72 Hour Emergency Preparedness Kit

"Organize yourselves; prepare every needful thing" (D&C 109: 8)



I just got my 72 hour kits in order, I wanted to share some of it here.

Food - This one is first to me since it one of the most important. You can live, however unpleasantly, without changing your clothes or brushing your teeth for three day. For my meals I used Emergency Food Rations, they have all the protein, vitamins, minerals, fat, and calories for an entire day. They even taste pretty good, like lemon shortbread cookies. Even my kids like them. I still packed three small dinners, since we will probably want something to eat, out of variety and habit. People like to eat. Make sure its food you actually like though and would still eat under normal circumstances. You also want to check and make sure that the cans you choose have a tab so you can open them up without a can opener, or you need to pack that too. Expiration dates need to be checked on canned food. The Mainstay bars have a 5 year shelf life and are "non thirst provoking" So here's what I have in my kit

• 3 Mainstay 2400 Calorie "Emergency Food Rations"
• Dinner - 1 Mac & Cheese, 1 spam packet, 1 can Green Beans
• Dinner - 1 can Baked Beans, 1 can fruit cocktail
• Dinner - 1 Rice Pilaf Pouch, 1 strawberry applesauce
• 3 bottles water
• 1 spork w/ knife
• Iodine tablets
• Paper towels

Bedding/ Shelter - I got 2 small tents for my family of 5. Make sure it is something that doesnt weigh too much, you will have lots to carry. Especially if you have small kids, you have to carry their packs, and then maybe even them. For a blanket I used micro-fleece, it's a very thin material but still very warm. You can pack those thin foil emergency blankets, and they are better than nothing at all, but they do very very little. Pool mattresses are great, they are thin and don't weigh much and they are cheap. Get them at the dollar store or Wal-mart, if you check off season for them they are usually even cheaper.I didnt pack pillows, the pool floats have a bit and I was worried about adding too many things and making my kit too large.

• 1 Tent
• 1 Blanket
  
• 1 Pool Float Mattress,
  

Clothing - This area changes depending where you are and the season. There is so much more you will probably wish you had, but remember you are trying to keep this small and light. Only take the essentials. I don't have a jacket in ours since we keep our jackets by the door and can grab them on the way out and we live in a warm climate, the blankets will be enough. If you live somewhere cold, you need to prepare for that. Those hand warmers you have to crack to get going are a great addition. Flip flops and crocs are good because they are more generic in size. The can still be worn if they are a little too big or too small so they dont have to be rotated as often and they are cheap. You can get flip flops at the dollar store but crocs are better for cold weather.

• 1 large T-shirt
• 1 pair sweat pants
• 1 pair socks
• 3 pair underwear
• 1 pair Flip-flops or Crocs
  
• 1 rain poncho
• 1 pair one size fits all gloves
• 1 hat

First Aid/Hygiene - I did mine in two parts. The kit you see above is clothing, food, toys and most hygiene, there is one kit per person. Then I did two kits of the large items. So there is one for each tent, of which I only have two. For garbage bags you can use folded plastic shopping bags, just ake sure you have at least one for each day. I got a roll of 50 small plastic trash bags, the package came from the dollar store and is no bigger than 3 inches by 1 1/2 inch. I got a tube of toothpaste, but you can get little individual foils packs of toothpaste from emergency store.

• Ibuprophin/acetominaphin
• Garbage bags
• Diaper wipes
• Band Aids
• Neosporin
• Gauze
• Sterile bandages
• Hair brush or comb
• Pony Tail holders
• Shampoo/body wash
• Deodorant
• Tooth Brush
• Toothpaste
• Hand Sanitizer
• Hand Soap
• Insect Repellent
• Sunscreen
• lotion
• tweezers
• Oragel (or other topical numbing)
• 3 Tissues packets
• Lip balm

• Feminine hygiene (tampons, pads, etc...)
  
• Diapers if you have children
• Prescription medication
  

Other Important Extras

• Folding shovel
• Tape
• Flashlight
• Batteries
• Paper
• Pens\pencils
• 2 Lighters
• 1 Shamie (or towel)
• 1 plastic tarp (picnic table cloth or shower curtain work well)
• Pocket Knife
• Radio

Activities - Everyone gets bored, especially kids. Make it easier on them (and you) by planning on activities to do. I used a plastic envelope, the kind that go in the front of notebooks to hold pencils, to keep them all in one place. A plastic bag would work too, but I wanted it to be something that was strong enough to stay intact for three days. I got all of my toys at either the dolar store or Wal-mart. The card games where Old Maid, Go Fish, and Crazy 8 that came three for a dollar. I have all girls, go if you have boys you will need to change it up a bit, but make sure you have variety. Things you probably already have around the house work, this is a great place for happy meals toys or old stuffed animals. Just make sure you don't pack things that need batteries.

• 1 small mermaid doll
• 1 small deck of card games
• 3 pocket pads of paper (one for each day)
  
• Crayons
• 1 toy car
• 4 toy rings
• 4 silly bandz

Scriptures

• The small military ones are perfect

The Dollar store is a great place to get things for your kits. They usually have things packaged in small portions and they have lots of interesting things you can't find anywhere else. Just remember:

Keep it compact, make sure you can lift it, store it where it is accessible in a hurry, make sure you are familiar with it, then sit back and enjoy the disaster.