72-Hour Kit: Infant/Baby Kit

Well, we once had a baby 72-Hour Kit.  And then our baby grew into a toddler!  Which meant we then had a toddler 72-Hour Kit!  You can check out that link if you'd like to see what we include for our toddler's kit.

But as many of you know, we recently added a handsome baby boy to our family.  Which meant we needed a new baby 72-Hour Kit!  And now I'm posting it here to share with everyone to help you prepare a 72-Hour Kit for your baby!

As with all of the kits I've shared here, your baby's 72-Hour kit may look different than our baby's.  For one thing, I have a low milk supply, so I cannot exclusively breast-feed our baby in an emergency situation (though wouldn't that be nice!?!).  Therefore, we need to make sure we include formula and at least one bottle for our little man.  And this means we also need to consider having extra water for his kit.

Here's what we have included for our baby boy's kit for early baby-hood (he's almost 2 months):

• 12 diapers
• pack of wipes
• burp rag
• 2 changes of clothes (one warmer) for summer weather
• 1 bottle
• 6 emergency water packs
• 2 small cans formula
• small bottle of baby wash
• toy

Something else to remember with a baby kit is that babies grow fast.  You will want to try to remember to change out diapers and clothes in the kit when you change them out for everyday use.  For us, I chose to start out with size 2 diapers in the kit from the get-go.  I figured I'd rather have too-big diapers rather than too-small ones!  And as your baby learns to eat foods, you'll want to include those items too!  So you may find yourself updating your baby's kit more frequently (perhaps every 3 months, instead of every 6!).  But better to keep it up-to-date in case of emergency!

Hope this helps you get better prepared if you have babies at home!  If I can help you prepare in any way, please let me know by contacting me at THRIVingNilla@gmail.com.

Happy THRIVEing!

To check out all of the information I have shared about our 72-Hour Kits, follow this link.

72-Hour Kits: Toddler Kit

It's the very last day of September, but it's not too late to take advantage of the awesome National Preparedness Month Sales!  Contact me today at THRIVEingNilla@gmail.com to place your order before the sale ends!!!

And now, for your Tuesday 72-Hour Kit information!!

So when my husband and I first set a goal to have our 72-Hour Kits ready, we didn't yet have our little munchkin.  But once she came along (and life settled down a bit ;)), I realized I needed to make sure we had a 72-Hour Kit made especially for her!  After all, her needs are different than ours!

She is now 16 months old, so she isn't a baby anymore (though she'll always be my baby), and so, over time, we've had to make changes to her 72-Hour Kit more frequently.  As of today, though, we have a Toddler Kit for her. 

What we have in our munchkin's Toddler Kit:

• 1 change of clothes (includes warm shirt, warm pants, socks) for cold weather
• 1 jacket
• 1 knitted cap
• 1 pair of mittens
• travel pack of toiletries (baby powder, shampoo, wash, diaper ointment, lotion)
• 5 pouches emergency water
• sippy cup
• 9 diapers
• 1 burp rag (she uses these to self-soothe while sucking her thumb, so we wouldn't want to be without one in an emergency situation)
• 6 boxes yogurt raisins (these are a favorite treat -- and I think if we are in a situation needing the kit, it would be nice for her to have a treat)
• 1 snack container of cheese crackers
• 5 squeeze-food pouches (I chose most that have a starch like rice or potato in it, plus one that has chicken, and one that has Elmo on the front -- she's a big fan).
• toothbrush
• wipes

As much as possible, I put things into gallon ziploc bags.

 

And then I stored everything in a large bag. 

Truthfully, until recently, I didn't have her kit at all ready.  I had a few odds and ends in it (like diapers, wipes, a bottle, and formula when she was smaller).  But it was not really ready for an emergency.  Posting these every week motivated me to get her kit 100% ready.  And that gives me great peace of mind.  I may add a couple toys and a book to the kit as well so we have something for her to be entertained.  But for the most part, this kit is done, and I feel better about it!

Hope this helps you prepare for any little ones you may have at home!  Contact me at THRIVEingNilla@gmail.com if you have any questions!

Happy THRIVEing! 

72-Hour Kits: Clothing

Happy Tuesday, fellow THRIVErs!!!  It's that time again...  Time to talk about 72-Hour Kits!!

I'm actually almost done with the categories of items my family has included in our kits :).  My final category?  CLOTHES!

