• Bag

• Water

• Water Filter

• 3 days of food per person

• Blankets or Sleeping Bag/Bivvy

• Battery/Crank Powered Radio

• LED Flashlight

• Extra Batteries

• Small First Aid Kit

• Fire

• Medications/Medical Items

• Personal Hygiene Items

• Family & Emergency Contact Information

• Extra Cash (small bills, don't expect change!)

• Paper Map of the Area

• Fixed Blade Knife

• Good Multi-Purpose Tool

• N95 (or better) Masks (not just for viruses!)

• Change of Season-Appropriate Clothes / Jacket

• Rain Poncho

Bag

This is the most basic building block of your kit. You've got all the supplies, but you need a way to carry them around. We suggest a backpack over any other type of container. Some folks suggest plastic bins, but unless you're sure you're going to be able to transport your supplies via car, it's really not practical. Find a backpack with multiple compartments so you can divide the contents. Additionally, your bag should only be for your 72 hour kit. If you start taking things apart, you're not going to be ready when you need it.

Water**

It's generally suggested that each person needs 1 gallon of water per day to cover drinking and sanitation. This is great if, again, you have a vehicle to move everything. (Can all your children carry 25 pounds of water?) We suggest for your portable kit to have at least 3 liters if possible and then to obtain a water filter, which we'll discuss next.

Water Filter

This is where you can really save weight and they are readily available. Our #1 recommendation is the Sawyer mini filter that can be found for around $20. When our city water was deemed unsafe for several days we lived off one of these. They even come with a pouch to carry water in. (And you can connect it directly to your plastic bottles, too!) Another popular option is the Lifestraw.

3 days of food per person

A lot of folks suggest packing cans of food. As a former member of a mountain emergency response team, I can tell you from (bad) experience that those get really heavy, really fast. MREs are great (but fairly expensive) or things like ramen and other soup packets are great. If you really want to save weight and space, consider something like these emergency rations. They may not taste amazing, you will probably be hungry, but they'll get you through 72 hours. If you do go the canned route, make sure to take a small can opener like these military issue ones.

Blankets (Mylar, Preferably) or Bivvy

Fundamentally, you should have some kind of blanket in your kit. We recommend mylar specifically because they're super lightweight and small while still being surprisingly warm. I once got through a miserable few days of snow camping with one of these and a pitifully light sleeping bag. Before I pulled this out, I was worried about hypothermia. These area great and cheap - you can get them for less than $1 each if you buy in bulk. (Keep extras because they tear easily!) Caveat: they're pretty noisy. Another great option is an emergency bivvy. We really love this one.

Battery/Crank Powered Radio

You're going to want to listen to local news reports while you're waiting things out. Personally, we recommend getting a small battery powered radio since they're a) lighter and b) smaller. Try to find one that uses AA batteries and has built in weather channels and weather alert. (Something like this.)

Flashlight

Extremely important. Get a small one (one or two AA batteries) and find something that has a clip in case you need to go "hands free" for a while. We recommend one for each family member, even just for redundancy. When it comes to flashlights "two is one and one is none". If they fail, you're in the dark. You can get 3 AA flashlights for around $10 that are "pretty good" or if you're willing to spend a bit more, we've had excellent service from our Fenix E12.

Extra Batteries

You'll need them. We recommend finding some rechargable ones and a solar charger so you can soak up some juice during the day. Additionally, we recommend selecting ALL electronics (flashlight, radio, etc) that use the same type of batteries (AA is suggested) since then you'll only have to carry around one type for everything. Additionally, do not store batteries in electronics!

Fire

Specifically, a way to make it. We recommend some simple firestarters (like cotton balls in petroleum jelly) plus an ignition source. Waterproof storm matches (in a round, plastic container - not the boxed ones) or some simple Bic lighters are fine. We prefer a fire striker since they don't break, run out of fuel, or lose effectiveness over time. Learn how to use it and make some cheap fire starters, and you can't go wrong.

Small First Aid Kit

This doesn't have to be big and fancy, but get what you're comfortable with (or trained for.) You can get a pretty robust first aid kit for around $20. At minimum, plan for some scrapes and bruises and something you can use as a sling. (A shemagh works great for this and does triple duty helping keep you warn or cool!) Attending a first aid class goes a long way helping you be prepared for this.

Notebook & Pen/Pencil

You might be surprised to find how often you want to jot something down - even if it's just exchanging contact information with the fun couple you met at the evac shelter. Also, it can be very therapeutic to write your thoughts. Kids also might like having something to draw with. Pencils are generally preferred to pens since you can sharpen them with a knife and they will never dry out. If you do select pens, make sure you test them regularly! (I've had good luck with Fisher Space Pens lasting a long time without being used.) There are even waterproof notebooks, too.

Medications

Make sure you factor in any medication needs for your family members. Getting to a Red Cross shelter to discover you don't have an inhaler for your son with asthma can be terrifying. Set aside what you may need and make sure to stay on top of the expirations and keep rotating them! It's a good idea to identify some over the counter things you may need, as well. (Allergy medicines, etc.) A decent fist aid kit will help cover some of these items.

Family & Emergency Contact Information

It's a good idea to keep an address book of those people you're most likely going to want to contact - even if they're stored in your phone already.

Extra Cash

Try to set aside around $100 in small bills. If you need to haggle with someone about getting a gallon of gas, odds are they're not going to be giving you any change.

Paper Map of the Area

Be prepared to find a location without the use of your cell phone. In the event of a disruption of cell phone service, you may not be able to get data to locate addresses. Learn how to find your way without electronics.

Fixed Blade Knife

Find a good, full-tang, stainless steel knife with a fixed handle. More reliable than a folding knife and easier to use. You can get an excellent knife for $20 (field tested by yours truly) and they're super easy to sharpen, to boot. As an added bonus, it's orange so it's easy to find. Check out this one.

Good Multi-Purpose Tool

DO NOT substitute your fixed-blade knife with one of these. They're a great tool, but they generally are poor knives. (Plus, you want a backup knife which this will provide.) We say "good" because a lot of the cheaper ones out there can break easily when actually put to use.

N95 (or better) Masks

Fire, earthquake, etc. Odds are there are going to be some type of pollutant in the air you probably don't want to breathe in. The amount of dust kicked up by an earthquake, for example, can be pretty intense. N95 masks filter out 95% of particulate matter. If you really want to be safe, try to find a P100 mask, which filters out 99.97%. (Those are usually full respirators, but they do make some disposable ones.)

Change of Clothes / Jacket

Being dirty and/or wet is miserable. Make sure to pack extra clothes for everyone - especially socks and underwear. Walking around with wet feet is a good way to have problems. This set of clothes would ideally represent the current season that you're going into, so is a good candidate to update regularly. (Not to mention growing out of things.)

Rain Poncho

Again, anything is better than nothing, but we like a slightly heavier-duty one with grommets that can double as a tarp, if necessary, such as this one.