First Things First - 72 Hour Kits

“Preparing Every Needful Thing” is not possible overnight . . . but putting a basic 72 hour kit together is. Hurricane Season is here!  It runs from June 1st to November 30th. In light of all the natural disasters occurring across our nation, the time for procrastination is over! Every household should have, at the very minimum, a few basic emergency supplies to help sustain the family during an emergency or natural disaster.

The City of Houston recently unveiled a video series that addresses the need for a 72 hour kit. History within our own city has shown that households with disaster kits were able to endure and recover from disasters more easily than those that did not. People who had kits felt they were better prepared physically and emotionally to handle upsets with power, water and other basic services. There is a link to the Texas video series HERE.

Some Californians who belong to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints recently posted a video series on YouTube called, “Prepare Every Needful Thing.” There is a link HERE. I found it to be even more motivating than the Houston area video because it also addressed the effects of disaster from a spiritual perspective. If you are having trouble becoming motivated once again to undertake the task of 72 hour kit preparation, please watch the video. It is insightful and motivating.

Sometimes when approaching the task of assembling a disaster kit we find ourselves drawn to fancy “complete and expanded” lists. Or, we find ourselves wanting to buy a fancy version of a kit online . . . the most expensive one, of course. I want to encourage you instead, to focus on the most minimal and basic list first. Put this together quickly and do it now! You will unleash a momentum within your family that will propel you to the next level quicker than you think. More importantly, you will be doing something right away to better prepare your family.

Whether you are a family of one or a family of five or more, you need to think about the ages of each individual within your family unit and plan accordingly. Remember your pets too. Preparation now leads to future success and immediately leads to a lot of peace.

Following is a Basic List for a 72 hour kit. (More expanded versions are available under the “This Month’s Focus” section.)

Basic List - 72 Hour Kit
(assuming you will shelter in place)

-Container to hold items. (large plastic bin, box or bucket with lid)
-At least 3 water bottles per person per day (more if you use dehydrated meals)
-3 days worth of easily prepared food (like soup, crackers, peanut butter, trail mix, etc.)
 Emergency food could be MREs or Dehydrated Meals
-Manual can opener if your food required one
-Paper cups, plates, napkins, utensils
-Wet wipes, hand sanitizer, paper towels
-Clean change of clothes per person
-Blankets
-Copies of personal identification and insurance information
-Flashlights with batteries
-AM/FM radio (write local station numbers on it)
-Baby and/or pet items
-Car cell phone charger and list of contact numbers
-Cash in small bills
-Basic first aid items
-Medications
-Trash bags