Stay In Kit

All emergencies fall into two categories:

*Those that require us to deal with them away from the home

*Those that require us to face them at or from home

Some emergencies will fall into one category and stay there.  Some, however, will start in one and move to the other (and even bounce back again, depending on the nature of the event!).

Our need to be able to take on emergencies from any location, is why we've been learning about and building the layers of emergency preparedness.  The EDC, Personal Emergency Kit (or Go Bag), Car Kit and Work/School Kits, are all specifically built for the times when you must deal with an emergency away from home.  The Stay In Kit and the Home Storage Supply, however, are specifically built for those emergencies which must be faced at or from home. 

Your layers help give you the ability to adapt yourself successfully to your needs--which is why you must plan them carefully and gain the skills you need to use them to your maximum advantage!

We've talked about the layers that cover the first category--our EDC, Personal Emergency Kit, Car Kit, Work and School Kits.  Now, we are going to begin talking about the layers that take on the second--the Stay In Kit and the Home Storage Supply.

This post is for learning about and beginning to build the layer called the Stay In Kit.

The Stay In Kit needs to be able to take care of all your basic needs for at least two weeks from your home without any outside resupplying--any length of time more than that, and you will be moving into your last layer, the Home Storage Supply.


FEMA is an excellent source for beginning your research into what is needed for building this layer, as is the Red Cross.   I recommend The Hoodlum Adventure Team referred to in my Cool Sites section for in depth information and assistance.

As you plan the Stay In Kit, once again go through the six areas we've talked about before--you are planning against a number of possible emergencies, so take the time to really think it through.  You will want to consider the following categories:

*Food and Water
*Light, Heat, and Cooking
*Sanitation
*Medical
*Repair and Maintenance
*Protection
*Communication
*Entertainment and Comfort

As you consider these categories, remember that you are planning for a two week use need.  And don't forget--you are planning for the self-reliance of you, your home, and anyone else (human and other) who might possibly be with you for that duration!  Because you don't know if you will have electricity for the entire duration, everything you plan must be taken into consideration from a non-electrical angle.  Just as you don't know if you will be allowed or able to leave your property at all.  So keep this stuff carefully in mind.

So let's begin.
You need to have a two week supply of food and water--one that doesn't require electricity to let you eat or drink it.  This means ready-to-eat foods (edibles that require NO cooking or heating up) and bottled water (as the piped water system of your home or your electrically operating well may not working--or even contaminated).  Remember this is a two week supply for everyone in your home--including all animals.

You will need to have light and heat sources.  This is psychological and necessity based.  Battery, fuel operated, solar, chemical triggered, and manual powered are all possibilities.  A means to heat up your food and water is not necessary but may be comforting or even helpful (especially when it is cold!).  Remember that everything must be non-electric powered and safe to operate in your home.  Don't forget the supplies that go along with your sources, like:  candles, batteries, fuel, quality blankets and warm clothing--or the stuff needed to maintain or operate your light and heat sources.  And definitely don't forget the correct type of fire extinguishers for every room of your home--in case something goes wrong!

Because power may not be on, you really need to watch your sanitation.  This means methods to keep yourself clean, to deal with waste matter, do your laundry and tend to garbage.  Depending on the emergency; water may not be flowing in pipes or contaminated, toilets my not be operational and garbage services may be disrupted.   Using disposable dishes and utensils, stashing garbage bags, having a portable toilet with supplies, storing bleach and other sanitizing agents, getting a manual washing machine with laundry supplies and knowing how to give yourself a proper 'sponge' bath,  are all some of the ways you can help tend your sanitation.  Remember that females, children, elderly and animals will require extra assists in this area. 

Other than life-threatening requirements, all of your medical needs should be able to be taken care of at home.  Keep at least a two week supply of all vital prescriptions or required items.  If there are non-electric or non-battery supports for any necessary medical devices, get them as backups (like manual wheelchairs)--talk to your medical support team now and see what is available to assist any needs in your home in complete power outs.  Have solar powered or manual chargers for essential batteries.  Store a quality, extended use, multi-person medical kit.  Be fully trained in basic and advanced first aid.  Remember that some emergencies involve serious illness--know how to properly tend sick people and keep supplies which will ease or increase their speed of healing.  Sometimes you will have to restrict access to your home in order to prevent contacting illness--be responsible and practice this quarantine completely, knowing that failure to do so may be fatal.

