72 hour kit

Do you have a 72 hour kit? Chances are, you have most everything you need- just not in one place.

You need food for 72 hours (we'll cover that in another post)

You need a basic first aid kit (again, I'll cover that in another post)

You need alternative cooking/lighting: charcoal or propane grills for the cooking, lighting can be flashlights (don't forget the batteries!), candles, oil lamps, etc. I have all of the above- charcoal grill is smaller, but the gas grill is more expensive to run. Flashlights are kid-safe, but batteries tend to die quickly when little ones have them in their possession. Candles last a LONG time and are portable, but not safe for use with toddlers. Oil lamps last a long time as well, are safer around my kids (they know not to touch them!) but aren't very portable. We also have glow-stick necklaces for the kids. Eventually, I'd like to get some of the solar lights that are meant to be used for walkways.

You need a source of news- a radio is a good resource for this. We've killed two birds with one stone on this one- I have a couple wind-up, LED flashlights with a built-in AM/FM radio.

I'd also look into those battery operated cell phone chargers, if you don't have a car charger or an emergency jump kit (mine has both AC and DC plugs). Remember, if "all circuits are busy" on the phone lines- try texting. You're more likely to get through that way.