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bug out bags


djmarch

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I call mine a "GO BAG" I currently have 2, they are duffle bags,( quite heavy) filled with different foods, like canned and pouch tunas, oysters, crab, peanut butter, crackers, chilli, soups, fruits, pringles, cheese in a can, pop tarts, and assorted other foods ( can opener, the 3 of us could live on this for a few days, one of the bags sit on 3 12 pks of bottled water to go. I keep a roll of toilet paper, sanitary supplies, in mine.( I know if a disaster happended it would be a that inconvenient time of the month,) wash cloths, baby wipes, sterno cans, bug spray a good knief, cheap leatherman type tool, emergency radio, flashlites, batteries, ,lighters, etc. small packs of salts, and utensils, In hurricane Opal in 1995, we evacuated too late due to DH and I had to stay late to batton down our jobs, we were stuck in traffic for horrible lengths of time, untill we turned around and went back home, by then, the roads had cleared so we left again, and could not find a hotel anywhere as far as Thomasville GA, ( we live in the FL Panhandle in a small beach community, )so we stayed in our car, and tried to get back into town early...... but we were stuck in a road block for approx. 10 hours before we could get back into town, (thank the Lord our home was fine.) Needless to say, I had packed an ice chest when we evacuated, and the ice was gone, but we still had drinks and food to eat when we were at the road block for 10 hours, lots of people didn't have ANYTHING, AND COULD NOT GET ANYTHING, since the surrounding areas had been withoud electricity..... The bug spray, and extra food was wonderful. We saw lots of people we knew (it's a small town) lined up, as we were waiting to get back into town, at the road block. Rich men, poor men, all walks of life going into the woods off the road for "privacy".

Anyway, after that my brother and I have extended our "GO BAGs" and have a list that we keep as a checklist of things to bring... for a hurricane, would work well for other disasters you had warning about such as forest fires, etc. Having the GO BAGS ready is a lifesaver, knowing you have the basics, food and water ready to go...

It gives a peace of mind, you then have more time for other stuff, like going to the banks safe deposit box and taking your things, if you feel the bank safe deposit boxes could be breached....

I will list some of the things on my list, as many or most have already been listed on this site somewhere else.

 

GO Bags

Medical bag

favorite work clothes, shoes, etc.

Jewelry

clothes for several days, sturdy shoes for walking, cleanup

makeup and toiletry bags

Cash, bank safe deposit box stuff

GPS, and maps

small tent, sleeping bags ( for comfort if your stranded) blow up mattress,pillow

recent years tax returns

bill basket, ( bills are still due, even if you are evacuated!!!

all important papers, priceless pictures

batteries, flash lites, radios

guns & ammo

sanitary pack ( I keep in a "Go Box" : garbage bags, paper products, TP and PT, cups, utensils, plates etc, latex gloves, working type gloves, clorox, lysol spray, ivory dish soap, dish soap

 

dogs and dog food preps

charged drills, cell phones, chargers etc.

assorted tools ( DH IS IN CONSTRUCTION)

cameras and film

Grab any crackers and bread in cabinet,

 

Of course, you do the other recommended things like clean potential flying debree from your yard, wash all your laundry, clean bathrooms, especially tubs, fill with water ( I also super shock my hot tub) and any other container that will hold water,

stock up on heating supplies, like charcoal, liter, propane, etc, where you can heat up food upon return if needed.

un plug appliances, if you dont turn off your power

Say a prayer, leave and God go with you.....

Having a list, and starting preps early helps so much, and reduces stress, knowing you have a GOOD PLAN.

 

 

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This is one that had been posted here a few years ago by someone who use to be on here.

 

It was made lightweight and pretty well complete for the ladies at MrsS.

 

STANDARD TEN-DAY SURVIVAL PACK

 

Split between two packs weighing 28 pounds each, 57 and 5/8ths pounds total (not including weight of packs -- all weights -- listed after the items -- in pounds or fractions of a pound).

