5 Essentials for Your 72 Hour Kit

Being prepared to survive any man-made or natural disaster will give you peace of mind. You need to have all the supplies you need to be self-sufficient for no less than three days. After a hurricane, tornado, monsoon or other catastrophe, most everyday services won't be working. You'll be without telephone, gas, electricity, even running water. So, you need to prepare yourself in order to survive until help arrives.

Emergency 72 hour kits are designed for short-term emergency preparedness plans. As long as you have the right tools in your kit, you can be self-sufficient for three entire days. Just make sure that your kit is easy to tote around when you're on the move. When it's time to evacuate, having a bag of wheels or backpack you can grab and go will help make the process smooth.

5 Things Every 72 Hour Kit Should Contain

You can put together your own 72-hour emergency kit. You can also find some great 3-day kits online. No matter which route you choose, be sure that your kit contains the following five things:

1. Water – Experts suggest storing one gallon of water, per person, per day for drinking, washing and hygienic purposes. However, it may be wise to purchase a water purifier or water filter as well. That way, if you run out of clean water, you can make your own. Plus, if you have to evacuate quickly, you may not be able to tote too many gallons of water.
   
2. Food – Choose the foods you put in your food storage wisely. Make sure to store foods with long shelf lives. Canned foods last for years. You can also eat them out of the can without cooking. However, they can be a bit heavy to carry around. Both dehydrated food and freeze dried food have long shelf lives, and are very lightweight. Yet, dehydrated foods require some cooking, while with freeze dried foods, all you have to do is add water.
   
3. First Aid Kit – Make sure your first aid kit contains all of the basic supplies for emergencies. Also, check to be sure that the instruction manual is also included. If all else fails, go and buy yourself a new first aid kit.
   
4. Important Documents – Put important docs like birth certificates, copies of IDs, passports and lists of important addresses and phone numbers in a folder. Keep the folder in your 72 hour kit. Also, be sure to stash some cash in your kit as well. Banking services will probably be down for quite a while.
   
5. Clothing & Warmth – Keep in mind that your home will probably be cold because of utility services being down. And, if you have to evacuate, you never know where you may end up. Be prepared to stay warm at night. Pack warm clothing, heavy shoes, rain gear and work gloves. Also, be sure to include a heavy blanket or a thick sleeping bag.
   

Author Bio
This article was created by Dirk Puckett an emergency preparedness expert. Get your 72 hour kit from www.dailybread.com today.