Does prepping have to be extreme?
No. The term comes from preparing. Choose a level that fits your circumstances. Begin by considering everyday disruptions: keep a torch accessible, plan water or record contacts. The aim is not to buy as much as possible or constantly expect the worst. It is to create more room to act without letting preparation take over your life.
Basic prepping equipment: what should come first?
Start with water and food suited to your household. Check a torch and suitable power supply, a battery-powered or hand-crank radio, charged power banks and copies of important documents. Personally required medication and hygiene items need individual planning. Not every product labelled survival or prepper is necessary for you. Compare your needs with what you already own first.
How do I build 3 to 10 days of emergency supplies?
Germany's BBK recommends being able to support yourself for ten days where possible; three days of supplies already help. Start from your normal consumption and add items gradually. For adults, two litres of fluid per day including cooking water is a planning guideline. Account separately for individual extra needs, children and pets. The linked emergency supplies guide offers a free calculator and a checklist.
A prepping checklist for your first household review
Check six areas: drinking water, usable food, lighting, information, personal health and essential documents. Write down missing items. For food, check whether its packaging says it can be eaten without cooking and stored without refrigeration. An emergency backpack checklist complements supplies at home: they serve different purposes.
Prepping for families, single households and pets
Plan for the people you actually need to support. A single household needs different quantities from a family. Specific medicines, suitable infant food, allergies and pet food cannot be covered by a generic complete kit. Discuss how to contact each other during an outage and where essentials are kept. RedScore uses household information for your stock planning, without replacing a medical assessment.
How can I start without a large budget?
Our suggested starting point: check the drinking water, shelf-stable food and working lamps you already own. Choose one small gap to address. Add a suitable item you normally use during your next regular shop. Use older supplies first and replace them. Preparation becomes part of everyday life rather than a confusing equipment collection.
How can I see my progress?
Your RedScore is based on the information you enter. It highlights incomplete preparedness areas and changes with the progress you record. It guides your next steps; it does not guarantee safety in every crisis. The public score simulator is a preview. Calculate your own status using the free preparedness check.
Official source
BBK recommendations (German) ↗
RedScore is an independent service. There is no official partnership. Follow official warnings and instructions in an emergency.