Last night I had just fallen asleep when a HUGE boom woke me up. Heart racing, wide awake, I watched an AMAZING light show put on by Mother Nature while I tried to go back to sleep. Steve also woke up at the loud boom, jumped up from the bed and took a minute to realize he wasn’t back in Iraq and didn’t have to get to a bomb shelter.

In the morning I found out we had missed all of the excitement. The HUGE bang preceded the lightning that struck the field behind a few friends’ homes and started a fire. We have really wonderful neighbors who did everything they could to help – from calling 911, to grabbing hoses and working to put out the fire, and even taking care of the kids from the houses closest to the fire until it was safe for them to go back home.

Way too much excitement for the middle of the night! One of the fire trucks who responded to the call even lost control on a turn and drove through a few front yards, tearing up the landscaping before regaining control. Steve and I slept through all of it!

As we were getting ready this morning we talked about our reactions to our midnight wake-up call and what we would have done in an actual emergency. Our kids generally know what to do in case of a fire thanks to some unplanned fire drills in the wee hours of the morning, but we haven’t talked with them about any other kind of emergency. Our food storage looks a little more like Mother Hubbard’s cupboard than a well stocked supply. Our 72-hour kits are woefully sparse after we got rid of all of the expired food and haven’t replaced it yet.

Basically we are NOT ready for an emergency.

Luckily for me September is National Preparedness Month! We’re “celebrating” by working on getting our 72-hour kits fixed up.

I know the basics… food, water, first aid, but I want to be prepared in case of emergency. That’s what the kit is for after all. So I’ve been searching for answers and compiling a list of what I need to put in a very well-stocked 72-hour kit. Here is what I have come up with so far.

• water – 1 gallon per person per day
• hand crank radio or battery powered radio and extra batteries
• flashlight and extra batteries
• first aid kit
• whistle to signal for help
• dust mask to help filter contaminated air
• baby wipes, garbage bags, and plastic ties for personal sanitation
• wrench or pliers to turn off electricity
• plastic sheeting and duct tape
• manual can opener for food
• lighter, waterproof matches
• emergency blanket
• clothes, especially cold weather gear
• toothbrushes and toothpaste
• soap – dish soap works as hand soap, shampoo, for washing wounds, and washing dishes
• deodorant
• medications
• eye glasses, contact lenses and supplies
• diapers, wipes, formula, bottles, diaper rash ointment
• feminine supplies
• pet food and extra water for your pet
• water purifier/bleach
• mess kits
• books, games, puzzles or other activities for children
• identification for children, photos and emergency numbers of family members
• cell phone, charger/solar charger
• Important family documents in a waterproof, portable container
• cash
• food, non-perishable and portable

What am I missing? What do you have in your 72-hour emergency kits?

Wouldn’t it be nice if someone else put together a comprehensive emergency kit for you… and you didn’t have to pay a dime??? This could be the day that dream comes true.

Kristina at Mother’s Niche and some other fabulous bloggers and I have all gotten together with Nitro-Pak to talk about Emergency Preparedness AND give away 3 amazing prizes. And believe me, if you want to be prepared, you WANT these prizes!

Nitro-Pak is a premium Emergency Preparedness company. Featured in magazines and newspapers as well as numerous radio and television programs, Nitro-Pak has been recognized as one of the leading authorities in on emergency preparedness and awarded the highest rating a business can be awarded. Nitro-Pak provides high quality and unique products along with excellent customer service.

Now a little more about the THREE amazing prizes they are generously giving away.

Executive 72-hour kit: Nitro-Pak was highlighted in a Wall Street Journal “Catalog Critic” article that selected their Executive 72 Hour Kit as the “Best Overall” kit for completeness and best design compared to a host of other competitor kits. Click here to see what is included.

Mountain House 1 Month Entree Reserve. This one month entree reserve from Mountain House is the perfect unit for those wanting to prepare of a short-term emergency.  Everyday you will have a delicious entree for breakfast, lunch and dinner.  This unit has 12 different meal choices to provide you with plenty of variety.  With a 10+ year shelf life you can rest assured that when disaster strikes and you need good nutritious food, this unit will be ready!

Mountain House 6 Month Supply of Entrees: For those desiring a 6 month supply of Mountain House gourmet tasting foods for one person, this awesome unit was made for you. We included some of every main course entree available. Now you and your family can enjoy fast, delicious tasting meals anytime with no preparation hassles or cooking! Just add water…and eat! We call it ‘no-brainer’ food storage. All Mountain House #10 canned freeze-dried foods have a 30 YEAR Shelf-Life… the LONGEST of ANY storable foods!  No other dehydrated or freeze-dried foods have a longer shelf-life than Mountain House.

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It’s time to get ready for an emergency! What is the next step for you?