Don’t forget that all of this information can be found in our Emergency Preparedness Plan Workbook which contains simple checklists to help you develop your family’s emergency plan (download in excel format or pdf format).

Step 2: Water

• Empty out your water jugs, check for leaks or cracks
• Refill the jugs with fresh water and add bleach if your water is not chlorinated
• Purchase a new bottle of bleach for emergency purification if your current bottle is expired

Emergency Preparedness Plan

• Change out the perishable food items from your 72 Hour Kit
• Update seasonal or outgrown clothing in Disaster Kits for young children
• Remind your family of your Family Emergency Plan

In case you missed the infamous 72 hour outtakes video

If you have an infant or a toddler at home, consider including these items as you put together your disaster and 72 hour kits for your family:

• Instant formula. Make sure to buy the kind you do not need to mix with water. Also, track expiration dates and rotate through them frequently.
• 5 small bottles for the formula. You can fill them with purified water to provide extra drinking water in your kit.
• Refrigerated bottle bag. This is helpful in case you get the chance to warm up or cool down the formula you can keep it at that temperature for around 4 hours.
• Plenty of diapers. The exact number needed depends on the age of your child. I recommend including about 20 disposables and also 3 cloth ones that can be washed, dried and reused in case you run out.
• A travel package of wipes. These are great for washing as well. If you have space I’d recommend just storing a full box of wet wipes.
• Pacifiers. Put in two just in case. If you’re stressed the baby will probably be stressed and it’s a comfort for them.
• 3 cotton/flannel wraps, and 2 muslin wraps.
• Baby food. Depending on the age of your child you will probably want to include some jars of baby food. Once your baby can eat mostly regular foods just pop these out of your kit.
• Washcloths. Stored around 10 small ones, it’s an eventuality, you’ll require them at some point.
• Small comfort toy/s. If you child has a specific toy or blanket that he/she really loves, try to grab that in an emergency. But if you can’t, then try to have a usable substitute that will help comfort the child in lieu of their favorite item.
• Clothes – and plenty of them! This is a tough one as babies grow so fast. One trick I recommend is that as you swap out their closets to put in the next size of clothes to remember to do that in the disaster kit at the same time. Make sure to include clothes for all types of weather and include lots of spares.
• Ziplock bags. These work great for storing used diapers or anything else that is dirty, or clean for that matter.
• Bulb nose syringe and saline. Saline loosens mucous and syringe sucks water/mucous/misc out of ears, nose, mouth etc. You never know if you’ll need one so it’s great to keep in your kit.
• Infant tylenol/motrin. It never fails that kids get sick as soon as you are somewhere WITHOUT your medicine. So this is a definite requirement for any child disaster kit.
• Desatin or other diaper rash cream and travel-sized baby powder. The last thing you’d want in an emergency situation is a sore bum and nothing to treat it with. This will be especially useful if you have to resort to using cloth diapers.

The most important thing to remember is to always be thinking about what is appropriate for your child’s age and stage of development. For example, if your child is no longer drinking bottles then there is no reason to keep formula in your disaster kit.

What should I include in my Emergency Binder?

• birth certificates
• passports
• social security cards
• copies of your credit cards front and back
• homeowners insurance policy
• auto insurance policy
• life insurance policy
• bank statements
• retirement statements
• internet passwords (banking, personal, work etc)
• immunization records
• utility statements
• work/tax documents that would be difficult to replace
• CASH – keep a variety of small bills on hand

We like to put each item in a sheet protector and add divider labels to put them into sections. This makes it easy to pull things in and out when you need to access them.

Do I store copies or originals? This is a personal choice but we recommend storing the originals IN your emergency binder and store photocopies of them in a filing cabinet, and also scan a digital copy and give it to a trusted friend or put it in a safe deposit box. If your house burnt down or was flooded it would be so relieving to know that you don’t have to go through the hassle of replacing those documents. If you already have a water/fireproof filing cabinet or safe you may choose to just put copies in your binder so that you can have the information on hand in an emergency but know that you can return home and find the originals intact at a later time.

What should I store my binder in? Even though the idea is to grab the disaster kit and bring it with you, there is always the chance that you won’t be home during an emergency. In this scenario you would still want to return home and find your binder in good condition (especially if your original documents are IN the binder). We recommend storing your binder in a fireproof/ waterproof locked box that is small enough to be transported with you in an emergency.

P.S WE ARE GETTING A LOT OF GOOD IDEAS IN THE COMMENTS HERE, MAKE SURE YOU READ THEM.