Month 1 - 72 Hour Kit

We hear all the time we need to be prepared, but what happens when a natural disaster hits us? We all rush to the store and clean the shelves out. Soon there is no water, bread, eggs, etc. Then we, whenever the disaster is over, return whatever it is we bought because we rather have the money back. This will then just repeat itself when the next panic comes about.

I love how the Church I am a part of provides many means by which we can be prepared. They encourage us to have a food storage and in more recent years, urges us to have a 72 hour kit. Unfortunately, Glenn and I never really were able to have either. We got married when we were poor college students (which is not an excuse). Once I graduated, we worked hard at getting Glenn the rest of the way through school. We also had a major goal to be completely debt free by the time he graduated. We reached our goal and continue to strive being debt free! It is a blessing. However, with living in a small space and not having a whole lot of money, we did not jump on the food storage and 72 hour kit bandwagon. Even then, it was important to have a few extra cans of something here and there for those days we may truly need it. 

Now we are out of college and making more money than we had ever seen in a single pay check before. We are now finally getting our food storage and 72 hour kit in check. However, it can be intimidating seeing all those pre made packs for food storage and 72 hour kits. Some of the things I probably would not even use, even in an emergency. They also cost a lot of money to straight up buy them. So here I am giving you tips to build a 72 hour kit in a year (personalized for you and your family's needs). My plan can even help the people with not much money at hand along with those who do. The thing you must decide is how important it is for you to have a preparedness plan.This is a perfect way to be able to set aside a little money each month to get a few more things to add to your kit, instead of dropping a leg and an arm buying a completed set that you probably don't even know what half the stuff is you are getting.

I wanted to share month one a couple weeks back, but I got hit hard with cold and allergies. The cedar blew in, and it has been bad. I am actually feeling somewhat better now, so here I go. About middle of February, I will share month 2!

We started setting aside money each month last year in preparation for starting our 72 hour kits. Each month we will do some sort of emergency preparation and add a few items to our 72 hour kit.

Month 1 Items:

•  72- hour-kit containers: Each member of your family needs their own bag, including the small children. Each month we will be adding suggested items for the bags. Put items into each individual bag as appropriate. For example, you probably should not add matches, knives, etc. to the children bags. Some items will go into your children bags as well that probably will not go into yours. We bought these bags pictured (and showed in the video at the end of this post). We like the idea of having sturdy backpacks (bigger than the regular school bag). You can use anything from backpacks, duffel bags, plastic totes, etc. I preferred the backpack route because they are more comfortable and easy to carry if needed. 
  
  
  
  

    Links to bags:
    Children's Bag
    Adult Bag's

• Smoke Detectors--Escape Routes--Emergency Plans: Next on our month 1 preparedness is checking our smoke detectors or any other home detector you may have. Replace the batteries if needed. Teach your children what it means when they hear that sound and what to do. That brings us to our next items of business--practice escape routes and have an emergency plan. It is important that not only you as an individual or parent know your escape routes, but that your children (if you have them) are aware and comfortable with it too. Creating an emergency plan with your family is also important. What are some important numbers you and your children need to have on hand? Where will you all meet if you need to evacuate your home? These are only a couple questions to ask when preparing this plan. I will be having a blog post in the next month or two all about creating a family emergency plan. But in the mean time check out this very helpful link: https://beprepared.com/emergency-preparedness-plan-for-your-family/

         Have a family night where you practice and make plans together. Make it a fun and informative           night for you and your kiddos. 

• Flashlights: We will be adding flashlights to our kits in a later month, but right now we are not only starting our kit preparation, but we are preparing our home too. We like to have a flashlight located in various locations throughout the house. We keep one in our room, one in our kids room (let them know where it it, how to use it, and when to use it). We also keep one located down stairs. It is also handy to have a lantern some where you can get to. We keep ours in our closet. Make sure to check the batteries! 

•  Water! Water is the first thing we are putting in our packs. The Red Cross recommends 1 gallon per person per day. However, water takes up a lot of room in a pack. We decided to put only one gallon into each pack (in water bottle form). We are storing the rest in a sturdy tote that would be easy to grab as well. We bought Glenn and I a total of 6 gallons and only bought the kids 3 gallons between them. I have a two year old and a 2 month old, so they do not go through nearly as much water as us adults. Decide what is best for you and your family. Keep in mind the water will not only be for drinking but also cleaning and cooking. It is also recommended to have  two week supply of water stored in you home in case clean water is not available. 
  

Check out the video below to see this months 72 hour kit in review! 

Stay tuned in a couple weeks for next months items!