I didnt' want to hijack the coronavirus thread but I did mention that everyone should have atleast a 72 hour emergency kit in their home for some sort of disaster. The government even has a page dedicated to providing a guideline on what you should have at home and in a "go bag" (source:
https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/s...rab-and-go-bag)
I'm not a proponent of stocking up on a 10 year supply of toilet paper... but I do think its a good idea to have some basic supplies at home for emergencies. Most of the items are things you'll probably already have around the house, they just need to be gathered up and organized.
Figured this thread would be a good place for people to share kit/knowledge/where to buy/etc...
I'll throw a bit of what I can share as far as my knowledge goes. What I post below are some of my thoughts for a 72 hour home kit.
Containers/Storage:
As far as containers go there's a few different schools of thought. You could go with a large hiking/military surplus backpack or a sturdy container like a plano sportsmans trunk or any of the husky brand stackable storage containers available at home depot. I prefer containers over backpacks for a home kit as containers are easier to pack and store as well as retrieve items from.
If you're at home and expecting to ride out the first 72 hours I would recommend a series of stackable storage containers such as the following:
https://www.homedepot.ca/product/hus...ack/1001122738
I own a few of these containers to house hiking/camping/fishing/hunting gear and have found them to be a great "bang for buck". They have wheels which makes moving them around easier, especially when loaded up, and also stack on top of each other which makes storage easier. The lids lock to the bin and have a reasonably tight seal.
FOOD:
We all probably have enough food in our homes to last us atleast 48 hours if not more. That being said, it probably doesn't hurt to have a few cans of non-perishable foods around such as
as well as soups/chillis/ramen.
Canned foods are for the most part already cooked and can be eaten straight from the can (this rule doesn't apply to all canned food but most).
Alternatively you could invest in a crate of military rations (MRE's). They are expensive but extremely convenient so if you have the money they're worth it.
An example of MRE's you could purchase locally is here:
https://totalprepare.ca/product/xmre...-ready-to-eat/
They come usually with an entree, a snack, some sort of drink mix, a spoon as well as an MRE heater. The flameless ration heaters are activated using water. Everything you need to enjoy some calories is in a single package including a napkin. The shelf life on these are typically 5 years from the date of manufacture.
If you’re wanting to go with freeze dried, your local MEC or other hiking/outdoor store carries a wide variety of freeze dried meals.
WATER:
It’s estimated/recommended that the average person needs 4 litres of water per day for consumption and hygiene. So for one person in a 72 hour kit you need to store 12 litres of water. My suggestion is to have a mix of individual smaller bottle packs as well as the larger 4 litre jugs. This way you aren’t putting all your eggs in one basket if there is some sort of failure in the container (e.x. leakage).
Costco has bulk packs of water bottles for around 5 bucks.
On the subject of water, clean water may become something that you need to address. Filtering the water can be done through simple items such as clean towels/shirts/etc to get the majority of large particulate matter out. After that you could filter through finer materials to remove smaller particulate (you probably have paper coffee filters at home which could do this job). Alternatively you can purchase a water filter such as the sawyer or lifestraw.
Purification of the water can be done either chemically or by boiling. Bring whatever quanitity of water you want to purify up to a rolling boil and let it boil for atleast 5 minutes. This should be sufficient to kill bacteria/protozoa/viruses which will not be removed in the filtration process.
Alternatively you can use items such as household bleach to purify water. Add 2 drops of bleach per litre of water, stir or shake well and let sit for atleast 30 minutes before drinking.
POWER/ELECTRONICS:
This will probably be a big thing to the majority of people today. You could buy a generator but the vast majority of people who don’t camp or hunt likely will find no use for it. You can pick up solar powered battery packs for relatively cheap online. They will hold a charge and can be used to keep things like your cellphone ready for use.
There are also hand crank options available if you’re wanting to get some cardio in….
A AM/FM radio can be obtained at dollar stores for extremely cheap and will be useful if you are trying to listen in for an update.
GMRS/walkie talkies will allow you to keep in touch with loved ones within range if cell networks go down. An example could be your wife is inside the house with pets/children while you're outside clearing tree branches and repairing windows after a heavy storm.
COMFORT/HYGIENE:
Depending on the type of disaster/emergency that happens you may want some comfort items. A few spare rolls of toilet paper probably isn’t a bad idea to throw into your kit. It may come in handy if you just happened to use that last roll and was planning to go out and buy some before the disaster happened.
