Maybe you don’t live in an area where hurricanes or tornadoes are a threat to you. It’s possible that the idea of experiencing an earthquake where you live is so remote that it’s not – in you mind- even worth considering (although as I recall Texas isn’t usually considered to be a hot bed of seismic activity and yet just last year they had a sizeable earthquake. There are lots of other potential natural disasters to choose from. As I write the Red River still threatens Fargo and the floods will be moving downriver into Canada next.

Torrential rains can hit anywhere, ice storms and blizzards can threaten you and if natural disaster emergencies aren’t enough- don’t forget the 2003 power outage that knocked much of the North Eastern US and Canada firmly on it’s backside for about 4 days.

Stop fighting it and please just accept the basic common sense of having an emergency kit in your home and/or an emergency go bag sitting in the back of your front hall closet – just in case. It never hurts to be prepared. But with all the talk about emergency preparedness and the 72 hours it might take for help to arrive, a lot of people who are now sold on the idea of having an emergency kit at home are probably stuck when it gets to the question – what to put into it.

So I’d like to offer you some ideas about what you need to find in a basic 72 hour (3 day) family emergency kit.

Food and water is the first priority and for each member of your family, you need to provide from 8-16 ounces of water a day – preferably 16. You need to be sure that the water you buy for your kit has a long shelf life. Look for 5 years and yes – water can have a shelf life. In addition to potable water- get a supply of water purification tablets. They’re small and cheap and will each render a liter of water drinkable.

For food – look for food bars with a 5 year shelf live and target a minimum of 800 – 1200 calories per person per day. It probably wouldn’t hurt to have more than that. 1200 calories isn’t a lot at the best of times and if you’re shivering in the cold already a little more food energy sure won’t hurt.

Communications and light. You need a way to generate some light and a way to stay in touch with the rest of the world and a good place to start is with a hand held flashlight that can be recharged either by squeezing, shaking or cranking.

Basic battery power just isn’t enough, although it might be adequate to power a very small scanning radio to allow you to follow the news in your area. For ongoing lighting you should get an emergency candle that will last you up to 30 hours and some other regular candles, but be extremely careful how you use them and who handles them in an emergency situation. On the subject of candles you’ll also need a big box of waterproof matches and a small plastic disposable lighter. One more good communication tool is an emergency whistler and I’d recommend one for every person in your family.

On the subject of family – if you have pets, be sure to include food, water and basic first aid for them as well.

So – moving on to First aid. In addition to a selection of bandages, you should also be equipped with disinfectant, sunscreen, burn cream, scissors, safety pins, antibiotic ointment, some mild pain killers, an emergency supply of any critical prescription medications for any family member and some finger splints. Rather than try and source everything individually, this is one case where you should definitely choose a prepared first aid kit and add to it as you see fit for your family.

One more thing – make sure that you have a good first aid guide available in your kit (and a set of reading glasses if you need them).

For extra warmth and shelter the needs for an in home emergency kit will be very different from a go bag. In a go bag you should have some lightweight rainwear, emergency sleeping bags and probably even a small shelter. They’re much smaller than you would expect.

HygieneI read somewhere that the most frequently omitted item from an emergency kit is toilet paper.

Make sure that you have some – or at least some tissues along with other essential hygiene supplies like toothpaste and a brush, soap, shampoo, dental floss, lotion, deodorant, a razor, washcloth, comb and women’s sanitary products. If you have children – you’ll need wet naps for sure.

Tools are something else you should have and a great start is the venerable Swiss Army or multifunction knife and portable respirator dust masks. I’d add duct tape to that and garbage bags – particularly in a go bag (Not a full roll though, too big!)

You’ll need a pen, paper and at least a deck of cards.

And finally – have you ever heard of a Family Emergency Plan? You should keep a copy of your plan in your emergency kit and if you’re, soap supplies, not sure what’s in a plan for where to find one, follow one the links to my site -see below – and go to the page called Emergency Planning- you can download a free copy of one there. If you don’t have an emergency plan in your emergency kit, be sure to at least have the names and phone numbers of your key family contacts on hand – doctors, family and insurance companies for starters.

If this is all looking like a bit too much, you can purchase a pre-assembled emergency kit and it probably won’t cost you anymore than trying to source all the pieces individually.