Insurance, seat belts, and 72-hour kits. You hope you never need it, but when you need it, you’re glad you have it.
Don’t worry – nothing happened. Nicole just audited her 72-hour kit tonight, which she’s been meaning to do for a while. I was proud of her for not only having one, but for proactively making sure it’s up-to-date. I wondered how long it’s been since I checked mine. Well, it’s been long enough that I wouldn’t even claim to have one. I think I do. Someplace. When I was 14. I think it’s in my parents’ basement. But they’ve moved since then, never mind the fact that I’ve moved a thousand miles away. I think I’ll just start from scratch.
A 72-hour kit shouldn’t be that daunting of an endeavor. It’s not that different from packing for a weekend getaway. First, prepare like you’re staying at the Marriott. Then make it a weekend camping.
We’re going to try to set it up so that perishables – food and toiletries – are rotated through as easily as possible. A four-year-old deodorant stick isn’t in very good shape, though it would probably fulfill the measure of it’s creation if it needed to. Clothing needs checked to make sure it still fits, and – ideally – rotated seasonally. Food will probably be the interesting component here. My parents have (or had) MREs in their 72-hour kit that are (or were) older than I am. I tried one a couple years ago. Other than being kind of salty, it was pretty good. Chicken a la King in a bag. (When was the last time you ate food older than you are?) We picked up some backpacking meals at REI last year; some weekend here, we need to try them out and see how they are. Whatever we end up deciding to go with, we’ll throw something in there while we’re making up our mind.
Equipment will be fun to go shopping for. My camp shovel claimed to have an axe on the side. It doesn’t. I tried. It didn’t work. I’d love to use this as an opportunity to get a Leatherman, but do I really need a torx screwdriver? I mean, when I’m camping? A Buck knife would probably work just fine. Possibly better. Maybe I need both.
We do have a nice little first-aid kit now. We had some extra funds in our flex-spending account at the end of last year. You lose any unspent FSA funds at the end of the year, and first aid kits are a qualified medical expense, so we picked up what we hope is a nice little first-aid kit from REI. Again, it’s something we hope we never need to use, but we’ve got it.
