72 Hour Kit Series: Welcome and Personalize Your Kit

Welcome to the 72 Hour Kit series! It was recently brought to my attention that my coverage of personal emergency kits (commonly called 72 hour kits) has been pretty slack on this site. So I’m repenting, and we’re going to go through building an emergency kit one step at a time together. I’m excited to break down the nuts and bolts of a 72 hour emergency kit with you over the next few (okay, several) weeks! Starting next Monday, and then each Monday until we’re done, I’ll share some of my favorite resources and information for building your own emergency kits, covering one topic each week. If you’d like to build your kit as we go through this, it will be super easy! Just gather the items we cover that week and at the end of the series you’ll have a 72 hour emergency kit fully stocked and individualized for YOU! If you already have a kit put together, great! Feel free to work through what you have, making any adjustments to make your kit the best it can be.

Personalize YOUR Kit

In order for your emergency kit to work for you, and not be just some generic kit off the shelf that might be helpful when you need it, you need to personalize it. Even if you bought a kit off the shelf (which can be a good way to get one started), you’re going to want to add to or adjust the contents so they fit for your own personal needs.

Decide what and who your kit is most likely to be used for. I have put together this handy little quiz for you to help you figure out what YOUR kit is going to end up like. I’ll be referring back to it throughout the series. Knowing the purpose of your kit will help you decide which items you want in it, and which can be left out. It will help keep your kit a manageable size while still providing for the needs of your family in an emergency. Ready?

1. Are you staying or going? Does the kit need to be portable? Or are you planning to stay put and use it in your home? An emergency kit for evacuating (often called a Bug Out Bag), is a little different than a kit that you’ll be using at home.

If you are staying, skip to number 5. If you are leaving, read on!

2. Where are you going? Are you evacuating to grandma’s house? A hotel? An emergency shelter? A secret bug out location that is stocked with supplies? Or are you bugging out to the woods for a while?

3. How will you carry it? If you plan to physically carry your kit for some distance, it will need to be as light as possible. This will also determine which type of container you’ll want to put it in. Or maybe you have a bad back and you’ll need to “wheel” it if you have to leave. We’ll discuss different container options another week.

4. How long will you be gone? Will you be somewhere else within 72 hours? Or should your kit be able to sustain you longer?

5. Who are you preparing for? Do you need kits for additional family members? Do you have medical or mobility issues that need considered? Food restrictions? Is anyone pregnant/nursing? What about children or babies? We’ll discuss options for each of these as we go through the contents of an emergency kit.

6. What if help doesn’t come? What if the disaster is so severe that your 72 hour kit supplies run out before help arrives? Is there a way to make it last longer without too much extra effort? We’ll cover this as well.

Are you ready to get started building or re-vamping your 72 hour emergency kit? I’m excited to be helping you on your journey! So excited, I made a video for you here introducing this project:

Here’s what we’ll be covering in this series:

Introduction: Personalizing (that was today)
Week 1: Food
Week 2: Water
Week 3: Fire and heat
Week 4: Cooking
Week 5: First Aid
Week 6: Hygiene
Week 7: Clothing
Week 8: Light
Week 9: Documents
Week 10: Tools
Week 11: Shelter
Week 12: Communication
Week 13: Protection
Week 14: Comfort items and Extras
Week 15: Containers and tags
Week 16: Beyond 72 Hours