In an extended emergency, you may need to perform makeshift or immediate repairs of your home or any items in it.  You also will need to maintain everything.  Get any training you can to assist you in this area.  Store basic tool and supply needs (hammer and nails, tarps/plastic sheeting, duct tape, epoxy, gas shutoff tool, plywood sheets, hard hats and other protective gear, etc.)--quality home supply places can assist you in creating your home's basic tool and supply needs.  Remember, that this area can be greatly helped by your effort NOW.  Do any repairs you need on your home or property immediately.  Update insulation, secure piping, make reinforcements, and do other emergency pre-assists.  FEMA offers assistance in planning how to make your home more emergency resistant.  All this is part of your Stay In Kit.  Think of it like taking care of your kit's really large duffle carrier, essential.

Your protection in an extended emergency should be taken seriously.  Law enforcement officers and military personnel may be stretched very, very thin.  Without power, security systems both personal and local are down.  Damage may interfere in even access by personnel.  Even if your cell phone is operational, the system may be overloaded.  Plan to be your own protection.  You should do most of this NOW, while the supplies and professional installations are available.  This means putting in secure fencing, chaining and locking all gates, using window and door blocks, installing security doors and frames with proper locks, removing 'blind spots' or other danger spots about your home where criminals could hide or move undetected, etc.  Talking to law enforcement or home security personnel can give you excellent help.  During an emergency, be able to immediately install complete blackout protection (to avoid unwanted attention), have the ability to board over all windows and secondary doors, and reinforce your main entrance.  Be able to secure your vehicles and all out buildings.  Take defensive training and be extremely competent with firearms and other weapons.  Plan how you will defend your home.  There are professional personnel who can teach you this.  Remember that a large part of protecting yourself is in reducing your risks--don't open doors, don't open windows or use window blocks if you have to, use a quiet generator or sound proof where it is located, don't tell others about any supplies you have built up, keep your gates locked, stay armed, etc.  Criminals become bolder, more violent and hunt in larger groups in extended emergencies--and any supplies you have, the bad guys will want for themselves.

Now, you may have no power in extended emergencies but you still need to receive emergency information and know what is going on.  Get at least two quality emergency radios--only one of which can be battery operated, the second should be a solar or manual powered one.  Store extra batteries.  If you can, become a HAM operator and have your own generator powered set up--this will let you receive and sent information, becoming an assist to emergency personnel in your area.

Because you may be staying inside your home or confined to your property for the entire two weeks without power, do not neglect your entertainment and comfort category!  Emergencies are highly stressful, especially ones that extend over more than one week.  Our society is a highly 'plugged in' one, but while you might have access to power, never count on it.  Murphy's Law remains in effect!So plan to entertain yourself in non-electric ways.  Books, games, hobbies/crafts, exercise equipment, etc., are all options.  Remember to include snacks and other comfort items!  Have easy access to meaningful items, to give yourself extra emotional support.  Take the time daily for prayer, meditation, and other 'quiet' moments--you need to stay calm and stay focused, even when everything else gets a bit crazy.


And that is the basic setup of the Stay In Kit.

Of course, the Stay In Kit is an extensive kit--some of it is 'built in' and some of it is in actual supplies.  Because of its intended duration of coverage, and the skills it requires of you, it is going to take serious thought and research on your part for this kit to be of the best help to you.  Don't let the 'size' of this kit make you nervous, take it by category and work your way through it.  You'll change things as you gain skills and knowledge, but everything you do to help increase your success in an extended emergency is good.   Think of everyone (human and other) who could possibly be with you in an emergency--with all of their needs, as well as your own--and plan your kit around this.  Get professional assistance, information and training.  Start gathering your supplies and keep them in a secure but easy to access place.

Remember, that building this kit will take some time--so start now and keep at it.

So roll up your sleeves and have at it.

You can do it!

School Kit

Everyone knows that emergencies aren't age selective.  Hopefully, you have been teaching your child or teen the layers of personal emergency preparedness--and helping them learn the skills they need, to face trouble with as much calm and success as possible.  If this seems a bit scary for you, then remember that FEMA, the Red Cross, and a lot of other professional emergency personnel out there already have a ton of information on how to teach children and teens what they need to know.  You can build on that. 

