72 Hour Kits
I am in no way an expert at 72 hour kits. We are beginners and here is where we started. A lot things are bought from Amazon and I tried to make sure they had good reviews. Hopefully this might give you a good starting place too!
BASICS
Not Pictured:
Purchased from Walmart/ Academy:
Head Lamps
Rain Ponchos
Mini bugspray OR Bug Wipes
Work Gloves
Emergency lightsticks
Emergency Blankets
FOOD
The biggest thing when buying food is the date. You want it as far out as possible so check multiple boxes- rifle around the shelves to find the item that lasts the longest. I check and switch out my food every 6 months- April and October. For members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints that's when General Conference is and it's just a good reminder for me when to do it. I keep a spreadsheet of the food and when it expires so I don't have to rifle through everything looking at ALL the dates. Around April & October I look at my spreadsheet and take anything out that will need to be replenished in the next six months so we can eat it before it 'expires'. Then I go out and replenish the food.
The picture of all the food is my very first batch of food. Since then I've had to replenish and restock a couple times since then here is what I buy frequently and what I didn't buy again so you can get an idea.
BUY:
Raisens
Trail mix
Fruit cups
Applesauce
Tuna packets (or chicken but I can't find those!)
Jerky
Granola bars
PB To Go Cups
Life Savers (morale booster and treat)
Oatmeal PACKETS
Van Camps Beanie Weanee pop top cans
Poptarts
Fig Newtons
Baby food pouches for Brooks
Backpacking meals - we only bought 2 each because of space
Ramen
Fruit Roll Ups
Mini Chef Boyardee Cups
DON'T BUY
Oatmeal Cups - takes up too much space
Saltines - Space and easily crushed
Large cans - space, weight and you'll need a can opener. Look for mini pop top cans
Carnation drinks - need milk DUH haha oops!
Cliff bars - I still buy some but not as many. They're hard for us to eat when we switch them out
Skippy PB Bites - space and I think they taste weird?
Werthers Hard Caramels - They melt and turn weird in humidity?
And then of course we have bottled water packed on the sides
PERSONAL
We each have a change of clothes in our bags and hiking shoes are by our bags under the bed (where we store them to grab and go). We each have a gallon zip of travel size personal hygiene. Dan travels enough that we didn't buy most of these, we had them from hotels. We have shampoo, conditioner, lotion, bar of soap, contact solution & case, deodorant, wet wipes, hand sanitizer, chap stick, feminine hygiene products, toothbrush, toothpaste and floss, a hair tie or two and a headband.
BROOKS
I didn't want Brooks' bag to be too heavy because ideally he'd carry it. It's mostly filled with a thing of wipes and 15 diapers (sized up so I don't have to switch them as often). Other things I could fit in there include some food pouches, mini baby shampoo & lotion, flashlight, sanitizer wipes, his eating utensil, a change of clothing (sized up), socks, butt cream (one of those sample pouches), a muslin blanket and a stuffed animal for comfort.
When we started I felt kind of overwhelmed but it slowly gets better! We budgeted the money and slowly started making a plan and accumulating things. Food shopping was the hardest the first time because you're looking at all the dates and buying everything. But replenishing every 6 months is much easier. Through trial and experiment you find what you like and what your family eats. The saying, "How do you eat an Elephant? One bite at a time" was very helpful to me. Baby steps! Good Luck!
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