72-Hour Kit Clothing

Alright, we have officially moved on from medical supplies and are on to clothing! With this section, there is only one week to get everything together for your kits. Now it's not necessary to have multiple outfits available in a 72-hour kit, but it is important to have at least a couple things:

• Socks
• You can't really have too many socks. Especially if it's wet or cold, you may need to wear multiple pairs at once or replace the ones you wear fairly often. These are often very cheap at most stores (they don't have to be fancy), and they can fit into pretty small places.
• Poncho
• This is one of those things where there isn't a reason not to get it. You can find this at many stores from $.50 to $1.00, and they come so small you can fit them in the tightest of spaces. But being able to stay dry during a major storm is priceless.
• Hat or Beanie
• This is important for cold or hot weather. In hot weather, you may prefer a lightweight billed hat that will protect your head and face from the sun without over-heating you. In cold weather, you may prefer a beanie or other hat that reaches down to your ears so you can keep in as much heat as possible. If you don't want to add both at the same time, then when you do a check-up on your 72-hour kits twice a year (which we highly recommend doing at least just to make sure your food and water are still good), then you can switch out which hat you have for each season.
• Shirt and pants
• This may or may not be at the top of everyone's priority list, but having a spare pair of jeans and an old t-shirt could really come in handy. During spring cleaning or simply looking through your closet, find a pair of jeans and a shirt that you haven't worn in a while or that are getting a little old and add them to the kit (they don't have to be new clothes).
• Shoes
• This one is a little trickier since they are so bulky and tend to be heavy, but there can be emergency situations where you don't have enough time to grab durable shoes before leaving the house. There are multiple ways to store these if there isn't room inside your kit. One way is to tie them on the back of your kit (if you're using a backpack or duffel bag) and just let them hang outside. Another way is to just store them right on top of or next to your kit. That way, if you have to grab your kit and go, you will see your shoes and remember to grab them as well. We suggest a pair of sturdy tennis shoes or hiking boots, but make sure that they are not new shoes - you want these to be already broken in by the time an emergency comes around.

There may be some other items you want to add to your kit, but these were just the basic necessities that we thought of. Please comment and let us know if you have any other ideas of clothing items you think would be good for your 72-hour kits!