Ready for the night the lights go out.
It always starts the same way. The lights flicker, then go. The boiler clicks off. The fridge goes quiet. Outside, the wind is still building, and inside, everyone is looking for a torch that nobody can find.
Most power cuts in Britain are over in hours. Some aren't. Storms take down lines in places crews can't reach until the wind drops. Water pumps stop. Mobile masts run out of battery. And for a day or two, a normal home becomes a cold, dark, quiet place.
That's why the UK Government now asks every household to be ready to manage on its own for three days. We think that's right. We also think it should be simple.
Why we built The 72 Hour Kit
Getting ready used to mean a dozen shops, a hundred gadgets and a lot of people telling you the world is ending. We wanted the opposite: one box for home, one bag for the door, one kit for the car. No fear. No padding. Just the things that make the first 72 hours calm instead of chaotic.
So we went through the official 3-day checklist line by line and asked one question about every item: will this make a real difference on a real night without power? If the answer was no, it didn't go in.
A note from the people behind The 72 Hour Kit
We didn't start this shop because we expect a disaster. We started it because of a question most of us can't answer: if the power went off tonight and stayed off until the day after tomorrow, what would you actually reach for?
When the UK Government asked every household to be able to manage for three days on its own, we went looking for the kit we'd want in our own hallway cupboard. We found two kinds of shop. One sold fear: camouflage bags, knives and talk of the end of the world. The other sold "100-piece" kits padded out with safety pins and glow sticks. Neither felt like something you'd keep in a home with children, or give to your parents.
So we built the third kind. We're a small company based in the Netherlands, selling to the UK. We read the official checklist line by line, read what people on the forums and in the reviews say actually fails on the night, and put together the few things that make a dark, cold house calm again: light you can find, a radio that works without the internet, power for your phone, warmth that doesn't need the boiler.
Three rules came out of that, and we still hold ourselves to them:
- Every item earns its place. If it wouldn't make a difference on a real night without power, it doesn't go in. Every kit page lists every item and the reason it's there.
- Nothing we'd worry about in a hallway cupboard. No blades, no fuel, no matches, no medicines, no food that silently goes out of date.
- Honest about what you add yourself. Water, the food you already eat, your own medication. We show you exactly how much, instead of pretending a box can do it all.
We'd rather you never need any of it. But if the night comes, we want the people in your house to feel the opposite of fear: a quiet "we're fine". That's the whole idea.
If you have a question, or there's an item you wish we sold, write to us at info@the72hourkit.com. We read every message ourselves.
The 72 Hour Kit team, Zoetermeer
What goes in, and what never does
- Light first. Hands-free head torches, a room light and flameless tealights, because candles and children don't mix.
- News when the internet is gone. A wind-up radio, so you're never waiting in silence.
- Power for your phone. A power bank, so you can still call, text and check in on family.
- Warmth without electricity. Foil blankets, a hot water bottle and draught-stoppers in the bigger kits.
- Never in our kits: blades, fuel, matches, medicines or food that silently goes out of date. You add water and the food you already eat; we show you exactly how much.
Our promise
Every kit page lists every item and the reason it's there. We tell you what we cover and what you add yourself. We'll never sell you fear, and we'll never pretend a box can do more than it can.
Questions? Write to us at info@the72hourkit.com. Real people read every message.
The 72 Hour Kit is an independent shop. We are not part of, or endorsed by, the UK Government. The 3-day advice is at beready.campaign.gov.uk. The 72 Hour Kit is operated by Living the Life B.V., Jacob Leendert van Rijweg 50, 2713 JA Zoetermeer, the Netherlands.