72-Hour Kits

Now that we're done with the three main points of President Benson's talk, we want to talk about some of the finer points of preparation. The first item up for discussion: 72-hour kits!

A 72-hour kit is one of the most basic means of preparedness, and it's probably the easiest thing to put together (it's much easier than the year supply of food anyway). Every member of your family should have their own 72-hour kit, including infants and pets.

Here is a link of the basic items needed in a 72-hour kit, and there are also ID cards included in in the PDF. We would encourage everyone to either use these ID cards or to make their own so if a child gets lost or someone is unconscious, someone else would still be able to render assistance. The items on this list for a 72-hour kit are all suggestions - whenever you are making preparations for emergencies, you should tailor it to your own individual and family needs.

A 72-hour kit is meant to provide relief for the first three days after/during a disaster. It needs to have three days of food and water, a first aid kit, light and power, and other necessities for each individual and family. Remember, this kit is for an emergency. Keep that in mind when deciding what to include in your kit.

Probably not necessary...

The Lubbock, Texas Stake would like every person possible to have a 72-hour kit by August 31st, which gives each of us three months to put one together. We have created a list that breaks down the 72-hour kits into sections so you can just focus on one aspect of the kit each week.(By the way, these can be very easy Family Home Evening activities for the next three months). If you want to follow along our 72-hour kit plan, then we will start in the first week of June (which gives us 13 full weeks) and continue as follows:

June 2-8 - Fill out the ID cards and obtain a container for the kit (1 week)
June 9-22 - Obtain 3 days worth of food and snacks (2 weeks)
June 23-July 6 - Obtain 3 days worth of water (2 weeks)
July 7-20 - Add a first aid kit (2 weeks)
July 21-27 - Add necessary clothing (1 week)
July 28-August 3 - Add money (small bills) (1 week)
August 4-10 - Put together sanitation supplies (1 week)
August 11-24 - Gather sources of light and power (2 weeks)
August 25-31 - Finalize the kit with any extra emergency items (1 week)

At the beginning of each section we will highlight different methods and options for the items that each person needs; so on June 2nd, we will write a post on ID cards and the different containers you can use to hold your 72-hour kit.

Now, for those of you that already have a 72-hour kit or at least have already started on it, you are not excluded! Now would be a great time to update your kit and re-assess your needs to make sure your kit will serve those needs.

If any of you have different or additional ideas on any of the things we discuss, please comment on the post and share your knowledge! I'm sure some of you have ideas that others would find valuable.

At the end of each section we'll follow up and see how it went with everyone. This is not meant to be a guilt trip if you didn't get it done, we just want to keep tabs on how everyone is progressing so that we can have an accurate report to give to the stake. We're excited to help get the ball rolling on 72-hour kits!

Let Us Have Enough Food, Clothing, and Fuel on Hand

Alright, we're finally at the last point of President Benson's talk: Food, Water, Clothing, and Fuel Storage. Now President Benson specifically says to have enough for a year, but not everyone is in the position to do that just yet. Building a year supply of storage can take a very long time, and we shouldn't kill ourselves to get there. On the lds.org page, "Food Storage" we are given very good advice from our leaders:

"We ask that you be wise as you store food and water and build your savings...it is not prudent, for example, to go into debt to establish your food storage all at once."

Sometimes, in our zeal to build up our food storage and get prepared, we may feel like it's okay to spend tons of money to do it. This, however, would go against our last post to be financially prepared, so we need to be wise in our storage building. On the "Food Storage" page, we are told to start small - buy just a few extra items each week until we have a one-week supply of food. Then we can gradually increase to a three-month supply, which is supposed to contain food that's part of our daily diet. From there, we can (as slowly as needed) grow our storage to a longer-term supply.

One of the hardest things for us to store in a desert is drinking water. No matter how you do it, it's going to take some time deciding how to best store water (we will have a post later on going over various water storage ideas). But water is vital, and it is recommended that one person will need an average of one whole gallon per day, and that's only for drinking and cooking, not washing or cleaning.

So why do we need to build this food storage?

"We encourage members worldwide to prepare for adversity in life by having a basic supply of food and water and some money in savings." (food storage, emphasis added)

We need to build our food storage to prepare for adversity. Adversity is not limited to natural disasters like tornadoes and earthquakes, but also for our own smaller personal emergencies that only affect us or our families. This is a wonderful video explaining what our storage is meant for:

I have a strong testimony that we will be blessed as we follow the commandment to build up our food storage. Even just having a small supply and working toward more storage can bring comfort and give us courage to face whatever may come our way. Whether we use it for a devastating tornado or for the loss of a job, I know that it will be a great blessing to everyone who makes food storage a priority in their lives.



Has anyone else noticed the blessings in their lives from building up food storage?