medical details, contacts list, pet records. See cash and documents.
• Medication for at least three days, plus the written listIncluding inhalers, EpiPens, glasses or contact lenses and solution.
• Cash, £20 to £50 in small notesAnd a spare bank card.
• Phone charger and a charged power bankA multi-cable covers everyone's devices.
• Small torch and spare batteriesA head torch is ideal.
• Spare keys: house, car, any other propertyOn a labelled ring.
• Change of clothes and underwear per person, warm layer, waterproofRolled, in a bin bag or dry bag to keep them dry.
• 500 ml water per person and a few snacksCereal bars, nuts, dried fruit. Enough for the first few hours, not three days.
• Small wash kitToothbrush, toothpaste, wet wipes, hand sanitiser, period products, tissues, a small towel.
• Mini first aid kitPlasters, painkillers, antiseptic wipes, any personal items.
• Pocket FM radio (optional)Tiny, and useful if you are in a rest centre with no information.
• For children: nappies, formula, a comfort item, something to doSee babies, children and pets.
• For pets: lead or carrier beside the bag, a day of foodKept next to the bag, not in it.
• A "last five minutes" list taped inside the lidPhone, wallet, laptop, the cat, prescriptions from the bathroom, the photo albums. What you add if you have time.

What to leave out

• Large quantities of water and food. That is the home kit's job. Rest centres and family provide these; you provide the documents they cannot.
• Glass jars, tins without a ring-pull, heavy tools.
• Anything you will "borrow" from it. If the grab bag's power bank is the one you use daily, it will be flat when you need it. Buy a second one.
• Weapons of any kind. This is not that kind of bag, and it is illegal in the UK to carry most of them.

Where to keep it

By the door you would leave through, or in the hall cupboard at eye level. In a flood risk property, upstairs: floodwater rises faster than most people expect and the downstairs hall may be the first room lost. Tell everyone in the house where it is. If you have a car, a second, smaller bag in the boot covers being stranded away from home; see the car kit guide.

The last five minutes

If you are given time, the list taped inside the bag tells you what to add: phone and wallet, laptop and hard drive, the actual prescription medicines from the bathroom cabinet, chargers, the pet, children's comfort items, irreplaceable photographs. Then turn off the gas and electricity at the mains if you have been told to, lock up, and go. Do not stop to move furniture. Nothing downstairs is worth being in the house when the water comes in.

Keeping it current

Check it at the six-month kit check: medication dates, children's clothing sizes, the power bank's charge, the cash, and whether the document copies are still the current policies. Five minutes, twice a year.

Rucksacks, dry bags and power banks are on the recommended kit page. None of the links on this site currently earn us a commission; if that changes we will say so.