I took a short notice road trip with the kids last week. Approximately 1100 miles round trip to see some family for the holiday. Of course, my vehicle emergency kit was not removed when we packed our suitcases around it. And it’s a good thing, because even though we didn’t meet up with any zombies or get stranded on the road, we needed it a few times.
1. The blanket came in handy for a place to sit when we didn’t have lawn chairs for watching fireworks at a friend’s house.
2. The same evening got kind of cool and we hadn’t brought our jackets from grandma’s, so baby brother got to wear a sweatshirt from the kit.
3. Same evening again at the friend’s house, we accidentally left the diaper bag at grandma’s, so it was a great thing that there were diapers and wipes in the kit.
4. Did anyone bring sunblock? Yep–there’s some in that box in the back of my van.
5. Ditto for bug spray.
6. And after the candy factory tour 30 miles from “home” when darling little niece needed a bandaid for her ankle, there was one in the emergency kit. Sweet.
7. Did you know if you order a full size salad to-go intending to split it with your mom when you get to the park, they’ll only give you one fork? It’s for emergencies just such as this that our kit has plastic silverware in it. Now we can all eat lunch!
Just the average week away from home in the life of a vehicle emergency kit. Well, actually our average week usually includes a use of the toilet paper as well–not sure how this week slipped by without the TP being busted out of the kit!
Just remember, if you are dipping in to your kit as often as I did this past week, you’ll need to restock it frequently. Make it part of your un-packing routine to re-pack your vehicle kit and you’ll always have the supplies you need for those emergencies small and large that are bound to pop up away from home.
Keep preparing! Angela
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My Californian relatives are sometimes taken aback by the knife I carry. It’s nothing spectacular, at least to those of us living in the somewhat-more-free world where such things aren’t as heavily legislated, but to them I look like Crocodile Dundee. The thing is, I end up using my knife constantly. What’s more, I’ve never used it to kill zombies (though I have used it to butcher chickens). But I’d be hard pressed to find a day when I hadn’t used my knife for something.
Yeah, I didn’t even count the number of times I used my “mom tool” pocket knife last week! From opening popsicles to cutting the elastic off new sandals, a knife is super handy to have around!
Ola! Foodstorageandsurvival,
I just stumbled across this and, Losing one or all of your utilities for a couple of hours is an inconvenience, but what if it lasts longer, sometimes a lot longer, due to a natural disaster such as flood, fire, earthquake, hurricane, or even the unthinkable act of terrorism? Are you prepared to support you and your family’s basic needs to survive until help arrives or government resources can actively respond?
Keep up the good work
Even if a woman is not a prepper, how can she travel with kids and not have “stuff?” I was always the mother who was prepared. Other mothers asked me first when they needed something at ball games, swim team, ballet practice. I had food, bandaids, wet wash clothes in a bag (no baby wipes), food, drink.
Love it! Someone who is always prepared is wonderful to have around. One caveat – I’ve read, and verified by my dermatologist, that sunscreen loses it’s potency when stored in a hot environment like a car. Here, in Florida, it’s recommended to grab it before going out. I opt to have several very small, 2-3 oz containers, that I swap out every month. I keep one in each vehicle and one in my purse. I fill them from a larger container so don’t feel it’s terrible wasteful.
Last week my daughter, 18, and my son, 16, went on a youth trip. My daughter was one of 3 “adult” chaperones. The bus broke down on the freeway 8 times before they could another bus (which broke down on the way to rescue) to get to them. The group of 16 people had to cross an interstate highway, and walk more than 2 miles to find a parking lot to wait in. It was 11pm and cold and drizzly. The kids were not allowed to get their luggage because the storage area was on the freeway side. My son was the hero because he carries a flashlight with him. One other person had a flashlight also. During this night walk, one of the teens cut their ankle. My son is prepared. He carries bandaids in his wallet, not condoms, thankfully. Several days later, the group was at a BBQ and the only condiments for the burgers were ketchup and mustard. My kids are spoiled and believe that Best Foods Mayonnaise is necessary for burgers. I pack little shelf stable packets in their survival backpacks. So when my son pulls out mayonnaise, the kids around him are amazed and wanted to know how come he got mayonnaise. He responds, “remember when we were walking and needed a flashlight and bandaids and I had them? Well that is because my mom teaches me to be prepared and packs a backpack for us to survive.” The other kids wanted to know what else he had and why.
I asked my daughter why Jesse was the only one with these stories and she said her backpack was in the storage bin and couldn’t be reached. However, during the first few break downs, several of the girls were experiencing low blood sugar symptoms, so she grabbed granola bars and dried fruit and trail mix out of her purse to share with them.
Very proud of my teens for taking care of themselves and others.
That is definitely something to be proud of! Great examples. :)
Great post. We all have the kits and often they sit unused and unfulfilled with their potential. Thanks for pointing out the obvious.