Bug Out Bags

OK, with spring coming, and fire season already here, very early, I went ahead and redid the bug out box. For those of you that don't want to read all the way back, my bug out box is based on a bug out bag, also called a 72 hour kit. Unfortunately, I had to dig into it a few times during the recent financial hard times, and now restocking is a priority.


Last night, as we unpacked groceries, we just dumped the aquapods I bought into the box, and then today worked on restocking it. I added several aquapods and some Capri Suns and some snacks to a car bag, that I've been wanting to do for awhile. This bag will always be in the car. Normally, if something happens, we won't be stranded on the road for too long. We both have cell phones, and the fire radios. So the car bag for every day doesn't have to be huge. If we take a bigger trip, or will be up in the mountains, we will pack more emergency essentials. Remember, running to the store for a gallon of milk is an hour trip for us. We aren't surrounded by convenience stores and Walmarts. Again, we wouldn't be stranded for long, but sometimes stuff happens. So here's the car bag:


Here are some pics of the organized box, with all five backpacks in play. The clothes aren't in the backpacks yet, but they are in a basket on my bed ready to be loaded. We don't have everything in there. Here's why: With five children, I can't pack everything. I do, however, have a list of "stuff to grab" that I will also be updating this week. The hard truth is, if we have to walk out of here, for any distance, we're pretty screwed. However, all of this stuff loads into the van with minimal effort, with room for the computers. With this, we can safely evac in the van to just about anywhere. We have multiple places to go if we need to evac. With the computers, if we lose the house, we can start over completely, if we had to.



In this pic you can see the medicine bag, some of the food, and the extra large ziploc of paper stuff-tp, trash bags, pads, etc. You'll notice the food isn't the healthiest. There's a tin of cookies and some pudding in there. For bug out purposes, you want calorie dense, not nutrient dense, and you want foods everyone will eat with minimal complaint. You want to keep the kids full when they are hungry. The evacuation situation will be stressful enough for them (and for you). If they are happily full of food they like, they will complain less, be less stressed, and cause less stress for you. If they are sugar high, the walking (if you are walking) will cure that, and if you're driving, stop frequently at rest stops (you'll want to do that anyway, as adrenaline wears off) and let them run around, then crash when they get back in the car.



In the backpack with the stars, you see a bag of pretzels and some linens. These are misc old linens which I packed for bandages and triangle slings.



Two more backpacks, ready for clothes. You want to keep each backpack balanced and light. Even a short walk with a badly packed backpack can hurt someone.



Pic of the box with the big paper goods bag taken out. You can see water, gatorade, shelf stable milk (which I will eventually take out and replace with soy milk, takes up less space) and the bowl for doggie water. Don't forget to pack for your pet. We have two gallon storage bags with dog food, and the leash is on the back door, on the "stuff to grab" list. I planned a gallon per day for her, too. She may not need that much, but she might, especially if she gets stressed.



One last pic, showing more food, a guide book to medicinal herbs, and the wind up radio/flashlight that I got off ebay. Not only is this a bug out box, but an extended power outage box. It gets stored in the safe closet in case of tornado (not likely but not impossible) or some other long term power outage. If we do need to camp on an evac, we'll have light. We can light a fire, and do have matches and such, but I'm hesitant to light a campfire with the kidlets. I will if I have to, but I'd rather not have to. But if we are evacing and need to stop, we can find a campsite instead of a hotel, saving a lot of cash-which will be needed if the evac lasts awhile or if we lose the house.

At some point I will post a list of what I have, what I want, and what is on the "stuff to grab" list.

Oh, since I'm taking the computers if we can drive, no loss of family photos. If you have a lot of photos, take the time to scan them to a CD and you only have to grab the CD if you ever have to evac. Better yet, do one seasonally and send to gramma or someone else to hold for you, so you don't even have to worry about it. You won't lose those precious photos that way.

If you have questions, feel free to post them in the comments section, and I'll answer them best I can!