 

Pocket-size bible

Needle/thread/buttons/velcro

20 Mountain House dehydrated meals 5

20 packets instant oatmeal 2

20 packets instant hot chocolate 2

Instant coffee 1

Beef jerky 1

GORP *good ol'raisins & p'nuts +M&Ms 3

Cookies (packed in pringles cans) 1

Iodine tablets 1/8

Salt/pepper in waterproof container 1/4

Tabasco sauce 1/8

4 No# 10 coffee cans with wire handles 1/2

2 small flashlights w/extra AA batts 1

Small steel mirror 1/2

2 US ARMY Ponchos 1/2

Small Peak stove 3

Two boxes of Lifeboat matches 1/8

Magnesium firestarter 1/8

2 BIC lighters 1/8

Stove Fuel 5

Biodegradable soap/shampoo 1

2 toothbrushes 1/8

1 tube tooth paste 1/4

2 Washcloths 2 towels 1

4 t-shirts & underwear 2

8 pairs of socks 1/4

2 sets extra boot laces

2 pairs sandals or moccasins 4

2 sleeping bags, medium weight 10

Tent, two-man 5

4 US Army canteens 1

2 US Army canteen cups 1

2 sets fork and spoon 1/2

20 plastic garbage bags 1

First Aid Kit 3 1/8

Highly reflective survival blanket

2 compression bandages

Aspirin

Any prescription meds

2 triangular bandages

Alcohol wipes

Razor blades

Tweezers

Small magnifying glass

Moleskin

Bengay

Antiseptic spray

Burn cream

Bandaids

 

The key here is to eliminate REDUNDANT weight. You will notice that there IS redundancy in the fire making implements. This is because they are VERY light, and VERY important! Everything else is under the category of DON'T LOSE IT!

 

You might want to add to each bag - in case of a storm-flood etc - some change, $ bills, include photo copies of all the people in your group, its easer to say have you seen this person them trying to describe them. pen & paper so you can leave notes if needed, map of the county & state your in marked with where you are going, phone #s that may be needed in & out of state. & 1 whistle per person in case you get separated - be sure & get a pre arranged signal so you know its one of your group.

 

 

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  • 2 months later...

I learned this lesson the hardway. I was never really much into survivalism, thought it was all paranoia After that experiance I think "Hmmm, you know maybe I should have a bag or something ready to grab in case we ever have to run again" (I know I'm a bit slow but hey I cought on eventualy) so now I am really working on getting prepared for whatever happens. And I learned, STUFF HAPPENS!!!

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Hi everyone!

 

I'm in BOB mode also. I was wondering...for those of you out there who are not into too many MRE's, and are willing to stock the trunk of your cars with lots of quality canned goods, is the fluctuating outdoor temperature a problem for storing these items? Or do you all just have BOB's "at the ready" to run out the door with?

 

I've started my stock of foodstuffs for my vehicle, but I'm just not sure whether or not these things should be in there. I could just stick to dry food to hydrate. I do keep a stock of H2O in my trunk as well.

 

For instance, I have tons of Canned corn, creamed corn, raviolis, black beans, garbanzo's, tuna, salmon, soups, etc. I also have a pretty good stash of dry goods, but we really need a base camp set up to prepare these items, and that's not always available.

 

By the way...lots of great ideas on these lists....thanks ladies of Mrs.S!!!

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I keep a BOB behind the sofa next to the front door. In each bedroom, I keep a two day change of clothing for each of us and rotate it into normal clothing on laundry day. Every person on medication has their own cosmetic bag which contains the meds and scripts and medical history for each person. We had a chemical fire near us a couple of weeks ago, the news report came in, the kids were in bed...we sounded the alarm and were in the car along with the dog in 12 minutes. Everyone grabs the clothes from their room throws them into the suitcase and grabs their med bag to carry to the car. The oldest grabs the two gallons of water. My daughter carries the BOB and I carry the dog food and off we go.

 

As far as the food in the car, I only keep dried or boxed items because I don't want anything to freeze and bust on me. These are the items in my car:

 

Instant oatmeal, hot chocolate, tea, coffee, sugar, non-dairy creamer, jello (the kids drink it hot), ramein noodles, instant dry noodle soup, crackers, fruit snacks or leathers, dried sweetened pineapple and bananas, raisins, jerky, slim jims & cheese, peanut butter cheese nips, cookies and hard candy. I also have a buddy burner and a large juice can with a wire handle to heat water in to make the hot foods. A metal cup and spoon for each person and that's about it. I really want to change the cups because the metal ones are too hot for the kids to handle. I'm thinking of getting plastic insulated coffee cups for each of us.

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I am almost done planning out my BOB's. I decided to seperate them into catagories. Code 1 BOB is a fanny pack that will be taken pretty much anywhere as a precaution. Code 2 BOB will be for short term emergencies where we will be able to get to help easily (like our wasp incident). Code 3 BOB is for a major or long term emergency (like danger of a nuke attack big). It will prevent me from having to bring out the big guns for a small fight yk? And the go together, i.e. Code 2 emergancy, I grab BOB's 1 and 2, Code 3 emergency I grab BOB's 1,2, and 3. I am probably making this a bit more complicated, I am a non recovering perfectionist LOL

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Ok, I don't know if this is going to work cut and paste, I did thing in MS Excel. Here is my plan for my BOB's...

