This post is not sponsored but feel free to buy me a coffee if this post inspires you. Updated on 3.14.22
About five years ago, when we went camping on a regular basis, we would also talk about how to be prepared in case of an emergency. My younger brother and I were pretty detailed and involved in this emergency preparedness planning and would test out a variety of products when we would go camping.
Anywho, the rest of the family thought we were crazy and thinking too much into things. But as real-life events started happening, we talked even more about it, such as escape plans, where to meet, and who would contribute to what.
PIN ME!
The Pandemic
I mean, really. Who thought that COVID would happen and we would be forced to stay home? Who would have thought that there would be a lack of toilet paper and sanitizer? I don’t think many of us thought that, but it happened. It happened quickly and very few were prepared. Wouldn’t you agree?
Have a Plan in Place
Even though our family thought we were crazy, it’s important to have an emergency preparedness plan in place for your family and talk about it so that everyone is on the same page – just in case. The hope is of course, for nothing to happen, but in the event, something were to happen, at least there is some kind of plan in place.
Where to meet? Where to go? What to take?
Our household doesn’t have a full-blown plan in place since we have moved. We had one prior, but now we need a new one. We’re working on it.
What we do have in place, however, are these emergency bug-out bags that I put together from Dollar Tree, along with our main camping tote.
PIN ME!
You Don’t Have to Be a Full-Blown Prepper
It’s important to know that, you don’t have to be a full-blown prepper to plan for an emergency. It’s really about long-term planning, and long-term planning is key. I don’t know how many times, I have thanked my past self for preparing for things that eventually came about that my current self had to face.
At the end of the day, there is no certainty of what that future may bring, so why not plan and prepare just a little bit more?
The Plan
Speaking of planning. The plan as of right now is to place the small tent that I used camping at Garden of the Gods, the one burner camping stove and fuel, along with some other camping necessities such as the camping cups, kettle, and lantern at the bottom of a tote, and on the top place each of the four bug-out bags. Camping really teaches you a lot about preparedness.
In the event of an emergency, we would be able to survive just fine for a while at home. And, in the event that we would have to evacuate, we would grab the emergency preparedness tote and leave (along with other personal items if we had time).
So, what’s in the bag?
Now, before I jump into what’s in the bags, I do want to mention that this is not the end-all, be-all. I eventually would like to turn the bug-out bags into larger 72-hour bags, but that will come with time. It’s not something that you want to complete in one day.
For goodness sakes, putting these mini bags together in one day was about $80. So, I would highly suggest breaking this project up into bits, so that there is not a huge financial cost all at once.
Emergency Bug-Out Bag Contents from Dollar Tree
Now, let’s jump into the contents of the mini bags. I’m guessing with these they would be great for an overnight emergency, but wouldn’t last much past there (with the food supply, anyway).
Mini Back Packs ($1 x 4)
I picked up these four backpacks from Dollar Tree at the beginning of the school year. The prices had not yet changed to $1.25, so they were still $1. When I purchased the bags, the intention for the bags was the same.
They were to be used to make bug-out bags, but I never got around to it until making it a February goal. The bags are of thin quality but are just enough for this project. In the future, my goal is to upgrade to 72-hour bags using larger and better-quality backpacks. For now, however, these will work.
Toilet Paper Pack ($1.25) and Plastic Bag
Now that prices are $1.25, almost everything else from this haul will be $1.25. I’m not upset with it, but I sure miss everything being $1. Cheers to inflation! Grrrr.
Anyway, I put one roll of toilet paper in each bag wrapped in a plastic bag. Not only will the plastic bag keep the toilet paper dry, but it also doubles as a barf bag, trash bag, or even a bag to keep your bug-out bag dry. There are so many uses for a small plastic bag in the case of an emergency.
Garbage Bags ($1.25)
If you haven’t ever thought about it. Garbage bags have a lot of uses, too. Just like the smaller plastic bags. For example, these are great for trash bags, ponchos, gathering things up quickly, etc. I placed one in each bag. This brand is not the best but will serve the purpose for now. In the future, I plan to replace these with a better quality garbage bag and perhaps place two in each bag, instead of just one.
