:: Be Prepared :: Acquire - Step Four ::

Thank you for joining Gavin, myself, and everyone participating in this challenge. Here is the original post, outlining the challenge. Over 4 weeks, we hope to inspire you to find out more, and take on tasks to help you get more prepared, using the OARS method - Organise, Acquire, Restock, and Spread the Word. It’s about creating awareness, and finding motivation to do it!

Week Two - Acquire - Posts So Far

Acquire - Step One (Task 1 - Consider what you will need)

Acquire - Step Two (Task 2 - Set up your Storage area, Task 3 - Gather & Make an Inventory of What you Have)

Acquire - Step Three (Task 4 - Gather Items for Stay at Home supplies)

Acquire - Step Four (Task 5 - Put together Emergency Kits for Evacuation)

Emergency kits which are set up for situations where you need to evacuate are called Grab Bags, Go Bags, Bug Out Bags, 72-hour Kits, Survival Kits, and possibly other things too! The idea is, if you & your family had to evacuate, how would you take the essential items with you, possibly in a big hurry? How would you cater for all of the essentials of living, including water, food, shelter, health care, communication, hygiene, heating/ lighting, safety and sanity, if you had to evacuate from the comfort & safety of your home and supplies? 

We are trying to set up a evacuation system that allows us to take:

• alot of things in a car (our grab bags, food supplies kit, water, perhaps some pillows, doonas, clothing & toys, maybe some boxes or suitcases with our valuables and sentimental items)
• a few things in backpacks (if you had no car or had to leave it)
• very minimal things (if you had no other choice but to leave without a car, and dump your main packs too)

To do this, we will have the main backpack, with a daypack attached, or within the main pack, then a smaller bum-bag or mini kit within that. We have backpacks, as they are easy to carry, have plenty of room, and places to organise things. The larger one, I travelled for 4 years around the world with, and the other (pictured above) I got in great condition from an op shop priced at $6. We are still setting up our Grab bags & evacuation supplies, which was on reason I wanted to do this challenge!

Again, there are quite a few lists out there already, and you may like to refer to:

Wikipedia - Bug Out Bag
Wikipedia - Survival Kits
Family Survival Planning - 72 Hour Kit
The 5 S's of any Emergency Kit

Water

• Bottled water
• Water purification (betadine, bleach, filter bottle, steripen)
• Sturdy drink bottle (to refill)
• Sachets of water flavourings

Food

• Energy bars, Barley sugar lollies, Chocolate
• No cook food (sachets or tins)
• Perhaps cup of soups/ tea sachets & enamel mug each
• If you want to have food that requires boiling water, you might pack a small camping gas cooker & camp pot OR matches/ flint/ fire starters

Shelter & Clothing

• Tent or Swag
• Tarps & ropes
• Clothes that can be layered, or are lightweight but durable fabrics (like polar fleece) such as tshirts, leggings, cardigans or jackets, hikers pants that zip off to be shorts, don't forget underwear and socks
• Sneakers

Health care

• First aid kit
• Pain relief/ antihistamines
• Sunscreen
• Repellant
• Supplies of your prescription medicine
• Supplies specific to kids & babies

Communication

• Mobile phone & charger (solar charger)
• Coins or phone card
• Whistle/ signal mirror
• Dynamo/ solar radio, or radio with spare batteries
• Contact numbers or small address book with details of emergency services, and family/ friends/ loved ones

Hygiene

• Small toiletries bag with basics
• Wet wipes
• Antibacterial hand gel
• Face washers, or Pure wipes tube
• Plastic bags, zip lock bags, or washable 'wet bags' (for dirty clothes/ other items)
• Roll of toilet paper
• Ipood Shovel, or folding camp shovel

Heating/ Cooling & Lighting

• Sleeping bag/ rolled up polar fleece blanket
• Space blanket (silver emergency blanket)
• Personal fan (solar or battery powered)
• Hats (broad brimmed ones, that can fold inside grab bag)
• Bandana or large hankerchief (to wet & put around neck/ forehead)
• Dynamo/ solar torch
• Dynamo/ solar lantern

Safety

• Whistle/ compass hiking (or camping) tool
• Disposable (latex) gloves
• Personal alarm

Sanity

• Playing cards
• Lightweight kids books/ colouring in books & pencils with sharpener
• Crossword puzzle book
• Comfort toy

Also include

• An Attached List (of what to grab at the last minute)
• Cash (small notes, some change)
• Your folder or container of Important Documents 
• Multipurpose Tool, or Swiss Army Knife

Car Kits

You may want to keep one of your grab bags, or a seperate grab bag, always in your car, if you have one. If you are caught out when driving, or the emergency means you cannot get home, you will have all the basics, such as those listed above.

Food Supplies Kit

• A box near your stockpile & gear, that you store No Cook food, or Instant meals, or MRE's (Meals, Ready to Eat) and some basic utensils/ plates/ cups & a can opener (if required)
• You might allow spare room...for last minute additions of tinned food too.

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This week I still have to cover:

• Stockpiling Food
• Refine your Needs lists & Make shopping check lists
• Work out your budget