72-Hour Kit: Miscellaneous Items

It's Tuesday again, so it's time to help you get prepared!  Especially because it's September, and that means it's National Preparedness Month!

Today I will talk about our "Miscellaneous Items" category in our 72-Hour Kits.  I found that many of the items we wanted to have in our kit either didn't fit into other categories, or the other gallon bags were too full.  That was mostly true in the case of the hygiene items.  So I let those items spill over into the "Miscellaneous Items" category.

Here is what we included in ours:

• Disinfecting wipes
• a comb
• extra pair of glasses (old prescription)
• contact case
• contact solution
• pen
• pencil (masking tape, duct tape, and electrical tape wrapped around the pencil)
• small notepad
• scriptures (Book of Mormon)
• pair of nitrile gloves
• a book for reading
• cash (whatever amount you feel is necessary -- but include change as well!)
• list of emergency contacts both in and out of state
• copies of important documents (birth certificate, driver's license, mortgage paperwork, marriage certificate)

Some of these items may seem superfluous.  Like a book for reading... I suppose it is likely that in an emergency situation, I won't care about reading.  But just in case...  It's nice to have the option.  Since I wear contacts, I decided to be prepared for any eventuality.  If I have my contacts in when we have to leave in an emergency, I probably will want to be able to take them out at some point if I cannot come home for 3 days or something.  Money is important.  And the change was suggested on some sites for use in a pay-phone, because often times in a crisis situation, cell phones become blocked or clogged with people trying to call others to let them know they are safe.  Of course, who knows if there even are any payphones anymore...  But just in case.  And then the emergency contact list is important as well.  You especially want to have an emergency contact out-of-state so that all of your family members can call that person and relay messages and that person can relay messages for the rest of you who may be in the state.  For example, my family is mainly in Washington, as is my husband's.  But my dad is in Alabama and my brother is in Utah.  In an emergency situation, we will all call my dad so that he knows who is accounted for, and he can pass that information on to anyone else who calls him from our state.  

It's true, I hope we never find ourselves in a situation that requires all of this preparation.  But I do feel peace knowing we have prepared so that we can hopefully get through whatever could come our way.