make an emergency kit for my home

In addition to an emergency kit, everyone needs a “go” bag, something you can grab in case you have to leave in a hurry. When disaster strikes, you don’t have a long time to get ready.

I also plan to make emergency kits for my family including an emergency contact card and places to meet in case the phones go out. Our family has agreed on an out-of-state friend who will serve as our central point of contact in case in-state communication is not working (very common in emergencies)

I have visited 72hours.org and will work on my kit based off of that. I already have an emergency kit for my car. I also want to back up all of my photos and albums on to an online site like shutterfly.com or kodakgallery.com and to disks that I can put in a saftey deposit box.

So I’ve now got 2 bags for each of our cars. I may have gone a bit overboard in some areas and a bit light in others. I don’t have a good light solution but may purchase mini mag lights to put in each bag and I still will put a pair of work gloves in each of the bags. I’ve got a pair of old greased leather Dr Martins in mine which will be good in case I need to abandon my car somewhere and am wearing in-practical shoes. I also packed a collar and leash along with a days worth of food for my dog, just in case.

I’m really pleased with the brown bag. I renewed my sierra club subscription and they sent that bag to me free. That one will be in my husband’s car although I may steal it back. I like the pocket configuration. It is much roomier then mine. He doesnt know he’s getting a bag yet… Knowing him I’m sure he will complain… and roll his eyes and tell me I’m paranoid and very much my father’s daughter. As long as it actually travels in his truck with him I dont care.

Anyway I’m glad I finally did this. It was long over due The water from that was in mine previously had expired in ‘99 so that says how long ago I peaked in there. So there it is, a little piece of mind that will be able to take us a long way in an emergency.

My father made me an earthquake kit over 10 years ago. I’ve added this to my to do list because its well past time that I update it. My first step was actually locating it. ha. having taken about 30 min to locate it was half of my problem. Once I get it restocked I am going to put it in my trunk where it belongs. I’ve taken a short inventory and can see holes in what I need. Today I will try to patch up those holes and hopefully mark this as officially done.

http://www.cert-la.com/education/DisasterSuppliesCalendar.pdf

have started this
bought some lights, batteries and a little kerosene stove, we have a spare can opener, emergency bag of dog food and a lot of canned food. now we just need to put it all in one place

www.72hours.org

www.redcross.org – the Red Cross

www.ready.gov – from the US Homeland Security Folks

• HAVE – emergency rechargeble lights – $9 each at Home Depot; one in each bedroom and bathroom – they turn on automatically when the power goes out. We can turn them off to conserve batteries and just use one at at time until the power comes back on

• HAVE – candles – lots, wide based, cheap, many fire-proof tiles to set them on. Have to remember to put them out when not in the room.

• HAVE – non-electric can opener

• HAVE – extra amo for the primary defense firearms

• HAVE – fireplace lighter – for lighting the propane stove if the electricity is out

• HAVE – emergency rechargeble lights – $9 each at Home Depot; one in each bedroom and bathroom – they turn on automatically when the power goes out. We can turn them off to conserve batteries and just use one at at time until the power comes back on

• HAVE – candles – lots, wide based, cheap, many fire-proof tiles to set them on. Have to remember to put them out when not in the room.

• HAVE – non-electric can opener

• HAVE – extra amo for the primary defense firearms

• HAVE – fireplace lighter – for lighting the propane stove if the electricity is out

• HAVE – emergency rechargeble lights – $9 each at Home Depot; one in each bedroom and bathroom – they turn on automatically when the power goes out. We can turn them off to conserve batteries and just use one at at time until the power comes back on

• HAVE – candles – lots, wide based, cheap, many fire-proof tiles to set them on. Have to remember to put them out when not in the room.

• HAVE – non-electric can opener

• HAVE – flash lights and extra batteries

• HAVE – battery backup for computer will hold the computer on line long enough for it to be shut down nicely

• HAVE – water for dogs in milk jugs. I know they will deteriorate, but I rotate them out so the water doesn’t stay in there for very long – a few days to a week. But it does give me about 2 days worth of drinking water for them if needed

• HAVE – extra amo for the primary defense firearms

• HAVE – fireplace lighter – for lighting the propane stove if the electricity is out

• HAVE – canned foods ones that can be eaten cold if need be, and veggies that are packed in liquid that you can drink

• NEED – better first aid kit

• NEED – generator

• NEED – a plan

• NEED – to clean extra blankets

• NEED – canned dog food less succeptible to varmint contamination and also contains moisture – need at least 3 days worth

• NEED – containers to store things in; stuff that can easily be loaded into the truck if needed

... reminds me that although we are somewhat prepared for an emergency, we are not REALLY prepared. Being in a rural area and 20 or more miles from any town and 50 miles from a “Big City,” we’re going to be among the last people that any services such as police or fire dept. are going to get to.

We are prone to:

• Power Outages – both in winter and summer
• Water/Well Failure – due to power outage or 20 degrees below freezing weather
• 50- 75 MPH Wind Damage

In an extremely rare event, the lake 3 miles away could flood and we could be under water.

• 2 adults, 1 teenager
• 3 large dogs
• possibly my daughter & granddaughter

Will keep an on going list of things here that we need vs have…

for my red dawn prep. I’ve got an emergency kit i just need to go back through it and add or replace what ever is needed.

There are a ton of great websites that sell batch emergency kits with everything you’d need: food, water, radios, flashlights, the works. I like one stop tasks I can cross off this quickly. :)