Let's face it:  if we were in a situation in which we were living off our 72-Hour Kits, we'd probably start smelling pretty rough by day 3...  So it's kind of nice to have a change of clothes ;).  But that's not the only reason to have them.  Perhaps you live in Washington (as I do) and the odds of you getting rained on are pretty high...  Having dry clothes would definitely be beneficial.   Whatever the reason, clothing is an important addition to any 72-Hour Kit!

I didn't take a picture of all my clothing laid out.  But basically you'll want to be sure you have a few things as far as clothing goes:

• An extra pair of underwear (including a bra for ladies)
• 1 shirt
• 1 pair of pants
• 2 pairs of socks (I got this idea from Forrest Gump's Lieutenant Dan...  Protect your feet!)
• Sweater (in winter months)

You'll want to make sure you update your kit according to the weather, so you are sure to have the appropriate type of clothing to stay warm -- or keep cool.

Once again, I hope this information is helpful to someone out there!  I hope you've been able to see the value of a 72-Hour Kit and have learned how you can assemble your own kit easily at home!

As always, let me know if you have any questions or comments at THRIVEingNilla@gmail.com :)!

Want to know more about 72-Hour Kits?  Follow these links:

Why a 72-Hour Kit?
72-Hour Kits: Food & Water
72-Hour Kits: Hygiene Items
72-Hour Kits: Miscellaneous Items
72-Hour Kits: Survival Items

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. 

72-Hour Kits: Survival Items

It's Tuesday, so you know what that means!!!  More about 72-Hour Kits and ideas to help you assemble your own!!  Especially this month, since it's National Preparedness Month!! 

Today I will tell you what we have in our 72-Hour Kits for survival items!

• an emergency candle (this will burn for 60 hours) 
• 3 other candles of varying sizes (for heating food, etc)
• a lighter 
• waterproof matches
• a 5-in-1 survival whistle (just got this with my September Q order, because it's on special this month!)
• extra batteries
• 2 rain ponchos
• 1 emergency lantern
• 1 emergency blanket
• hand-crank and battery-operated flashlight/radio/siren
• 2 packages hand warmers
• small first aid kit (bandaids, antiseptic wipes)
• pocket-knife
• Aleve
• iodide tablets (in case of a radiation leak -- we live near nuclear plants)

We pack all these items into a gallon size bag to try to keep them dry in case our whole kit gets wet somehow ;).

Many of these items are available through THRIVE Life.  You can even purchase a pre-assembled kit through THRIVE Life, if you don't want to have to figure out what you need and collect those items!

In case you missed it, I've also posted our Food and Water as well as Hygiene Items from our 72-Hour Kits!

If you'd like to place an order to help you start preparing, contact me at THRIVEingNilla@gmail.com!  I'll be happy to help you get started!

Happy THRIVEing!

72-Hour Kit: Hygiene Items

I don't know about you, but I am pretty sure I take for granted the ease I enjoy in being able to keep clean and do my daily "hygiene" routine.  So much so that I often don't even consciously think about everything I'm using to do so.  My hygiene items are always just there.  And, by this point, everything is just second-nature.  Generally speaking, there is usually only one event that makes me even consider all the hygiene items I use on a daily basis:  packing!  For a trip for my 72-Hour Kit, in this case :).

So I figured I'd share the hygiene items we decided are important for our 72-Hour Kit.  (The picture is of mine, so it has a few items my husband wouldn't need...  But that's where it's important to make sure you are packing what you need, if you choose to assemble and build your kit yourself!)

In my hygiene kit, I have the following items:

travel size shampoo and conditioner
1 bar soap
1 small hand sanitizer
floss
1 travel size toothpaste
1 toothbrush
9 sanitary napkins
1 roll toilet paper
1 travel size deoderant
1 hand towel
1 washcloth
1 small package tissues
1 hair scrunchie (wrapped around soap box)

Again, we pack everything in a ziploc back.  And I double bag the toilet paper -- because if I need toilet paper in an emergency, I don't want it soggy!

Granted, many of these items may seem superfluous in an emergency.  But I really like my hygiene.  I am a daily showerer, so I at least like the idea of having all the supplies I would need. 

As I've mentioned before, THRIVE Life has pre-assembled kits that make it easy to obtain your 72-Hour Kit for any emergency!   And, as with all of the delicious THRIVE Life Foods, you can get the most discounted price when ordering through me, so contact me at THRIVEingNilla@gmail.com if you want to place an order for your pre-assembled kit!

