The 72-Hour Kit, Built From Bunnings and Kmart
Nearly half of Australian households own no emergency supplies at all. The usual explanation is apathy. Having read a lot of kit lists, I think the real explanation is that the lists are unbuyable.
They arrive as forty items with no order and no total, they assume $400 of spare money, and they quietly assume you will spend an afternoon on it. So the reader does the rational thing with an unbounded task and does none of it.
This is the same list rebuilt as a buy-order. What to get with the first $50, what to add with the next $50, and what to add after that — from shops you can walk into today. Every tier is genuinely useful on its own, so stopping anywhere leaves you better off than you were.
Prices are indicative as at August 2026 and will drift; treat them as the shape of the budget rather than a quote.
The 10-minute version
- Start with the audit, not the shop. Most households already own half of this. Twenty minutes with a list saves the first $80.
- The first $50 is water, light and radio. Nine litres per person, a headlamp, and a battery radio. That covers the three failures that actually happen.
- Store it in one place, near the door, and diarise a six-monthly rotation. A kit scattered across four cupboards is not a kit.
Step 1: The audit (free, twenty minutes)
Walk around with this list before you spend anything.
| Item | Where it usually already is |
|---|---|
| Torch | Kitchen drawer, car glovebox, camping gear |
| Batteries | Remote controls, drawer, kids’ toys |
| First aid supplies | Bathroom cabinet, car |
| Water containers | Camping gear, laundry, empty bottles |
| Blankets | Linen cupboard — check for wool |
| Manual can opener | Kitchen drawer, camping box |
| Power bank | Bottom of a bag, desk drawer |
| Matches or lighter | Kitchen, BBQ |
| Cotton and denim clothing, leather boots | Wardrobe |
| Esky | Garage |
Everything you tick is money you do not spend. What is nearly always missing is the same short list: a battery radio, a fridge thermometer, stored water, P2 masks, cash, and a week of spare medication.
Tier 1 — the first $50
If you buy nothing else, buy these. They address the three most common failures: no water, no light, no information.
| Item | Where | Indicative price | Why it is first |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bottled water, 20–36 L | Supermarket | $10–18 | 3 L per person per day, 3 days. The single most important item |
| Headlamp | Bunnings / Kmart | $10–20 | Hands free. A hand torch is useless while you are carrying a child |
| Battery radio, AM/FM | Kmart / Big W | $15–20 | ABC Local Radio is the emergency broadcaster. Nothing else replaces this |
| AA/AAA batteries, bulk | Anywhere | $10 | Standardise on one size across every device you own |
| Total | ~$45–68 |
The standardisation rule is worth stating plainly: buy devices that all take the same battery size. A house with AA torches, AAA headlamps, C-cell lanterns and a 9V radio has four separate ways to be caught out.
Tier 2 — the next $50
Now the things that make three days survivable rather than merely lit.
| Item | Where | Indicative price | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| Power bank, 10,000 mAh | Kmart / Officeworks | $25–35 | Two to three phone charges. Your phone is torch, map, radio and wallet |
| Fridge thermometer | Kmart / Bunnings | $5–8 | Ends every “is this still okay?” argument. See the food safety clock |
| Manual can opener | Supermarket / Kmart | $5 | Yours is probably electric |
| P2 masks, 3–5 pack | Bunnings | $10–15 | Smoke, and the cleanup afterwards |
| Cash, $200 in small notes | — | (set aside) | EFTPOS and ATMs die with the power |
| Running total | ~$95–130 |
Tier 3 — the next $100
| Item | Where | Indicative price | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| First aid kit, mid-size | Bunnings / chemist | $30–50 | Buy one, then add to it — see below |
| Two elasticised bandages, 10–15 cm | Chemist | $15–20 | Snake bite. Two, because one rarely covers a leg. Technique here |
| Battery lantern | Bunnings / Kmart | $15–25 | Lights a room without a naked flame. Candles start house fires in exactly these conditions |
| 3 days of no-cook food | Supermarket | $30–40 | Tinned protein, muesli bars, nuts, dried fruit, crackers, long-life milk |
| Work gloves, leather | Bunnings | $12–18 | Cleanup, debris, hot surfaces |
| Running total | ~$200–260 |
On pre-made first aid kits: they are a reasonable base and a poor finished product. Nearly all are short on the things you actually use — sterile saline, non-stick dressings, decent tape, gauze — and long on tiny plasters. Buy one, then add a bottle of saline, a roll of proper tape, several non-stick pads and a burn dressing. The home first aid kit article has the full contents list.
Tier 4 — the comfortable version, $200–400 more
Only after everything above is done.
| Item | Indicative price | Why |
|---|---|---|
| 40 L water container with tap | $35–50 | Bulk water without buying bottles forever |
| Camp stove + gas canisters | $40–70 | Outdoor use only. Carbon monoxide kills people indoors every year |
| Esky, 25–50 L + ice bricks | $50–90 | Extends the fridge window and keeps medication cool |
| Wool blankets | $30–45 each | Wool chars, synthetic fleece melts. Protective equipment, not bedding |
| Jerry can, 20 L, and keep it full | $30 + fuel | Petrol pumps need power |
| Two weeks of shelf-stable food | $80–120 | The jump from three days to two weeks is cheap and the resilience gain is large |
| 20 W folding solar panel | $60–100 | Indefinite phone and power bank charging |
| Total investment | ~$500–800 | Everything above, complete |
Beyond this, the next real step is a portable power station large enough to run a CPAP or a small fridge overnight — several hundred to a few thousand dollars, and only worth it if someone in the house is genuinely power-dependent.
