Emergency Supply Kit, Do you have one?

We have a fire evacuation plan and I always keep a survival kit in the SUV. This is something that I have to check on often because any snacks that I have in there often get picked off by one of the brood when they are hungry. I am really surprised that no one replied to this topic because it is something that is really important. The worst thing we have to worry about is the power going out or getting snowed in, trust me, my pantry is always stocked to the brim so we won't be starving if we get a few feet of snow.

I have thought about this but have never put anything together. I know I need one for the car in case we are stuck in bad winter weather, and one for the house . . . that would be a great thing to work on!

We have to plan for hurricanes also. I'm in southern Louisiana and we learned a very valuable lesson last year with Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Rita. Now I stock non perishable food supplies and batteries, flashlights and other items that may come in handy in case we are without electricity for days, weeks, months. It is a good practice to get into and if you have kids, a couple new toys for entertainment. Puzzles, crossword books are also good!

In Michigna, we have mostly winter snow storms and severe thunder storms than anything else. Sometimes there is an occasional tornado thrown in though, although those are rare where I live. I try to keep most of these things on hand, although it seems like when we need them one of the kids has borrowed either the flashlight or the batteries. My pantry is always well stocked so I know that we won't starve, and I always have water and juice on hand. The kids may not like eating canned goods or peanut butter sandwiches for a couple of days, but I know they won't go hungry. We would be fine if we were stuck here at home for a few days because of weather. A winter storm is usually the only time we get stuck where we can't go anywhere, and they usually don't get bad enough that we can't get out if we try hard enough. In the event of a tornado, I wouldn't worry about grabbing much of anything. We would grab our prescriptions on the way out the door, and clothes if we had time. Family comes first along with pets. Everything else is extra. I guess it all comes down to how much warning you had and whether you thought it would be a long term evacuation.

We don't have hurricanes where I live but we do have tornados and lots of them in the summer. I don't have one of these kits in the house but I think I'll put one together after seeing this discussion.