Emergency Packs

Commonly called 72 hour kits, but in my house, I have prepared an "emergency pack" for everyone in our family. 

You can find "traditional" kits at army/navy stores, or emergency sites for over $100 per person.  Many of those kits can be full of very useful things, but with any other pre-packaged kits, they will also include items that will be "over kill" for the needs of most families, containing food that most children would refuse to eat, even in an emergency.  I don't know many who want to spend $100+ per kit for an emergency that (hopefully) may not happen.

Several years ago I took a month and focused on emergency preparedness for my family.  My total cost for 4 packs was well under $100, and it contains things that I know will be of use for my family no matter when (or if) the items are needed.

Each person has an individualized back pack with their supplies.  I have labeled the packs by a large piece of duct tape and have written the name, number, and address of each person.  My daughters' packs also have their parents names on them.  As the parents we have more supplies in our bags, but the girls do have the basics in theirs, and they are small and light enough, that they can carry them without a problem.

The basics of our are in zip lock bags inside our packs, and include:

Juice box
Water bottle(s)

Fruit snacks

Ensure type of drink

Wet wipes

T-shirt, pair of sweats, and socks

Emergency blanket

Oatmeal packets

Wash cloth

Sharpie

Travel sized lotion
Travel sized tooth paste
Travel sized deodorant
Travel hand sanitizer
Travel container with Q-tips

Flashlight with batteries (not in it)

Individual drink mixes

Toothbrush

Lip balm

Floss

Poncho

Band aids

Roll of toilet paper

Spare disposable contacts and solution

Various candies (non melting)

Sunscreen stick

Hair elastics

Compact mirror and brush set

Granola Bars

Crackers
Soap (in plastic container)

The girls' packs also include:

Small toys
Composition book

Crayons
Mini Play Dough

We are beyond the diaper phase, but if your children are of that age, they would need to be included as well.

Adult Packs Also Include:

Matches

Scissors (can be used to cut clothes into shorts and short sleeved shirts as necessary for the weather)

Family Rx medications

Family vitamins

Cough drops

Ibuprofen

Shampoo and Conditioner

$15 cash

Contact and solution

Leatherman

10 4 gallon plastic bags, in compact packaging

Multi-use tool: compass, thermostat, whistle, mirror, magnifying glass, flashlight

Hand crank radio and ear buds

Hand crank flashlight
Now that we have a pet, I will need to include food for him as well.

We also have another pack filled with more water and a comprehensive first aid kit.

These backpacks were all extras that we had around the house, so there was no cost.  We keep them on hooks in the stairway to our unfinished basement.  This way they are accessible to grab in a hurry if necessary.

Periodic updating of these packs is necessary for items such as:
Clothing (sizes for the growing children)
Any food or beverages with expiration dates
Rx medications based on the current needs of the family

Many of these items I got for free because of combining sales and coupons, and certainly all Travel sized items are very easy to get free because of coupons.

No, these packs may not include EVERYTHING that we could ever possibly need in any level of emergency, but I am very comfortable with the level of preparedness that I have achieved for my family.

Ideally, Emergency Packs should contain the most valuable items in any level of emergency, without taking up a lot of room or draining your savings!

Update Your First Aid Kits

Because of our focus this month being Emergency Preparedness, it is a good time to update our home first aid kits.  There are a lot of pre-packaged first aid kits available, but for my home first aid kit I prefer to assemble it myself.  In my experience, the pre-packaged kits tend to have a lot of things that I don't use, and not enough of the things that I frequently use.

I keep my first aid kit and my medicines separate, so for this post, we will focus just on the first aid supplies.  Obviously each family is different, and everyone's ideas of  "medically necessary" items to have on hand are different, so please adjust for what is the best for your specific family.  Here is what I have on hand in my home first aid kit:

Bandages for kids (with all of the fun characters)

Bandages for adults (without the characters)

Water proof bandages

Liquid bandages (applied similar to a nail polish for areas that don't work with typical bandages)

Hydrogen Peroxide

Alcohol

Neosporin (or a similar product)

Bag Balm (Great for wounds)

Gauze in a variety of sizes

Ace bandage

Medical tape

Medical scissors

Ice pack (kept in freezer to be ready when needed)

I keep my kit in a zipper bag in the linen closet.  It is right by all of our bedrooms and the kid's bathroom, so for us it is centrally located.  I keep mine within reach for the children (which is why the medication isn't with it), so find a safe and centrally located place that is easy to reach for everyone in your family.

This list is not everything you would always need for every possible accident, but in my household it has served us well, and, when necessary, been enough to aid us on our way to the Emergency Room.

Lessons from a blackout!

Do you remember the blackout from the Summer of 2003?  I do!  It was the country's largest black out on record and extended from parts of the mid-west to the East coast.  This particular black out has been assumed by many to be due to hackers, in many ways it was very random, but it was  also extremely widespread.

Why do I remember this so well?  Because I was in the middle of the Henry Ford Museum in Detroit, Michigan when it happened. 

I was with my husband, cousin, and oldest child, who was 17 months old at the time.  Most of us have been in minor power outages, and usually the flickering lights, or loud noise that occurs with the outage gives you an idea of how big the problem may be.  Let me tell you, we instantly knew by the noise that this was not going be a small issue.

Thankfully we were in an area of the museum that had skylights, so we were not in the dark.  We waited around for a while, hoping for the power to return, but eventually the Michigan Summer heat and lack of air conditioning was too much and we had to leave.

When we got to our car, we realized that we had about 1/4 tank of gas, and spotty cell phone coverage.  Because all of our surrounding areas were also out of power, everyone was forced to leave their offices, and the roads were quickly jammed. 

We had NO cash, and gas stations could not take anything but cash due to the power outage.  We were staying at my Grandmother's house that was almost 2 hours away, and when a phone eventually worked, we were able to find out that Grandma did have power!  Now, how to get there?

With a lot of prayer and some luck, we were able to have just enough gas to get us to one of the random spots that did have power and use our debit card to fill up our tank.

I have NEVER forgotten this experience, and my biggest lesson learned from it was, ALWAYS carry some cash! 

It does not matter what type of emergency you are preparing for, make sure that your preparations always include cash. 

 I carry some in my purse at all times, and have some in the car just in case as well.  I also make sure that my husband  has some on hand and at his office. 

I am not suggestions stashing 100 dollar bills everywhere - that may be more of  a liability than a help, but I am saying that ANY amount of money is better than none when you really need it!

Emergency Preparedness

This month's focus is Emergency Preparedness. I think that for most of us, having the supplies on hand for a large disaster or a simple power outage is something that we would all like to, but don't always get around to making it happen.

The plan over this month is to lead you through putting together the necessary supplies that will help you to be prepared for any level of emergency without purchasing unnecessary items to clutter up your home.

At the end of the month you will be able to feel more prepared for whatever the future brings and still have your wallet and clutter levels in check.