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A Guide on Obtaining Essential Emergency Items for Your Family
An emergency could be financial struggle within a single family or something as devastating as a natural disaster. It is hard to know when an emergency will happen, so the best thing to do is to be prepared in the event that something does happen.
There are many different levels of preparedness and having a 72-hour kit is a lot different than having enough food and water to sustain a family for an entire year or more. Emergency preparedness is an important subject, no matter what a family’s situation. Everyone has seen the suffering that happens because of a natural disaster, so getting things taken care of ahead of time will make dealing with emergency situations more bearable.
Start Small By Preparing a 72 Hour Kit
The first bit of common sense is to start small. Begin by preparing a 72-hour kit for each member of the family, rather than trying to buy everything needed to sustain a family in one shopping trip. The purpose of a 72-hour kit is to sustain the life of one person for three days, and should include such items as food, water, money, and other essential items.
Preparing the kits can be relatively inexpensive, and it is a great way to train the mind into thinking about what types of items would be necessary in the event of a natural disaster, especially if power is turned off. Try not to put anything in the kit that is not absolutely necessary for survival, because it will turn out to be extra weight if there is a need to travel during the emergency.
In general, the 72-hour kit should be as small as possible, easily accessible, and portable. A great suggestion would be to keep the 72-hour kits in the trunk of a car, this way they would be available if an emergency takes place while away from home. Once the 72-hour kits have been made, families can begin working on other emergency preparedness projects like food storage.
Store Essential Items Other than Food
It is very important to learn food storage basics because food is one of the most important things to have in case of an emergency. Food Storage is not the only thing, however, that needs to be considered for emergency preparedness, but many of the same common sense ideas apply when looking to purchase other items.
Any item that a family uses on a regular basis such as soap, shampoo, toiletries, as well as garbage bags and propane, should be stored for an emergency and cycled out in the same manner as food storage. Just buy a little extra of these items from the store when they are on sale. Also keep in mind that everything on sale is not necessarily a good deal, nor does it mean that it is needed for emergency preparedness. Consider storing useful things many people do not think of storing, such as seeds and tools.
Save Money for Larger Emergency Preparedness Items
There are some larger items that need to be bought for emergency preparedness needs that can be costly. These items include water barrels, tents, and camping supplies. Many families overlook the need to store water, some only because they do not know how, but it is the most important item to store in case of an emergency. People can go a lot longer without food than they can go without water.
Set money aside each month to save to buy these larger items, and remember it takes time to create an emergency supply of everything a family needs, so do not become overwhelmed. Using common sense can go a long way in helping to achieve a well prepared family for an emergency, especially while on a tight budget.