Oh dear. I was afraid someone would ask me about my bug-out bag. These bags seems to be high on the list of must-haves for preparedness and I rarely give mine thought. I happen to live in a very safe area geographically. We rarely have floods, wildfires, earthquakes, tornadoes or hurricanes. I can’t actually remember any of these things happening. I suppose they are possible theoretically but I just don’t worry about them.
I do have a child who depends on daily medication. If I had to get out of the house in a rush, say like in a fire, I would grab the med box, which I keep near the front door, and get out. I have a fire proof safe that holds my important papers. If I could get those things out I would but in a fire I would have to trust the safe. That being said, I do a keep my car stocked with some important items that are many of the things one would find in a bag. I could imagine being stranded in my car during a blizzard so keeping that stocked makes sense to me.
I keep basic food and water. I stick with fruit and grain bars, hard candy, tea, sugar, bullion cubes and water bottles. I take out the hard candy in the summer as it melts in the heat. What a mess! I have a folding shovel, a basic first aid kit, a mess kit and a folding stove, fuel cannister and waterproof matches. I have a flashlight, a poncho and a space blanket for each of us, a couple of emergency flares and a tub tent. I keep a folding saw and handcrank radio with a cell phone charger and emergency light and siren in my kit as well. I have a leatherman and a whistle in my purse.
With this stuff in my car, I only keep toiletries, some cash, a change of clothes, an individual mess kit and a bit more food in our bags. My house is the bug out destination. We have another house in a town about 30 minutes from here as well as some land for camping, some nearby and some about an hour away, that I could go to if necessary. I have worked to make this place sustainable in a crisis so I would not have to leave.
The first thing anyone interested in this subject should do is assess their risks. If you live down wind from a nuclear power plant, in a wildfire zone, a flood plane, tornado alley, hurricane territory or in or near a city, evacuation is possible and you want much better bug out bags than I have. You also want a destination. Maybe you can work out a swap agreement with another family and preposition supplies there. What you want to avoid is going to a shelter if at all possible. That being said, do not put off going to a shelter if you are at risk. It is better than staying in a dangerous place. The key is too evacuate sooner rather than later to avoid the rush. Make sure you have some cash. If the power is out your plastic money is worthless and cash will be king. Also keep your car with a full tank of gas, in good repair and park facing out so you can make a quick get away.
As for what to tell your children. I think we put too much worry on the shoulders of young children. I just do the whole fire escape drill with the girls but I don’t make a huge deal out of it. They know how to get out from every room, and how to use the escape ladder. Karen knows to get Phoebe if one of us is not there. But the truth is that in a real fire, one of the girls might panic. I know Bruce and I would take crazy chances to get our kids out in a fire.
The one thing that makes me crazy is seeing people who know a disaster is eminent, waiting until the last minute to evacuate and then trying to pack the family jewels in the back of a sub-compact while the flames lick their feet.
June 16, 2009 at 8:14 am
Fascinating. I really appreciate you talking about this, as it’s fairly new stuff to me. Before the world came unhinged and the children came along, I never gave this stuff a second thought. With North Korea, recessions, and all that garbage going on, it’s on my mind all the time.
We live in Ohio so as far as assessing our risks, we could have about anything happen LOL. We had the remnants of a hurricane last fall (yes, in Ohio) and lost power for 7 days. We’ve had blizzards, windstorms, major tornados, mini earthquakes, we live fairly close to Wright-Patterson Air Base (possible objective for angry terrorists/locals?). I would say the only event we don’t have to plan for is a flood as we’re at the highest elevation in our county.
It sounds like I’m close to having things together based on what you’ve written. Vital papers and family jewels (kids’ baby pictures downloaded onto an external harddrive) need some work, but I think I have the food, toiletries and shelter part ready. We do need to figure out *where* we’d evacuate to in an emergency as our families live quite close and would likely be evacuating too if the worst happened.
Thanks for the post…gives me a lot to thank about!
June 16, 2009 at 8:19 am
“My house is the bug out destination.”
I love that! Maybe I need to concentrate more on bugging out my home instead of my bags!
June 16, 2009 at 10:54 am
I’ve been concentrating on stocking my home and making it ready, but I have put off the bug out bag. Needless to say, living in CA, I just might really need this item. In fact, I had to sign a document stating that I understood we were building our home in a fire hazard area – I laughed. All of CA is a fire hazard! I also live on a fault line. But my big concern is having my car ready because we are so far out I often feel like something could happen while I’m away from my home and I might get caught out in the middle of nowhere unprepared. Kathy, I’m impressed at what you keep in your car. Does it really all fit in there? I’m guessing that a lot of the items are compact, but can you make suggestions of how to get it all in the car and still have room for the Costco run or trip to the Co-op (not to mention kids!)?
June 16, 2009 at 11:35 am
The space blankets and the ponchos have never been open and they are not a lot bigger than a deck of cards. The shovel is still in the box and it too is not large. I fit everything in the back of the van in a bin that is perhaps half the size of a Rubbermaid tote. The flashlights and the radio are in the front door side compartments. It doesn’t really take up that much space. The water is stashed under the kids seats and they are always getting into it. I finally insisted they take their own water bottles and leave the emergency stuff alone. I must say that if I am going to BJ’s, the tote may stay home.
June 16, 2009 at 9:33 pm
I understand not having a bug out bag, since I live in the same area. I do keep the car stocked with what I might need, but otherwise the BOB isn’t needed. Of course, now you’ll have to go into “everyday carry” lol
June 21, 2009 at 10:00 am
We have a few basic supplies in the car but most everything is in our bug-out bags. We picked up nice quality day packs at thrift stores and have them packed full-full-full. We still need to add a second leash and more dog food now that we have a second dog, too.
We’re not counting on the vehicle being available. If there’s a city-wide emergency and evacuation, it would be easy to get stuck in traffic. In that case, we’ll take our Xtracycles to get out faster.
I’d much prefer that option to walking out as I’m not currently in good enough shape to walk the mileage, especially carrying a heavy pack. That (getting in shape) is probably my most important preparation task to work on right now.
June 21, 2009 at 11:15 am
I have to confess something. We just got a cat and I haven’t done one thing to prepare for him. I suppose I better get some kitty kibble and litter socked away.
June 23, 2009 at 10:33 pm
Great article. Keep on sharing 🙂