Emergency Preparedness Kits

Emergency Preparedness Kits:
HOW LONG UNTIL HELP OR RECOVERY

You may have to survive on your own after an emergency. This means having in sufficient quantity, your own food, water and other supplies because you don’t know if you will get help in hours, days, weeks, or longer. The disaster will define the emergency response time; meaning the type and severity will impact the resources and ability to get help to you.

A typical Prepper will have prepared in some way for disaster scenarios that could lead to being on your own for a relatively long period of time. Even if you do not consider yourself a Prepper and are not so concerned about major collapse scenarios, you can still be readily prepared for the most common and likely emergency situations by simply building an emergency preparedness kit that will keep you in reasonable condition until help or recovery.

Emergency Preparedness Kits:
HOW TO DECIDE WHAT’S INSIDE

When choosing what to include, consider how you would manage without the basic services such as electricity, gas, water, sewage treatment, and telephone for a period of days, or even a week or longer. It’s as simple as that.

It may not be so simple to get along without those basic services, but it is simple to analyze and choose what it is that will help you through it.

Go through the process one at a time. What is it that you do each day that depends upon… electricity (fill in the blank), and then try to come up with solutions for your basic needs.

Building emergency preparedness kits can be fun. It is a personal set of choices that determine what goes inside. In fact, you could build a kit today, and then build another one in a few months to discover that you have included some different items.

While I won’t burden this with long lists of items (which can be found in plenty here on this site and others), it is helpful to look at the lists of others, many of which will give you great ideas. Start simple. Something is better than nothing.

Consider the seasons. Add or subtract based on typical weather conditions and changing needs.

Change your water storage every six months as a general rule of thumb. Rotate your food too, especially for car kits.

Emergency Preparedness Kits:
WHERE TO KEEP IT

These kits do not necessarily have to be contained in a pack, case, bin or other constraint. You could easily keep the items you would need in your home in locations wherever it makes sense for you. On the other hand you should seriously consider building a kit that fits in a pack or bin for the trunk of your vehicle. This could be an additional emergency preparedness kit that is solely for you car, while you also keep items at home.

Having a car kit will cover you for while you are at work (assuming you drive to work), which when you think about it is a significant part of your day… meaning that you are nearly as likely to encounter a disaster while at work as when you are at home. This is a serious thing to think about and may impact what you decide to keep in your car kit.

If you commute to work with someone else or take public transportation, you should tailor an emergency preparedness kit that you keep at work, and one that fits on your person or inside a shoulder bag or briefcase that you typically carry around with you. This will require special thought with regards to items of practicality versus bulk, weight, and carry-ability.

I personally like the idea of the ordinary backpack / shoulder pack for simple emergency preparedness kits because it’s easy to grab and go, and it is easy to carry if you have to walk out. Even if you are building a serious kit for home which involves lots of items, bulk and weight, it remains a good idea to keep a bug out bag at the ready (although having one in your car may negate this necessity).

 

So what are you waiting for? Start building yours today!

 

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