One page that tells whoever is in your home what to do and who to call when something goes wrong. It’s the page you hand a sitter, and the page you reach for yourself when your brain goes blank.
Why it matters
Day to day, this is the page for a babysitter, a grandparent, or a neighbor checking on the dog. They get the numbers, the address, and where the water shuts off, without having to call you.
It’s also your own reference in a crisis. Stress has a way of erasing even the things you know well, like your neighbor’s phone number or where the gas shutoff is.
The step-in use is the same page under more pressure. Whoever arrives first needs to reach your people, keep the house safe, and know who can speak for you. I’m the third generation in my family to grow up with a firefighter, and that history taught me how quickly life can turn. In an age of cell phones, a written plan still matters.
What to gather
- Your home address, home phone, and the nearest cross streets
- A phone and email for each person in the household, plus a school or work emergency contact
- Important medical notes for each person and each pet
- Local contacts, and one out-of-town contact everyone can check in with if local phone lines are down
- Two meeting places: one near home and one farther away
- Phone numbers for police and fire non-emergency lines, your gas, electric, water, sewer, and trash companies, your internet provider, and an emergency vet
- The locations of your gas shutoff, electric panel, and water main, plus any tools you need to use them
- Where the first aid kit and other emergency supplies are kept
Where to find it
Most of this you already know. Sit down with your phone and a recent utility bill and fill in the contacts first. Poison Control for people (1-800-222-1222) and for pets is worth adding to every plan.
Then take a walk around the house:
- Find the gas shutoff, the electric panel, and the water main. Describe each location for someone who has never been in your home.
- Take a photo of each and save it with your other scans.
- Note any tool you need to turn something off, and where that tool is stored.
- Can’t find one, or not sure how it works? Call the utility and ask.
One safety note: if you ever smell gas, get everyone out first and call from outside. Once the gas has been shut off, let the gas company turn it back on.
Talk the meeting places and the out-of-town contact through with everyone in your household, so the plan lives in their heads as well as on paper. Then print a copy and post it where guests can find it. The refrigerator is the classic spot. Keep a photo of the page on your phone too.
A free resource
Make a Plan (Ready.gov): a free federal guide, with a conversation starter for building a household plan and forms for kids and pets.
What the course adds
The course’s Emergency Plan lesson walks through every table on the workbook page: the household, the family and pet rows, local and out-of-town contacts, services and shutoffs, and the three important locations. It’s the second of the two pages you build first.
In Pat Calloway’s sample book, the water main is “basement, next to the water heater,” the primary meeting place is a neighbor’s front porch, and the backup is the community church parking lot. That’s the level of detail that helps someone who’s never been in your home.
Facts of Life Book Course · $29 · Self-paced · Included in Off The Clock, On Purpose
Keep reading
- The Facts of Life Book: what it is and how the course works
- Personal Documents
- People and Relationships
Disclaimer: For educational and informational purposes only. This is not medical, financial, tax, or legal advice. Consult appropriate professionals in each area.