Now, your child or teen should already have their own EDC and Personal Emergency Kits already--and know how to use both correctly.  Obviously, you will have helped them make these things appropriate to their age, skills, level of responsibility, training, etc.--just as you made your kits. 

But don't stop at just those first two kits.  After all, just like you need the layers of emergency preparedness, so do they.  So keep working with them.  You can teach positive self-reliance and independence to your children, you just have to make a real consistent effort.

So, just as you have a Work Kit, your child or teen needs one, too--their version is called the School Kit.

School Kits take some extra thought--because they are specifically for a child or teen to use.  You must remember to:

*Follow all school rules (on top of local, state and federal ones).
*Keep the kit completely child or teen 'user friendly'.
*Watch the size and weight of the kit with particular care.
*Focus the kit on providing comfort while waiting for parental pick-up.
*Include emergency contacts and provide basic child/teen personal information.
*Recheck and restock the kit frequently.

Schools are very particular about what is brought onto their grounds.  Do not get your child or teen expelled or facing criminal charges because you put something in the School Kit that is forbidden.  Remember, you aren't packing your child or teen to take on SkyNet--you're just packing them to stay comfortable and safe at school until you can come get them.  It is also very important that you know the school's emergency procedures--lock downs are fairly normal for most emergencies and there are usually requirements as to when, where, and how you can get your child or teen.  These procedures are not designed to just annoy you.  They are designed to try and protect your child and keep the school's liability levels to something remotely manageable.  So behave yourself--you may be worried about your child or teen--but the school has hundreds of them to worry about.

The School Kit will only be effective for your child or teen if they can actually use it.  Themselves.  So make sure they are trained in how to use it.  This sounds obvious, but adults often overestimate things like child hand-eye coordination, strength, knowledge base, reading/comprehension abilities, etc.  Even something as simple as an item's packaging can mean your child can't get into it at all.  So sit your child or teen down and make sure they not only know what everything is, know how to use everything, but actually CAN use everything.  Don't count on an adult being able to help--all adults present will be very, very busy riding herd on an entire school of children or teens and they just might not have the time to give any individual attention beyond the most basic.

Keep the kit size and weight appropriate for your child or teen.  The kit needs to fit into the corner of a desk or locker--and be able to be stuffed into their backpack and carried if they have to move from one part of the school to another to wait for pick-up.

The School Kit, like your Work Kit, is intended to make an emergency at a specific location easier to handle--until you can go home.  However, as children or teens in school aren't allowed to just 'walk off' by school administrators as you can in an emergency from your workplace, they have to stay in place until you come to get them (or emergency personnel move them to a safer location).  So keep the School Kit focused specifically on comfort while waiting.  Remember that the electricity may be out or the building damaged--include light and warmth sources (think glow sticks, flashlights, emergency blankets, hand warmers, etc.--base your choices on their abilities), food and drink, stuff to do, and things to offer psychological easing (like a favored item, snacks, or laminated family photo, etc.)

Laminate a card containing emergency contact information and any basic personal information necessary to protect your child or teen.  Don't give information which could be used illegally (like social security numbers!), just basic information that school administration, emergency personnel or your child/teen could use to contact you or other trusted adults for pick-up--or which would help them receive correct medical care (allergies, current medications, medical conditions, blood type, etc.).  Put this card into the kit.  Make sure you have all the information and any emergency instructions also put into their school records, as well, or there could be confusion.

Remember that children and teens have a tendency to take stuff out of things and not put them back.  Work hard on teaching them not to do that with the School Kit--and why.  But be the responsible adult and plan around them, just in case.  Check the kit frequently--add back in anything that is missing and change out anything that needs it.  Be sure and change the kit as your child or teen grows, receives more training, develops more skills, etc.  Just remember rules when you do it, so neither of you get into trouble!

Now you have the foundation of a School Kit.

So now that you know where to start--start!  Do your research from professional emergency resources, think through the six areas and focus it on your child or teen, and then sit down with them and do some real talking together!

After all, you want them to be as self-reliant and independent as they can be, too.   And they need knowledge, skills and their own layers of emergency preparedness to help them do it.