72-Hour Kit: Food and Water

As promised, I will start doing a 72-Hour Kit high-light!  Today we will focus on Food and Water in your kit!

Water:

Water is probably the most important part of a 72-Hour Kit.  Though highly uncomfortable and definitely not preferable, most of us can go several days without food.  Water, though, is another thing entirely.  We need water.  It is, therefore, vital that water be a part of 72-Hour Kit.  The recommended amount of water is a gallon of water per person per day; though that isn't really feasible for grab and go.  (That amount is definitely what you'll want for a home-store, though -- for 3 days.)   Here is how our family accomplishes this:

We purchased gallon jugs of apple juice and water, drank the contents, and washed the bottle (when it was apple juice).  We actually choose to filter our water, so all of our jugs are filled with filtered water.  One of the more difficult things is making sure you rotate your water storage.  What I have done is label the top of each jug (we actually have 7 -- the 7th is always on our counter-top in the kitchen).  I use this water for our cooking when whatever we are cooking will absorb the water (like pasta and rice), since we prefer the filtered water.  Then I re-fill the jug with filtered water when it's empty and get the next number.  So our water stays relatively fresh.  We keep these stored next to our 72-Hour kits (except the one in use) and hope that we will be able to at least each grab one gallon in the event of an emergency situation.

...But if not...  Well, that's where THRIVE Life has come in for us!  Those packets you see in front are full of water.  We each have a few of those in our packs.  They are light-weight and easy to fit inside the kit (as opposed to a gallon jug, right...?) and two of them a day will keep you alive, even if it's not the ideal. Also convenient:  these pouches are good for 5 years! 

THRIVE Life also offers water filtration devices.  In fact, I plan to include one of these in our kits soon.  I like the idea of being able to make non-potable water potable :).

Food:

So, while the food isn't as vitally important (generally) as the water, let's not kid ourselves...  We all know that we'd do better in an emergency if we had the nutrients and calories we need each day.  (For infants and young children, food is a much higher priority.  We actually have a whole separate kit for our toddler, and I will post that later.) 

One thing that is important with the food in a 72-Hour Kit is that you make sure it is rotated.  You don't want to find yourself needing your pack and then learn that all the food has spoiled!  We go through our kits twice a year (during General Conference) in April and October and eat all the food and replace it.  This has helped us keep fresh foods in our kit.  And it has also given us the chance to learn what works for us.

Making sure you have foods that store a long time is one area where THRIVE Life fruit pouches would be super helpful!  They have a long shelf-life with no added preservatives.  They are 100% real fruit.  And they are super-light-weight (just over 1 ounce)!  I haven't added any to our kits yet (because it honestly only just occurred to me), but I will be very soon!

Another thing THRIVE Life offers to make life simpler are calorie bars (available in different calorie amounts).  These are also light-weight and have what your body needs.  They are small, and easy to shove into a kit.  And they are also inexpensive.  So if you're more like my husband and you don't care a lot about what you're eating -- but rather how many calories you're getting...  These are a great option!  But my husband married me ;).  And I'm a total foodie.  Maybe I wouldn't care in a situation that deemed necessary the use of my 72-Hour Kit.  However, since I'm planning it now, and packing it now, I decided I wanted at least some variety in my foods during an emergency!  Ergo, our current food contents looks like this:

We have:
1 package beef jerky
1 squeeze tube jelly
1 small container peanut butter
2 packs Ritz crackers
3 trail mix bars
1 can chunk chicken breast
1 can v8

We package as much as we can into a gallon ziploc bag, to keep things together and also to keep things from getting wet in the event our kit falls into the water.

I should also mention that we opted for items we can eat without utensils.  That was a personal preference.

As I mentioned before, my husband and I decided to "build" our own 72-Hour Kits.  But if that isn't how you want to spend your time -- yet you still want to have one, THRIVE Life has a variety of pre-assembled kits which would benefit you in an emergency situation!

As always, feel free to contact me at THRIVEingNilla@gmail.com with questions or to place an order.  If any of the emergency essentials you saw in this post appeal to you, remember you always get the Q price (the cheapest price) when ordering through me!  And if you send me your email, I'll keep you up-to-date on specials at THRIVE Life :).

I hope these tips and information can help you begin becoming prepared in whatever way is best for you and yours!  Happy THRIVEing!

72-Hour Kits -- Why?

