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Wednesday, May 4, 2011

More About 72-Hour Kits...

Whenever we have a 72-hour kit class, I enjoy the opportunity to rotate our kits. We have reworked our home space and now I have our kits in a more ideal and accessible place. As I have rotated them this time around (Remember to rotate kits/check contents at General Conference time each spring/fall.) a few things have made an impression on me.

1. FOCUS ON THE BASICS. Resist the urge to get overwhelmed by all the "possibilities". Get a container (such as a backpack) and put the BASIC NEEDS into it. Start with water, food and clothing. Next think of shelter/warmth/hygiene with an emergency reflective-type blanket, poncho and a few hygiene items (washcloth/soap). Now, there's a start. Once you've got all that down, then you can move on.

At one point in my own 72-hour kit repacking, I filled the pack with all my "junk" and then I realized, "Hmm, no room for my food!" That experience helped to inspire this blog entry! I said to myself then, "Simplify, simplify, simplify!"

2. THINK MULTI-LEVEL. Once you have a backpack full of the above, you can fill the rest of the space with the next level of essentials. Maximize the size and weight of your pack to what you know you can carry and do the same for other members of your family. After that is done, you can pack extra packs with even more helpful items. If you are loading your car, then you will have the things you need in one place.

If you are just getting started, then pay attention to #1 above and don't worry about the rest yet. GOOD LUCK!

1 comment:

Jeanne Grant said...

Thanks Kim, AGAIN, for all your good ideas - I will pass this info to my family too.