While we all think about planning ahead for emergencies, time gets away from us and sometimes we don't think about it until the emergency happens. That's probably pretty common. However, it takes just a few simple steps, a bit of planning and purchasing essential items to be better prepared - that is, prepared in advance. Here are some tips to help you sort out conflicting information, complex emergency plans and everyday difficulties so you can feel more secure and confident regardless of the situation. The good news is you can easily and inexpensively create emergency kits for your car, home and office. If you do this in advance, it will save you time (and possibly money) later.
Car Emergency Kit
If you spend much time at all on the road, a car emergency kit should go with you. Even if you only drive back and forth to work or around town, it's always a good idea to carry a few important supplies like jumper cables and a flashlight — and of course the usual tire-changing equipment such as a jack, lug wrench and spare tire. Even with the best planning in place, you could end up being stuck by the side of the road for a long period of time, and you'll be glad to have a few basic supplies.
The Department of Motor Vehicles has an excellent car emergency checklist that breaks down items into specific categories. Personal comfort and security items include a blanket, small first aid kit, gloves, bottled water and prepackaged snacks. The repair kit category suggests an assortment of hand tools, including Phillips and flat-head screwdrivers, pliers, vise grips, a tire pressure gauge and a pocket knife. Extra fuses can also be used as a signal for help or to prevent car wrecks.
Home Emergency Kit
Large or small, first aid kits can save the day and it's easy to put together and keep restocked. From minor aches and pains to injuries like blisters, bruises, cuts and scrapes, everyday life is full of reasons to create a well-stocked first aid kit.
Every home should have a first aid kit available in an easy-to-reach location. You can use an old tin or any type of container to hold the items. It's just important that you have it. A typical first aid kit would include bandages of various sizes, a complete collection of medical items from aspirin to splints, scissors and tweezers.
The Red Cross has an instruction booklet available, and its home emergency checklist recommends at least a small first aid kit. This should include an assortment of adhesive bandages, bandage rolls and gauze pads; antibiotic ointment packets and antiseptic wipe packets; aspirin or ibuprofen and Benadryl; disinfectant wipes; hydro cortisone ointment packets and an oral thermometer.
Office Emergency Kit
While it's a good idea to keep a basic first aid kit handy at the office as well, just the basics won't do you much good if you're snowed in or otherwise unable to leave the office to return home. That's when you'll need a few things you don't normally need during your workday.
A backpack is a great choice for holding an office emergency kit suitable for a single individual, but you can also use a duffel bag or other type of container. To take care of a large number of people in your office, you may need an entire storeroom full of such backpacks. with the supplies included A good rule of thumb is that your emergency kit should last at least 3 days.
Start with a good flashlight and purchase extra batteries to make sure you aren't stuck in the dark if the power goes out. You'll also need some nutritional snacks such as granola bars or other snack bars that won't quickly go stale, as well as water purification tablets in case you need to remain in the office for a while. A Mylar emergency blanket and gloves can help save your body heat when the power is out and the temperature drops. A good old-fashioned radio, with or without additional features, allows you to keep up-to-date with disaster response messages. Some radios have hand-cranked power that will allow you to charge small items such as cell phones. Additional items to include are wipes, duct tape, hand cleaner and a multi-tool or army knife.
These are just some ideas to get you going with supplies you can keep in your car, home or office. You can even create customized survival kits for other needs, such as a wilderness survival kit. Many organizations offer longer and more thorough emergency checklists online, and you can purchase ready-made kits that already have everything in them or you can purchase smaller, easy-to-carry emergency kits with just the basics.