I had REALLY been wanting to start an Emergency Kit for our family, and I finally got the ambition to do it! I broke my list down into weeks, adding up to a year. That way it's not so overwhelming (and expensive) to do all at once! You can either go by order, or pick and choose things that you find on sale, or that you have in the house. Just make sure if you do miw them up, to add the $5 + 4 quarters periodically, or you will end up putting in $70 all at once! Don't get this list confused with a Food Storage list, this has a FEW food items, but its mostly emergency supplies. Feel free to add/take away from this list to fit your family's needs!
I found a container that I had lying around and cut out some vinyl for it (because every project starts with vinyl!) Then I went through the list and found the things I had already in the house that we could spare and added them.
it isnt much... its a start!
1. Container to hold your Kit.
2. 1 Flashlight for each person + extra batteries
3. Current family picture and photo of each family member (More on this later :) )
4. Can opener
5. List of important phone #’s (laminated if possible) (I added our cell phones, all 4 of our parents cell phones, our Family Doctor, the city police, and the city fire dept.)
6. $5 in one dollar bills + 4 quarters
7. 4 rolls toilet paper
8. 1 bar soap
9. 1 emergency blanket per person
10. 1 roll paper towels
11. $5 in one dollar bills + 4 quarters
12. 1 box bandaids
13. 1 package wet wipes
14. 100ct multi vitamins
15. 1 pack of gum
16. 2 candles
17. Package of matches
18. 2 decks of cards
19. Face Masks 2 per person
20. 1 bottle Ibuprofen (add baby Tylenol if you have a baby)
21. 2 lighters
22. $5 in one dollar bills + 4 quarters
23. 1 whistle per person
24. 5 dice (to play games)
25. Rubber gloves 2 pair per person
26. Sunblock
27. $5 in one dollar bills + 4 quarters
28. Gauze and medical tape
29. 3 heat pouches per person
30. Bugspray
31. Rope
32. $5 in one dollar bills + 4 quarters
33. 1 package garbage bags (10)
34. Package of tums
35. Pocket knife
36. Thermometer
37. $5 in one dollar bills + 4 quarters
38. Hand sanitizer
39. 2 packs instant hot coco per person
40. 5 packages garden seeds
41. 2 packs instant soup per person
42. $5 In one dollar bills + 4 quarters
43. 10 hard candies per person (i.e. butterscotch, cinnamon etc.)
44. 4 AA batteries
45. 10 instant crystal lite packages
46. 2 instant oatmeal packs per person
47. $5 in one dollar bills + 4 quarters
48. Notebook and pens (for journaling/notes/entertaining kids)
49. Small pot
50. Travel size shampoo/conditioner
51. Bible/Book of Mormon
52. $5 in one dollar bills + 4 quarters
I'll try and update every few months of what it looks like, as it fills! I hope this gives you the ambition to start your own!
great idea!!
ReplyDeleteThis IS a great great idea!! Something that you shouldn't put off, but everyone does. Thanks for the motivation! I'd hate to not be prepared for an emergency.. I like the idea of doing it little by little too. :D
ReplyDeleteWhat a great list of very important items...I think I have a project on the agenda for myself and my hubby! And passing the info on to my 2 kids for their homes too! Thanks so very much much for this awesome idea!
ReplyDeleteIf you Pinterest...what a great place to post such a great list!
ReplyDeleteWhat a great idea to break it up week by week. I'm going to feature this post on my blog soon. I really like this idea!
ReplyDeleteGreat idea! Thanks for linking up with Lemon Tree Creations today with this project too!
ReplyDeleteNice list.
ReplyDeleteMight consider some water, just a bottle per person if you're still maintaining another food store.
Also, don't forget to check on, and replace as necessary, the expiration dates for drugs and other consumables.
I'm my ward emergency preparedness specialist. Could I have your permission to use this? I can e-mail you the flyer I made based on your idea.
ReplyDeletethis is the best idea ... i have made a start on one today and no longer feel burdened by putting one together thanks to your inspirational idea ... thank you so very much :)
ReplyDeleteI like!!!