I love when people ask me questions regarding preparedness.  It gives me an opportunity to pause and think things through -- an opportunity to fully understand the benefits of being prepared and why I do it.  I am also able to talk with my husband about those questions and get his perspectives and thoughts -- which I really appreciate.  He helps me see things I hadn't seen before, and so I feel like I learn so much.  So I love questions about preparedness.  Feel free to ask me any you may have at THRIVEingNilla@gmail.com!  I will do my best to answer -- and research when I don't know the answer!

The question I got a couple days ago was this:

Why have a 72-hour kit?  What life event would require you to grab your kit and leave your home?  And where would you go?

I want to preface all of this by saying that I am a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.  We are commonly known as Mormons.  We believe we have a Prophet on the Earth today, just as in ancient times (like Moses and Noah of the Old Testament).  We believe the Prophet is called of God, and that God reveals to His chosen Prophet those things we on this Earth need to know.  We also believe in the prophecies in Book of Revelation.  We believe that there are troubled times ahead.  One of the things the Prophet has told us to do is to be prepared:  with savings, with a storage of food, with a 72-hour kit, with the ability to garden.  These things help my family be self-reliant and help us be prepared for whatever rainy days may lie ahead (whether those be natural disasters or loss of a job).  That is why my family chooses to be prepared and strives to become so in these areas.

In doing some research, I also found that there is a government agency which encourages people to be prepared in a variety of ways (and for a variety of reasons) including having a 72-hour kit.

So, as I mentioned before, these questions led me to ponder things.  Because I haven't been in a situation where I needed my 72-hour kit (and for that, I'm grateful), I didn't have a personal example to share.  However, I do remember significant events in my lifetime which I believe left people in a situation where they would have benefited from a 72-hour kit.  For example, Hurricane Katrina -- the massive Hurricane that destroyed New Orleans in 2005.  And the subsequent flooding that really created problems.  I can remember videos of people being rescued from roof-tops.  I think a 72-hour kit would have been helpful for people stuck like that:  they would have had water and food and some sanitary supplies to help them for 3 days.  Another scenario I imagined was an earthquake here where I live (again, this was just me imagining).  Perhaps our home was not stable and we couldn't go back in it due to lack of safety...  Having 3 days of supplies of things we need, particularly for the toddler, would be helpful until we could arrange more permanent plans.

But then, as I was talking with my husband, he pointed out some other scenarios.  Scenarios that really hit home for me.  One example he spoke of was, again, Hurricane Katrina.  But from a different perspective.  The people of New Orleans were told to evacuate when it was clear the hurricane would impact that city greatly.  Having the 72-hour kits would make it easy to grab the stuff you need to survive for 3 days and leave.  True, with a hurricane, you sometimes have a little more time to do some packing if you want -- and maybe it's not so urgent that your only option is the 72-hour kit.  However, there are circumstances where that could conceivably be the case.  The fact is, not far from where I live, there are signs for a Tsunami Escape Route.  We are not on the coast of Washington, so we probably wouldn't be impacted by a tsunami...  But people not far from us could be.  If there was ever an earthquake in the middle of the ocean, sizable enough to create a tsunami, people along the coast would be told to evacuate inland.  And they wouldn't have a ton of time to pack.  In fact, the potential for very little preparation time is real in this scenario.  I remember the descriptions of the tsunami that hit Indonesia around 2004A 72-hour kit would be very important in such a situation.  You'd be able to take what you need with very little time to prepare -- and leave. 

And you'd go wherever you were told to evacuate to.  Usually there are routes indicating where people should go in these types of events.  But it never hurts to have a plan in advance :).

So how can you have your own 72-hour kit?  Well, you can build one yourself (which is what our family has done) -- and I will post over the next several weeks about what we have chosen to include in ours.  Or, if building your own kit isn't really your thing, but you still want the peace of mind of having one, you can check out THRIVE Life's pre-assembled kits like this one.

I hope this helps answer any questions you may have about why a 72-hour kit could be important and useful for you and your family.  Again, I love questions about preparing, so feel free to contact me if you have any!  And if you're interested in learning more about how THRIVE can help you become better prepared, let me know that too!  I'm happy to help however I can!

72-Hour Kits: Food and Water
72-Hour Kits: Hygiene Items
72-Hour Kits: Survival Items 
72-Hour Kits: Miscellaneous Items
72-Hour Kits: Clothing 
72-Hour Kits:  Toddler Kit