Car Emergency Kit Do-Over

This week we are working on updating our car kits and our evacuation plans as part of the Food Storage Do-Over 2015. I have been working a lot on trying to figure out the best car kit situation for my family. I put together a small kit for my husband to keep in the car that he drives because we don’t usually have the children if we are driving that car. I have a much more intensive kit that we keep in the van that includes items for the entire family. I’ll show you details of each kit below.

car-kit-do-over

Family Car Kit

For the basics I bought an Auto Emergency kit similar to this one. Here’s everything that was included in the kit:

The basic kit came with a little bit of water and a 3600 calorie meal bar. I supplemented with some additional snacky foods that my kids would like. The fruit pouches from Thrive Life are great snacks with a long shelf life.

I made a little coffee can heater to provide some warmth. The toilet paper goes in the smaller can and then you pour the alcohol over it and it will burn cleanly and provide a little warmth. It all stores inside the larger can. (For an advanced tutorial on this check out this tutorial)

Next I looked at all of the emergency tools and supplies. A lot of good things were included in the basic kit. I added a compass, some extra fire starter tools, an all-in-one tool, a headlamp, a couple flashlights, and a radio. I like the hand-crank items so I don’t have to worry about batteries.

For keep warm and covered we needed more than the basic kit provides. I bought enough emergency blankets for each member of the family. I also threw in some extra blankets and an old comforter in the back of the van. I have a tube tent and also a tarp and extra rope. They won’t be awesome shelters but are better than nothing! Hand warmers and foot warmers are great too.

The basic car kit had a small first aid kit. I supplemented that with a few of my own items like children’s medicines, cough drops, wet wipes, carmex, etc. I figure those things are great for those little everyday emergencies, I might as well throw them in.

Last but not least, spare shoes. My kids are notorious for running out of the house in bare feet and I sometimes don’t notice it until we are at a store, restaurant, etc. Well if there was an emergency and we had to WALK far, they would be in trouble. I went to a second hand store and bought one size too big for each child and a pair of cheap running shoes for myself. (I often am out and about in high heels and wouldn’t want to have to walk far in those). I’d like to add spare sweatshirts or jackets for each child too but I didn’t get that far yet. I also threw in a card game and an extra water filter bottle.

I put everything in a large rubbermaid bin and it resides permanently in the back of the van.

Individual Car Kit

For the basics I bought a second Auto Emergency Kit, then I filled an animal cracker container from Costco with everything else. It’s a great sturdy little container and can fit a lot of stuff. Here is a list of things I added: