Tuesday, March 29, 2011

be prepared

In light of the recent tragedies all over the world (Japan, New Zealand, etc) I want to share our disaster kit. I believe that every family needs one of these...you don't have to live on a fault line or near fast rising water to be subject to disaster...blackouts, floods, snowstorms, house fire, extreme weather, locust swarms...just kidding, but you get what I mean here.

It took one trip to Walmart, Canadian Tire and a local first aid supply store to completely outfit our family with a skookum disaster kit. The approx. cost of creating this kit was about $50 and that includes the backpack! The best part about creating your own kit instead of buying one off Red Cross, for example, is that you can customize it to fit the needs of your family!

This is what our kit looks like:



Here is what is in it:
  • folding camp stove and two fuel cans
  • flashlight and batteries
  • glow sticks
  • foil blankets
  • fleece blanket
  • work gloves
  • dust masks
  • fire sticks
  • waterproof matches
  • wet wipes
  • diapers (just a couple for the babe)
  • protein bars
  • fruit leather
  • duct tape
  • tissues
  • can opener
  • small first aid kit
  • body warmer packs
  • orange garbage bags
  • water jug
  • water purification tabs
  • cans of soup and beans
  • ready to eat tuna and salmon
  • whistle
  • pack of playing cards and small stuffy for the kids
  • phone list and health card numbers
  • radio
  • juice boxes
  • family photo
  • hand sanitizer
  • toiletries (soap, toothbrushes, extra glasses/contacts, feminine hygiene)
  • pen/pencil and paper
  • $10 cash
I used a combination of list items from the Red Cross kit checklist and the BC Provincial Government emergency preparedness checklist. I have also included a few things from my days in child care. Please feel free to use my list and create your own personalized emergency kit!

Now the next part...where do I store said kit. Well, we like to store ours away from the main living area of the house in either the garage or storage shed. Most importantly I store it near a window so that if we need to access it and the house or shed or garage is not accessible, we can break the window, reach in and grab it.

Also remember to have a date at least once a year to check you kit! Change out the food and water as well as the batteries for radio and flashlights.

If it sounds like I have put a lot of thought into this, I have. Living on a fault line, near the ocean....why wouldn't you be ready!!

2 comments:

  1. So great! Thanks for the list!

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  2. Thanks again for this Cat! By following your list, I finally put one together for our family today!

    I added a couple of extra things though: Tylenol, candles, rope and sunscreen! :)

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