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Thread: Unusual Types of Preparedness Kits?

  1. #11
    Senior Member herbgeek's Avatar
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    I keep my picnic kit in my road trip bag.

  2. #12
    Williamsmith
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    I’d be interested in an explanation as to why you only pack a limited basic first aid kit for a natural disaster such as a tornado. There are lots of injuries of a severe nature that occur with the flying debris. Unless I missed it.

    As far as the insignificance of rural crime, if you live in a neighborhood where you can trust all your neighbors during a crisis ....I tip my hat to you. Desperate people do desperate things. Prepared people are often targeted for theft and plunder. That’s why I was surprised you felt no need for security measures.

  3. #13
    Tea
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    Space, cost (most of my more expensive first aid stuff is stored in the car kits, where I feel it's over all more likely to be needed) and the fact that we have a very safe roofed over storm bunker built in to the bottom of a deep basement, so the worst injuries members of my household would likely encounter would be getting cut on broken glass afterward or something. Sure, it would be great to have a more comprehensive first aid kit for helping neighbors in need, but it's not really my responsibility to spend a fortune stockpiling gear for other people, either. When you have as many different emergency kits tucked around as I do, and put them together on a tight budget, they cannot all have the best of everything, and compromises need to be made. Also, the seven houses that are close enough I think of them as "neighbors" include two police officers and one firefighter/EMT so it's not as if we're the only ones with first aid supplies on hand.

    And yes, I trust people I've known all my life not to kill me for food that I'm willing to share anyway. At least, not in the hours immediately after an event like a tornado that only strikes a small area, when they know that help is on the way. . . What a sad world it would be if that were a real concern. We've experienced severe weather and prolonged power outages before, and everyone came together most admirably, as people generally do in such situations.

  4. #14
    Senior Member bae's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Tea View Post
    .... it's not really my responsibility to spend a fortune stockpiling gear for other people, ...


    Also, the seven houses that are close enough I think of them as "neighbors" include two police officers and one firefighter/EMT so it's not as if we're the only ones with first aid supplies on hand.
    Hmmm.

    One of these things is not like the other.

  5. #15
    Senior Member bae's Avatar
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    Another preparedness kit:

    The active shooter kit.

    Contents:

    body armor
    spare magazines with ammo
    lots of tourniquets and gauze
    some NPA airways
    needle decompression kits
    chest seals
    quickclot
    spare trauma shears
    triage markers
    flashlights and chemlights
    Sharpie

  6. #16
    Tea
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    I wasn't suggesting that WE were counting on their help, more that they should, at a minimum, be able to take care of their own families. Also, some of the gear they have is paid for by state or local government - tax dollars - not out of their own pockets. So yes, when it comes to helping OTHER NEIGHBORS who may be injured and unprepared, it is more the responsibility of the trained professionals who have professional gear on hand, paid for by state and county tax money, than it is mine.

    Many people have no after tornado plan whatsoever, and the fact that I have made sure my own household is prepared enough not to be a burden - and to even be a small help to our community - does not in any way obligate me to prepare for any possible emergency that any of the neighbors might have following a storm. That would be a ridiculous burden to put on any individual household.

  7. #17
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    We do a lot of outdoor activities during warm weather, so I always keep a light blanket, sunscreen, bug spray, water bottles, and personal fans in the car. I usually have a pair of socks and shoes as well since my daughter tends to walk around either barefoot or in flip flops. We have pulled up to a restaurant and realized my daughter was barefoot, and there have been a few times where she needed socks and/or real shoes and only had sandals. I also keep a spare charger and cords for our phones. My hotel kit is a personal DVD player for the ride there and that cord so we can plug the dvd player into the hotel tv to watch movies, and microwave popcorn. Sometimes I even have to bring a microwave. I bought a small one just for traveling.

    I keep a wind-up/battery operated weather radio and spare phone charger with cords in our basement since we are in tornado country. We had a mattress and some patio furniture down there just in case, and then one of my daughter's friends started a rumor that we had a hostage so my husband put an end to the mattress and furniture. Lol. All of our camping supplies are down there, so we could just pull out the sleeping bags and air mattresses if we needed to. I just wanted something that would soften the blow if things started flying around and a mattress might work for that.

    I use a smallish tackle bag to keep our first aid kit in our car. I use it more than I thought I would although it is usually for someone else's kid.

