MREs for Bug Out Bags

So, remember  a while back when we were doing our Bug Out Bags?  

I was all set except to pack the food.  I finally remembered to order our MREs.  

I got a one week supply [21 meals]  of MREs from Emergency Essentials.   This pack did not include heaters, so I also got a dozen MRE heaters so we could have hot food if we need it.   The food choices are widely varied and random, so you don't know what you're going to get, but you can't beat the price - on sale for $84.99.

A reader got this set from Readymeal.com and her set did include the heaters. 12 meals for $69.95. 

The prices for MREs are all over the place, so shop around.  

Emergency Kit First Aid Book

I got this book for us for Christmas to add to our Bug Out Bags. It is full of fantastic information and exactly what I needed to keep in our emergency first aid kit. 

It is spiral bound and all of the pages are plastic coated so the book can be used in the wet without falling apart or spoiling.   I love that!

 Check out those tabs along the bottom. There are sections on:

• safety
• cpr
• medical [e.g. childbirth and allergies]
• injury [including stitches]
• environmental dangers [e.g. altitude sickness and hypothermia]
• poison
• disaster
• survival

The dimensions are 3"x6" including the binding.  It's an ideal collection of information to keep with emergency packs.  

The only thing I don't like about it is the spiral binding, which I assumed would be along the side [no biggie that it's on the top], and which is made out of plastic.  [Seriously, guys??]   I'll find a sturdier case to keep it in so it doesn't get destroyed in the pack.

Here's the link to the Amazon page:

 

First Aid Kits

We always keep a small first aid kit in the car.    Last month, I tripped on a curb and banged up both knees.  It was nice to have a kit in the car stocked with antibiotic cream and big band aids.  The lady at the store provided a wet cold paper towel to clean with and the girls patched me up.  The only thing irreparably damaged was my dignity, which apparently one does not need, in order to continue living.  

At any rate, it was a good moment to go through the kit in the car and see what needed to be replaced, updated, etc.

Since we were going to Walmart anyway, I picked up a brand new kit for the car for only $10.  It's a pretty good one, too.  [In the pharmacy section next to the band aids.  Maybe on the shelf near the floor.]

$10.   This means that you can get good first aid kits for cheap stocking stuffers for everyone in your family with a car.   Do. It.   You won't be sorry.

I took the box from the old kit and used it for little stuff in my big Bug Out Bag first aid kit.

I have some wipes, gloves, ibuprofen, a thermometer, antibiotic cream, hand sanitizer, a little first aid guide, some gauze, tape and band aids.   It all fits nicely in the plastic box and keeps that stuff from getting lost in the Big First Aid Kit.

This is the Big First Aid Kit where I keep the ace bandages, triangular bandages, lots more boxes of band aids of different sizes, gauze, tape, hand splints, etc.   The plastic box fits right in there and I know right where to find it if we had to bug out and had an injury to deal with.

You still have plenty of time to put first aid kits on your holiday lists.   Santa would love to see you a little bit more prepared. 

Bug Out Bags

Yesterday I gave you a few links to lists of things you can put in a 72 hour emergency kit.    I wanted to show you what we did.

Years ago, we got these backpacks on sale somewhere.  We got one for each of us [4] and we've used them for years to carry toys and books and things as entertainment kits for the kids when we travel.  They're not very big, but they are pretty sturdy and they're very manageable. The kids are bigger now and don't need them, so I collected them all and put them in a closet for a year.   Or so.  I honestly can't remember.  

Then last week, I found them again and decided it was time to either use them or get rid of them.    They're perfect for 72 hour kit storage and so I put them to use.

First, I did my research and got a list of stuff we wanted to have in the kits.   Here's the government list.  See yesterday's post for more lists.

Then I cleaned my house and collected all the emergency stuff I have done over the years and which has gotten shoved to the back corners, tippy tops and bottoms of the closets and cupboards over time.
It was awesome.  

Don't get me wrong.  It was a mess.   Stuff everywhere!...but by the end of the day I had three packs full of supplies and one empty to be filled with food.  Plus, my cupboards were way more organized and I had a lot more space because I had removed all the expired junk for disposal.   [There was a lot of expired junk.]  

This is what I put in our four bags:

• food
• first aid
• toiletries
• other stuff

Then I made labels for each bag of the stuff that went in them.   I laminated the labels and put them on with those plastic thingies that you use for luggage tags.   I did a tag for every important thing we'd want to locate fast and if I decide to put that thing in a different bag, I can move the tag to the new bag easily.  

Food
This bag is empty right now because we'll want to bring new food and food that gets put in preparedness kits tends to expire and be forgotten about.   I know this for a fact.   I'm still thinking about what to pack in there.  Rumor has it that MREs are pretty good eating these days, but it's 'illegal' to sell them, so the ones you find online are generally not new.   They start out being store-able for 5 years, but by the time they're offered on Amazon or Ebay, they're a lot older.   Caveat emptor. 

First Aid
I decided to leave a couple of boxes of bandaids and pain killers in the cupboard and pack all the rest of the gauze, tape, splints, ace bandages, etc, etc, etc in the 72 hour kit Bug Out Bag.   I included an unopened bottle of ibuprofen.   If we get a first aid book [on my wish list for Christmas], it'll go in there. 

Toiletries
This bag has all the stuff we need so that we don't smell too bad, etc.

• toilet paper [It was the first thing I put in.]
• nail clippers
• tooth brushes and toothpaste
• soap
• deoderant
• hand towels - which can double as wash cloths or bandages
• cotton swabs
• lansinoh
• shampoo, etc. 
• extra matches

Supplies
This is the bag where I put the rest of the stuff we might find very useful.

• buddy burner.   Here are two links that show you how to make one if you want to.  Yes, You Can Grill   and   Root Simple.
• #10 can, cut to use as stove over buddy burner.   I put the burners inside the can for storage.
• matches
• flashlights
• headlamp
• extra batteries for lights
• hand crank flashlight
• water purification tablets.  [This is Indiana, we don't have to worry about finding water out here, just good water.]

Our kits aren't perfect.    I need to put some large plastic bags in there and something to hold water in so that it can be purified.   I need to pack the food bag.    We need to think about portable tools, shelter, etc.  I'm getting a headache just thinking about everything that we might need in case of....whatever.

But here's the deal.   There is a much higher probability of our needing to survive At Home or nearby in an emergency than there is that we would have to bug out.    We can survive out here with no power for a very long time.   In addition, and just as important as food storage, we have established good relations with our neighbors.   If The Big One happens, we're not bugging out - we're going to check on all of our neighbors first.   We'll combine resources and do what we need to keep everyone safe right here.