Updating Emergency Kits
Hi friends! It's been a minute since I've done a post. I'm still struggling with my health and my energy levels are VERY low as I work with a team of doctors to figure out what's going on, thanks for being patient! I've wanted to continue work on my son's room, but just haven't had it in me. Instead, we're talking about updating the emergency preparedness kits we made a few years ago. When I made them originally, I made a kit for each member of my family, and the feedback I got was very mixed. Some people thought they were great, some thought they were over the top and some questioned why I would even need them in the first place. Well, in the past few years the US alone has had fires, floods, hurricanes, earthquakes and along with a global pandemic. Personally, I'm not taking any chances and am going to prepare my family as best as I can. Many parts of the world understand the importance of a 72-hour kit. It keeps necessities ready and available for you for if you encounter a disaster or if for some reason you need to leave your home quickly. Let's restock ours so you can see what's essential for our family at different stages. I keep the emergency kits in our front hall closet, which makes it really easy to just grab them if we ever need to. I have this bucket underneath that has all of our sleeping bags in it and then the four backpacks on top. The pink one's for my daughter, the orange one is for my son, the blue one is mine, and the green one is my husband's.
Updating Emergency Kits | 9 Year Old
I originally made these 72-hour kits back when my son was probably six months old, and he's now three, which means we need to do a lot of updating for everyone. My daughter's current kit includes some Pull-Ups, gluten-free granola, a camping pillow, a combo camping mug/spoon/fork, three outfits, some trash bags, a washcloth, a flashlight as well as some toilet paper, a rain poncho and water bottles on the side. I put her camping pillow in first because it folds up really nicely at the bottom. I tested the batteries in the flashlight and put them back in. The little camping cup with the utensils, trash bags, washcloth toilet paper, water and even the granola are also fine to go back in. Now let's talk stuff that does need to be replaced in her bag. The Pull-Ups were too small, but she still uses them as a back up at night so I grabbed the larger size. I had 3 sets of clothes for her and all of them are about a size 6 which considering she is now a size 12, definitely need to be rotated. I packed her some shorts and a T-shirt and a long sleeve shirt and long pants, as well as underwear and socks for both of the outfits so we're prepared for different weather options. I packed everything back in and her purple backpack is ready to go.
Updating Emergency Kits | 3 Year Old
Like I said, my son's bag is ready for a 6 month old and not a 3 year old so its going to take a little more work to update. His bag currently includes a few ponchos, a good amount of diapers, a sleeping bag, wipes, formula, a shelter, a baby carrier, several outfits and some water bottles. The baby carrier, expired formula, size 2 diapers and 9 month baby clothes all had to go. He needs between a 4T and 6-7 in clothes, depending on the brand. I replaced two outfits and put a bunch of diapers in size 8, enough for two to three days, in here. I probably need to get some shelf stable milk to put in here because he's still a pretty big milk drinker, so I put a note to grab that and then added some snacks, as well as a pacifier. He doesn't have a lot in his bag just because the rest of us are carrying other stuff, and he won't be carrying this bag. Either my husband or myself would carry this bag if there was an emergency, or it would just be in the car.
Updating Emergency Kits | Adults
I decided to go through the adult bags, even though I was pretty sure nothing needed to be replaced. My husband and I have the most stuff in our bags just because we'll be able to carry more. We both have several days worth of clothes as well as gluten-free freeze dried meal kits. We each have one of the camping mug/utensil kits, tarps, emergency phone charges, trash bags, washcloths and an emergency walkie-talkie. I have the first aid kit and he has the shovel/multi-tool. We both each have a LifeStraws that make it possible to drink from any water source. We also both have toilet paper, ponchos, trash bags and our pillow/sleeping bags. Like I said, no real reason for either one of us to have to replace anything that's in these bags other than me getting a new face mask for mine since I used one for a project. I will probably need to put face masks for the kids in theirs, so I put a note to do that. Otherwise, we are good to go and I can put these back in their designated spots. Other items I would suggest to have in your bags are: an extra pair of glasses, any vital medications, and maybe something like cards or light weight toys to keep your kids entertained. I've linked anything I can below so you can start your own kit. Hopefully, this helps someone else to feel more prepared in case of an emergency.