  8. #18
    Tea
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    I used to have one of those wind-up radios, but it only lasted a year before being stored in a cold basement ruined it's rechargeable battery. I was pretty annoyed, as the thing was not cheap! Maybe someday I will try again with a different model, and hope for better results. Meanwhile my plug in weather radio that's in use all the time has a long lasting lithium back-up battery, so works during power outages, but it is up in the main house where batteries actually keep. Our basement is weird and deep like some sort of cave/bomb shelter/I don't know what, lol, so not a lot of things store well down there. It probably would not have been my choice if having one put in myself, but it's good to know we are completely and totally safe from any storm, at least.

    If you have a basement where things could start flying around, I can see why you liked having a mattress for extra protection. Another thing I have seen recommended is to put an old/spare bike helmet or sports helmet for each member of the family in your storm shelter. Put them on during a tornado to help prevent head injuries. I believe that's particularly recommended if you don't have any basement and have to resort to using a closet as a shelter, but hey, if you don't feel like your basement is deep enough or it's not reinforced overhead, it couldn't hurt to take extra precautions, right? It seems like most people with kids have more helmets lying around than they are actually using regularly.

    Personal fans - good idea, could come in useful if you ever ended up sitting in a bad traffic jam on a hot day, and your air conditioning wasn't working well. And, of course, for regular use at public events.

    Kudos for packing shoes for your daughter - I remember my sister doing that all the time when we were kids, getting to a restaurant with our grandparents or something, and the grownups realizing too late that she had no shoes! You are a thoughtful and prepared parent.

  9. #19
    Williamsmith
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    I would adjust your kit to incorporate security or self defense options. Add a tactical pen made of aerospace grade aluminum with a sharp point you could use to discourage an unexpected visitor with bad intentions. A multi tool with an impact end for breaking out windshields and a cutting tool for seatbelt extractions. A reliable folding knife with a clip for everyday carry on your person at all times. A flashlight that is rechargeable by USB and small enough to comfortably carry everyday clipped inside your other pocket. I have a 600 lumen O-light that has a strobe setting and two intensity settings. The strobe is a great self defense tool as well as a locator for searchers. A watch for everyday carry as well. A small pistol that could be stored in a secured safe inside your vehicle and accessed if needed. Small enough to be carried on your person in a disaster situation and never available to any children.

  10. #20
    Senior Member catherine's Avatar
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    As far as the insignificance of rural crime, if you live in a neighborhood where you can trust all your neighbors during a crisis ....I tip my hat to you. Desperate people do desperate things. Prepared people are often targeted for theft and plunder. That’s why I was surprised you felt no need for security measures.
    Quote Originally Posted by Tea View Post
    And yes, I trust people I've known all my life not to kill me for food that I'm willing to share anyway. At least, not in the hours immediately after an event like a tornado that only strikes a small area, when they know that help is on the way. . . What a sad world it would be if that were a real concern. We've experienced severe weather and prolonged power outages before, and everyone came together most admirably, as people generally do in such situations.
    I'm more closely aligned with Tea on this. I'm thinking about my Vermont neighborhood, where we have 9 neighbors. As most of you know, I've only known my new neighbors for one year, but I've already said something like "If there were ever a nuclear war, I'm glad I'm up here with these guys." They are so savvy with survival skills. Whereas our neighbors in New Jersey would call AAA to jump a car battery (even I can do that!), these guys hunt for dinner, chop wood for winter fuel, they know how to pull lake water up for greywater use in their homes, they can build a shed with electricity over the course of two weekends. One's a roofer, one's an electrician, and they all have tremendous "smarts" when it comes to these basic living skills. Even their 13 year old kids are amazingly savvy. I honestly don't know what I have to offer, except some veggies, fruits and herbs from my home garden.

    And, if it came to a short-term weather event, I know they would have my back. I don't know what would happen if society decayed to a Lord of the Flies environment, but I'm certainly not prepping for that.

    ETA: In answer to the OP question, I actually have no preparedness kit except for overstock from Costco and a bunch of tea lights. The omission is not intentional. I should get around to it at some point. I'd start with a solar emergency radio. I've been meaning to get one ever since Hurricane Sandy. DH and I have never owned a gun, but I do have mace from when I ordered 3-4 different kinds for my daughter when she lived in a quasi-shady neighborhood in DC.
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