It's always a good time to get your 72 hour emergency kit packed and ready to go. Don't wait to be abruptly awakened by an earthquake—start prepping for an emergency now! Grab our printable 72 hour kit checklist below.
Last summer, one of our beautiful Utah mountains caught on fire and a nearby neighborhood had to evacuate last minute, they didn't even have time to pack a bag. Yikes! Those who had 72 hour kits had a toothbrush and change of clothes and other necessities. Others just had to jump in their cars and go. Definitely a scary situation!
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I imagine that those who had 72 hour kits were able to handle the situation with slightly less stress. Packing a 72 hour kit is a great way to teach the kids what it means to be prepared and gives us peace of mind should we ever be caught in an emergency situation. Check out what's in our 72 hour kits and see how we update them!
Click HERE to watch the video or scroll down for all the details!
Well there you have it! A little sneak peek into our real life updating 72 hour kits. Hope you enjoyed a little slice of our chaos! Here's a recap, plus a little more information for you—including a 72 hour kit checklist to help you get started!
First off! Don't forget to check out our Emergency Preparedness Q&A! It's chock full of amazing info to help inspire and motivate you to prep for the future.
Also, just remember, we're not experts on this subject! And we don't know your family's situation. There are tons of resources out there. Do your research and make sure you're prepared for your family!
WHAT'S A 72 HOUR KIT?
A 72 hour kit is a bag or backpack that will give you 3 days of supplies in case of emergency. The idea is to pack your kit with the essentials that will keep you healthy and safe until you can return home or find help. Your 72 hour kit is basically your grab and go bag!
WHY YOU NEED ONE
We never want to think that an emergency will happen to us, but you really never know. If you have to quickly evacuate your home because of a fire, hurricane, earthquake or gas leak, you want to be able to grab some essentials and go! Hopefully you'll never need it. But making one now will allow you to rest easy knowing that you have it waiting there, just in case.
WHAT TO PACK IN A 72 HOUR KIT
As you're packing your kits, keep in mind that this pack is something you pack and then don't touch all year! It's for emergencies only. So don't include your favorite things.
72 HOUR EMERGENCY KIT FOR KIDS
Grab a single backpack for each child. Make sure it's something that your child could potentially carry, if necessary.
- Tennis Ball – Multi-purpose! It's both a toy and a tool (check out the video to see how you might use it as a tool)!
- Hand Sanitizer
- Emergency Poncho – Can cover you and your bag to keep you dry!
- Glowsticks – Basically an emergency flashlight to help find things, but it's also helpful if you're lost or stuck for people to find YOU!
- First Aid Kit
- Life Straw – Allows you to filter any kind of water. So cool, right?
- Hand Warmers
- Pen/Sharpie
- Emergency Blanket
- A Change of Clothes
- Beanie, Gloves, Sweatshirt and Underwear – It's better to be prepared for the cold. If it's hot, you can always remove clothes!
- Socks
- Flip Flops
- Wet Wipes and/or Antibacterial Wipes
- Snacks – Protein Bars, Beef Jerky and other non-perishable snacks.
- Water Bottle
- Mini Toothpaste and Toothbrush
- Diapers & Wipes for Babies
- Baby Formula, Bottle, Binkie
- Other Needs
72 HOUR EMERGENCY KIT FOR ADULTS
Make sure to include anything above that makes sense for teens and adults!
- Solar Powered or Crank Flashlights
- Hand-Crank Radio
- Knife
- Paracord
- Headlamps
- Cash
- Laminated Copies of Driver's License
- Laminated Copies of Birth Certificates
- Cell Phone Charger
72 HOUR EMERGENCY KIT EXTRAS
In addition to our 72 hour backpacks, we have a bin full of items that we could throw in our car if the need arose. It has other helpful items that are not necessarily essential for a 72 hour kit. Including…
- Mini Cooking Stove
- Solar Charger
- Fire Extinguisher
- Duct Tape
- Extra Diapers and Wipes
- Sleeping Bags
We also keep 7 gallons of water right next to our 72 hour kits in the garage so that we can easily throw it all in the back of the trunk in an emergency and we're set to go!
