Howdy prepping friends! – NOTE – this post has been RECENTLY UPDATED – Scroll to bottom for latest update. 🙂

I have several projects around the house related to getting prepared. Most projects are waiting on something:

1. Our 72 Hour Kits (Bug Out Bags)

We pulled all these out a couple weeks ago to go through them.  The kids didn’t even know where they were or what was in them as the last time they were re-stocked was in 2005.  We had a laugh looking at how small the extra change of clothes were for each of them were. I also had a CD holder with a lot of back up files and pictures from the computer. It’ll be so much easier now to just put a flash drive in there!

All my list on contacts need to be updated.  I had made each kid a little ID card w/ their fingerprints on the back. They were laminated and looked so cute.  But 9 years… nothing is the same with these kids who all look more like grownups now!

The MRE’s were still good so the kids have been using them for school and work lunches. I’m kind of pleased at how long they have lasted.  For flashlights, back then LED wasn’t as popular.  In checking all the flashlights – most didn’t work, even with fresh batteries.  The batteries actually lasted pretty well when kept air tight.  So here’s what I need to do:

• Replace extra change of clothes for each person – DONE
• Replace flashlights with new LED ones – WAITING (I ordered these little LED flashlights  from Amazon – I already got two for my car emergency kits and I’m pleased with how bright they are with just one AA battery!)
• Replace Meals – WAITING (Should I do MRE’s again or another shorter term food?)

2.  Home Canning

My canning jars and gear has been sitting out for weeks. I’ve borrowed my sisters pressure canner and it’s sitting in its box. While I did pressure can my first ground beef and chicken (Yay me), I also wanted to do more.  I’m waiting on a couple 50 lb bags of wonderful Klondike potatoes that I want to pressure can. Plus I have a bunch of apples to make applesauce or into pie fillings and can. So that is still taking up space.

3. First Aid Kits

This has been a HUGE project for me that I’ve felt very strongly about updating.  I already had a big tackle box for first aid for years. But I needed to go through it and organize it again. So I got a new box and did a lot more research to make it more organized and get items to cover a wider range of needs that I had previously.  This project deserves its own post later.  I also am putting together a pandemic kit.

4. Car Emergency Kits

This has been a project sitting in my living room for a few weeks.  Today it is FINISHED!  I wanted to make kits for our two vehicles for a while now.

Just a few months ago, a teenage driver ran a red light and hit me and my son, totaling our small Nissan car.  If I hadn’t sped up just a little bit before impact, it is most likely the crash would have taken my son’s life. As it turned out, he was completely unharmed (which is truly a miracle) and I only had a minor injury. This has made me feel so much more aware of how I want my family to be prepared in case of any vehicle emergency. I have two children who drive, and that has completely changed the way I feel about impatient drivers (like those who run red lights!)

So here is what my Car Emergency Kits have ended up containing.  Not all the items fit in my box, so I keep my pack of water bottles, kitty liter, and a bigger first aid kit on the outside of the box in my vehicle. I realize that every family has their own needs and may choose different items for their kit. This is just what I did for ours.

Brief Explanation of items:

Kitty Litter – This is good to have on hand if you get stuck in the snow or mud. You place it in front of the tires for some traction. It can also be used as a covering for sanitation purposes should you need it.

Water Bottles – Good to have a pack of 24 or so just sitting in your car for needed hydration in case you get stranded.

First Aid Kit – Needed to have on hand for emergency medical needs.

Fleece Blanket – If you get stranded and it’s really cold. Or perhaps you are attending an event and need some added warmth, you’ll have this blanket in your car. This is an essential for us in the winter.

Toilet Paper / Baby wipes – If needed on the road. So many uses.

Garbage Bags – To clean up messes, or use as an emergency poncho, or as a covering to keep things from getting wet.

Duct and Masking Tape – So many uses for duct tape. Can temporarily fix a car issue or even medical issue.

Small notebook / pen – If you are in an accident and need to document what happened or write down someone’s insurance information.

Jumper cables / Multi-tool / tools / Gloves / Road Flares / Fix-a-flat / Ice Scraper / Rope– Good to have on hand in an emergency.

Flashlight with extra batteries – If your car breaks down in the middle of the night.

Whistle / compass / lighters / etc. – emergency survival items good to have on hand. If you’re lost or need to make a fire.

Snacks – If you are stuck for a while, it’s good to have something to eat to keep your energy up.

If you have younger children you can adjust accordingly and include things like extra diapers, towel, baby blankets/burpies, etc. Or you can also include some things for pets if you travel often with them like pet food, toys, poop bags, etc.

So today my daughter drove off in one of our cars, and I showed her our kits and the list before she left. I had the pack of water bottles and kitty litter outside the box in the cars. I feel so much better now that these kits are done and in our vehicles. Just one more thing I can check off my list. 🙂

What would you make sure you have in your car emergency kit prep?

================================ UPDATE Jan. 2018 ====================================

I have changed the container of our Car Emergency Kit to this Black Bin that has snap closures on the lid to secure it in place. This is because the lids to my other bins began popping off and occasionally the contents could spill out in the vehicle.  Not cool. The newer bin is larger and way more secure and stronger.  I got these black bins at Walmart.  I can also say that the things I’ve used the MOST from our kits have been:  Jumper Cables, Duct tape, Flashlight, Tool set and the Fix-a-flat can.