 

CODE 1: Precautionary (Fanny Pack)

 

Food

 

Granola bars

Pemmican

Crackers

 

Water

 

1 bottle per person

 

Heat

 

Strike anywhere matches

lighter

Fire Starters

 

Light

 

Mini Flashlight

 

Medical

 

band aids

Antibacterial cream

Tylenol

alcohol wipes

 

Clothing

 

3 diapers

diaper wipes

bib

sleeper

 

Cleaning

 

Antibacterial wipes

Few pads

 

Hygiene

 

1 roll TP

 

Defense

 

Pepper Spray

 

Tools

 

Map of Area

Compass

Sunglasses

Swiss Army Knife

 

Misc.

 

A few grocery bags

Prepaid phone card

Mini phone book

$10 Cash

 

CODE 2: Short Term Emerg. (Back Packs)

 

Food

 

Instant oatmeal packets

Instant soup packets

Instant noodle packets

Hot choc., tea, coffee

sugar & powdered milk

Crackers

Tinned meat (few small)

 

Water

 

3 gallons

 

Heat

 

Strike anywhere matches

Lighters

Fire starters

Warm blankets

 

Light

 

Candles

Flashlight

Small Oil Lamp

Lamp oil

 

Cooking

 

Small stove

extra fuel

Can for heating water

mugs

spoons, forks, knives

lightweight soup plates

Can opener

 

Medical

 

Small first aid kit

Prescription Meds

 

Clothing

 

small pack diapers

Pack of wipes

1 full change of clothing

Extra socks and undies

Weather protection

 

Cleaning

 

Bar soap

liquid soap

2 basins

bleach

 

Hygiene

 

1 roll TP/ person

toothbrushes & paste

Sunscreen

Bug Spray

package of pads

1 washcloth/ person

1 towel/ person

few kitchen size trash bags

Hairbrush

mirror

 

Shelter

 

Sleeping bags

Emergency Blanket

 

Tools

 

Plenty of batteries

duct tape

Good Map

Multi tool

Paper and pencils

Good scissors

Wind up clock

 

Misc.

 

Code 1 BOB

Control Journal

Playpen

Important documents

$50 cash

Bible

AM/FM Radio

Kefir Jar and strainer lid

 

Small First Aid Kit

 

bandaids

antibacterial cream

Tylenol

Antibacterial wipes

First Aid Manual

sharp scissors

Tweezers

Nail clippers

Butterfly sutures

Soap

Peroxide

cold meds

 

Important Documents

 

Photo albums

Files from filing cabnet

 

 

CODE 3: Long Term Emerg. (dufflebags, totes)

 

Food

 

Instant oatmeal packets

Instant soup packets

Instant noodle packets

Hot choc., tea, coffee

Crackers

Sugar

powdered milk

Peanut butter

Pemmican

Dried fruit

nuts

Jerky

Powdered drinks

Jug Oil

Canned fruit

Canned Veggies

dried veggies

Canned meats

Cornmeal

flour

salt

baking powder

Lard

Survival cookbook

Granola bars

butter powder

egg powder

Fishing & hunting gear

 

Water

 

10 gallons

Water purification tablets

 

Heat

 

Strike anywhere matches

lighters

Fire starter

few bags of firewood

Warm blankets

Coleman Lantern

Plenty extra fuel

 

Light

 

Extra lamp oil

Candles

 

Cooking

 

Coleman stove (min 2 burner)

Lightweight pot, pan, kettle

Wood spoon

Metal spatula

nonbreakable 1 cup measure

dry measure cups

measure spoons

unbreakable bowl

 

Hygiene

 

24 pack TP

1 pack ea. Med lrg trash bgs

 

Clothing

 

Extra weather gear

 

Cleaning

 

Bar Laundry soap

Dish soap

clothes line & pins

alcohol

Bleach

 

Tools

 

Plenty of batteries

crow bar

zipper bags

folding shovel

leather gloves

Hatchet

knife sharpener

tool box

rope

sewing kit

watch batteries

walkie-talkies

Whistle

 

Shelter

 

Foam pads

1 emerg. Blanket/ person

tarp

tent

 

Misc.

