In one paragraph
Steady On (steadyon.uk) is a free, independent, ad-free guide to the UK government's three-day household emergency checklist, written for the majority of people who think the advice is probably sensible and would feel ridiculous following it. It turns the official Be Ready list into plain English with quantities, a household calculator, scenario guides for power cuts, storms, floods and outages, printables, and a firm rule against panic buying. It launched in October 2026, days after the Prime Minister urged households to stock up on tinned food and bottled water.
Key figures
| Figure | Detail |
|---|---|
| 3 days | How long the government asks every household to be able to manage without power, water or shops |
| 9 litres | Drinking water per person for three days (3 litres a day), from the official checklist |
| 36 litres, 24 tins | A complete kit for a family of four, about £50, with most homes already owning half of it |
| £40 to £80 | Typical cost of a family kit bought from scratch; there is a £20 version |
| 5 shops | How long it takes to build the kit at two or three extra items per weekly shop, without emptying a shelf |
| 105 | The free power cut number for England, Scotland and Wales, which most people have never heard of |
| 10 minutes | The twice-yearly kit check, timed to the clocks changing |
| 72 hours | The same guidance already given in Ireland, France, the Netherlands, Germany, Finland and Sweden, and recommended to all EU citizens in 2025 |
Quotes you can use
Attribute to Steady On or the editor of Steady On.
"A box of tins and a torch is the household equivalent of a spare tyre. Nobody calls you a survivalist for owning a spare tyre."
"If you are filling a trolley, you are doing it wrong. Two or three extra items a week for five weeks, and the kit builds itself. The people who strip shelves are the ones who didn't do this in a calm week."
"The most useful parts of the government's advice cost nothing: the power cut number, the Priority Services Register, flood warnings and a plan on the fridge. The embarrassing version is the other one, sitting in the dark using a phone as a lamp."
"Most of Europe has had this advice for years. The UK is late to a very calm party, which is the opposite of extreme."
The angle in brief
- The embarrassed majority. The reaction to the stockpiling advice was not disbelief but self-consciousness. The site is built for that reaction and has a page about it.
- Not prepping. No bunkers, no survival rations, nothing you cannot buy in a supermarket. The site actively discourages buying more than three days of ordinary food.
- Against panic buying. The shelf test is the rule the site lives by, and getting the kit delivered with the weekly shop removes the trolley altogether.
- Timed to the clocks. The six-month kit check happens when the clocks change, which gives the story a natural date twice a year.
Images
Both are free to use with a credit to Steady On.
- Red poster graphic, 1200 × 630: "Steady On, and check the kit"
- The printable A4 poster, which prints from the browser
What we can provide
- Written quotes on request, usually within a few hours.
- Kit quantities and costs for any household size from the calculator.
- The printable checklist and household plan for reproduction with a credit.
- Regional angles: power cut, flood, storm, heatwave and cold snap guides with the official numbers for each.
Steady On is deliberately anonymous and does not put a named spokesperson forward. The site is written by a cyber security consultant with fifteen years' experience of how councils and their suppliers cope when systems fail. The point of the site is that being ready is ordinary, not a personality.
Independence
Steady On is not affiliated with HM Government, the BBC, any emergency service, utility or retailer. It carries no advertising. Links to retailers are plain links at present; if any ever earn a commission it will be disclosed where they appear, and it will not affect what the site recommends. Official guidance is always linked and always takes precedence.
Contact
hello@steadyon.uk. Please say "press" in the subject line and give your deadline.