Guides
Calm answers to the questions people are actually asking.
Every page cites a primary source with the date we checked it, names its author and reviewer, and shows when it was last looked at.
The five Ready Body tests: is your body ready for a bad week?
Five self-checks for fitness for emergencies: carry, walk, get up, climb and hang on. Pass standards, what each tells you, and a 4-week plan if you can't yet.
CupboardThe UK home emergency kit: what to keep, from £60 to £600
A calm, sourced guide to building a home emergency kit UK households actually need: water, tins, torch, radio, cash and more, in three budgets from £60 to £600.
CushionEvery alert worth signing up for, in ten minutes
Flood alerts sign up, Met Office weather warnings, Emergency Alerts and power cut updates: every free UK warning service and how to register.
CushionHow much cash to keep at home, and where
How much cash to keep at home in the UK: around £100 in small notes, somewhere sensible. Why fives and tens beat twenties, and what insurance covers.
CupboardEmergency food for normal people: tins you'd actually eat
How to build an emergency food supply UK households will actually eat: ordinary supermarket tins, a costed three-day menu, and painless rotation.
CushionThe Priority Services Register: who qualifies and why
What the Priority Services Register is, who qualifies and how to sign up free with your energy supplier, network operator and water company.
CushionFrom nothing to six months' expenses: the ladder
How much emergency fund do you need in the UK? A calm ladder from £100 cash at home to six months of essential bills, one rung at a time.
CupboardYou need more water than you think, and it's cheap
How much water to store per person: 3 litres a day, 9 litres each for three days, with honest arithmetic, storage, rotation and carrying advice for a week.
ScenarioThe water's off, or there's a boil notice. Here's what to do.
Boil water notice UK or no water in the house? A calm, step-by-step plan for the first hour, day and week, including bottled water stations and your rights.
ScenarioStorm and flood: the calm plan for the week the river rises
A calm plan to prepare for flooding in the UK: free flood warnings, what the three warning levels mean, floodwater rules, storms and the clean-up.
ScenarioWhat actually happens in a long power cut, and what to do
How to prepare for a power cut: what actually goes off, the free 105 number, fridge and freezer timings, safe heat and light, and compensation rules.
CapabilityKeep the fridge cold in a power cut
How long does food last in the fridge without power? Up to four hours, says the FSA, and a full freezer 48. How to stretch both, and what to bin after.
CapabilityCandles in a power cut, without a house fire
Candle safety in a power cut: the fire service rules quoted word for word, why a torch is the safer choice, and three better ways to light a dark room.
CapabilityHow to cook without electricity, safely
How to cook without electricity when the power goes off: what needs no cooking, gas hobs lit by hand, and the carbon monoxide rule that never bends.
CapabilityHow to keep warm when the heating is off
How to keep warm without heating: one warm room, layers, hot water bottles and flasks, plus the fire service rules for portable heaters and electric blankets.
CapabilityHow to purify water when you have to
How to purify water UK-style: bottled water and bowsers come first, boiling is what a boil notice asks for, and tablets and filters are the honest backstop.
CapabilityThe 12-week Ready Body programme, free and gym-free
A free 12-week functional fitness programme for beginners: walks, carries, stairs and sit-to-stands at home, built on the NHS activity guidelines.
CapabilityStrength after sixty: the most useful training there is
Strength training over 60, the NHS way: what the guidelines actually ask, chair-based versions of the five Ready Body tests and a gentle weekly pattern.
CupboardHow long do tins last? What the best before date means
How long do tinned foods last? Best before dates on tins are about quality not safety, says the FSA; the real risks are bulging, badly dented or rusty tins.
CupboardHow long does food last in the fridge without power?
How long food lasts in a fridge without power: the Food Standards Agency figures for fridge and freezer, what to eat first and when to bin food.
CushionHow much cash should I keep at home in the UK?
How much cash should you keep at home in the UK? Around £100 in small notes is a sensible working figure: a few days of essentials when cards fail.
CupboardHow much water per person per day in an emergency?
How much water per person per day in an emergency: 2.5 to 3 litres of drinking water (the WHO minimum quoted by GOV.UK Prepare), 9 litres each for three days.
CupboardHow to start prepping in the UK: one supermarket trip
Prepping for beginners in the UK, minus the drama: one supermarket trip, two free alerts and £15 or so a head covers the government's core Prepare list.
CupboardBoil water notice: can I shower, and what needs boiled water?
Can I shower during a boil water notice? Yes, says the DWI. What tap water is still fine for, what needs boiling, and what happens when the notice lifts.
ScenarioConflict and civil emergencies: what the UK actually plans for
What the National Risk Register says in its own words, how it describes likelihood, what Emergency Alerts do, and why ordinary preparation covers most of it.
ScenarioHeatwave: the calm plan for a very hot week
Heatwave advice for UK homes: what amber and red heat-health alerts mean, how to keep a house cool, drinking enough, and who needs checking on.
ScenarioWhen the internet or card payments stop
Card payments not working, cash machines down, no online banking: what actually breaks in an outage, why a little cash fixes it, and why your money is safe.
ScenarioSnow and cold: staying put, getting about, keeping warm
Snow preparation for UK homes: warning colours, keeping rooms warm, the stop tap and burst pipes, food and medicines in, and driving only if you must.
CapabilityThe carry test: two heavy bags, two flights
The farmers carry test explained: 15 to 20 kg up two flights of stairs, why that weight, the pass standard, a four-week plan and how to make it easier.
CapabilityThe climb test: ten flights, then talk
A stair climbing fitness test you can do at home: ten flights at a steady walk, holding a conversation a minute after the top, plus a four-week plan.
CapabilityThe get-up test: floor to standing, no hands
Can you get up off the floor without hands? The pass standard, what it says about leg strength and balance, a four-week plan, and how to scale it up or down.
CapabilityThe hang test: thirty seconds on a bar
The dead hang test explained: 30 seconds on a bar or 60 seconds holding two heavy bags, what grip is actually for, a four-week plan and how to scale it safely.
CapabilityThe walk test: five kilometres in an hour
Can you walk 5km in an hour? The pass standard, what a brisk pace really means, why getting home on foot matters, and a four-week plan if you are not there yet.
CupboardDo I need a generator for a power cut at home?
Do you need a home generator for a UK power cut? Almost certainly not. What HSE and the NHS say about carbon monoxide, and the safer battery alternative.
CupboardWhat is 105, and when should I call it?
What the 105 number is: the free UK line for reporting a power cut in England, Scotland and Wales, who answers it, and the Northern Ireland number.
CupboardWhat is a go-bag, and do I need one?
What a go bag is, why the government calls it a grab bag, when a UK household would ever use one, and what official guidance says to put in it.
CushionWhat is the National Risk Register?
The National Risk Register explained calmly: what the Cabinet Office publishes, how likelihood and impact are scored, and what a household takes from it.