Everything You Need For Your Home’s Emergency Kit
When you’re looking to level up your home’s emergency preparedness, one of the best things you can do is assemble an emergency kit. An emergency kit is your go-to set of resources for crises like natural disasters, power outages, accidents, and injuries. An emergency kit should contain everything that you and your family need to stay safe, healthy, and sustained for 72 hours without access to additional resources. If a crisis cuts off your access to food, water, power, and other resources, your emergency kit will provide you both peace of mind and the things you need to keep yourself and your family safe.
In this article, we’ll cover the essentials you need to include in your home’s emergency kit. These items are hand-picked to help you respond to a wide variety of emergencies, from natural disasters and inclement weather to run-of-the-mill at-home injuries like cuts and burns. Putting together an emergency kit takes intentionality and effort, but it’s definitely worth it for the peace of mind. Keep reading to learn more!
Why You Need An Emergency Kit
The stats about Americans’ emergency preparedness aren’t particularly promising. Over 60% of Americans don’t have a plan for responding to a natural disaster. This means the majority of families in the US will potentially be overwhelmed by a crisis when it comes. Fortunately, you do your part in changing the statistics by keeping yourself and your family prepared with a home emergency kit.
The resources in your emergency kit provide you everything you need to stay safe, warm, and nourished in the event of an emergency. Whether or not you live in an area that is often affected by natural disasters, you’re still without a doubt in the market for an upgrade to your home’s emergency preparedness. A crisis can happen at any time, and no matter what it is, you want to be prepared.
Read on to learn ten of the essential items that any emergency kit needs. These items will help to protect your family from the risks and dangers of natural disasters, house fires, dangerous weather, and more.
1. First Aid Supplies
If a member of your family gets injured, your first aid kit is sure to come in handy. Stock your kit with supplies for treating injuries like cuts, scrapes, and burns. A well-stocked first aid kit should include gear for treating wounds like antibiotic ointment, gauze, medical tape, and medical shears. In addition, you’ll want to make sure your kit contains topical anti-itch and burn relief solutions, as well as oral medicines like an antihistamine and non-prescription painkillers like ibuprofen or Tylenol.
2. Biohazard Bag
If you need to handle any form of hazardous waste in your home, a biohazard bag is the perfect way to keep yourself and your family safe. If you’re dealing with hazardous waste, make sure to use gloves and avoid touching your eyes, ears, or mouth. Sanitize your hands with hand sanitizer after handling a bag containing hazardous waste (pro tip: putting hand sanitizer in your home emergency kit is a great idea!).
3. Absorbent Towel
A quick-drying, absorbent towel will come in handy in the event of a spill or other accident. A quick-dry towel is specially designed to absorb liquid and dry more quickly and effectively than a standard towel, and it’s the best option to reach for when you need to clean up a spill as fast as possible.
4. Multi-Tool
No emergency kit is complete without a multi-tool. Instead of attempting to carry around a heavy toolbox for use in emergencies, opt for a multi-tool, which gives you the functionality of many tools rolled into one. A multi-tool contains retractable pliers, a mini saw, a mini knife, a screwdriver, and more.
5. Whistles
Whistles can be used to alert other members of your family that something is wrong. If an emergency happens in the middle of the night, it’s a great move to keep a whistle beside your bed to warn the rest of the family.
6. Duct Tape
Duct tape is the perfect option for making quick repairs to your home in an emergency. If a window gets broken or a leak springs, duct tape will help hold down the fort until you’re able to make permanent repairs. Duct tape is durable and water-resistant, and it can be layered for extra strength.
7. Hand-Crank Radio
If you’re stuck in your home due to dangerous weather conditions or another emergency, a hand-crank radio can help to keep you updated even if you lose power. JUDY’s hand-crank radio also has multiple built-in gadgets, including a flashlight, warning alarm, and USB port for charging your tech.
8. Backup Food And Water
When emergencies happen, it’s important to have backup food and water in case you lose access to groceries, or your power goes out. Your emergency food and water should be non-perishable, meaning it will last for years while stored in your emergency kit until it is needed. When you stock up your emergency kit with food, opt for small items that pack a big punch in terms of calories and nutrition.
One of the best options for non-perishable emergency food is meal replacement bars. These high-calories, high-nutrition bars are designed to take the place of a full meal when you don’t have access to more food. Often used by long-distance hikers and survivalists, each meal replacement bar will give you enough calories and macronutrients (carbs, fat, and protein) to stay full for hours.
You’ll also need to make sure your home’s emergency kit is stocked with water. If you lose access to running water or need to evacuate your home to get to safety, extra water is just as important as food, if not more. Water bottles can expire, compromising the water inside and making it harmful to drink. Water pouches are a better option for your emergency kit, with a much longer shelf life.
9. Flashlight With Extra Batteries
Another key item to keep in your emergency kit for power outages is a flashlight. If your home loses power, it’s best not to rely on your smartphone’s flashlight utility to see, since you want to conserve your phone’s battery life for as long as possible. On top of your hand-crank radio’s built-in light, a battery-powered flashlight can also help you see when you lose power. Boost your emergency preparedness by also adding other sources of light to your home’s emergency kit like matches and glow sticks.
These items and more will all come in handy in a wide variety of common home emergencies. With a well-assembled home emergency kit, you and your family can have peace of mind knowing you’ll be ready if and when a crisis comes up. Your emergency kit can also be carried with you when you travel, packed in your car, or just kept on standby in your home. It pays off to be well prepared and if you want to be even more prepared check out more items you can add here.
Sources:
https://electronics.howstuffworks.com/gadgets/travel
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