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Evacuation
Slightly Anxious says Get a Grab Bag!
Grab bag essentials: what to pack so your household can leave home at a moment's notice, with a practical UK checklist.
By Slightly Anxious
1st July 2026 16 minute read
IN SHORT
If you have to leave home at short notice, a packed Grab Bag for each person means you go with everything you need. Pack it, then practise using the kit before you ever need it.
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If you have already read our Slightly Anxious articles about preparing for emergencies, found on our website, you will have seen that we try to keep the mood light. We do believe that when you’re dealing with a serious subject like disasters, to keep the mood overly serious all the time can be off putting and depressing, not just for the readers but for the authors as well. We do have faith in Keep Calm and Carry On and that our national psyche is to have a stiff upper lip over a slight smile, we hope that this is what we portray. So, we hope that in our articles we have found the right balance and haven’t come across as too flippant, because that has not been our objective. Emergency preparedness is very serious, but life is for living and you need to smell the roses once in a while.
As said, preparing for a crisis is a very worrying topic and it doesn’t get more so than in this article and the articles, ‘Slightly Anxious about rising water levels’ and 'Slightly Anxious about approaching flames'. In these articles we deal with emergencies where you are forced to evacuate your property at short notice. This is unlike the scenarios we foresee in most of our other articles, where we anticipate you being forced to isolate at home for up to a week and we try and make it more like an adventure holiday, with you camping indoors. When you are forced to evacuate its because there is a serious risk to your health.
This article is about having a Grab Bag ready to go for whatever emergency, while ‘Slightly Anxious about rising water levels’ and 'Slightly Anxious about approaching flames' are, as their names suggest, about how to prepare for potential flooding and wildfires. Flooding, fire and extreme weather are the usual reasons people get evacuated. Other reasons are normally a crisis situation nearby, such as an unexploded bomb being found or a large fire at an industrial plant. Although all quite different in nature, what they do have in common is the time element. They all share the scary fact that in all cases you will be given just a few minutes to evacuate your property and flee the area. The purpose of having a Grab Bag is so, given this terrifying occurrence, you will safely have in your hand, everything you and your loved ones need to survive the next few days.
Why you need a Grab Bag
A Grab Bag is what it says. A bag that you grab when you have to get out of your home as quickly as possible. You do this because you know it has already been packed with all the emergency equipment you will need to keep you and your loved ones going for 72 hours.
Before you think, do I really need this? I want you to consider how you would feel if one Sunday afternoon there is a knock at your front door and a very harassed young policeman is telling you that you just five minutes to leave your property as your whole street is being evacuated. A gas main round the corner has been fractured and if it ignites and explodes it could be like a mini-nuclear bomb and the authorities need you a long way away as quickly as possible. If you don’t have a Grab Bag ready, do you think you could get everything you need in the three minutes you have before the police pick you up and physically take you out of the house?
Hopefully that should convince you.
Grab Bag rules of thumb
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Pack for 72 hours away from home
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Have more than one bag: one for kit, one for consumables
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Keep about £150 in small notes in a waterproof pouch
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Replace the food every 3 months and bottled water about every 6
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You may have as little as 3 minutes to get out
Choosing the bag
So what exactly is a Grab Bag? It is a bag that can hold your emergency gear. On many a ‘Prepping’ websites this will be of a military style if not actually military kit. At Slightly Anxious we steer away from anything military, partly because it looks incongruous when someone obviously not part of the military is using it and secondly, and something a lot of people don’t realise, is that the military usually buys its kit based on the lowest price not on the best quality. In general, if you want decent survival gear, look at what the people who buy their own kit to go hiking or camping go for and as with most things, you do get what you pay for. We recommend your Grab Bag be for civilian use and that you have more than one. Obviously, if you are hulking rugby forward and can easily lug around an expedition sized rucksack than please do so, but for lesser mortals, having smaller multiple bags that you can actually carry and hopefully spread between your party is preferable.
