Creating a short-term emergency kit for you and your family is so easy. In this episode you will learn how to create one for every family member quickly and easily.
Creating a short-term emergency kit for you and your family is so easy. In this episode you will learn how to create one for every family member quickly and easily.
Creating a Short-Term Emergency Kit
Intro:
Welcome to episode 3 of the Prepping Positively Podcast. I’m Annie Lewellyn and today I am goin to teach you how create an emergency kit for short-term emergencies! Here we go...
Hello again and thanks for joining me this week. Let me ask you a question. Do you have an emergency kit available for short-term emergencies?
By short-term I am referring to those quick inconveniences that happen. Events like power outages from severe weather or any conditions that may cause you to be without water or power for a few days. Or maybe for those times that you have to evacuate your home due to flooding, the threat of fire, or again hurricanes.
In those circumstances that I just mentioned, you need to have something you can easily pick up, throw in the car and go. That something is a short-term emergency kit.
Now if you have one, then kudos to you! You are pretty prepared. If you don’t, pay attention because I am going to teach you how to create a simple emergency kit that meets the needs of you and your family.
So what goes in an emergency kit? Well before I tell you what to put in your kit, you need to think about a few things first.
How many people are in your home? Is it just you or you and a significant other? Or do you have children, or maybe an elderly parent you take care of too?
The number of people and the needs of all of those people will determine how big and how much stuff you need to pack.
Let’s start with the things every person will need regardless of their age. These are the basics.
For each person I would consider supplies for 3 to 4 days.
These would include:
• One towel
• A toothbrush and tooth paste, deodorant, hairbrush or comb • 1 Gallon of water per day
• A blanket and a pillow
• Two to three changes of clothes
• Roll of Toilet Paper
• Jacket if needed
These are all items that each person can pack into a small bag or backpack and carry for themselves usually.
As far as the rest of the supplies you will need, there are items you will want that can be packed into a large tote for example, that can be shared by all.
These include:
• A pot, spoon, and spatula
• Eating utensils
• Matches or a lighter
• Non-perishable food (which we talk more about in a bit) • A tarp
• A Can opener
• A first aid-kit
• Cash and any needed paperwork
• Paper plates and paper towels
Now, one last consideration, is any special needs that someone may have. Examples of special needs could be medicine or prescriptions one might be taking, or diapers, baby food and so forth for babies. These should be added to the persons bag or in a special container.
Now let me address a few things before we talk about non-perishable food.
You may want to consider a cooler and ice for things like bottles of formula or breast milk for babies or for keeping any refrigerated medicines cold. You could also take some easy to eat foods in a cooler such as lunch meat or juice for example.
You also may need to consider your pets. Remember if you have to leave, they probably do too. So don’t forget to pack them a bag with food, water, any medication they may be taking and a toy if need be.
I pack an extra blanket for my dogs. You never know when they may need it right?
Ok. Let’s discuss that non-perishable food. Because you never know if where you are going will have food available, it is always smart to pack food just in case. Now I do not mean fill the car like you went grocery shopping, but things canned fruit, tuna, pudding cups are quick, filling foods that require no heating. Peanut butter and bread may be a good choice. Crackers are always an easy snack.
Try to bring food that is easy to consume, does not have to be refrigerated , and at least has nutritious value.
My fiancé and I both have a backpack packed at all times here. They sit in our closet. If we have to get out quick, we can just grab them and throw them in the car. They stay packed at all times. We also have a cooler on hand and ice packs are already in the freezer and ready for us to grab and go.
We use two milk crates for non-perishable food. I keep these filled with tuna, beef jerky, pudding cups, chips, lemonade mix, instant coffee, a baggie of sugar, and other foods we can consume quickly and easily. Periodically, I go through the contents of the milk crates and use what may be getting ready to become out of date and replace those items as we remove them.
I have a small SUV, so in the back we always have 2 blankets, 2 small pillows, 2 towels and a large tarp tucked under the seats and in the storage net.
In our laundry room is a large tote filled with anything else we could need. We add the contents of the milk crates to the tote so we can put in the ice packs and empty the fridge of any cold items we want.
Being prepared like this means that if an emergency happens like the frequent yearly evacuations for hurricanes, we just grab our milk crates and empty them into the tote, snatch our backpacks, our metal waterproof box of papers, our dogs, and some dog food and we are off. Oh and a case or two of water.
In 15 minutes we can be in the car and on the way outta dodge. And we have the peace of mind knowing we have everything we need.
So does this make it easier or give you a better idea of how to prepare an emergency kit for short-term emergencies? Don’t worry if you think you may have missed something. If you go to my website at roadtoreliance.com/podcast and scroll down to episode 2, you will find a printable cheatsheet that lists everything I talked about today. You can download that list and print it out. Then as you make your own kit, you can check off the things you have completed.
If you have any questions or suggestions, feel free to email me! You will find the email on that same page at the top. I will try and help as best as I can.
Well, that’s all I have for you today. I hope you found this information helpful. If you did make sure you follow me so you don’t miss a single episode and feel free to leave me a rating. That will help others to find me!
As always, stay safe, stay healthy, and stay positive. You can do it! I believe in you!