Once again we are being asked to be 

prepared with a 72 hour kit. 

Consider this situation:
It's 2:00am and a flash flood forces you to evacuate your home-fast.
There's no time to gather food from the kitchen, fill bottles with water,
grab a first-aid kit from the closet and snatch a flashlight and a portable
radio from the bedroom.  You need to have these items packed and ready
in one place before disaster strikes. Takes long enough just to get everyone
out the door with their shoes or slippers on..

So, what do you really need?
Pack at least a 3-day supply of food and water, and store it in a handy place.
One gallon per person per day for drinking and personal hygiene.
Choose foods that are easy to carry, nutritious and ready-to-eat. In addition,
pack these emergency items:

*Medical supplies and first-aid manual
*Hygiene supplies
*Portable radio, flashlight and extra batteries
*Shovel (folding) and other useful tools
*Household liquid bleach to  purify drinking water
*Money (coins and small bills) and matches in a waterproof container
*Fire extinguisher
*Blanket and extra clothing
*Infant and small children's needs  (if appropriate)
*Manual can opener
*Garbage bag
*Change of clothes (sweats, underwear, socks, etc.) roll them up tight and
place them in a gallon size freezer zip-lock bag. They will stay dry and together
that way.

If the Electricity Goes Off.....
FIRST-use perishable food from the refrigerator.

THEN- use the foods from the freezer.  To minimize the number of times
you open the freezer door, post a list of freezer contents on it.  In a well
-fitted, well-insulated freezer, food will usually still have ice crystals in their
centers (meaning foods are safe to eat)  for at least 3 days.

FINALLY- begin to use non-perishable foods and staples.

Having listed this, (which is from FEMA , and RED CROSS,)
I have been asked to be more specific on food. So, here's some ideas
of what our family packs.

granola bars, fruit snacks, smarties ( hard tack, mints for adults ) something
to suck on makes life easier, it seems.
Use snacks that don't melt, (chocolate, more clean up and thirsty mouths.)
I like putting small items in a zip-lock bag.
Pop-open type cans of things like: soup, stew, chili, fruit, vienna sausages,
chicken, tuna, or ham salad with crackers
(comes together in  a little box available at most stores and even the $1 store).
Most foods that have a little ring to pull open are ready to eat.  Cold isn't so
bad and is better than going hungry. Pack some plastic spoons!!
High calorie foods are good in this case because you may not be able to eat till
 you're full.
Small bottles of water or water pouches are especially good for little hands.
You don't end up spilling and wasting as much, if you know what I mean.
Also juice boxes or boxed milk. The flavored ones are good as well.
You may need a small sippy cup in your little ones' back pack for peace of mind.
I would also make sure you have some wet wipes.  They can be a travel size or
in a zip-lock bag.  Just make sure you replace them once in a while or re-hydrate
them if needed.

For cleaning, it's nice to have a small spray bottle with water in and another one
with water and a little bit of liquid soap. Much less water is needed that way. This
is a good item to have in your trunk of your car in that kit.

Make sure each kit has each item. If you get separated and all the flashlights
 are in dad's back pack, you will all be in the dark! Except for dad.

This should give you an idea of things you can use. Easy and light weight items are
good to think about. Remember, you might need to be able to carry your back-pack.
You  don't need to spend a lot of money.  Be creative and practical.  $1 stores are
a good source for small things like wet-wipes, hand sanitizer, chapstick, kleenexes,
and other such things. Pencil and notebook or small toy for kids keeps them happier.

One more thing. When you are putting together your pack, label the outside with
some sort of tag that says:
your name
son or daughter of:
wife or husband of:
address:
This is needed information if a child gets lost or a person is injured and unable
to communicate. Little stretchy 1/2" wide band bracelets are good to have in your kit to
put on everyone or to have medication or allergy info on. You've seen these on
our kids oft times for whatever event.

Happy packing everyone!