Personal Emergency Kit

It is a grim fact that a large portion of emergencies require us to leave our homes.  Sometimes this sudden requirement for living on the move is only for a short duration--a few days, a few weeks.  Sometimes, however, it can be for a lot longer--or even permanently.   And while often this means we merely relocate to relatives or friends or a FEMA/Red Cross shelter site, it can mean that we find ourselves homeless for a while.

This can be a rather frightening thought.

So what do we do?

Well, being independent and self-reliant people, we plan for the possibilities and do something smart about them now.

We create our own Personal Emergency Kit--or a Go Bag.

What is the difference between the Personal Emergency Kit and the EDC kit we learned about in a previous post?  Basically, the difference is the duration factor.  An EDC kit is meant to help take care of you in an emergency for a short term--usually just until you get back home or until emergency personnel can get to you.  A Personal Emergency Kit, however, is for use in an extended period of movement or relocation, where you may be entirely on your own without professional assistance or emergency resupply.

Think less like going on a Star Trek Away Team Mission and more like going through the Stargate to Atlantis without knowing if you can ever come back.

Because this kit is meant for some really serious use for possibly quite a long time, you need to plan it out very carefully.  Which means you need to do some very thorough and realistic self-education and training.

Again, I recommend The Hoodlums Adventure Team Forum noted in my Cool Sites to Check Out.  While FEMA and the Red Cross have a decent basic run, neither site is intended to help you be independent or self-reliant for a long term--they focus on the short term emergency, with government and emergency personnel assistance to step in with relief supplies to take care of you.  Don't get me wrong, this is useful and often needed.  But you might need more.  Hence the referral to the Hoodlums. 

Whatever educational source you choose, do it wisely--and never stop learning, training, and practicing.

Now, hopefully you remember the six areas talked about in previous posts--if not go back in and read them again.  Get some paper and a pencil, find a quiet spot, and go through those six areas again--this time with a mind focused on the real possibility of needing to rely on your Personal Emergency Kit entirely and completely alone for an extended period.

Once you've done this, now pull out some more paper and start applying your answers to the baseline needs of this kit--which are:

*Carrier
*Warmth, Light and Clothing
*Food and Water
*Shelter
*Medical and Hygiene
*Communication and Direction
*Tools and Weapons
*Comfort and Entertainment
*Documentation
*Currency and Trade Needs

I'm purposefully giving you the needs first in categories, not in listed items.  Categories teach you to actually think, not just grab an item on a list. 

So what,  you say?  Why is that important? 

Because we're about the qualities of self-reliance and independence here--and the ability to actually think things through and adapt correctly to fit your needs is essential to achieving them.

So let's begin planning your kit by going into these categories a bit.

Carrier

Because you're going to be mobile, obviously, you need to take your kit with you.  And though it may sound funny, you need to plan as carefully what you are carrying your gear in as you do the gear itself!  Why?  Because when you are mobile, your carrier becomes your new home.  This means it has to be of good construction so it lasts as long as possible, be repairable because it will get hard use, be a match for the climate and terrain of your area, be comfortable to wear for long periods of time over possibly destroyed or damaged environment, and it has to actually hold your entire kit properly.

That is a lot of requirements for just a carrier!

So start by considering a backpack or duffle.  For extended comfort and hard use, I find a backpack works best.   Don't get discouraged if finding the right one takes some effort and time--it is worth it!  And have some fun with it--this is your mobile home--if you find cool or funny patches, put them on, not only are you making your kit easy to identify as yours, but you're building in some psychological uplift into it as well.

Warmth, Clothing and Light

If you're mobile, you're exposed--this means you need to deal with your environment.

You need to make fire, stay dry, keep warm, and see what you are doing.  This means you need fire starters and tinder, sleeping protection, suitable clothing layers for your area, and flashlights or other portable light sources.

Do your research!  You need hardy stuff that lasts but you also need to watch their weight and size, after all, the carrying capacity of your pack is as limited as your own.

Water and Food

You need to provide for your own food and water.  This means having some already in your kit to start out with.  Generally, it is a good idea to have anywhere from three days to two weeks of food in your kit--ten days is usually the average.  It all depends on what you choose and how compact it is. But eventually you'll run out, which also means that you need the ability to provide and cook additional food--and clean new sources of water and carry it with you. 