 

Code 1 & 2 BOB's

Survival manual

books to read

dust masks

gas/virus masks

Binoculars

$200 Cash

Oxygen masks

Oxygen tanks

 

Medical

 

Full First Aid Kit

 

Complete Medical Kit

 

Zincofax

Yeast infection medication

Oral antibiotics

Injectable antibiotics

Assorted band aids

2 rolls ea 1" and 3" gauze

box sterile 3" square gauze

tape for gauze

sling for broken arm

antibiotic ointment

needles & syringes

Tweezers

Laxative

Anti-diarrhea medicine

Pepto-Bismol

Vaseline

Latex gloves

mini scissors

nail clippers

Multivitamins

Activated Charcoal

Iodine

Radiation meds

First Aide Manual

Q-tips

Cotton balls

topical anesthetic

Injectable anesthetic

Eye drops

Tenser Bandage

Calamine lotion

Aspirin & Tylenol

Antihistamines

Cough medicine

suturing material & needles

Digestive enzymes

Probiotics

gravol

Butterfly sutures

 

Vehicle Emergency Kit

 

Complete Medical Kit

4 emergency blankets

1 warm blanket

candles

Strike anywhere matches

lighter

fire starters

Flashlight

1 Gal water

Instant oatmeal packets

Instant soup packets

Instant noodle packets

Hot choc., tea, coffee

sugar & powdered milk

Crackers

Peanut butter

Small stove

Few cans fuel

Can for heating water

mugs

Spoons

knives

diapers and wipes

1 full change clothing ea

Extra socks

extra weather gear

bar of soap

1 basin

1 roll TP

2 towels

mirror

Pads

Brush

batteries

paper and pencils

coloring books, crayons

games

flares

tool kit

Coleman lantern w/ fuel

 

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Amanda, my response may have sounded a bit brusque, I know, but if you think about it, a gallon of water by itself weighs 8 lbs! That's almost 4 kilos, and you're talking about having 10 of them, along with a ton of other stuff in just one of your packs!

 

Your children are 5 and 2 years old...imagine if they were triplets, and you had to try to carry them all at the same time!

 

That's pretty much what you're proposing 'cause, you're probably going to have to[/i] carry them, along with all the rest of your stuff.

 

Your BOB's have to be something you can physically handle, if necessary. You might not be able to use your vehicle in certain circumstances.

 

Plan for the absolute worst case scenario. Everything above that is gravy...

 

 

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I have thought about it and I think this is what is going to work for me. The precautionary bag is very small and is brought just about anywhere. The second "phase" is still pretty portable and can be modifyed (for example, I plan to have some supplies in the car for emergencies so if taking the car, that leaves stuff we can leave behind. And many things multitask (Ie in my control journal (thanks FLYLADY) I have a phone book, survival notes, and many other things that would otherwise be seperate items). As for the last one (BIG emergency) I am hoping we will have a few monents to load everything in the vehicle, if not, then we grab the Code 2 bags, wont have as much but will be better than nothing. For code 3 most stuff will be in big tubs, it's not designed for grab and run (that's more code 2), it's meant to be loaded into the car, but should still get us out of here in 15 minutes TOPS. Our youngest is 2, but she is also our last child, so as time goes by, it will get easier to get everyone ready. One thing I like about the multi-phase idea is that depending on the circumstances we can either grab and run or take a few minutes to load up. Best case sinerio we have a decent amount of supplies, worst case sinerio, we still have a LOT more than we had last time. Wasn't really throwing this out for other people to do, just what I was planning myself.

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First off, does everything fit in your vehicle in a concelable manner...so everyone stuck in that traffic jam doesn't see what you have. If it doesn't fit, you will have to decide what to leave behind. I underestimated what our vehicle would hold and have added more to my BOBs.

 

I would up the clothing a little, with babies, you could go through a couple of changes a day. Two or three outfits for you and your hubby would be fine. If you keep them in there all the time, make sure you change for growth of the babies and for the seasons as they change...or use layers to cover the seasons. I don't remember are you using disposables?? You might want to invest in a dozen or so cloth diapers and rubber pants just in case...you can always use them as cleaning rags after potty training.

 

I use the levels thing too, but more off casual than your using. My everyday survival bag is my huge purse. My brother in law thinks I have every thing in there but the kitchen sink. This is where I carry my planner, important papers (copies), medical information for each of us. A knife, matches, small first aid kit, etc. When the kids were little, it included at least a set of clothes and supplies for my monthly cycle. I don't have to worry with that anymore, but my daughter does. Inside the big bag, I have a small purse that I carry in stores and stuff and leave the huge one in the car.

 

As far as the water situation, you would probably be better off to take a filtering system with you than trying to carry all that water. I would carry a bottle of bleach before I carried 10 gallons of water. Don't forget the eyedropper and something to flavor the water for the kids, unless they are used to drinking city water which has bleach in it.

 

Other than the fact that you plan on a lot of stuff, it seems well thought out and should cover most situations. Great job...

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