Some examples: Cabinzero Classic Backpack 36L Unisex Adult at c.£70-£90, Osprey Daylite Expandable 26L+6L Travel Pack at c.£80-£110 or Patagonia Black Hole MLC - 45L backpack at c.£175-£225. It is preferable that your chosen Grab Bags be waterproof, if not than you can get a 2 Pack Waterproof Rain Cover for Backpack at c.£8-12. You should also consider getting some waterproof pouches for the kit you’re packing, this will stop wet clothes ruining other items, as well as help organise things: Victoper Waterproof Dry Bag Set 6 Pcs at c.£13-£17. A bum bag is also worth considering as it will make accessing important and frequently used items easier as you won’t have to remove and root through your Grab Bags: Maxtop Large Bumbag with Headphone Jack and 4-Zipper Pockets Adjustable Belt at c.£13-£17.
Bags we like
Bag
SIze
Guide Price
Cabinzero Classic Backpack
36 litres
c.£70-£90
Osprey Daylite Expandable
26 + 6 litres
c.£80-£110
Patagonia Black Hole MLC
45 litres
c.£175-£225
What to put in it
Now that you have equipped yourself with one or more Grab Bags, what to pack in them? This is where having more than one Grab Bag becomes useful as there are items that you can pack and basically forget about and then there are items that are consumables and thus will need replenishing/recharging on a regular (quarterly) basis. Let us start with what you need in the pack and forget Grab Bag, many of which we have mentioned in our articles, all of which are recommended by European governments for emergency preparation, even if some seem a bit survivalist! You need to focus on space saving as a priority for your Grab Bag as you are only looking at 72 hours of use and every item is just more stuff to carry (where we have listed an item and its gender specific, just choose the item that fits you):
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First aid kit – an obvious emergency item, go for a smaller one, such as the St John Ambulance Home First Aid Kit at c.£15-£21
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Water filter – we haven’t mentioned portable ones in our other articles as these focussed at being at home, but having one in your bag is belt and braces – you never know if you may need it, an example is Sawyer Mini Water Filtration System at c.£30-£40. You should also have water purification tablets such as Oasis 67mg Water Purification Tablets 200 Tablets at c.£7-£9
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Collapsible water pouch – in the same league as the water filter, belt and braces but you may find it invaluable, especially for when you need a container to mix your water with purification tablets, e.g. HydraMate Collapsible Water Bottle - 750ml at c.£10-£14
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Metal water bottle – keeps drinks hot for 12 hours and cold for 24 so helpful for tea, e.g. Bambaw Insulated Water Bottle Stainless Steel 350 ml at c.£15-£25, also known as a thermos!
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Core spare clothes – so very important as you’re planning to be out of the house for up to three nights, so we recommend as a core set for each person: 3x pairs of merino wool socks (e.g. Smartwool Unisex Mountaineer Classic Edition at c.£20-£30 per pair), 3x moisture wicking underwear (e.g. Step One SmoothFit Bikini Brief. Ultra-Soft, Breathable Bamboo Moisture Wicking Underwear Women at c.£13-£17 each), a thermal base layer consisting of a thermal vest and thermal leggings/long johns (e.g. Danish Endurance Thermal Underwear Mens & Womens Long Johns and Long Sleeve Top, Unisex at c.£50-£65) and a fleece (e.g. Berghaus Mens Haceby Polartec Lightweight Full Zip Fleece Jacket at c.£55-£70).