This area is going to require you to spend some serious time learning--hunting, fishing, trapping, plant identification, food preparation and preservation, scavenging, etc.  And lots and lots of time practicing.  As you learn and become proficient, you will know what tools to include in your kit to get the 'biggest bang for the buck'.  Remember that anyone else in the area, will also be hungry, so be prepared for conflict from the bad guys.

Shelter

While you are moving, you still need shelter.  This means body shelter--from proper clothing to an actual place to settle into.  This can range from anything like a poncho and tarp to one of the ultralight, multi-season tents.  Educate yourself and choose according to what you might face and how much weight you can comfortably carry over distance, through damaged areas, and in extreme weather.  And don't forget any weather-proofing, repair kits, or needed accessories.

As you train, you will learn how to build 'make-shift' shelters--and how to 'stealth' camp, so that you can increase the chances of a safe rest.

Medical and Hygiene

The medical area takes professional training.  Get the basic first aid training as well as whatever advanced levels or courses you can possibly take.  This should include both urban and wilderness areas and cover dealing with specific hazards or emergencies which you might encounter in your area.  

The Red Cross, your local emergency agencies/personnel, area colleges, and FEMA all offer classes--some hands on, some online.  Additional information can be found in books or online from reliable sources.  Take advantage of every quality source to learn everything you can--you are making your own difference!

The hygiene section does not take as much specialized training as the medical, but it still takes knowledge and practice.  How to eliminate waste and keep yourself clean, ironically, takes some skill outside of the bathroom--as does how to properly take a 'sponge' bath or clean your own clothes by hand.  Any female will note that she needs to tend her menstrual cycle or would like to urinate without having to expose herself entirely.  Knowing how to avoid contaminating your food or water, is a real need--as is how to provide clean your water, itself.

Do your research!

Communication and Direction

In an emergency, you need to be able to contact others, receive additional information, and get to a more secure location.  While your cell phone or other neat-o device has an address book and a cool internet connection for emails and MapQuest, it also has a battery life which you might not be able to recharge.  So think manually as backup. 

A small book with phone numbers, physical addresses, mailing addresses and email addresses--as well as any needed account or insurance contacts is a must.  If it isn't on waterproof paper, then keep it safe inside a double Ziplock bag setup.  A phone card or some coin for pay phones is a good idea.  Signalling devices are also a good idea--you might need help.  Maps of your area with information on predesignated emergency assistance sites or evacuation routes is really good. 

Tools and Weapons

What you choose for this section is heavily dependent on your training and the laws of your area.  Remember that official emergency shelters are really picky about what they let you take in--and martial law means a whole new set of issues itself! 

For tool choices, you need to consider everything you might need to do to take care of yourself over an extended time in an emergency or its recovery period.  This can include, but is not limited to: shelter building, fire making, food and water procurement, assisting others, moving through damaged or destroyed areas, clean-up, repair/maintenance of gear, etc.  You will need the tools themselves--but also the protective gear to keep yourself secure and uninjured while using these tools.

For weapon choices:  your training, the laws of your area, and possible governmental/martial response in a time of emergency all comes into play.  Realize that in disasters, law enforcement is spread brutally thin--and that violent crime skyrockets.   Serious training is a must--both for unarmed and armed defense and fighting.   Some people cringe when they hit this section.  Don't.  It's one of the reality bite marks that an emergency forces you to deal with.  Your options are to risk it untrained and unarmed or to face it trained and armed.  Remember that you are not limited to just guns--but have a whole range of make-shift or alternate protection possibilities available to you, lethal and non-lethal.  Make your choice seriously.

Comfort and Entertainment

It is absolutely important in extended emergencies to take special care of your mental and emotional state.  You are doing more with this area than just 'passing the time'--keeping your 'spirits up' is essential to success.  This can be anything from snacks to games to religious or entertainment reading--or to including laminated copies of meaningful photographs or personal 'talismans' or lucky items in your kit.  You don't have a lot of extra space in your kit or on your person, so pick what matters most to you and bring it.  Just don't rely on anything battery-operated.

Documentation

You need to carry proof of at least the following areas:  personal identity, home and vehicle ownership, insurance policies and contact information, financial accounts and contracts, medical records and prescription orders, marriage/divorce certificates, child identification, and pet identification.  Keep it in a waterproof 'packet'.

Obviously, this stuff is sensitive information--so store the waterproof packet in a very secure location until you leave.  And hide it well on your person or in your pack when you do.

Currency and Trade Needs

Given the possibilities of power outs, you may not be able to rely on credit or bank cards to give you the money you need in an emergency.  Those ATMs still operational will quickly be emptied of their cash supply by desperate people.  Checks, whether personal or traveler, are becoming a thing of only mail-in bills and few people will take them in an emergency--if any at all. 

You will need either cash itself, or a cash substitute.  The amount you carry is up to you, but keep bills small (it is seriously doubtful you will get change back) and hide them throughout your person and pack to increase your odds of keeping at least something if attacked.  Remember that in emergencies other forms of currency can include precious metals, jewelry, and other trade items.  The type of emergency and how long it lasts will determine what people find of value--Hurricane Katrina let us see soap as a barter item.


Make Your Choices Wisely

Just like your other layers of personal protection in an emergency, you're going to constantly be changing your Personal Emergency Kit as your skill levels change and your knowledge increases.

Whatever you choose for your Personal Emergency Kit, take the time to do it carefully.  Ask yourself if an item actually fills the need you are choosing it for--or if there is a better option available.  You are looking for quality, durability, and success of use.  Keep in mind that you are going to have to carry this kit--if it is more than one third your body weight, see if you can reduce it back down by choosing lighter weight options or by selecting items which fill more than one area of need.  Remember to keep your EDC kit on your person, even while you are carrying this larger kit--you could be forcibly separated from your backpack and you still need to have the basic tools to keep yourself going.  The more you know and are skilled at doing, the safer and more successful you will be.

Your Personal Emergency Kit is your mobile home in an emergency--one that you are leaning your life on.  Make it a good one!   Do your research, take the training, practice continually, and choose what you carry wisely.  Be your own best source of emergency assistance.

You can do it.

Every Day Carry (EDC)

Perhaps the most dangerous part of any emergency is its unexpectedness.  While some trouble can be 'seen coming', most can't.  So what do we do? 

We plan.

But how do we plan?

We use those six areas talked about in the post Planning the Layers:  Personal Emergency Preparedness:  skill levels, area, duration, needs, responsibilities and duties, previous and projected events.

Because we rarely if ever know where we'll be when an emergency happens, we need to plan to take care of ourselves everywhere we go--24/7.  This preparation is called Every Day Carry (EDC).

An EDC kit is, obviously, very personalized.  To actually be effective for you, you need to sit down someplace quiet and go through the six areas--and honesty is more than a virtue here, it could literally mean the difference between your life and death!  So while Rambo could happily take care of himself with just a knife, you might not.  Don't let that discourage you--in fact, let it motivate you to learn more, to practice harder and more consistently.

Some of the questions (but not all of them) you should answer in these six areas are:

What are my actual emergency skills?  Where am I usually at?  How long could an emergency last--and how long could its recovery last? What are my needs?  Who is depending or relying on me to come through for them (human or not)?  What are the emergency events that have happened in my area before--and what events could possibly happen in the future?

Depending on how you answer these and other concerns in the six areas, will be the deciding factors that build your EDC kit.   If you need some basic starting help, FEMA and the Red Cross both offer websites with instructional assistance.  They also offer education help.  For an even better source of emergency preparation and in depth skill building--and particularly for anyone wanting to be as independent and self-sufficient as possible--I recommend The Hoodlums Adventure Team Forum noted in my Cool Sites to Check Out.

As your education and skill levels change, you'll find that you will consider the six areas differently--so be prepared to change your EDC kit as you learn.

So let's start with a basic EDC kit.  Obviously, you need to follow the laws (local, state and federal)--or the rules of the places you'll be going into.  What is allowed 'on the street' is not the same as what is allowed in a federal building!  Don't let this frustrate you--just use your brain to make your choices.  I have found that it really helps to think of things according to the need, not the specific item.  This lets me 'think outside of the box' and encourages me to improve my adaptability.  For example, think:  I need a way to start a fire.  not   I need a lighter.

