The 72-hour kit challenge, week 2

I doubled up on last week's assignment/this week's assignment because I knew I would be pressed for time and money this week. I got the bags at Recreational Outlet for $9.99/ea. I bought two for right now because they are huge. I want to get a backpack on wheels or something of that nature for Mason, but the least expensive one I saw was $49 on clearance, so I will wait and see how much room the larger bags have. I'm also not sure what size will be necessary for the dogs, so I need to get something for their supplies at some point in the future. Our bags don't necessarily fit all the criteria, as lugging them around when full will be pretty hard work. My game plan right now is to use Mason's wagon if I need to put them on wheels. We store it in a fairly accessible place, and it can double for baby transportation when this boy is tired of walking if we have to go for distance. If we get to the point this isn't feasible, I may have to pony up for the large backpack at the Army/Navy Store, but the lease expensive ones there were $30/ea and I wanted a better feel for how this project was going to go before I purchased them.



Week two's assignment is fairly straightforward. We need at least 1 gallon of water for each kit. This is approximately a one day supply according to the reference materials through my work. The suggested item list from the Army/Navy store suggests 1 1/2 gallons total per person, even small children. I'm not sure which is more correct, but I'm also of the opinion to be as liberal as possible while making sure the bag is still portable. I've got a gallon for each of us, plus a gallon for each dog right now. (I plan to start posting some of the Army/Navy suggestions in partner with the other information, because they had some great info for children specifically). Also, for now I bought the generic brand one-gallon jugs of drinking water. Depending on how we want the water to fit into our kit, I may go get a flat of water bottles at some point in the future.

Also, start formulating an emergency plan with and/or for your family. In our case, it will just have to be something Alan and I can agree on, and something we hope Mason can cope with. For families with older children, this might be a more interactive process. We also have the reference materials from our city to help guide us, and if your area doesn't have something similar, I am willing to share via email. I am planning on sitting down to read the book from the health department sometime this week. But the assignment as given to me was to just start thinking about it; there is a week in the future where our assignment is to plan it in detail.
Next week: 1 day's worth of meals per kit