Where should I keep an emergency go-bag?

By the front door, in the hallway or a cupboard near the exit, so that everyone in the household knows where it is and can grab it without searching. Not in the cellar, the attic or the garage. You can keep a second, smaller kit in the car or at work, but without original documents.

By the door, not in the cellar

The bag has to be within reach when you have minutes to leave. Good spots are the hallway, a cupboard by the door or a shelf near the exit, on top rather than under a pile of other things. The cellar and the attic are out: in a flood the cellar fills first, and nobody climbs into the attic in a hurry. The garage and the balcony are no good either, because frost and heat damage medicines, batteries and bottled water.

Everyone in the household knows where it is

The Polish government’s safety guide recommends a separate bag for every member of the household, including children. A child gets a lighter one they can carry themselves. Show everyone the spot, including whoever looks after the children or an older relative. If someone at home uses crutches or a wheelchair, their bag goes where they can reach it on their own.

A second kit in the car or at work

A smaller kit in the car or at the office helps when a crisis catches you away from home: water, a torch, a power bank, a few days of medicine and a written list of phone numbers. No originals and no paper copies of your ID card. Cars get stolen, and a copy of an ID card with the PESEL number makes fraud easier. Cars get hot in summer, so replace the water and medicine there more often.

What about documents

Copies of identity documents belong in the bag at home, because it is never left unattended. Of the originals, it holds only the ones you carry with you anyway. Notarial deeds and other documents with no expiry date stay in a fixed place at home. If you keep them in one folder, put it where you can take it along with the bag on your way out.