A lot is happening in America right now. There’s a pandemic, civil unrest, political upheaval, and even an uptick in natural disasters and strange weather patterns. If any of these events hit close to your home, would your family have somewhere to stay safe from harm?

If the answer is no, it’s time to consider building a safe room in your house. Safe rooms are highly protected, often hidden rooms where you can retreat or access supplies in case of emergency.

To learn more about why your house needs a safe room, keep reading.

1. It Serves as a Backup Pantry

When you’re deciding how to build a safe room in your house, make sure you allow for plenty of shelf space. Why? Because one of the biggest benefits of safe rooms is their ability to serve as an emergency pantry.

If your power were to go out for more than a few days or you weren’t able to go to the grocery store, you could head to your safe room and dig into your supply of bulk dry goods. If flooding or a water main break means you can’t use the faucets, you can reach for your stored gallons of bottled water. It’s also a good idea to keep backups of other non-perishable items like toilet paper and respiratory masks.

2. Storage for Your Survival Gear

Food, water, and paper products aren’t the only things you can stock up on. Some other safe room ideas for gear storage include:

• Water filters or chlorine drinking water tablets
• Handtools like a hatchet, machete, and saw
• Power generator
• Solar and battery-powered lights
• Satellite radio and walkie-talkies
• Camping gear
• Comprehensive first-aid kit and manual
• Small propane stove

Ideally, you’ll never need to use any of these items outside of a family camping trip or short-term power outage. In the event of an actual emergency, though, keeping them ready to use in your safe room could save your life.

3. Protection From Natural Disasters

Do you live in an area that’s prone to tornadoes, earthquakes, or other severe storms?

Safe rooms make some of the best storm shelters to retreat to during adverse weather events. Not only are they fortified to resist damage, but they’re also far easier to escape from than an underground shelter once the danger passes.

4. Protection From Human Disasters

The weather isn’t the only thing you need protection from. Safe rooms provide a good place to hide in case of a home intruder or nearby violent activity. They can also work as a literal safe, keeping your valuables locked up and out of the reach of would-be thieves.

5. You’ll Have Greater Peace of Mind

There’s nothing like the sense of security that comes from having a protected place for your family to weather even the harshest of storms.

Having a safe room also makes forming an emergency plan far easier. Your entire household will always know where to go in what to do if something happens, even if you aren’t home to direct them.

It’s Time to Think About Building a Safe Room

There’s no better time than the present to begin building a safe room in your home. If you do already have one, the above reasons should motivate you to make sure it’s stocked and ready to go in case of an emergency.

Looking for more ways to upgrade your house or ideas on what to look for when shopping for real estate? Take a moment to read through some of the other articles on our site.