In light of everything that is happening on the east coast right now I have found myself feeling completely unprepared. My family has never personally been touched by a natural disaster, but it seems they are happening more and more frequently. My mother has always been a worrier. She thinks of everything in the world that could possibly go wrong and worries about it, but in many ways I’m glad she did. She has spent countless dollars on emergency preparedness kits for the entire family, all nine of us, my son included. She also has a cold storage room full of food in case something were to happen. I am so grateful for that, but as a single mom how do you possibly afford to spend all of this extra money on things that you have no way of knowing you will need?
When I was starting the one for my son, I was overwhelmed. The list of things to put in a 72-hour kit seems to be never ending. You just never know what is going to go wrong. So I decided to start it in small little chunks. Right now is a great time to find backpacks on sale for the entire family; this is a good place to start, at least then you have somewhere to put everything. After that add little things here and there. If you have smaller kids you may want to invest in the ones with wheels since they can get heavy once they are filled. They are a little bit more expensive, but keep your children in mind and make the decision from there.
There are lots of ways to save money when you are looking for things for your 72 hour kit. Buy a change of clothes for each member of your family. Look on clearance and choose clothes that are as gender neutral as possible. Then as one child grows you can put it in the next child’s pack. Buy long sleeved shirts and long pants. If it is summer, you can always cut them off. When you buy diapers save a few out for your kit, just don’t forget to rotate them as your child grows. Have a first aid kit and flashlights in each child’s bag along with some foods that won’t spoil or melt. Put several bottles of water in each backpack as well.
If you get free samples of things in the mail these are easy to just slip into your bag too. I’ve gotten things like protein bars, toothpaste, shampoo, lotion, crackers, etc. and none of it cost me a dime and it put me one step closer to having our 72-hour kits ready. It is always better to be safe than sorry, you never know when your family is going to be touched by disaster. You don’t want to be the one scrounging around for things at the last minute. My prayers are with those who are now being faced with tragedy. May you all be safe and watched over at this difficult time. In the meantime the rest of us need to be prepared for when the trials come knocking at our own front door.