This is my family's 72 hour kits. The kids have rolling backpacks and we have rolling duffel bags to hold more items. You can buy ready made kits, but I wanted to make our own so that I could personalize each one. Here are the things that we have in our 72 hour kits.
All of our 72 hour kits have a photo luggage tag, which contains a photo of them.
Food & Water
I decided to only buy food that doesn't need to be cooked. These food bars are from beprepared.com. I also supplement these food bars with our "comfort" foods, such as beef jerky, granola bars & candy. I also let the kids eat these every 6 months when I rotate certain perishable items. If you do buy items that need to be cooked, don't forget the camp stove, Sterno, can opener, pans for cooking, plates, bowls, cups, spoon, knifes, forks, etc for these items!
For our water I decided to purchase Water Pouches from beprepared.com. They also sell Aqua Blox, which is water in a juice box like container. I chose the pouches because of the size issue. The disadvantage to pouches is that they might puncture easier (thus they are in a Ziploc) and they are a little harder to drink from. I also have some water purification tables (not pictured) just in case we need water for more than 72 hours.
Clothing/Shelter
- Emergency Sleeping Bag
- Emergency Blanket
- Poncho
- Hot Hands or Hotties
- I also have a full size sleeping bag (rated zero degrees) for all of us. These will NOT fit in our kits, but can slip over the handle and be pulled along with our backpacks & duffel bags.
I keep all our clothing items in the 2 duffel bag kits. The rolling backpacks are not large enough to hold these. I don't have a full change of clothes yet, so our clothing items consist of:
- Socks
- Shoes
- Hats & Gloves
- PJ's
- Undergarments
- Diapers (if applicable)
First Aid Items
I bought our 1st Aid kits premade from Wal-Mart. The small one (top picture) is in our children's backpacks, and the larger one and the Bite/Stink kit are in our kits. Some other things to add to this (if not already in your kit) might be:
- Surgical Masks
- Surgical Gloves
- Cough Drops
- Vitamins
- Medicine (Cold/Pain)
- Burn Gel & Dressing
- Antiseptic
- Inhalers or Prescription Medication (If you can't keep these in your kit, KNOW where they are so you can grab them quickly!)
Fuel, Heat & Lighting
- Fire Sticks
- Wind/Waterproof Matches
- Emergency Candles
- Flashlight
- Lightsticks
- Headlight
- Fire Starter
- Hand Crank Flashlight (I don't have one yet)
Make sure that you don't store your batteries in your flashlights or radios. Wrap them with tape so that the ends don't touch. This was they will be fresh when you need them.
Personal Documents (not pictured)
- Immunization Records
- Birth Certificates
- Pictures
- Phone Number/Addresses
- Insurance Information (Life, Car, House)
- Family Emergency Plan
- CD's with Photos/Genealogy
- Marriage Certificate
- Social Security Numbers
- Emergency Contacts
- Family & Individual Photos
- Fingerprints
- Health Information
- Credit Card Information with Phone Numbers
- Cash in small bills
Personal Care Kit
I bought these small bags at Wal-Mart and filled them with everything we might need for our personal care. For deodorant, shampoo, toothpaste, and other things that have an expiration date, I bought each persons favorite brand. That way, if there is no emergency we can still use it here at home before it expires. Then I don't feel like I am wasting things, since I don't need to throw them away when they expire.
- Germ X
- Flushable Wipes
- Chapstick
- Deodorant
- Toothpaste
- Shampoo
- Soap
- Sunscreen
- Washcloth
- Toothbrush
- Cotton Swabs
- Comb
- Kleenex
- Toilet Seat Covers
- Nail Brush
- Tweezers
- Finger Nail Clippers
- Compact Mirror
- Sewing Kit
- Aloe Vera
- Vaseline
- Feminine Products
- Mosquito Spray
Miscellaneous/Survival Items
- Camp Towel
- Toilet Paper (with roll removed)
- Duck Tape
- Handy Sacks (or trash bags)
- Rope
- Multipurpose Knife (Swiss Army, Leatherman, or Generic)
- Heavy Duty Scissors
- Survival Whistle (with compass)
- Umbrella (don't have yet)
- Maps (for neighboring states as well)
- Camp Ax (adult kit)
- Camp Shovel (adult kit)
- Hand Crank Radio (don't have yet)
- Work Gloves (don't have yet)
This phone was about $5.78 at Wal-Mart and is a great buy. Phone lines have their own power source so if your power were to go out, you could still use this in case of emergency. Every home has a telephone interface box which is usually mounted on an outside wall where the phone lines runs into your house. You can plug your corded phone into this box (even if it's not your own home) and have a working phone line. Of course this is for EMERGENCIES ONLY!! Consider keeping a phone like this in your car, just in case!
Entertainment Items
Here is the special little section I have in each kit. It contains:
- Small Notebook (in our favorite colors)
- Pen & Pencil
- Scriptures
- Card Game (type varies per person)
- Crayons/Coloring Book or other fun item
Extras
These are items that you probably can't store all the time in your 72 hour kit, and will have to grab at the last minute.
- Medications
- Cell Phones
- Chargers
- Special Blanket or Stuffed Animal that your child can't be without.
Large Item
These are things that would be great to have near your 72 hour kit, but are too big to fit inside a backpack.
- Portable Toilet
- Porta Privy
- Family Size Tent (Such as one you use to go camping every summer)
- Camp Stove
- Sleeping Mats
