By request....

Here is what I have in my 72 hour kit.  And here are some tips from my sister--she and her boys survived Hurricane Katrina. Good luck!

What's in My 72 Hour Kit??

MOST IMPORTANT:
This list can be overwhelming. The first thing to do is gather up everything that you already have in the house--it will be more stuff than you think. Then see what's left on the list that you need to get and prioritize the items. Obviously, you can live without your hairbrush but not without water so start with the essentials (food, water, shelter, fire) and then move on to more convenience type items. In about 1 year you can have a totally snappy 72 hour kit spending about $5 a week. It's yard sale season so look for some of these items there and also at thrift stores. WalMart has a very inexpensive camping section where you can get some of the items like water purification tablets, space blankets etc. Also, never underestimate the power of the Dollar Store, you can get a lot of this stuff there.

Food:
Food for three to five days. For some reason, many people think that MRE's are the only thing that you can put in 72 hr kits. I like MREs, but they can be expensive, so look into canned food options, also dried foods such as nuts, jerky, and fruit. Also power bars and other high calorie foods that are lightweight and will last in storage.

Water:
-water for three days or more.
-water purification – Often people believe they have to have an expensive filter system--I usually just use plain bleach-don’t ever use ultra- in a very small drip bottle similar to the ones you can buy eye drops in. This is a very cheap solution. I recommend double bagging the bleach in zip-lock bags to keep it from damaging anything if the bottle breaks or leaks. 2 drops per quart is all that is needed. Also, there are now new purification tablets available that don't change the color or taste of the water, and cost about $15 or so.

Regular Clothing:
-long sleeve shirt
-short sleeve shirt
-pants
-2-4 pair of socks - At least one wool.
-1-2 changes of underwear
-hat with a brim for sun and rain -baseball cap is fine
-2-4 bandanas - used for all kinds of things
-boots/shoes

Winter Clothing:
I feel that it is better to have this in your kit, and be able to ditch it if temperature allows. I always recommend wool clothing because it is durable and helps you stay warm even when wet. There are tons of affordable wool items in thrift stores, garage sales, and army surplus places. With winter clothing, always think layers. Because you can't find one garment that will do for every situation, this is very important.
-winter hat
-wool/fleece sweater
-outer jacket
-gloves
-thermals

First Aid:
-A basic 1st aid kit (Band-Aids, gauze, antibiotic ointment, alcohol wipes, ace bandages, pain killers and things like that) plus:
-super-glue–this is an amazing addition to your kit and can be used to replace minor stitches
-maxi pads for blood absorption in case of injury
-athletic tape
-personal prescriptions/medications

Hygiene Items:
-soap
-floss
-washcloth
-comb/brush
-feminine hygiene products
-wipes
-any baby items if you have a baby (diapers, bottle, formula etc)
-toothbrush
-small toothpaste
-toilet paper

Miscellaneous Items:
-whistles-1 per person
-2+ refillable water containers - One really cheap item is a “Gatorade” or similar bottle
-fixed-blade knife with sheath – Minimum 4-inch blade. This is a must-have item
-pocket knife
-other small tools-small spade, multi-head screw driver, hammer, scissors, pliers 
-can opener if you have any canned food
-20 feet or more of 1/4-1/2 inch braided nylon rope - Never skimp on this item and don't leave it out!
-several tarps
-water proof matches and lighters
-rain poncho
-hand warmers
-solar/space blanket (they look like tin foil)
-wool blanket
-flashlights-crank powered 1 per person and light sticks
-battery and/or crank powered radio
-extra batteries – for whatever you have packed that is battery powered
-cash--some in quarters to make phone calls and lots of singles.
-duct tape
-leather work gloves
-compass and local maps
-pad of paper, with pencil, pen, or permanent marker all in zip-lock bags.
-contact info of important people-laminated
-important documents – use certified copies in plastic bags
-fishing line, hooks and lures – keep it simple and lightweight-no actual poles.
-stainless steel cup or small collapsible cooking pot
-consecrated oil – if you are LDS.
-needle and/or sewing kit
-something to do – cards, dice, books…anything to pass the time.

Preparedness...

I've been thinking a lot about 72 hour kits, food storage, and just general preparedness over the last few months. I guess it all started with that huge explosion that we had over here (in the neighborhood, not our house) a while back and was finished off with the pregnant woman that got 'snowed-in' in her car right in the middle of town and almost died.

So about a month ago I pulled out the 72 hour kits and dumped them all out on the kitchen table. (I'm wishing I had taken a picture now but oh well!) Anyway, I hadn't "updated" the kits since Chloe was born, that's right, CHLOE--as in 2 children ago. They were in pretty sad shape after 6 summers in the garage and we were low on everything since we'd added 2 kids.

So I had fun gathering all the stuff we needed for everyone and now I'm feeling like we we're totally outfitted for survival with 4 kids. (HA! who am I kidding? We can barely survive in the house with every modern convenience conceived by man. But, I don't know, it makes me feel better!) Anyway-the goal is to have them 100% done and hanging in the garage by April Conference (4/5/08) and then to update them every 6 months on General Conference weekend. I've been wanting to do that for years now but here I am throwing it out into cyberspace...I'm going to update them regularly!

So my 2 favorite items in the 72 hour kits are 1) 100 single dollar bills. I was thinking of the Hurricane Catrina situation-thinking if we need to barter for something I wouldn't want to be stuck using 20's or a hundred dollar bill which is what I had in there before. And 2) fishing supplies. They are cheap and lite and invaluable around here if we need to find our own food. Anyway just a couple of ideas...

I also made up a car emergency kit with a lot of the same things as the 72 hr kit but with a few 'car incident' items like a hammer (1$ store) in the glove box to break windows if you get stuck inside the car and flares, motor oil and stuff like that. I'm not sure why it is giving me such a sense of accomplishment but it really is. Hmmmm...maybe it's time to get out of the house?

OK one more little item and then I will stop tooting my own 'preparedness horn' and remind myself about what bad shape my food storage is in...

Last time Hazel was in the hospital I had hours and hours and hours to sit and think about what I wished I had with me so I made a list. When we got home I packed it all in a bag-my new ER survival bag! Well, last night Hazel got a fever and I knew I'd have to take her in. Because of the shunt, they always want to see her if she has a fever soooo-off we went with me hoping and praying that they would be able to find the problem while we were in the office and not have to admit her to the hospital. On the way out the door I grabbed my ER survival bag just in case! Well, I'm happy to report that we didn't need it, hooray! She just had a UTI and we were home by noon. I'm guessing it's Murphy's Law here and realize that since I had the stuff with me I didn't need it. Hope that theory holds since I plan to have it with me whenever she goes in with a fever from now on!

Anyway-that's what's on my mind these days. Let me know if you have any clever or unusual things in your emergency kits...I always like to add new things!

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