If you have children or pets I’d definitely recommend having some toys in there that can keep them occupied while you’re figuring things out.
Throw a tooth brush and some tooth paste in to keep your mouth feeling fresh while riding out the zombie apocalypse
Have some baby wipes handy. They are great for taking an impromptu bath when you’re trying to conserve water or if theres no running water available. They’re also great for cleaning up messes/spills as I’m sure you members with kids are aware.
Garbage bags are essential. Go for the heavy duty contractor bags rather than the cheapo flimsy ones that’ll tear as you take them out of the package. You don’t know when garbage collection will start up again and if you’re going to need to store your garbage for a while, it’ll be best in a heavy duty bag that can stand the abuse of time.
Latex gloves (again the heavy duty ones not cheap thin ones) are a good idea to have. Cleaning up garbage and waste using gloves is a lot nicer than without.
LIGHTING:
Lighting will be a huge issue if the power goes out and stays out. I remember a few years back when there were severe windstorms causing power outages to thousands of people.
Candles are a great idea and can be obtained for reasonably cheap. Ikea is a good source for candles as you can bulk buy them and they always have them in stock. I’d opt for unscented candles as you’re going to get really tired of smelling lavender potpourri after its been burning for 6 hours.
Batteries with flashlights and LED lanterns are also a good choice and can be obtained from Costco or amazon for cheap.
TOOLS:
Being car folk we all probably have a lot of tools laying around. A crescent wrench to shut off the gas and possibly water is a good idea. I know you’ve got one lying around in a tool box/chest somewhere but it doesn’t hurt to have one handy (they’re usually pretty cheap) in your kit ready to go when needed.
Work gloves are definetly going to be useful especially if you have debris you need to clean up.
A heavy duty stapler with a good supply of staples is a great idea. When combined with thick plastic sheets or even those heavy duty garbage bags I mentioned earlier, they can be an expedient way to make repairs to windows that may get broken by debris.
Duct tape is awesome. I specifically like the gorilla brand of tape as I find that it has a higher strength than you’re regular duct tape. You can use it to seal things, repair/hold things back together or even as a fire starter (works well). You’ll find some sort of use for it so why not toss a roll in.
A tarp or a few tarps can also be useful. If there is damage to the roof of your home you can throw it on to prevent water from coming in. They can be obtained fairly cheaply at dollorama.
A pry/crow bar can be useful for getting stuck doors/windows open if necessary.
An axe or hatchet is useful in many ways. It can be used for hammering, chopping and splitting things. You may not be able to pry an interior door open and as such may need to chop through it to get to the other side. I’ve even used my hatchet to flip burgers on the bbq (redneck things).
A multitool is a good idea to toss in. You can put it on your belt and it’ll be there for whatever niche tasks you need such as cutting open package or using the pliers to pull fuses. Leatherman makes a lot of great tools but my personal recommendation is the leatherman wave/charge series of tools. They have all the essentials with the added bonus of blades being accessible without opening the pliers.
A dustpan with broom/brush. I wasn’t sure if I was going to put this in the comfort/hygiene section or tools section but I figured it would be more appropriate here. When the powers out vacuums wont work so you’ll likely need to clean things up the old fashion way. You can grab these for cheap at the dollar store and they’ll be useful for keeping your house tidy while waiting for things to get back to normal.
MEDICAL:
A first aid kit and some spare medication (tylenol/advil/etc) is a good idea to have. If you require essential prescription medication i'll leave that up to you on how you want to have that handy.
Random Tidbits to keep in mind:
Label your containers with what they contain. If you are labeling containers with things such food, go through your cans/packs and make note of the earliest expiration date. Label that expiration date on the outside of the container so that you can conveniently cycle things out as they expire.
Try and store these items somewhere in your home such as a closet. The garage is fine but ready/quick/convenient access would be ideal and being somewhere in your house will likely be easier than lugging things in from a shed or garage.
Centralize when in use. If things do go sideways and you need access to your kit, try to keep it all in one place.
Thats about all I've got for now. Feel free to add your thoughts/opinions/feelings/suggestions to the thread for everyone's benefit.
Again I don't condone hoarding but prepping a few supplies aint a bad idea.
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