So what in the world is a 72 hour bag???? The idea is in case of an emergency (wild fire, earthquake, flood etc) and you have to leave your home you will have the need supplies to live off of for 3 days, before Red Cross has things in place etc .

So this is a project I have been meaning to do forever and just seem to keep putting it off, since it seemed overwhelming to me for some reason. It Seemed like it was going to be a difficult task to work it in the budget and to come up with a gluten free option for my son. I felt like I needed to do it all at once and that doing that it would cost a fortune.

So I decided I just had to bite the bullet and and get them started. These are what I started with and I would like to add more to each bag, and would like more water but I don’t see how we would actually carry them with much more water in the bags. I do have a extra case of water in the garage if time were to allow us to grab them, but we can’t count on that, and if we were in our home and unable to get out of our home I also have water stored.

Since it is getting colder here I wanted to make sure we had a blanket and a warm change of clothes so those items are taking up a lot of our space, but I feel that it is necessary, when it is warmer I can take our the bulky clothes.

I am no expert but this is what we have started with, there are things I would like to add and items I am sure I forgot but I have something which is better than nothing, and I spent under $50 getting all of these bags together.

Gluten Free Bag for my 7 year old — I had to think about gluten free options for my son and things he would actually eat. For example he could eat tuna but he does not like it so I got salmon instead.

• Water
• dish towel
• blanket
• raisins
• precooked rice (white bowl)
• GF pepperoni type sticks
• package of salmon (cooked like tuna)
• trail mix
• can of mixed veggies
• can of chicken
• peanuts
• peanut butter
• small flash light with extra batteries
• plastic forks and spoons, small first aid kit, matches, pen, notepad, comb, toothbrush
• change of clothes and extra tall (Soccer) socks

Husband’s Bag

• change of clothes
• dish towel
• blanket
• trail mix
• can of chili
• precooked rice (white bowl)
• can of mixed vegetables
• raisins
• salmon package
• peanut butter crackers
• peanuts
• granola bar
• jerky
• peanut butter
• small flash light with extra batteries
• plastic forks and spoons, small first aid kit, matches, pen, notepad, comb, toothbrush
• change of clothes and extra socks
• water

My Bag

• change of clothes and blanket
• water
• trail mix
• precooked rice
• can of mixed vegetables
• can of chili
• granola bar
• raisins
• salmon
• peanut butter crackers
• peanuts
• small flash light with extra batteries
• plastic forks and spoons, small first aid kit, matches, pen, notepad, comb, toothbrush
• can opener (the chili has a pull top lid) and a travel size dish soap.

Before loading up the backpacks I put everything in zipper bags (other than the canned goods). This will keep things dry in case you are out in rain, help keep bugs away, and gives you a “trash bag”.

DOGS

We have 2 dogs and in some situations we may not be able to grab the dogs but in case we have them they each have a bag of food and a couple bottles of water. Again really this is not enough water but someone has to carry it and these bags are running out of space and are getting heavy. I put one bag of food and 2 bottles of water in each of the adult bags.

Once the bags were all filled and packed I put them in the coat closet, that way if it is cold we could grab coast and our bags at the same time and it is right next to the front door.

TIPS

• I shopped the dollar tree first and found a lot of items that would work, some food items, first aid kits, matches notebooks, can opener etc.
• I bought a pack of combs and a pack of toothbrushes (with covers on the brush part) at the dollar tree.
• GET things you will actually eat, and I did not put the same things in each bag so we might each open 1 can for a meal but would be able to share and have a bigger variety.
• Look for items that are high in protein and calories.
• Each person needs to be able to carry their own bag. My son’s is a small back pack but he could not carry a large one full.
• Check expiration dates when buying. I wanted to make sure everything would be good for at least a year. Then once the school years starts up each year I can restock our bags.

Things I want to add

• pocket knife
• scissors
• more water somehow
• more first aid supplies