Emergency items to ALWAYS have on hand, but you perhaps haven’t thought of.
The other night, after a neighborhood bonfire, we came home to a power outage. It was dark and our kids were afraid. They are used to sleeping with night lights and, without power, their night lights were a no go!
1. Glow Sticks: I ALWAYS have glow sticks on hand. Not only do they last an entire night, but they are fun! We started using them for nightlight’s while camping. My kids INSIST on sleeping with a nightlight. We often camp “primitive,” or without hookups and because of this, nightlight aren’t possible unless we run a roaring, lion-like generator all night.
They’ve come in so handy, that I keep them “on hand,” all the time. Whenever I go to that dreaded and beloved dollar store, I stock up.
Not long ago, we came home to a horrible power outage. My kids were terrified and the terror grew as we realized that there would be NO NIGHTLIGHT’S. AHHHHHHhhhhhhhhh.
Thankfully, I have a full stock of glow sticks in our basement. Yay! The glow sticks are a life saver time and time again.
2. Life Straw: A life straw is this amazing little contraption which is super portable. Basically, you can place one end of the straw into any water source and drink up. It may not change the taste, but it will filter out anything dangerous.
We carry enough life straws for our family in our car 72 hour kits. I choose to keep them in our car because most of the time, whether at home or away, we are close to our car.
These little bad boys can filter up to 1000 liters of contaminated water WITHOUT iodine, chlorine, or other chemicals.
They also surpass EPA standards for water filters.
3. Paint bucket, pool noodle, kitty litter and garbage bags: Okay, I know this sounds like a crazy combination, but it’s a must have combo. Everybody needs to “GO.” Need to go number one? You can find secluded place outside if you need to. However when it comes to number two, things get complicated, especially with kids!
This is where your bucket, noodle, kitty litter and garbage bags come in to play.
Mother Nature does not wait for a natural disaster or emergency to blow over. Mother Nature will come a calling and when she’s calls, we must answer.
When that need arises –
- Cut the pool noodle just large enough to create a seat for the paint bucket.
- Open a garbage bags and place it in the paint bucket, much like you would a garbage can.
- Place the pool noodle over the lip of the paint bucket, creating a seat
- Sprinkle some kitty litter in the garbage bag – this helps with the odor. Gross.
- After you’re done, simply remove the noodle, gather the garbage bag, tie it up and toss it.
4. USB Solar Charger: We have two of these and they are amazing. They also can be used as a nightlight. We’ve also used them to charge our phones while camping. It’s just a great item to have on hand.
5. Tampons and Diapers: If you have a baby, always keep diapers on hand. If you don’t have a baby, always keep diapers on hand. We’ve had to use them when our potty trained 4 year old couldn’t hold it anymore and didn’t want to use our alternative potty. They are also very absorbent and can be used for cuts, scrapes, or wounds which bleed heavily.
The same hold true for tampons. I’ve heard that, in case of a gunshot wound, plug it with a tampon. Sounds legit to me.
They are also great for bloody noses!
Of course, there are other useful items to keep on hand, but these are a few unusual, perhaps strange ones to add to your list.
Life happens and we all have emergencies from time to time. I hope your life is smooth sailing, but if not, these will help. I’ve provided the Amazon links for a few of these items for your convenience.
If you have any emergency items not on my list that you find useful, I’d love to hear about it.
