Why 72-Hour Survival Kits Should Be Mobile

Having a 72-hour kit is a great idea. Pat yourself on the back if you have one because you�re way ahead of the game. But even if you�ve already prepared one, you should ask yourself if it�s easy to move and easy to access. Why is this important? Because if a 72-hour survival kit is either too heavy or hard to reach to transport, then it fails to live up to its name.

Leaving Home

The point of a 72-hour kit is to keep you alive until help arrives. But many people already have enough to survive on in their homes in an emergency. You might have to eat nothing but bread and cold cans of soup, but at least you would have nourishment, plenty of clothes and first aid. So why should you even bother getting a 72-hour kit? In case you have to leave home. Fast.

If your home is on fire, damaged in an earthquake, caught in a flood, has a natural gas leak or any number of other problems, you�ll probably need to abandon it in a hurry and head for a new shelter. Many other people might have the same idea. Local churches and aid organizations will likely be overwhelmed by the influx of people. If you bring a 72-hour kit with you, you�ll be able to take care of yourself so officials can shift their attention to those who are unprepared.

Size

You need to have a supply of drinking water, but you don�t need to throw the whole kitchen sink into a 72-hour survival kit. Let me explain. Some people try to cram everything they can think of into survival kits instead of prioritizing and focusing on just what they need. You definitely need food, water, sanitary items, some types of medicine, bedding and a spare set of clothes. But if you pack too much of any of these items or include a bunch of other superfluous odds and ends, your 72-hour kit can quickly balloon into something that is meant for much longer than just three days.

Mobility

Three days� worth of survival supplies is usually more than enough to last through an emergency, so packing more is unnecessary and sometimes even problematic. Think about it from the perspective of camping. When camping, you often have to hike to your camping spot. That�s why most people have just one pack that they try to pack as lightly as possible. You should try to do the same when you�re packing a 72-hour survival kit.

Keep your 72-hour kit to just one or two bags, and make sure you and other members of your household are strong enough to heft them by yourselves. As your family grows, you�ll need to add new supplies, but that doesn�t mean you can�t keep your 72-hour kit to a manageable size. If everyone can pitch in and take all of the bags you�ve prepared, the 72-hour kit still meets the requirement of being highly mobile and, thus, useful in an emergency.

Grab and Go

Be sure to put your 72-hour kit in an accessible location near your front door, garage or other area where you can grab it on the way out of your house. Depending on the emergency you�re facing, you may need to leave your home in haste, so you can�t afford to waste precious minutes hunting for your 72-hour kit in the basement or some other deep storage area. Keep it handy so you�re not just prepared for emergencies, but prepared to take action quickly.

Having a 72-hour survival kit is a good idea as long as it�s a manageable size, can be quickly moved and is in a convenient location. Be smart and prepare every needful thing for the moment when there�s no time to think, but only to act.