72-Hour Kits

One of my goals for this year was to get our 3-Month Food Storage and 72-Hour Kits in order.  I had done this in Las Vegas, but since moving to Utah it had fallen by the wayside.  Not only had we added another person to the family, but what I did have was now expired or outgrown.  So I did a massive overhaul and reworked my 72-Hour Kit system.

Our needs in Utah are different than our needs in Las Vegas.  First off, we have the addition of going to Grandma and Grandpa’s house in Provo rather than heading for the hills should a disaster arise.  This really changed the way I approached what we carried.  In this scenario we don’t need food and water the way we would have in Las Vegas.
Using this approach, I slimmed down our food needs and focused on clothing this time around.  I started hunting around the Internet and gathered numerous ideas about what other people were doing and what other considered to be important elements in their 72-Hour Kits. 

I created three different lists – one for parents, one for baby, and one for children.  Babies and older children have different needs, and the parents will need a few more supplies and documents than the kids.

The lists I came up with may be overkill, but each time I added something to the bag I thought about how useful it would be should we end up in a shelter or even at somebody’s house.  I also considered the age of my children, knowing comfort and security would be of the utmost importance to them (hence adding snacks and busytime activities, well as lots of information for authorities to use should we become separated for any reason).

I printed out the lists, creating one for each backpack, and laminated them.  This way it will be easy for me to check and update some of the items each year.  Perhaps you will find this information useful, so I will show you the final results:

Like I say, better to be overprepared than underprepared.

I also created individual family photos (as well as a group shot)with our names on them using the idea from Lovely Little Snippets.  These also were laminated and strung on a key ring and hung from ribbon, should we want to wear them.  (I can also update these as needed.)   

  

(I had to post them cause they were such good photos, ha ha ha!)

I am now working on putting together a second tier of Emergency Preparedness - stashing a few more supplies in a 5 gallon bucket, that we can easily grab and throw in the car should we need to travel farther.  I am working on finalizing the list, but this time it would include more food and safety objects, such as jumper cables, matches, sleeping bags and duct tape.