72 hr kits

March 29, 2010 10:55 PM

I thought maybe a little list for starters would be helpful for the ER preparedness. I should have added this with the article to get people started. We have been working on our ER preparedness as part of the Duty to God program requirements for our son. We pulled out 6, very dusty, small suitcases that had been put away and not looked at for years that held our meager preparedness items. We had to giggle when the clothes were in the children's sizing and half of our guys are now adults!

While our previous efforts took my thoughts back to a time when we were a little more committed, I was ashamed the kits had been set aside for so long. After dumping them out and cleaning them and giving Jian some "new kids clothes" from the packs, we realized we needed to start over, as products had gone bad. The task seemed hard, but we determined we would get it done in 1 week's time.

One thing I had done years ago, was include a list in each kit of its contents. That list helped us to get started on re-packing the bags with "now" items. We are done with our project and the kits are now 95-98% complete (one thing we promised to do during this project was to keep the mantra, "Something is better than nothing!") and we will try to get the other 2-5% done at our next review of the bags in 6 months when the kits will come out, clothes will be washed, items will be checked for quality and also expiration (we marked everything with a Sharpe pen as "2010". When 2011 comes, we will take all perishable toiletries out and use them in our normal supply), and we will catch that other 2-5% that needs to be done.

We found we didn't have money to do everything right now, so again, we will save those thoughts for September when we re-look at our supplies and have an "ER Picnic" to eat up the foods set aside in our food pack. We just kept saying, "It doesn't have to be perfect--something is better than nothing". We used what we had already, which were the $10 little suitcases bought at a local retailer. I could see this working with the big plastic storage bins. Just fill a bin and put it in the garage and grab it and put it in the trunk if you need it.

We also looked at the likely scenarios we have encountered where the kits would have come in handy and packed to those needs. We have been evacuated from a local brush fire and had to quickly leave the area for treatment and shelter. We have had to run to the hospital for problems overnight. I think the idea of wilderness survival in our ER pack is a bit daunting. We decided to start with the simple: What if we needed to go quickly for 3 days to help facilitate a medical problem? (Our most likely scenario) Then we decided we would do a larger duffle with the "wilderness items" (Shovels, stoves, mess kits, shelter, etc.) later.

We split up the ER preparedness into phases we will do every March and September (so we can watch general conference prepared and without guilt at our unpreparedness-smile):
1. Personal Kits--clothes, toiletries, comfort items, medication, etc.
2. Survival Kit--large kit with our big first aid kit, stoves, fuel, shelter items, etc.
3. Food Kit--Food and water for 3 days
4. Important Documents Folder--copies of all important document, extra set of keys to everything and photo discs.

This week we have done our personal ER kits and this is our list of items. Your list will have to be hand tailored to suit and should be that way. These kits are for your comfort for 3 days should you have to leave home.

Ours had the following per person:
2 changes of underwear
2 pairs of socks
2 short sleeved shirts
1 pair of jeans
1 long sleeved shirt or sweatshirt
1 small flashlight with new batteries--packed 2 extra batteries as well
Solar blanket (bought cheaply locally at a retailer)
Money ($20 bills for each child's kit--more for parents--enough to seek lodging, gas, etc)
Sunglasses (since we use our nice ones daily, we put in those ugly cheap ones from the eye doctor--maybe we can upgrade, but hey, they fold up small!)
Map-(We felt only one pack needed this and we have a goal to have each car with one)
Medicine holder--(We bought 4 day pill packs and put our medications inside. We wrote down the medication, dosages, how often dispensed on a post-it and wrapped it around the medicine case with tape to secure so we know what we are taking)
Games and Books (each person put a puzzle book, card or dice game and one spiritual book in their case--between us we had: 1 Book of Mormon, 1 Bible, 1 For Strength of Youth, 1 Conference edition of the Ensign, 1 Friend, 1 Scout book, yahtzee, plain deck of cards, uno, crosswords puzzles, Sudoku, word finds, etc. )
Small Scissors or Knife
Paper and Pen (We put in two working pens with lids! and a sharpened pencil per person and a small stack of post its)
Personal first aid kit (I made my own since we can't use latex--I just put together a tiny 2x2" bundle: 4 alcohol preps, 4 bandages, 2 pieces of gauze and wrapped them with 12" of coban stretch tape)
Small sewing kit (this is in my kit since I didn't have another one and probably don't need one for each person)
Knit hat or ball cap
Knit gloves or mittens (got these real cheap at our local retailer for $.50 for 2 pair last week)
Small dental floss (just went to the dentist and used the small samples they give out)
Toothbrush and paste (same as above)
Small shampoos (I used ones collected from hotel stays)
Tissue pack (the small ones come in sets of 6-10 and can be split up easily)
Mirror (I used my old make up ones until we upgraded to new ones--boys didn't like "Cover Girl" on their mirrors)
Handiwipes
Deodorant--small ones are in the travel section of most stores for $1 (rotate new ones back in after 1 year since they do go crystalline after time)
Toilet paper (We squished a full roll flat per person and it fit nicely)
Hand Soap (I used collected ones from hotel stays)
ID tags (These are tags that have vital information on them--name, next of kin, medications, medical issues, important phone numbers, places to meet, etc. that we will immediately put on in an emergency to help us remember things we might not in an actual emergency--make them large recipe card sized, laminate and punch a hole and thread strong yarn though to wear)
Alcohol based hand cleaner
Matches with 2 cotton balls for fire start
Chewing gum for nerves
Hard candy for stress (not part of the food kit--just there for stress)
Small rope (I found 12 foot ones that serve as hanging lines for clothes in a pinch)
Bandana (good to protect from cold, sunburn, and to keep track of people. Buy a bright pattern for the family so you can see your own kind!)
Full sized garbage sacks
Feminine products as needed
Baby supplies as needed
Ponchos
Whistles (for alerting for help--we found ones with compasses, thermometers, etc. It was this season's upgrade!)
Insect repellant (go for the wipes as I worry about compressed air products in our hot garages)
Extra keys to the house and cars
Q-Tips
Lip balm
Brushes or combs (hair clips or scrunchies if needed for long hair)
Razor
Sunscreen
Washcloth and hand towel
Hand wash laundry soap (Can buy in the travel section of the stores--this will be so helpful if you need to launder clothes in a sink)
Clothes pins (you only need a couple)
Packing list--(super important--helps you know what you have in an emergency at a glance and it helps in the reassessment periods to know what you need to buy, replace or pack in the kits)

Remember this is for 3 days. While the list is long, we got most things into small, quart sized bags with several items (I like putting liquid items in the baggies so in case they leak...). We had most things on our initial gathering in the house with the kids' help. I kept a notebook by to write down what we were missing. We had a small budget to get the basics replaced and we had to let some items go as goals for next time (money in our packs, for example). I will write the hoped for items on the September calendar and then I will know how much to set aside for the September "re-look" and "re-pack". This is a great activity as you clean out closets and such for spring and fall and this helps hand tailor the kits for the seasons. When we were done, we put white garbage sacks to protect the bags from dust and to help us easily identify them in the garage. My living room was a mess for a few days, but today, it feels really good to have it done. I will share some ideas from our "food kit week" in a few days.

DW