How to Shelter in Place in an Apartment During an Emergency

When people get into preparedness, bugging out can get a lot of attention. There are bags, gear lists, evacuation routes and all kinds of advice about leaving quickly. But in a lot of emergencies, if your apartment is still safe, sheltering in place can make more sense because that's where most of your supplies already are. You have shelter, food, water, clothing, chargers, pet supplies and all the other things you normally use.

That doesn't mean you should always stay. There are situations where leaving is clearly safer, especially if there is a fire, gas leak, structural damage, flooding, an evacuation order or some other immediate danger. But for things like power outages, temporary water shutoffs, severe weather or other short-term disruptions, staying home may be the easiest and safest option.

What Sheltering in Place Can Actually Look Like

Sheltering in place doesn't have to mean some end-of-the-world scenario. It can be something much more ordinary, like the power going out for a day, the water being shut off, roads being difficult to use, poor air quality outside or another local problem that makes staying home easier than leaving.

My apartment had a period where the water was being shut off fairly often for most of the day while work was being done on the pipes. It wasn't a major disaster, but it gave me a pretty good idea of what it actually feels like to live off stored water. You don't really think about how often you use the faucet until nothing comes out.

You Use More Water Than You Think

It's easy to think about emergency water as something you only need for drinking and cooking, but once the water is actually off, you start noticing all the other ways you use it. You need water for washing your hands, brushing your teeth, cleaning up, washing dishes, flushing the toilet and taking care of pets.

That was one of the biggest things I learned during those water shutoffs. I went through more stored water than I expected. It made me realize that having enough drinking water is only part of the problem.

One way to conserve water is to reduce how much washing you need to do. Keeping some paper plates, cups and disposable utensils around can help during a temporary outage because you're not using valuable water to wash dishes after every meal. I wouldn't normally want to live off disposable stuff all the time, but during a short emergency it can make life easier.

If you’re still building your water supply, I put together a separate guide on how to store emergency water in an apartment.

Store Water for Different Uses

I like the idea of having more than one type of stored water instead of treating every gallon the same. Drinking and cooking water should obviously be clean and stored appropriately, while other stored water can be useful for things like toilet flushing or cleaning.

That can also make apartment storage easier because you don't need every container sitting in the same place. If you have room in a closet, under furniture, in a pantry area or somewhere else appropriate, you can spread some of your water around instead of trying to create one giant water-storage area.

The important thing is knowing what you have, where it is and what you plan to use it for.

Don't Forget About Your Pets

Pets need to be part of the shelter-in-place plan too. It's easy to build a food pantry for yourself and forget that your pets still need food and water if you can't easily get to a store.

I try to build pet food the same way I build the rest of my emergency pantry. When I buy food, I can pick up a couple extra cans or keep an additional bag of dry food and rotate through it over time. That way I'm not buying some separate "emergency pet food" that sits untouched for years.

You also need to think about what happens if normal routines change. If you have a dog and can't safely take them outside for a while, having potty pads or another backup plan can be useful. Cats may need extra litter, and all pets need enough water included in your overall storage plan.

An Emergency Pantry Can Help With More Than Disasters

One thing I've learned is that emergency food isn't only useful when there is a storm or power outage. I got hurt mountain biking and ended up being home much more than usual for a couple of months. At first I could barely get around, and money was also tighter because I wasn't working normally.

That gave me a chance to use some of the food I had already stored and see what actually made sense. Some foods disappeared quickly because they were things I normally eat, while other things weren't nearly as useful as I thought they would be. That's one reason I keep coming back to the idea of storing food you already use instead of buying a bunch of random "survival food."

A pantry can help during a job interruption, illness, injury, bad weather, transportation problem or just a week when money is tight. That's one of the reasons I think basic preparedness is useful even if some huge disaster never happens.

Plan for the Power Going Out

If you're sheltering in place, losing electricity can make things uncomfortable pretty quickly. Flashlights, spare batteries and power banks are a good place to start because they're relatively inexpensive and useful in normal life too.

I keep several power banks and have found that they come in handy for more than emergencies. I've used them for trips, camping and days when I'm away from an outlet for a long time. During an outage, they can keep a phone charged so you can get alerts, check on family and keep track of what's happening.

If your budget allows, a small portable power station can also be useful for charging phones, lights and other small devices. Bigger units can run more equipment, but they're also more expensive, so I don't think someone needs to start there.

Solar charging can be useful too, especially if the outage lasts longer, but I wouldn't depend entirely on a tiny solar panel built into a small power bank. A larger dedicated panel is much more useful if you want meaningful solar charging.

For a more detailed look at lighting, batteries and charging, see my guide on how to prepare for a power outage in an apartment.

Think About Food That Doesn't Need Cooking

If the power goes out, your normal cooking setup may not work. That's another reason I like having at least some food that can be eaten without cooking.

Things like peanut butter, tuna, sardines, crackers, canned foods and other ready-to-eat items can make things much easier. You can still keep rice, beans, pasta and other staples, but those all require water and energy to prepare.

If you use any kind of fuel-burning stove, grill or heater, it needs to be used safely and according to the manufacturer's instructions. Outdoor cooking gear and generators should not be used inside an apartment or enclosed space because of carbon-monoxide and fire risks.

Sanitation Becomes Important Fast

If water or sewer service is disrupted, sanitation can become a bigger problem than people expect. Trash bags, hand sanitizer, soap, wipes, paper towels, toilet paper and other basic supplies don't seem very exciting, but they can make a big difference.

If the toilet can't be flushed normally, you may need a backup sanitation plan. Even having heavy-duty trash bags and basic cleaning supplies gives you more options than having nothing prepared.

This is another area where I think apartment preparedness is different from the way prepping is sometimes shown online. You may not have a huge storage room full of supplies, so a smaller amount of practical sanitation gear that fits in a closet or cabinet can be more realistic.

Keep Some Cash Available

During a longer outage or network problem, cards and ATMs may not always work normally. Keeping some cash at home can give you another option if you need to buy something locally.

How much depends on your budget, but it doesn't have to be a huge amount. Even a small emergency cash reserve can be useful.

Some people also like to keep things that could potentially be traded or shared, but I wouldn't make that the main plan. For most realistic short-term emergencies, having useful supplies, some food and water, and a little cash is probably more practical than trying to build a barter stockpile.

Know When It's Time to Leave

Sheltering in place is only a good plan if the apartment itself is still safe.

If there is a fire, gas leak, serious structural damage, flooding, dangerous smoke, an evacuation order or another situation where staying puts you at more risk, that's when having a bug-out bag and evacuation plan becomes important.

This is why I don't really see sheltering in place and bugging out as opposite strategies. They work together. The first choice may be to stay home because that's where your supplies are, but you still need to be ready to leave if the situation changes.

If staying home is no longer safe, having a ready bag can make leaving easier. I cover that in how to build a bug-out bag without spending a fortune.

You Don't Need to Prepare for Everything at Once

Like most things with preparedness, I don't think you need to go out and buy everything in one day. You can add a little at a time.

Buy an extra can of food when you're already shopping. Add another gallon of water when you have room. Pick up a power bank, some batteries or a pack of paper plates when you can. Build up some extra pet food. Keep a little cash set aside.

Over time, those small things add up, and your apartment becomes more capable of handling disruptions without turning your home into a warehouse.

That's really how I look at sheltering in place. You're not trying to create some perfect survival bunker. You're trying to make your normal home a little more resilient so a power outage, water shutoff, injury, job interruption or other emergency is easier to handle.

Prep where you live.