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Where should I keep an emergency kit?
Home » Home Health » Emergency Kits » Where should I keep an emergency kit?The answer to this question lies in understanding why you would need an emergency kit and where you would be when you needed one. With this in mind, experts suggest that you consider storing emergency kits in your home, your car, and in a travel backpack, but each kit should be slightly different.
Home: The emergency kit in your home should be the most extensive kit you have. An emergency kit protects you and your family if you become isolated from help because of disasters such as floods, hurricanes, earthquakes, or terrorist attacks. Prepare your kit with an eye towards providing for your entire family for approximately seventy-two hours; look over the list above or look at the Department of Homeland Security’s website for help preparing your kit. Store your “kit” in large Tupperware containers or plastic barrels, and put these containers in a safe place that is both out of the way of daily use but easily accessible in the event of an emergency. If you have a storm shelter, consider putting your kit there.
Car: If you regularly travel on rural roads, especially at night, it is a good idea to prepare a small emergency kit to store in your car. For space reasons, ignore most of the contents of a home emergency kit, especially the majority of food and miscellaneous items (with the exception of a blanket and warm clothing). Instead, add some car tools to your kit; jumper cables, an ice scraper, necessary fluids, and “Fix a Flat,” are all good inserts. Even with these items, you should be able to fit an entire car emergency kit in a medium-sized cardboard box and leave it in the trunk of your car.
Travel: When most people think of an emergency kit, they think of a small survival pack for backpacking in the woods. When you are hiking, you never know when you may fall or become lost or trapped; all of a sudden, you are dependent on your emergency kit until help arrives. Your travel kit should be small so that you won’t have carry much weight, but make sure to include some food, basic first-aid supplies, and, since you will be outside, fire-starting tools. It is also a good idea to include water-purifying tablets in addition to the water you carry with you. Finally, tailor your pack to the location and climate where you will be; if you will be in frigid temperatures, for example, carry a blanket, and take sunscreen on a warm camping trip.
In addition to these three basic types of emergency kits, you can also make a small personal emergency kit that you take to your office or to other places you regularly visit. These personal kits will be even smaller than a car or travel kit and can even be unnecessary if you know your office already has emergency items onsite. If you want one, however, go with the bare minimum: some water, first-aid supplies, and a cell phone.
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