HOW TO UPDATE YOUR KIT
With growing kiddos, we need to update the bag at least once a year to make sure that the supplies we include will still benefit us! We can't use food that is expired or clothes that we've outgrown. So it's SUPER important to make sure that the kids bags are updated frequently.
Wow! That's a lot of info! But it's important to make sure we're prepared, ya know, just in case. We're definitely not doomsdayers, but we have seen many families around us who have had to make use of their 72 hour kits in an emergency, so we know that they can be helpful and provide a little peace of mind should something happen.
72 HOUR KIT CHECKLIST
Here's a quick checklist you can print off to help you get started! But don't forget to do your research and make sure you have packed what your family needs in an emergency situation.
What would you include in your 72 hour kit?
Here are a few other posts you might find helpful!
- If you haven't already! You gotta check out our Emergency Preparedness Q&A.
- Our best tips for shopping and stocking up your pantry will help you be prepared should you ever be stuck at home. Hey! You never know… it could happen.
- And if you haven't already check out our new shelf cooking site for tips on how to use the food in your pantry and fridge, waste less food and save more money!
Let's go get prepared!
Helpful hint; don’t put mint gum in near your food! It will make everything taste like mint… Don’t ask me how I know this!
You could also include a deck of cards, or something else small and light- weight to entertain people. Maybe a small puzzle in a Ziploc.
Also don’t forget toiletries / hygiene! A small soap, they have those sheets of soap that you add water to, or some extra hotel soaps. If you have girls, add tampons/pads! And a hair brush and some hair ties. And in the adult bag, I would definitely add some sunscreen. All lightweight items that you will wish you had if you didn’t!
All great ideas, thanks! 🙂
Bug repellant! whether commercial or homemade for people & Pets
Great idea!
And a roll of toilet paper or two in the adult bag, haha!
This was great to see. I just never think it will be needed. After watching this I am going to make a bag for my son and I combined. Since its just the 2 of us. Thanks again for always beijng awesome!
Hopefully you’ll never have to use it, but it’s always better to be safe than sorry!
I also heard a helpful hint, too go through and restock your 72-hour kits every General Conference weekend. You can use the current contents for Conference snacks, haha! In October, you can prep your kits for winter, and in April, you can prep them for summer.
We’ve done this since I was a little kid! And my kids are always excited to eat the stuff in their kits!
A kit for any pets would also be good! Can be in a dog backpack if they are able to carry it (all or part of kit) or with their carrier
Oh yes, love that idea!
You could also include a surgical mask or homemade cloth mask. Given everything that is happening. Stay safe! I love watching your videos!
It helps to put things in gallon ziplock bags in case it gets wet or something spills. Then the mess is contained and your other items remain clean.
Good Job! Sharpies can dry out, pencils (thick ones for contractors, from Home Depot) are better, or even crayon. A pocket knife can be used to sharpen. Also cans of fruit or veggies are water sources, teach kiddos, never drain them. Everyone should have a little food source in their bag.
Add a shemagh (ha ha I think I spelled it right!) for each person! It can be used as a head wrap, for a baby wrap, as a small blanket, as a towel, as a bandage or sling, to prefilter water, or any number of other things! Also we have a rubiks snake for each kid (just search it on Amazon) for entertainment. It is good for fidgety hands that have to sit in one spot while things are getting sorted out. And last, something to hold water in for everyone – we use nalgene water bottles, because they are basically indestructible, for each person and a collapsible 5 gallon one for the whole family.
This is incredibly helpful, thank you so much! Just to let you know, the link for the mini toothpaste/toothbrush was for beef jerky!
Ooops! Thanks for that, we’ll get it switched out ASAP! 🙂