72 Hour Kits

Let’s start filling up those backpacks!

It made sense to me to be prepared for 72 hours first, then 3 months, and on. If your family is done with this step, pass on some tips that you found in finishing your emergency kit.

I know as you pray about it and ask the Lord’s council, you will be prompted to know what is right for your family. The Lord has asked us to be prepared, and I know that he will provide a way for us to get it done if we are diligent and are doing all that we can do.

I have placed a file in the Recipes section (now called recipes and more) with a list of 72 hour kit items that I am going to put in my kit. I split the items into three sections.

1. Items that I have at home.
2. Items that you can find at Wal-Mart (I put the prices as well)
3. Items that I couldn’t find at Wal-Mart, but found them online at www.shelfreliance.com (look below for more information)

Depending on your budget and how many of the items that you have at home, you could finish your kit in 1 or 2 months. Here is what I’m doing. Please note: you need to go at your own pace, if this is more that your budget allows, lengthen the steps. We have been counseled to not go to extremes to get this done.

Week 1: Order items not found at Wal-Mart. (or by all means, tell me were I can find them locally) You could also get copies of important documents and pictures put on a disc this week.

Week 2: Start filling a bucket or tub with the items that you have at home. We will worry about organizing it later.

Week 3: Buy items that are at Wal-Mart and put them in the tub.

Week 4: The ordered stuff is in so start stuffing your bags. You will have to be creative and pack well in order to fit everything.

Consider having a couple bags for the parents with one that has a shoulder strap so you can wear one backpack and one shoulder bag. This will be especially helpful if you have children that are too young to carry anything.

YOU’RE DONE!


Online Order.
www.shelfreliance.com

Tube Tents - $5.99 each
Description: The Tube Tent is an essential component of any 72-hour kit. Sturdy and easy to assemble, the Tube Tent provides enough space to house two adults in an emergency. The Tube Tent is eight feet long and includes a generous twenty-five foot nylon cord.
Five Piece Mess Kit -$5.00 / each
Description: This heavy gauge aluminum set includes a skillet, a plate, a saucepan with lid, and a plastic cup. This set nests together for easy storage and features a detachable handle that locks the set together.
Wing Stove w/ Fuel Tablet- $4.86 / each
Description: The wing stove is one of the lightest and most compact fuel tablet holders on the market. This lightweight stove can fit into the palm of a hand, yet it can hold up to a gallon size pot. The fold out wings improve heat output by directing the flame upward.

If you don’t have the food portion of our 72 hour kit yet:

On the survey, it looked like the majority of you had the food portion of your 72 hour kits done. (Thanks to that wonderful church activity; good job!) For those of you that weren’t here, or couldn’t get it done then, I found a really good site that had easy and portable 72 hour kits. They made it in an old milk jug and said it would only cost $10 a kit. Here is the link to the site.
http://foodstoragemadeeasy.net/2008/06/13/how-to-make-a-72-hour-kit/

An added note: I checked my 72 hour kits today and my hard candy is starting to disintegrate everywhere. A friend said that she was having the same problem. We both had our 72 hour kits in controlled environment in our homes. So it looks like we can’t have candy in our 72 hour kits in Arkansas, its too humid.

Car Kits
If you are done with your 72 hour kits. You can use this time to get a car kit put together. Here is a list of things that might be helpful:
1. First Aid Kit
2. Money
3. Flashlight with fresh batteries
4. Food (granola bars, nuts, raisins, fruit roll-ups, etc.)
5. Water
6. Large heavy trash bags for rain ponchos, ground cloths
7. Blanket
8. Fix-it supplies- duct tape, string, wire, tools
9. Car care items- tools, jumper cables, tow rope, flares
10. Entertainment- games, books, paper and pens