Packing an Emergency Kit

Now that I have my month’s of food and water stored, I am organizing our emergency kits.  Back in 1942, this grey wool coat and “matching knapsack that carries a supply of sandwiches and a first aid kit” was the height of fashion and practicability – but today I am looking for a little more.

The prepping blogs I have been reading suggest keeping a 72 Hour Kit in the boot of the car  – complete with water filters, a first aid kid, baby wipes, food, and a whole lot more.  You can read more about putting one of these kits together here, here, here and here.

After driving for five hours to take my daughter to university, getting lost in the town for nearly two hours (in the rain, at night), and driving back home another five hours in more rain, I almost wish I’d had a 72 hour kit with me so I could have camped out at a rest stop and avoided the trucks and speeding drivers trying to kill themselves in a storm.  Luckily I had a pillow, a block of chocolate and a thermos of tea to keep me going.  I did forget to pack a book though.  And a bucket may have been handy – trying to find a toilet in a storm is not fun.

My phone also stopped working – apparently the car charger overcharged it and it got too hot – so I couldn’t contact anyone to let them know where I was (or take photos of tail gating and speeding idiots).  Now I am thinking an emergency radio may be a good idea too.  And a real paper map.

So this month I will work on my emergency 72 hour kit for the car, designed for 6 of us, which I plan to store in a waterproof plastic crate.

My planned kit is fashioned after what the Survival Mom calls ‘The 5S kit’

Sanitation

• A 6-pack of toilet paper, flattened, with cardboard tubes removed
• A bucket
• Sanitary supplies, sunscreen and insect repellent
• Baby wipes, dienfectant wipes and flat bag of tissues
• Tube of hand sanitizer and bar of soap
• Toothbrushes, toothpaste and dental floss
• hairbrush, hair-ties, bobby pins
• latex gloves

Survival

•  First Aid handbook and kit
• Extra essential medicines and repeat prescriptions
• Blankets (I like to fold these into a pillow)
• Two torches
• Rain ponchos (large garbage bags) and umbrella
• Sandshoes/socks for everyone
• Rope and 4WD bands for getting out of trouble or getting towed
• Knife
• Battery/solar-powered emergency radio
• Ground cover / Tarp
• Work gloves
• Waterproof matches
• Whistle
• Small water filter
• Collapsible shovel
• sewing kit and scissors
• Change of clothes for everyone, stored in plastic bags

Security

• pepper spray
• maps
• list of emergency phone numbers
• paper copies of identification
• Scanned copies of important documents on a USB memory stick
• cash money in smallish bills

Sanity

• pad of paper and textas
• deck of cards
• a few books/mags
• mobile phone charger

Sustenance

• water and water filter
• small fuel stove
• instant soup, oatmeal, tea, coffee, hot chocolate
• non-perishable/freeze dried meals, chocolate, bars etc

I feel like I am back in Girl Guide days – ‘Be Prepared”!