Semi-annual 72-hour Kit Inspection

Our family has a lot of traditions that revolve around General Conference.  We eat a ton of candy and snacks while we watch it.  During the sessions, the kids get a couple of chore-free days to play.  Tiffany and I take notes in the same notebook and ask the kids what their favorite stories were afterward.  It's a busy and fun pair of days.

Another traditional thing we do is to get out the 72-hour kit and inspect it.

Of course, the idea behind a 72-hour kit is to have everything you might need if you had to pack up and evacuate from your home with little notice and stay away for three days (long enough for other supplies to be procured).  I try to imagine what we might need if there was a wildfire in the area behind our house or if we had a nasty earthquake (we are in a region where that could happen) and go from there.

Most couples and families might have a small tote bag or backpack - and that's great.  But with all of my kids, it's a bit more challenging to pack up the stuff we would need to be OK for three days away from home on little to no notice.  So our 72-hour kit is a collection of three containers - a small box filled with empty backpacks, a large tote filled with the kids backpacks, and a huge wheeled container that has pretty much everything else in it!

We check the kid's clothes to make sure they all still fit from six months ago (rarely happens) and put in some new outfits.  The big job is to go through the monster container and rotate food, candy, and canned goods so it is always fresh.  It's a good thing the big guy is on wheels, because this stuff is fairly bulky.  It weighs in at 81 pounds.

Some of the items we've got in there are: Maps, whistles, and compasses Storybooks and scriptures Items required to make a large solar still Pots, pans, dishes, and silverware Ponchos for all Soap, toothpaste, and detergent Granola bars, jerky, and snacks Cereal and condensed milk Rice, crackers, and dry soup mixes Spices and seasonings Toiletries of all kinds Assorted small containers and bottles Diapers and wet wipes Cloth and Paper towels Can opener and other cooking tools Collapsible water jugs and camp stove Rope, basic tools, and knives Plastic sheeting and tarps Large assortment of basic medicine First aid supplies Board and card games Paper, notebooks, and poster board Pens, pencils, and markers Foil and plastic wrap Flashlights and radios Assorted batteries Twine and bungee cords Drink flavorings (kool aid, cocoa, etc.) Contact phone lists for family members ... and gobs of other stuff!

It's nice to be prepared, but I really hope we never have to use it!  I can barely keep my kids under control in a nice, sealed environment like our house - I can't even imagine what they would do living for three days in a football stadium or something...

>shudder<