ReplyDeleteBut I'd recommend putting your pictures and phone number list in plastic ziploc baggies. My mom is a laminate-aholic so I can tell you from experience, that paper still soaks up water through the borders (and then your left with a blurry mess, that looks a lot like your blurred out photoshop pic above). For this same reason, use a sharpie not regular pen.
Also, I'd add a pack of playing cards to the list for entertainment :-)
great idea! thanks for sharing your list. i love the idea of breaking it down into weekly bits.
ReplyDeleteAre you planning on using this as a 72 hour kit? Is it meant to be portable? If so, you might want to consider putting everything into backpacks (1 for each member of the family), and be sure to include water.
ReplyDeleteYou may think of adding an extra set of clothing for each member of the family. Something old your not going to miss from day to day but something you may be thankful for if the emergency box is ever needed.
ReplyDeletethis is a good list, however, I would like to add one item, a complete change of clothes for each family member =)
ReplyDeleteYour articles and contents are inspirational.
ReplyDeletesurvival food books
Did you keep up with your emergency kit?
ReplyDeleteWhen i saw the picture of a box with 'the Stratton's' on it I thought that my name had been photoshopped on from my friends, lol. I married into the Stratton family in 1998. Glad to see more out there even if we are not related.
ReplyDeleteWhen i saw the picture of a box with 'the Stratton's' on it I thought that my name had been photoshopped on from my friends, lol. I married into the Stratton family in 1998. Glad to see more out there even if we are not related.
ReplyDeleteGreat idea! I'm starting my own and you're list is very helpful!
ReplyDeleteHello! I know you wrote this post a long time ago, but in the off chance that you read this...I just have to say THANK YOU! Emergency preparedness is one of my biggest worries and it is so overwhelming. This list makes is so simple and easy to accomplish. I am so excited to get started. I found you on Pinterest and my husband is laughing right now at how excited I am about beefing up our emergency preparedness kit! THANK YOU!!!
ReplyDeleteLinking back to this because I think this is such a great way to make an emergency kit accessible to everyone. Thanks so much!
ReplyDeleteI really like this because it's less intimidating to see it in smaller parts of a whole. Somewhere there is a list of "$5 preps", well you can do a google search for it- I suppose there are now lots of them out there. I would recommend reading over them for more ideas of what would be appropriate and do-able. We really need to do this! I'm working on 'bug-out packs (in backpacks), and trying to decide what is best in a 3-day emergency survival or evacuation situation vs one of these emergency boxes. I guess you have to divide them between the type of emergency situation you could be facing. That's hard too.
ReplyDeleteThis seems like a great idea to add extra stuff for a longer emergency. I have backpacks for each of us but I like this idea to use for extra supplies in case we need them for more than 3 days. I'd add a can of shortening and some string or a wick. Look up a crisco candle.
ReplyDeleteIt's very overwhelming for me to make these for my entire family as there are 6 of us and the youngest is not yet 2. She has her own bag which is lightweight and I can clip it onto mine if needed.
I would also add not to forget feminine supplies. Never know when that will start either!
I keep quarters in a long mini m&m tube one for each pack there is enough extra room in each container to slip in a few dollars too.
Great list! Not as intimidating as the kind of things survivalists promote. I'm a Brit, though. The last time I heard advice from our Government with respect to emergencies, it was 'Go in, Stay in, Tune in'. With this in mind, I would add to your list a cheap radio and batteries.
ReplyDeleteSo, have you kept up with this? This is one of the pins that got me started with prepping. I found a nearly empty under-bed bin and started loading it up with items I had around the house; sunblock, batteries, bandaids, a couple cans of soup, candles, etc. I have since created a couple 72-hour bags that I continue to add to as I have money and ideas of stuff to put in them. My next project is going to be canned food storage for the house in case we need to stay inside for an extended period of time without electricity, as well as a Get Home Bag for me so I have everything I need to walk home in case the S* hits the fan while I'm in the city at work.
ReplyDeleteHey wow this is a really useful and informative pod-cast. I'm also one of those who are extremely concerned about emergencies and human survival. I already have an emergency preparedness kit for fires and I really want to have survival kits for earthquakes and tornadoes. I'd really like to appreciate you for the kind of information you've given and I'm definitely going to give it a try.
ReplyDelete