Dollar Store Surprise!

• Water Bottle (it's even BPA free!)

• Fixed-blade (kitchen) knife with sheath

• Plastic utensil set

• Tarp

• 25' Rope

• Neck gaiter

• Whetstone (sharpening stone)

• Dust masks

• Hand sanitizer

• Notebook & pens

• Zip ties

• Ziploc-style bags

• Glow light sticks

• Pocket knife/multi-tool

• Feminine hygeine pads

• 8 pack of travel-sized Kleenex

• Flashlight with spare batteries

• Duck tape

• Wet wipes

• Ibuprofen

• Elastic bandage

• Plastic box of band-aids

• Lip balm

• Petroleum jelly

• Cotton balls

• 2 pack Bic lighters

• Shower curtain

• 3 pack of small round plastic jars

• Drawstring backpack

Water Bottle

Yep, it holds water! I mean, it's not a Nalgene, but for $1, it works great.

Fixed-Blade Kitchen Knife

We recommend a fixed-blade knife for your kit. Honestly, this is just a cheap kitchen knife, but it might work in a pinch. I wouldn't expect to do a lot of whittling with it. But, it does at least have a cover so you're less likely to cut yourself.

Plastic Utensil Set

We love this! We found them in the childrens' section but they're super light and surprisingly sturdy.

Tarp

Nothing special about this. But, it has grommets and would work for a makeshift shelter.

Rope

Came on a flat spindle which is kinda nice since you could re-wrap it and maybe save some headaches. I doubt this is rated to hold a person, but would sure work for a shelter or clothes line.

Neck Gaiter

Keeps the sun off & works as a makeshift mask to help with blowing dust. It's not very thick material so it probably won't help a lot in the winter, but something is better than nothing.

Whetstone (Sharpening Stone)

Cannot believe they had one of these here for $1. I haven't tried it yet, but it seems to be similar to others out there that cost a lot more. Again, for 72 hours it's plenty. (And maybe too much given the weight.)

Dust Masks

Doubt these are N95 certified, but they're better than nothing. Pack of 2.

Hand Sanitizer

A pretty substantial sized bottle. Enough for your whole family. We pumped some of it into the small containers we got.

Notebook and Pens

Nothing special here. They were separate, so $1 each. But the pens were in a 4 pack with different colors, which is nice.

Zip Ties

The ultimate handyman's helper. They aren't on our must-haves list, but maybe they should be!

"Zip" Bags

Not name-brand, but they'll do for organizing things inside your pack.

Glow Sticks

I want to say it was a pack of 4, but can't rememer for sure. They didn't last very long, but long enough to be useful.

Pocket Knife Multi-tool

The first big flop. Just complete junk. Very flimsy "steel" and if you pulled the knife blade out you couldn't get it closed again without wiggling the scissors. Absolutely stay away from these. We threw ours away so it's not in the picture.

Feminine Hygeine Pads

Got a travel size that is perfect for a small kit. Protip: these are amazing wound dressings, as well. Place directly on the wound and then wrap with an elastic bandage or vet wrap to hold it on.

Kleenex

Got an 8 pack of travel size. Enough to put one in every family member's kit.

Flashlight and Batteries

Again, this was $1 each, so $2 for both. The flashlight is cheap, but we did test that it works. It even has a "lantern" on the side that works well for creating an area light. The batteries were an 8 pack of AA. Probably won't last long in storage OR use, but they do work.

Duck/Duct Tape

The roll is physically large, but with a very small amount of actual tape. Recommend smashing it flat to save space, or filling the center with something you don't want smashed.

Wet Wipes

Great for freshening up. There are actually 40 in the resealable pack, so these are great!

Ibuprofen, Lip Balm

$1 each. Nothing to write home about. We didn't really care for the lip balm, but as an added bonus it does have some SPF protection.

Elastic Bandage

We didn't take it out of the packaging, but it seems like it'll do the job.

Bandages

Not actual Band-Aid brand, but they did have an assortment that came in a small plastic box, so they're durable and already organized for you.

Petroleum Jelly & Cotton Balls

$1 each, of course, but these will make enough fire starters to make many fires! Put them in the zip bags and you're good to go!

Lighters

2 pack of actual Bic lighters. We kept them in the packaging simply to avoid them being activated and depleted by sitting in a bag.

Shower Curtain (Poncho!)

Come again? Yep! Cut a hole in the center and use it as a makeshift poncho. (Which they didn't have.) Cut off the magnets at the bottom, tape them to the sides, and you can mitigate the gap on the sides of the poncho.

Plastic Storage Jars

Perfect for holding small items. We used some for hand sanitizer so as to not take the full pump bottle.

Drawstring Backpack

Oh man. Massive flop #2. Got it all loaded up with everything we bought and went to tighten it up and the strings literally fell apart. File this one under never. I'd rather trust some doubled up garbage bags than these things.