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Non-core clothing – these are dependent on space and whether you feel you would need them when looking at a maximum of 3 days: extra t-shirts, lightweight trousers, cap
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Towel – you will need to dry you or something/someone at some point, this thing rolls up tiny - Sea to Summit - Airlite Microfibre Towel L - Bath Towel at c.£25-£35
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Hygiene kit – this is very dependent on the individual needs of each member of your party and involves quite a lengthy list of items, read our article ‘Hygiene is everything with Slightly Anxious’ to see our examples
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Copies of Documents – we discuss this in more detail below and recommend that you keep them in a waterproof pouch (e.g. Yumqua Waterproof Bag, Set of 3 at c.£11-£15)
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Cash – we recommend that you have about £150 in small denomination notes and keep them in a waterproof pouch (e.g. Yumqua Waterproof Bag, Set of 3 at c.£11-£15)
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Multi-tool – as with the water filtration, this is a bit survivalist and belt and braces, – you never know if you may need it, an example is a Leatherman Skeletool - Lightweight Multi-Tool with 7 Essential Tools at c.£80-£100.
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Maps – thoroughly recommended if you live in rural areas, at Slightly Anxious we offer our members a service where we will provide laminated copies of a surviving an emergency guide which will, upon request, include a map of your local surroundings based on your given post code. Google maps might be down and even in your local community do you know your way around when local landmarks may have changed due to the emergency.
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Cables – your devices are in the consumables Grab Bag as they need recharging, they are useless without their cables, have a selection of USB-C and USB-B and even Apple ones
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Whistle – also a bit survivalist but when its so cheap, why not, e.g. Emergency Survival Whistle Noopel Double Tubes Safety Whistles 2 pack at c.£7-£9
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Notebook and pencil – so useful if all your devices are out of power
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Emergency bivvy bag – a bit survivalist but could be what saves your life, its basically a waterproof sleeping bag (without the filling) that will keep out the cold and wet should you have no alternative but to be outdoors, folds up very small, e.g. 2 Pcs Emergency Sleeping Bag with 2 Pcs Reusable Survival Blanket at c.£13-£17.
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Lighter/waterproof matches – another survivalist gadget but with a multitude of possible uses and as this one hangs off your belt, why not? Keychain Ligh/TER, Permanent Match Infinity Ligh/TER with Multitool Keychain at c.£8-£10
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Can opener – arguably survivalist but in our experience this is the one vital piece of equipment that always goes missing, so just having a spare one will always be useful, Lantana Can Opener with Bottle Cap Lifter at c.£15-£21
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Compressed towelettes – this are tiny and always useful for hygiene in limited water; 22 PCS Benano Premium Disposable Compressed Face Towels Tablets at c.£8-£10
The second Grab Bag
The second Grab Bag we recommend is not only so you are spreading the weight of your emergency kit across a couple of bags but also so you keep all the consumables in one place. What we consider to be consumables are items that will need replacing or recharging at least once a quarter (every three months) and by having them all in one bag, it just will make life easier. The items are:
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Torch – nothing survivalist about this as there is a very good chance in an emergency situation where you have to evacuate that the street lighting may not be working and you have to navigate in the dark. We’ve chosen this one because its compact, waterproof, powerful and rechargeable - Olight Baton4 Pro Rechargeable LED Torch at c.£70-£90. We also strongly recommend a back-up torch because in emergencies redundancy is worth planning for, this will clip on to your Grab Bag and is rechargeable - RovyVon A3 Keychain Flashlight at c.£35-£45
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Head Torch – these are incredibly useful as they allow you to have both light and use of both hands which as you can imagine, if you’ve ever tried to read a map or make a phone call whilst holding a torch is very useful, this one comes with both a rechargeable battery and 3xAAA back up: Petzl Actik Core at c.£60-£80
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Power bank – all our devices need power and so you need to have at least one power bank (preferably more) to ensure they keep running, this one is pricey but has a huge battery and is tiny, yet very rugged; Anker Prime Power Bank, 20,000mAh Portable Charger at c.£100-£140
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Hand warmers – do as they say, rechargeable and will be a blessing in the cold; Ropelux Hand Warmers 2-Pack, 6400mAh Rechargeable at c.£20-£25
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Spare batteries – although we have focussed on rechargeable devices, having a supply of AA, AAA and D batteries is always useful not only for any of your own devices but to help out others
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Radio – this is a bit survivalist but information is important in any emergency situation and this radio is tiny and built for this, even if it does take AAA batteries: Midland ER10VP Weather Radio with Flashlight and Emergency Alert - Am/FM Radio at c.£40-£50
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Food – you will need sustenance and you will need it manageable to eat on the go and capable of sitting in your Grab Bag for three months before you replace it. We recommend a stash of energy bars, nuts and dried fruit, jerky, peanut butter sachets and electrolyte tablets to keep your vitamin intake up.
