You know the importance of a 72 hour kit. The only problem now is where do you store your 72 hour kit? The first thing you need to do is evaluate your life. Where do you spend most of your time? Depending on where you spend most of your time will determine where you want to keep your 72 hour kit. After evaluating where you spend your time determine which option of storage would work best for your 72 hour kit.
| 1. Your coat closet - If you spend most of your time close to home then we recommend storing your 72 hour kit in your front coat closet. The majority of houses have a coat closet close to the front door. Many people have taken a coat hanger and inserted the head of the hanger through the top loop of the back pack. It is nice having your 72 hour kit so close to the front door, when the emergency strikes and your home or close to home you will enjoy having easy access to your emergency supply's . When you are dealing with a Grab-&-Go situation time is of the essence and you don't want to be shuffling under boxes to find your 72-Hour Kit. If you do not have a coat closet, just have your 72-Hour Kits in a close location to the front door or garage. The key is to make it as easy as possible so you won’t be dealing with any delays.
2. Your Car - Most of us do not know where we will be when a disaster happens, but most likely the odds of you having your car around you can provide you with a great location to store your 72-Hour Kit. Just picture, no matter where you go you tend to have your car with you.
3. No coat closet and no car - Everyone's situation is different, you might not have a car or you might not have a closet. But we all can judge our own situations & find the best option for storing your 72 hour kits. It might take a little creativity but I am sure you can think of somewhere to store your kit.
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After any major disaster or minor disaster you might wish you had on hand a little 72 hour kit. No one knows when a major disaster happens or a minor will happen. The best insurance is to be prepared. Here are some steps in creating your own 72 hour kit and Go-Bag if a disaster happens.
72 Hour Kit Your basic emergency kit should include: - Water – 3 gallons per person (1 gallon per person per day)
- Food – ready to eat
- Protein/Granola/Calorie Food Bars
- Crackers/Cereals (for munching)
- MREs/Canned Food (Remember that cans can leak/explode)
- Candy/Gum (These items could melt, so it's best to keep them in a zip lock baggy)
- Manual can opener and other cooking supplies
- Plates, utensils and other feeding supplies
- First Aid kit & instructions
- A copy of important documents & phone numbers (your 52 Weeks to Prosperous Living Organizer!)
- Warm clothes and rain gear for each family member.
- Heavy work gloves
- Disposable camera
- Unscented liquid household bleach and an eyedropper for water purification
- Personal hygiene items including toilet paper, feminine supplies, hand sanitizer and soap
- Plastic sheeting, duct tape and utility knife for covering broken windows
- Tools such as a crowbar, hammer & nails, staple gun, adjustable wrench and bungee cords.
- Blanket or sleeping bag
- Large heavy duty plastic bags and a plastic bucket for waste and sanitation
- Any special-needs items for children, seniors or people with disabilities. Don’t forget water and supplies for your pets.
Store your household disaster kit in an easily accessible location. Put contents in a large, watertight container (e.g. a large plastic garbage can with a lid and wheels) that you can move easily. | Go-Bag A component of your disaster kit is your Go-bag. Put the following items together in a backpack or another easy to carry container in case you must evacuate quickly. Prepare one Go-bag for each family member and make sure each has an I.D. tag. You may not be at home when an emergency strikes so keep some additional supplies in your car and at work, considering what you would need for your immediate safety. - Flashlight
- Radio – battery operated
- Batteries
- Whistle
- Dust mask
- Pocket knife
- Emergency cash in small denominations and quarters for phone calls
- Sturdy shoes, a change of clothes, and a warm hat
- Local map
- Some water and food
- Permanent marker, paper and tape
- Photos of family members and pets for re-identification purposes
- List of emergency point-of -contact phone numbers
- List of allergies to any drug (especially antibiotics) or food
- Copy of health insurance and identification cards
- Extra prescription eye glasses, hearing aid or other vital personal items
- Prescription medications and first aid supplies
- Toothbrush and toothpaste
- Extra keys to your house and vehicle
- Any special-needs items for children, seniors or people with disabilities. Don’t forget to make a Go-bag for your pets.
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Remember that you do not know when and where a disaster will happen. The time to prepare is now!
Most people have at least heard of food storage. It seems to be one of those things that people either don’t understand, don’t want to understand, or simply procrastinate. Why would we want to store food anyway? We can buy most anything at a grocery store and who wants to store food and then have it go bad? Well… I tried to think of a few reasons why food storage is important. If you think of others please post them below.
Here are the reasons I came up with for food storage:
| 1. Natural Disasters:
| - Remember the tsunami in Japan a few years ago? Do you remember all the people in Hawaii rushing to the grocery stores to get the supplies and food they needed? I do! I remember hearing on the news about the stores in Hawaii completely empty because of the people panicking in order to obtain food and water for safety. How many of us live day to day or week to week with food? If a natural disaster happens like a sunammi, earthquake, fire, or something else… what is your plan? Do you have a plan? If you have children, what are you going to tell them when they are hungry? Food storage is a way to plan for those events that we do not see coming. Think of it is your insurance policy for natural disasters.
| 2. Economic Crisis:
| - Well… most of us just need to look around to realize that we are in an economic crisis. How much stress would be off your shoulders if you knew you didn’t need to worry about food, all you needed to worry about was keeping or finding a job. The thing is you do not have to be in a time of plenty to start food storage! You can start by doing small things! One of my favorite sites, www.foodstoragemadeeasy.net, teaches people how to start food storage and have it not break your bank with small easy steps. Think of the stress you could eliminate if you had food, water, and necessities already stored in your home. This brings me to the next reason for food storage…. The health benefits!
| 3. Health Benefits:
| - Health benefits from food storage?!?!? I know… you probably think I am crazy… but think about it… When you are stressed how is your health? Is your health good or bad? Another health benefit is…. You eat cleaner. Ok… now I know you really think I am crazy! No really, by storing food you need to learn about food. You need to learn about grains, legumes, and baking ingredients. Why... because these are the items that store. By starting your food storage you will learn about food and what to store and put into your body. How is that a bad thing?
| 4. Everyday Emergency:
| - I don’t know how many times my food storage has saved me!!! I am not talking the life threatening instances… but I am talking about those times when…ladies… that time of the month happens and you need protection. Yes… food storage includes those items too. Instead of frantically running to the store and risking a flaskback from the movie “Dirty Love” you can rest assured that you are safe at your home.
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I hope you can see the benefits of food storage. It is not a waste but can truly be a lifesaver in several instances. For more information on how to start your food storage visit
www.foodstoragemadeeasy.net for everything you need to get started.
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