Good, making a decision to buy some Living Insurance is the first step. You’ve decided to provide your family an extra layer of security should the unexpected happen. Preparing for any and every disaster or emergency situation can seem like an overwhelming task, so let’s start with just the basics.
If you were to experience a minor interruption of normal daily living that required you to stay home and stay inside for a day or two, you probably have enough substance around the house to sustain yourself. Such an occurrence would be an inconvenience not a crisis. But suppose you had to evacuate your home for 24 to 48 hours. Unexpected flooding, mud slides, tornado or wind damage, chemical spill or environmental accident, any one of these incidents could require you and your neighbors to move to an emergency shelter until it was safe to return home. You may only have a few minutes to grab and go once the evacuation is ordered or required. What would you take?
If you are lucky enough to have family or friends outside of the evacuation zone your experience is likely to be significantly less traumatic. But if you have to rely on a local emergency shelter for refuge, think about what you may experience. No privacy, minimal comfort, the possibility of long lines for food, water and restrooms, potential sanitary issues and hours of boredom. You’re not going to die, but it might seem like a better alternative. So let’s start here and put together a basic 72 hour kit. First step, go out to the garage and see if you can find some 5 gallon buckets with lids. They should be clean and sealable; Home Depot sells them for about $2.50 each. Depending on the size of your family you may need 2 or 3. They are the perfect storage containers for your starter kit. They hold a good amount of supplies and can double as a seat, foot rest, trash container or even toilet. Next buy a plastic wrapped case of bottled water, check your local paper for discounts, I have seen them for $3-$4.00 on sale. The plastic wrap makes it easy to carry and individual bottles have their advantages. If necessary, space out your purchases so that they fit into your budget accordingly.
What’s next, think about comfort? A plastic blowup air mattress like you used to play with at the beach or pool. Hey, I know it’s not great but compared to sleeping on the floor its heaven and you can toss enough for the whole family in the bottom of a bucket. Put in a change of underwear for each member of the family. You can wear the same clothes for 2 or 3 days but a change in underwear will make it much more bearable. Plus it beats the inside, outside, wearer’s choice 3 day option. Add the following as applicable to your family, 3 days supplies of medicine, a small bottle of Tylenol, a couple of rolls of toilet paper, hand sanitizer, bar of soap, a couple of washcloths and hand towels, toothbrushes and a small container of toothpaste.
Having taken care of the basic creature comforts let’s talk about food. Hopefully your shelter will be able to provide basic nourishment, think cafeteria food, right, you can survive on it but would you want to. Depending on the size and ages of your family members you may want to supplement your basic shelter diet with some extras. Pack the following in a bucket according to your individual tastes. Baby food or formula if needed, beef jerky, trail mix, granola bars, peanut butter or cheese crackers, pop top cans of fruit, pasta or pudding, some candy bars and water flavor packets. Don’t forget plastic spoons. You might find some of these goodies make great barter items that you can trade for other wants or needs.
Lastly, don’t forget something to deal with the boredom. Add to your kit a deck of cards, kid’s books, paper, pencil, crayons, crosswords or sudoku, a small bible. Put in a disposable camera, you are going to see some sites that you will want to document for when you tell your story of survival. That’s the basics; again depending on the size of your family you should be able to accomplish this for less than $50, check your local dollar store, a number of these items can be aquired there. Put a note on the outside of your bucket to remind you to grab throw pillows, fleece blankets and a couple of bed sheets. If you have some room in a bucket or an extra one there are some items that might be helpful to include. A flashlight and batteries, rope, duct tape, pocket knife or multi tool, tarp, work gloves, whistle, first aid kit, matches, a hammer and pliers. If you had these permanently stored in a bucket to go that would be great, if not write another reminder note to grab them, if you have the time, they could be important. Locate your water and buckets in a convenient storage place, preferably a closet by the front door. Don’t forget to rotate perishables by package dates and underwear for growing children.
Just having these basics is probably not a matter of life or death. But it can be the difference between your family just surviving an emergency or coping comfortably during a crisis. Now get busy and Do It. We will discuss in future posts Shelter Survival Tricks and helpful additions to your basic 72 hour kit. Be safe and Happy Prepping.
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