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Water – have bottles of it in the pockets of your bags for easy access. Bottled water can last about six months before the plastic of the bottle starts to flavour it.
As a member of Slightly Anxious, we will contact you every three months to remind you that your devices need recharging and your food and water needs replacing. We will also remind you each season about changing clothing to be more weather conscious.
Where to keep it
We also need to advise on where to store your Grab Bags. They have little use if you can't just grab them! Have them as close to the front door as practical, good locations are: a hall cupboard, under the stairs, a garage shelf beside exit or a bedroom near the main door. Have next to them, a waterproof jacket, insulated gloves, hats, scarves, neck gaiters and boots so you can easily get equipped into your evacuation gear.
What to wear
We suspect that you may well have outdoor clothing, but if we were recommending your evacuation gear, it would be like this:
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Danish Endurance Merino Wool Beanie Hat at c.£30-£40 for cold weather, to be switched with in warm weather, Outdoor Research Swift Cap at c.£20-£30
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Danish Endurance Snood, Merino Wool, Thermal Neck Gaiter at c.£30-£40
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Berghaus Men's Paclite 2.0 Gore-Tex Waterproof Shell Jacket at c.£110-£150
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Berghaus Men's Paclite Gore-Tex Waterproof Overtrousers at c.£80-£100
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Sealskinz Mens Kelling Waterproof All Weather Insulated Gloves at c.£45-£65
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Salomon Men's X Ultra 360 Leather Gore-Tex Walking Shoe at c.£130-£170
Practise, practise, practise
Now you have your shopping list, once fulfilled you really need to practice. By this we mean that what you don’t want to happen, is having bought all the kit and packed it into your Grab Bags, it just sits there waiting for an emergency to happen. This is its job but what it will mean is that if, unfortunately, an emergency does happen and you get the shout to evacuate, you will be a virgin! And like many a virgin you may suffer from not knowing what to do.
So we recommend that you practice with each piece of kit. You wear it, you use it, you make it work and most importantly you practice unpacking it and packing it away. The frequent travellers amongst you will know that packing any bag comes with a knack to it. While you will have your Grab Bags packed and ready to go when you evacuate that doesn’t mean that it will be the only time you need to unpack and pack and have to do that under time pressure. So practice.
You should also practice how you and your household actually evacuate. This means working out and exercising the following:
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Ensuring that everyone understands the severity of the situation if you have to evacuate
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Working out how do you contact people who are not home when the evacuation call comes?
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Most evacuations come with a designated evacuation destination – how do you inform the missing members of your household about this?
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Do you have a muster location if you are not given an evacuation destination and does everyone know about it?
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Can you and your household physically carry everything you need to evacuate with?
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Practice getting dressed into your evacuation gear and carrying your Grab Bags, how quick and how well does it go?
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Practice using your devices so that it becomes almost second nature, sitting in a commandeered school hall or even worse standing in the rain in a carpark or field is not when you need to work out how to use something
This all my sound incredibly overwhelming and it is. That’s why Slightly Anxious was set up – to help you through it. At our website you will find all the tips and tricks and advice you need.
Your to do list is:
1. Buy a bag for each person, plus one for consumables
2. Pack the core kit: first aid, water, spare clothes, documents, cash, cables
3. Put copies of documents and £150 in small notes in a waterproof pouch
4. Agree a muster point and how you will reach anyone who is out
5. Practise getting dressed and out of the house with the bags
6. Practise using every device before you need it
Remember, keep calm and visit us here.
