72 Hour Kits

Being Prepared is very important. Of course, the range of "preparedness" can mean different things to different people. For me, a 72 hours kit is just one aspect that brings peace of mind. It's the security of knowing that if disaster should strike, my family and I would have the sufficient means (food, medicine, and emergency items to sustain ourselves, and hopefully help someone else as well. Last Monday I tackled the project of going through our emergency preparedness items and 72 hour kits. It is something I try to do each year. Once you have a system, the upkeep is pretty simple. I have an old suitcase that I use for clothes for each person, a blanket, hygiene products, toilet paper, medicine, first-aid kit, diapers, wipes, flashlights, cash, games, paper, pencil,etc. In my other duffle bag I have cooking supplies, candles, matches, heating cans, whistles, and other emergency camping gear. These are items we have collected through the years. Thanks to family members, some of the items have been christmas gifts. A great idea. I found a great 72 hour kit that is easy to assemble, very affordable and fun to eat too. It is practical and so I thought I would share these good ideas when they come along. I will list the food items I used this year to put them together. I also created a canister for a baby, since of course he/she can not eat the other food. The 72 hour kit is put together in 3 days of Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner and Snacks. Also the important thing to remember is you are never prepared without water. Make sure you have at least 2 liters of water per/person to go along with the 72 hour kit. For the Adult kits you will need: 3 power bars, 1 small can or juice box, 1 pkg. soup mix, (lipton packet), 3 pkgs. crakers, 4 individually wrapped beef jerky sticks, 3 fruit snack packages, 15 pieces of candy, 10 sticks of gum, 2 hot chocolate mixes, 1 fruit cup, 1 canned soup, 1 Capri Sun pouch, 1 pkg of Ramen soup mix, 1 package trail nut mix. For the Baby Kit: 1 large package of crackers, 3 baby biscuits, 1 jar bananas, 1 jar prunes, 1 jar chicken noodle, 1 jar carrots or other vegtable, 1 pkg. formula, 2 small juices. I used the gallon size cannister you can buy at Walmart for each kit. The schedule is as follows: Day 1: Breakfast: 2 power bars, 1 can juice Lunch: 1 pkg. soup mix, 1 pkg. crackers Dinner: 2 beef jerky sticks, 1 fruit snack Snacks: 5 pieces of candy, 5 sticks gum Day 2: Breakfast: 1 hot chocolate mix, 1 fruit snack Lunch: 2 beef jerky sticks, 1 fruit cup Dinner: 1 canned vegtable beef soup, 1 pkg. crackers Snacks: 5 pieces of candy, 5 sticks of gum Day 3: Breakfast: 1 fruit snack, 1 Capri Sun pouch Lunch: 1 pkg. Ramen Soup mix, 1 pkg. crackers Dinner: 1 power bar, 1 pkg. peanuts, 1 hot chocolate mix Snacks: 5 pieces of candy, 3 sticks gum *All in all this is pretty basic and easy to change around with food preferences. The idea is also that these items fit in a 1 Gal container. My only suggestion is to make sure you look at expiration dates when you are buying your products because a lot of times, these items are almost to expire when you buy them. Keep in mind you will want to rotate your food every 6 months to a year. :) We had a good time. IT made for a chaotic family home evening. The best part was seeing how excited Sophia was over all those wrappers and boxes. Just remember, being prepared doesn't have to be a huge ordeal. Just take baby steps and soon you will see your reserves growing.