Point of clarification- not in the dorm any more. I'm lucky that after my first year all my roommates were into our little hobby as well.

In my larger digs (I can't call them home), the ten days. Except before moving- I eat down some of the canned goods supplies. Heavy to move, easy to replace. :P

Philip, what the source of your fresh water? Just curious.

Sue

I prepare for an indefinite amount of time. It makes 3 days sound kind of boring and uneventful. Supply-wise, I have about 7 days. One benefit of knowledge is that it doesn't take up shelf space.

Prepare for the worst, hope for the best.

I've sheltered in place for two hurricanes, and the best advice I have is to fill up every bathtub in the house with water before the storm. Worst case, you've just wasted a bathtub of water. In the first hurricane, the water pumps went out with the power, but the water in the bathtubs meant that we could still flush the toilets. During the second hurricane, the electricity wasn't an issue (at least, not for long), but something happened which made the municipal water supply unsafe to drink for a day or two. I think I ended up boiling water, but the bathtub water was a nice backup.

We live near a stream. Plus, we're in the flood plain if an earthquake ruptures the reservoir up in the hills. :-> There are streams all around us draining to the San Francisco Bay, so we can get water from them and treat it for drinking.