At an absolute minimum, I recommend the following baseline EDC kit with some suggested examples of items to fill its needs:

EDC Kit

*sharp edge (pocket knife, multi tool, box cutter, EMT shears, heavy duty scissors, sharpener, etc.)
*fire starter and tinder (lighter, matches, ferro rod or other manual spark based source)
*light source (LED squeeze light or a small flashlight--a non-battery one is best or change out often)
*communication, both electronic and manual (cell phone, phone card, pencil/paper, whistle, etc.)
*personal identification and support (State ID, Driver's License, insurance cards, etc.)
*currency (cash, credit card, bank card--remember power outs affect card readability!)

A kit is only of use to you if you actually have it--so keep this kit on your person.

I like using my pockets and a cool Wonder Woman 'cigarette' wallet--everything is on my person at all times, but it takes up very little actual space.

Obviously, you can expand this baseline kit for some useful additions.  I strongly urge you to keep your baseline kit on your person--and the expansion items in an accompanying carrier of your choice (other than the personal protection section, which should remain on your person as well).  That way the likelihood of getting physically parted from your base needs are reduced.

EDC Kit Expansion:

*personal hygiene  (toilet paper, hand wipes, sanitizer, feminine articles, handkerchief, comb, etc.)
*medical  (prescriptions, first aid kit, eyeglasses in a hard shell case/extra contacts, etc.)
*sustenance (water in a bottle, packaged long-lasting/non-melting food, gum/hard candies)
*repair/maintenance (sewing kit, safety pens, duct tape, ziplock bags, small but strong cording, etc.)
*location assistance (maps in ziplock bags, gps, cell phone--for MapQuest, etc.)
*environment protection (face mask, large bandanas, umbrella, contractor garbage bags, poncho, etc.)
*personal protection (self-defense training, permit, and tools/weaponry)
*rescue assistance (car window punch, safety gloves, seat belt cutter, flare, glow sticks, etc.)
*entertainment (ipod, book, cards, travel game, etc.)

Remember that one part of your EDC Kit that most people forget to consider every time is what you are wearing.

You might not have access to a vehicle or the safety of a building--you might have to walk back home or even defend yourself--the weather might shift drastically or you find yourself suddenly exposed to it--you might have to assist in evacuations or rescues--you could have to escape from a heavily damaged building--the point is, you never know.  So plan what you are wearing with some care to more than just fashion.  If work requirements mean you need heels or a suit, then keep a duffle with a change of comfortable but sturdy shoes and good socks stuffed into your office.  Have your coat handy--and if it is winter or weather could be an issue, keep a skullcap and gloves in its pockets.

Now you know the baseline EDC Kit and its Expansion.

So sit down someplace quiet now and get started.  Go through the six areas carefully.  Then go through the EDC needs and choose the starting items of your kit.  Decide how you are going to carry it every day, every place you go, 24/7. 

You can do this!  And you need to do this.

Start now.





        

Planning the Layers: Personal Emergency Preparedness

As you plan to take care of yourself in an emergency, it is important that you think in 'layers'.  What you are doing is surrounding yourself with ever expanding protection.  Each layer is planned in consideration of the following six areas:

*Skill levels--your training, education, experience, or abilities
*Area--where you live, work, or play
*Duration--how long you might have to face an emergency or its aftermath
*Needs-- any special considerations (including medical) which you might need to plan for
*Responsibilities and Duties--to yourself, to those dependent on you, or to those relying on you
*Previous and Projected Events--emergencies which have occurred or which might occur near you

How carefully you plan your protective layers using these six areas will largely determine your success in handling emergencies.

Remember, you will constantly need to update and alter your layers--everything changes, including you!  And don't forget; your family (two-legged and four) needs their own custom built layers, too!

So what are these layers of personal emergency preparedness?  They are the organized kits or supplies designed to help you take on an emergency, no matter where you are.  The kits or supplies themselves go by many names, but here they are by each layer:

*Every Day Carry (EDC)--what you carry every day, everywhere
*Personal Emergency Kit or Go Bag--for when you must be mobile or need to relocate quickly
*Car Kit--for trouble during commutes or trips
*Work Kit--your 'office' support, including help to return home
*School Kit--specifically for children/teens waiting for parental pick up at schools
*Stay In Kit--for quarantines or other 'must stay inside' issues
*Home Storage Supply--for extended emergencies and long term recoveries

The coming posts will go into the details of these layers--including suggested lists of items to go into each kit.

Stay tuned--you can do this!