What it weighs, and where it goes
A common failure is a kit that is technically complete and physically immovable.
| Component | Weight | Where it lives |
|---|---|---|
| Water, 36 L | ~36 kg | Floor of a cupboard, or the car boot for the smaller portion |
| Food, 3 days for 4 | ~4–6 kg | With the water |
| Tools, light, radio, first aid | ~3–4 kg | One labelled box or duffel |
| Documents and cash | negligible | Grab bag, by the door |
| Personal grab bag, per person | target under 10 kg | Wardrobe or hallway |
Storage rules:
- One location for the bulk, near an exit, not in the roof space or the back of the shed.
- The grab bag by the door, or in the car boot through fire season.
- Nothing critical stored somewhere you cannot reach in the dark. Test it with the lights off.
- A copy of the inventory taped to the lid, with dates. This is what makes rotation possible.
The rotation schedule
Every kit degrades. Most kits are audited once and never again, which is how people end up with a torch full of leaked batteries and paracetamol from 2019.
| Interval | Do this |
|---|---|
| Every six months (daylight saving is a good anchor) | Rotate water. Check torch and radio batteries. Check food dates. Replace anything expiring within six months |
| Every twelve months | Full unpack. Test every device. Re-scan documents. Update the medication list. Re-photograph the house for insurance. Check clothing still fits growing children |
| Before each fire season | Go-bag into the car. Fuel above half. Water dated and replaced. Second exit route driven |
| After every use | Replace what you used, immediately. A kit raided for a camping trip and never restocked is the most common failure of all |
Put both recurring reminders in your calendar now. That is the difference between a kit and a box of expired objects.
The household-specific list
Generic lists stop here. Yours should not.
- Babies and toddlers: formula, bottles, nappies, wipes, a familiar comfort item, and enough of it for three days plus one
- Medication-dependent: a week of everything, in original packaging, plus a written list of drugs and doses and your pharmacy’s number
- Power-dependent devices (CPAP, oxygen concentrator, dialysis): register as a life support customer with your energy retailer, and solve the battery question before storm season
- Pets: food, water, bowls, lead, carrier, litter, medication, and a photo of each animal
- Elderly or reduced mobility: medication, mobility aids, spare glasses, hearing aid batteries, and a written plan for who collects them
- Renters and apartments: everything must fit one cupboard and move in a car boot — see Emergency Kit for Renters
What actually goes wrong
The kit is bought once and never checked. Dead batteries, expired medication, water two years past its date.
It is stored somewhere unreachable — the roof cavity, the back of a shed, behind furniture.
It gets raided for camping and never restocked.
Everything takes a different battery.
No cash, because we all stopped carrying it, and the shops that can trade in an outage will only take cash.
No radio, on the assumption the phone covers it. The phone is a torch with a flat battery and no signal.
No spare medication, which is the omission that most often turns a three-day inconvenience into a medical problem.
Candles instead of a lantern. Traditional, atmospheric, and a genuine fire risk in a dark house full of people carrying things.
The drill: the shopping-list hour
- Twenty minutes — audit. Walk the house with the table above. Tick what you own.
- Five minutes — write the gap list. Only what you do not have.
- Five minutes — sort it into the tiers above and decide your budget for this month. Fifty dollars is a legitimate answer.
- Twenty minutes — one shop. Supermarket plus one of Bunnings or Kmart covers nearly everything on this page.
- Ten minutes — pack it into one box with the inventory taped to the lid, dated.
- Two minutes — set the two calendar reminders. Six-monthly rotation, twelve-monthly full check.
Then test it with the lights off. Genuinely — flick the main breaker and try to find and use the kit. Everyone discovers something.
Frequently asked questions
What should I buy first if I only have $50?
Water (9 litres per person), a headlamp, a battery AM/FM radio and a pack of batteries. That covers the three most common failures: no water, no light, no information.
How much water should a 72-hour kit hold?
Three litres per person per day for drinking, so 9 litres per person for 72 hours — about 36 litres for a family of four. Store washing and toilet water separately; filling the bath when a warning is issued covers it.
Are pre-made emergency kits worth buying?
They are a convenient starting point and rarely a finished product. Most are short on the supplies you actually use and include no water, no radio and no medication. If you buy one, treat it as a base and add to it.
Where should I store my kit?
One location, near an exit, reachable in the dark, with the inventory taped to the lid. Not the roof space, not the back of the shed. Personal grab bags by the door or in the car during fire season.
How often should I check it?
Rotate water and check batteries every six months — daylight saving is an easy anchor — and do a full unpack, test and document refresh annually. Restock immediately after any use.
Can I use a camp stove indoors during a blackout?
No. Camp stoves, barbecues, patio heaters and generators produce carbon monoxide, which has no smell and no warning, and they kill people indoors and in garages every year. Outdoor use only, well clear of doors and windows.
Is a generator worth it?
For most households, no — the money is better spent on water, food, light and a power bank. A generator or portable power station becomes worthwhile when someone in the house depends on mains power for a medical device, and then it needs to be sized, sited and used correctly.