First Step for a 72 hour kit

There is another first step besides this one and that is having a family meeting about what you will do in an emergency. I felt like that was a subject for another blog. I want to focus here on items and organization just to keep the blog from straying to far from the point. There is some good information about having a family meeting at Red Cross and FEMA. Those two websites are absolutely chock full of excellent information including free course material to help people prepare for emergencies. Tornado season is in full swing here in North Texas and this is a good time to think about what we will do.

So, my big contribution today is the tub in the picture. Our kit has evolved over the years as we've added members to our family. At first, we had two backpacks. One for me and one for Dave. Then we added a bucket for the food and tools. Then we added another bucket, one for tools, one for food. Now we have an enormous tub.

Now I didn't get rid of the backpacks . I have four backpacks in my garage, mostly stocked and ready to go.

I meant to clean them out a couple of weeks ago and haven't gotten there yet. They contain items I will cover in the next post. The best first step in getting your kit ready is to pick a container and a place to put it. I don't have a hall closet so the garage must suffice. Sometimes when we go above 100 degrees I bring some stuff in but not often. The tub is an easy way to transport the things we need. Right now all that's in there is breakfast food. Each person has a labeled freezer bag with instant oatmeal and hot chocolate. That's one of the things I will rotate in the next month. The grocery sack contains a bag of dog food (that I got for free using coupons at Kroger). Can't have our little (big) Nora going hungry. So, I will tape a menu to the lid (one of these days) and as I buy more items for nearly free with coupons they will go in there. I'm thinking of adding chili next because its a good deal at Kroger this week.