A cairn is a small stack of stones a hiker leaves on a trail to guide the next person through a confusing stretch. This site is a collection of cairns for the harder stretches of ordinary life — the kind of situation that arrives without warning and that nobody quite told you what to do about. The first hour of a power outage, for example. There will be more.

Each one is written to be read cold, by someone who has never heard of us, in the middle of the situation it's about. They're free. Print them, forward them, tape them to a fridge. They're meant to stay that way.

• The First Hour of a Power Outage

  What to do in the first hour after the power goes out, before you know whether it will last one hour or two days.

• The two-person check-in

  A small, regular conversation between two people who look out for each other — designed to catch trouble before it gets big.

  Still being stacked

• When the water is rising

  What to do when flooding is hours or minutes away, how to read the water, and the line between staying and leaving.

  Still being stacked

• Wildfire smoke for days or weeks

  How to keep the air in one room of your home breathable when the smoke outside isn't going anywhere for a while.

  Still being stacked

• Someone in the house is sick

  Household isolation that actually reduces spread, and the warning signs that mean stop managing this at home and go in.

  Still being stacked

• A heat wave with no AC

  How to keep a body cool when the apartment can't be — and how to know when heat has become a medical emergency.

  Still being stacked

• Evacuation in twenty minutes

  What to grab and what to leave behind when you have to be out the door soon, in the order that makes sense under stress.

  Still being stacked

• When the ground stops shaking

  What a Pacific Northwest household will face in the hours and weeks after a Cascadia earthquake, and what to plan for now.

  Still being stacked

• The cell network is down

  What still works when the cell network is out, how to reach the people you need, and when to stop trying.

  Still being stacked

• When the toilet stops flushing

  How to handle human waste safely when the sewer fails — a method translated from established public-health guidance.

  Still being stacked

• A boil-water notice

  What a boil-water notice actually means, what to do for the next few days, and how to know it's safe to drink again.

  Still being stacked

• The “if I'm not here” folder

  The single folder a household member can find that tells them what they'll need if you're suddenly not there.

  Still being stacked

• You've just been in a car accident

  What to do in the first half hour after a car accident, the words to say at the scene, and what to handle in the next forty-eight hours.

  Still being stacked