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Essential Bug Out Bags: A Comprehensive Guide to Preparing Your 72-Hour Emergency Kit
Organizing Your Bug Out Bag: Categories and Essentials
Basically, a bug out bag is a portable kit that contains the bare necessities you’ll need to survive a 72-hour evacuation situation. Whether it’s a hurricane, earthquake, tornado, wildfire, or another natural disaster, having your bug out bag ready means you’ll be able to grab it quickly and know it contains the items you and your family need. Bug-out bags (BOBs) are crucial to your emergency preparedness plan, especially for families. Properly prepared family bug out bags can significantly increase your family’s chances of survival.
For my family’s 72-hour bags, I organized items into five main categories: food and water, clothing, health and hygiene, comfort items, and survival gear. Each family member’s items are packed into their own backpack, allowing each person to carry what they need if we need to leave on foot. Adjust your bag contents based on your family’s unique needs and don’t forget about pets!
Packing Food and Water for Maximum Survival
For the food and water category, I chose foods with a long shelf life—everything in our kits lasts at least a year or more. I selected items ready to eat right from the package, requiring no cooking or added water. The food is also family-approved, ensuring it will be eaten when needed.
Each person’s food is stored in a Ziploc bag to keep items together and provide a reusable item that could serve multiple purposes in an emergency. I included fully cooked meals with easy-open lids to avoid needing a can opener. For snacks, I opted for items like almond butter, nuts, and seeds for sustained energy. I also added fruit and vegetable pouches for the kids for added nutrition.
Water is heavy, so each pack includes three water bottles and three hydration multipliers to boost hydration. For adults, I also added energy multipliers with caffeine for an extra boost.
Clothing and Hygiene: Staying Protected and Clean
In the clothing category, each child’s pack includes a pair of comfy pants, a long-sleeve shirt, underwear, and socks, rolled and stored in a Ziploc bag for dryness. I also packed travel-sized hygiene items like toothbrushes, toothpaste, soap, and baby wipes. Each person has their own hand sanitizer and a shared hairbrush, along with compact washcloths that expand when wet. Adult packs include a few extra hygiene items as needed.
Comfort Items to Keep Spirits High in Emergencies
The comfort category includes items to help reduce stress during emergencies. For my kids, I included small activity items like coloring kits, puzzles, Play-Doh, and books. These came from affordable stores like Target or the Dollar Tree, so the cost was minimal, but the potential comfort value is significant.
Survival Tools and Gear
Key survival tools include a LifeStraw for each family member for water filtration, a basic first aid kit, emergency ponchos, Mylar blankets, hand warmers, and lanterns in adult packs. Additionally, I included a hand-crank radio and solar charger for small devices, a waterproof document holder for essential documents, and emergency knives in our bags. In my own bag, I also included a tarp to create a makeshift shelter if needed.
Cash is another essential for emergency purchases of food and supplies, so we have some cash secured in a waterproof pouch. A compass, pocket knife, paper, pen, and whistle round out the essentials in each pack to cover basic navigation, signaling, and emergency communication needs.
Why a Bug Out Bag is Essential for Your Family’s Safety
Making sure your family is familiar with the items in the bug out bag and how to use them is crucial for readiness. Bug-out bags should be stored in an accessible location, like under beds, to ensure you can grab them quickly in an emergency. Investing time in preparing your 72-hour emergency kit now could make a life-saving difference when it matters most.