October Week 1: 72 hour kits

This week's emergency preparation item is:

October Week 1: 72 hour kits. Start them or update them.

72-hour kits in back packs

72 hour kits
(includes the rolling cart under the backpacks)

So...... if you have a 72 hour kit, this is relatively easy. Just get your kit(s) out and go through them. Throw out the old, expired food, batteries, etc, that may need replacing. Then, write the items on a list and get to the grocery store in the next couple of days to purchase what you need. When you have the items back in your kit, and your kit back where it belongs, then check it off the list, and relax until next week.

I like to keep my 72 hour kits on the main floor, in a closet that is readily accessible. It's the closet on the way out to the garage, so it's pretty convenient. Everyone knows where the kits are, so we should be able to grab the kits and go quickly. If I kept the 72 hour kits in the basement with the rest of my emergency supply, they would take longer to grab (which may not be possible in the case of a house fire or earthquake), or they might get ruined in the case of a flood, etc.

Now, if you don't have a 72 hour kit yet, then you've got your work cut out for you. BUT, this is the time to get started. I have a couple of different lists... one for the kids' 72 hour kits, which are contained in separate backpacks for them. The other list is a comprehensive list that includes everything my husband and I would need, along with some items that the entire family will use. This is the week I check on all of my items, and try to get them completed and updated.

On my lists for my 72 hour kits, there is a place to write when items expire so that I can just look at the list (without even pulling my kits out) and purchase the items that have or will soon expire. Once I have bought them, I can just switch the items in the kit out and update the list.

In the coming months, we'll work on 72 hour kits here on the blog. I've tried to come up with a simpler way than what I already have going, but I think it's about as simple as I can get it (and still be useful in almost any emergency). We'll start the first installment this coming Thursday (click here to go to the post), so that you are keeping up with your Week-By-Week Food Storage Plan. As we get into the 72 hour kits, I'll have a better idea of how many posts it will take to cover them. I want it to be a doable thing, and it would be too overwhelming to try to do it all at once.

Now that we have all of our kids married off, and on their own, we don't keep an emergency kit here at the house for each of them. In fact, I've passed on to them their 72-hour kits in their backpacks. They can keep them, update them, build off of them, or whatever they want. I will continue to encourage them to build their own kits for their own little families. In my opinion, the 72-hour kits should be for whoever is living in your home at the current time. Any others should keep their own kits at their own homes.

If you would like the full info on the Week-By-Week Food Storage Plan, just click on the tab at the top of the page. You can then click on any single week and it will take you to the most up-to-date post that featured that week's items. It also has the information as to how you can get a copy of the weekly schedule as well as the complete inventory sheets.