Our 72 Hour Kits

Today was windy and yucky, so I figured that a boring shopping trip would be a great way to spend it!

I made a list of the things that we needed to add to our 72 hour kits, after taking out the things that were expired.  Our list is by no means exhaustive, as it fits the needs of our family, but it might give you a few ideas. An asterisk means I had it already and did not need to replace it, but listed it here for your convenience.

• A crow bar*
• Leather gloves for each adult*
• Bottled water.  I also packed two water bottles with built-in carbon filters* that we could fill with contaminated water if needed.
• High-calorie snacks (a jar of peanut butter, crackers to put it on, energy bars with protein, bouillon cubes)
• Rope that could hold heavy weight if need be, but also be used for a myriad of uses.*
• A small cook-stove (propane fueled, with a small bottle of propane included)*
• Matches (waterproof, preferred)*
• A pocket knife.*
• A flash-light that has a wind-up energy source*
• Head lamps (you know, the kind to strap to your head)*
• A blanket, wrapped in plastic*
• A change of clothes for each person in the family (I often put in sweat-suits, as they roll up tightly, but will be warm and dry when needed)
• Socks for each person.
• Good shoes for each person (for the adults, we put in our sneakers from the previous year, as we tend to do a lot of running and biking, which requires us to get new sneakers regularly).
• Diapers and formula for a baby/small child in the family.  Pack powdered formula even if you breast feed...you never know if the mother will be able to nurse in an emergency
• A roll of black, plastic trash bags.  The outdoor bags will serve a wide-range of uses, from being turned into a tent, using the black as a way to heat things with solar power, and water-proofing.*
• Money.  About $100, in small bills and change.  Packed in plastic and hidden well.
• Books, toys for the kids.  Something small and novel so they will stay occupied for awhile.  I realized I still had rattles and toy cars in my bag, and need to update this year to something more along the lines of Uno, or a deck of face cards, along with some books that have words.  
• Toiletries.  
• Medicines if on a long-term prescription (3 days worth, rotate this frequently).

Keep in mind, this is only what would keep us going for about 72 hours.  If this bag is kept in the car, it doubles as an emergency car kit, and we also keep a first-aid kit with it.   And this list is not at all exhaustive.  We could pack more.   It's not a hard task, to put this together, and it doesn't even need to be expensive.  Using items from the thrift store works well.  Remember, you're planning to have SOMETHING on hand in case of an emergency, to make it a bit more pleasant.  You're not trying to colonize or live high on the hog.  It's an emergency, it's still not going to be as perfectly wonderful as a vacation.