Personal Kits
I also made some personal kits. I filled each baggie with a mini-first aid kit, Tylenol, allergy pills, hand sanitizer, mini wipes, cough drops, soap, a toothbrush kit, etc. These are a few basic essentials that are sure to come in handy. Other things to include would be women’s sanitary needs, travel-size deodorant, etc.
- Mini First Aid Kit ($1.25 x 4)
- Tylenol Packs ($1.25 x 2)
- Allergy Pack ($1.25)
- Hand Sanitizer ($1.25 x 2)
- Mini Wipes ($1.25 x 2)
- Cough Drops ($1.25)
- Lever Soap ($1.25 x 2)
- Travel Toothbrush Kits ($1.25 x 4)
- Masks (Home)
- Washcloths (Home)
- Chapsticks (Home)
Fire, Heating, and Help
For this category, I placed a headlamp in each bag, along with a tactical knife, lighters, and glow sticks. In the future, I’d love to include a quality flashlight in each bag, an emergency flare, and a few other things.
Dollar Tree did have some cans of fuel. These are great when using a portable camping stove. We tried it while camping at Garden of the Gods and it works just fine. I didn’t place these in the bags because I wouldn’t want spills. Right now, they are under the cabinet and can be moved when ready.
- Headlamps ($1.25 x 4)
- Tactical Knife ($1.25 x 4)
- Glow Sticks ($1.25)
- Multi-Pack Lighters ($1.25 x 2)
- Fuel Cans ($1.25 x 2) – Not in the bags.
- QuickSurvive 100% Waterproof Fire Starters – Shop Amazon
Mini Food Packs
As for food, I made some mini food packs that I put in baggies, along with two small water bottles. The baggies include an instant pack of kool-aid and lemonade, fruit snacks, a pack of Ramen from home, and a tuna and cracker kit.
- Baggies ($1.25)
- Water ($1.25 x 2)
- Kool-Aid ($1.25)
- Lemonade ($1.25)
- Fruit Snacks ($1.25)
- Tuna Cracker Kit ($1.25 x 4)
- Ramen and Hot Chocolate (Home)
Again, this little food kit would be alright in an overnight situation, but not much longer than that, so it’s important that over time, we build our bags to 72-Hour bags and include more convenient food, a change of clothes, water purification tablets, a life straw, whistles, something for protection, etc.
Aside from the items listed, I’m working on printing copies of our documents so that I can put them in waterproof safe envelopes, as well as a few dollars.
Contents of each bag:
Final Thoughts
Remember, this is just our starting point to have something in place. This Dollar Tree project costs about $80 for four people. I hope over the remainder of the year, we continue to build our 72-Hour bug-out bags with some other quality gear, as well. And, even if we never need them, we can always use them for camping trips, long road trips, or to just leave in the car as a get-home bag.
Does your family have an emergency preparedness plan or go-kit? What does it look like?
This post is not sponsored but feel free to buy me a coffee if this post inspires you.
P.S. I hope this post inspires you to think a bit more about long-term planning and having an emergency preparedness plan in place. Doing this project made me aware that you can start prepping at a low cost and it doesn’t have to be expensive. Don’t forget to shop your home, as well. Actually, shop your home first!
3.14.22 UPDATES HERE!!
Since the first post, I’ve been able to update our bags a bit and also create an emergency tote. I made one trip back to Dollar Tree and a trip to Walmart.
New items pictured below include flashlights, batteries, fire starters, more food, ponchos, water purification tablets, deodorant, etc.
I also pulled items from our camping tote to use with the emergency tote. For example, the mallet, the lantern, solar lights, kitchen utensils, camping stove and fuel, and walkie talkies from this past post.
Keep Reading…
Once everything was organized, I placed the tent and other smaller things in the bottom of the tote and added our emergency bags on top (in the tote). The camping stove sits on top of the tote.
In the event of emergency, we will be somewhat prepared by simply grabbing the tote and stove and leaving.
What do you think?
