Can you imagine how amazing it would be to see a headline like this "Earthquake to hit Utah in September". We could plan and prepare and be all ready for the "Big One" that Scientists have been telling us for years will hit Utah.  Unfortunately, scientists can't narrow it down to the month, or even the year, but they do know that Utah will have one. It couldn't be tomorrow, or it could be years down the road.

Today we are going to be talking about 72 hrs kits.

5 Reasons Why you need a 72-hour kit

1-Count on being on your own for at least 3 days Hence the name “72-hour kit.” 

In case of a disaster, FEMA will not even make a decision to assist for several days and once they decide to move, it will take a few more days before you will see their personnel. CERT/FEMA advertise that delay is likely to be 7 days. What if roads are destroyed? What if there are fires and floods? These things will make it even harder for help to arrive and increase the length of time for help to arrive.
 

2-We live in UTAH! 

Scientists say Utah's Wasatch Front faces a 1-in-7 chance of being hit by a magnitude-7.0 earthquake — the size of the tremor that devastated Haiti Jan 2010. "It's been about 1,300 years — plus or minus 650 — since the Salt Lake City segment (of the Wasatch fault) had an earthquake of that magnitude," said University of Utah seismologist Jim Pechman.
He adds an ominous statistic: "They happen there, on average, about every 1,300 years," or about the same length of time since the last one occurred. In case of Injuries or death, Carey said a 7.0 quake hitting in the middle of the night, for instance at 2 a.m., would cause the most casualties: an estimated 2,920 dead, another 1,480 with life-threatening injuries, another 9,360 with non-life-threatening injuries but still needing hospitalization, plus 31,430 with "Band-Aid" injuries.
 

3-You have a family It's your responsibility to take care of them.

When I made my kits last year, I printed photos with personal info, in case we get separated or heaven forbid there is an accident or death and my children are alone. When I pinned their photos to their packs things got real. You can't look a photo of your child and think, oh, we don't need to prepare. We'll be fine. Think of telling your child that you chose not to prepare and you are sorry that they are cold and hungry and thirsty and have to cry their self to sleep at night.
 

4-The human body can survive 3-4 days without water.

Less in high temps, or if you are exerting energy. People at the end of their lives can go a week when food and water intake has been stopped. 3 or 4 days is a more accurate number and that is just surviving, picture yourself laying on the ground with a headache wanting to die.
 

5-The human body can go for 3 weeks without food (Mahatma Gandhi survived 21 days of complete starvation).

Again, this is 'survive', not living. I don't know about you, but I'm not very happy when I'm hungry. Kids and especially babies are miserable if they don't have snack time, now think about missing 2 meals in a row. The claws will be coming out! But don't worry, if you have no food or water, everyone will calm down soon enough and relax into an agonizing state of pain and misery.

Ok, now that you know why you need a 72 hours kit, let's look at what you actually need.
Basic human survival 101, food, water, shelter.

5 things to Know before you make a 72hr kit

1- Is it portable? 
Can you carry it 1 mile? 1 mile of hiking uphill? In the dark? In the winter?
Make sure your kit is in a bag or luggage on wheels if you have small children. You never know what the situation will be. Maybe you'll grab your kit, jump in the car and drive somewhere safe. Maybe you will have to hike to higher ground. 
2- Be practical. 
Don't pack anything that isn't a need to survive. Once you get your food and water packed, there won't be a lot of extra space. Choose wisely and be practical. 
3- Prepare for the worst. 
Earthquake and flood and fire at the night in the middle of winter. Ok, now pack accordingly.
4- Remember the Basics
Food, Water, and Shelter. Anything beyond that is a bonus. (below we have a list of must haves)
5- Time
If you are busy and don't have time to put a kit together, you can purchase them pre-made. I bought my 4 person kit on wheels on line, pre-assembled. So easy. I also got my car kit reassembled. The other kits are all homemade. You really can't go wrong. If time is an issue or putting together a kit is stressing you out. Just order one. You can order a 72 hr kit full of stuff, pre-assembled for the same price you paid for your child's empty school backpack.

Here are our favorite pre-assembled kits for families: 
Emergency Essentials in Orem is going to hook up anyone that orders during the month of September. If you want this price, please email your order to benjamin@beprepared.com with Subject title: The Salt Project
 

K7 M520 - Trekker II (2 Person 72-hour kit) – Current Price - $99.99  The Salt Project Price - $83.00 (Amazon lists them for $105 here.)

K7 B350 - 3 Day lite Kit - Current Price - $34.95  The Salt Project Price - $30.00 (Amazon lists them for $34.95 here.)

K7 A600 - Deluxe Auto Combo - Current Price - $61.95  The Salt Project Price - $53.00

K7 A400 – Personal 72 hour kit with MRE’s – Current Price - $84.95  The Salt Project Price - $70.00

Here is a peek inside our kid kits that we put together. Again, remember, food, water, clothing, then you can add more things like light and supplies for a fire.

It's important to include a game or coloring book for small children. Or a favorite toy. We found these wilderness survival playing cards, perfect for playing as well as practical info for surviving.

We tied boots to the outside of each pack, this way we won't be searching the house for a pair. Just grab and go. Also, a whistle, matches, and a photo ID card.

Now let's take a look inside our Car Kit.

We decided to pack food that has a long shelf life but that our kids like to eat like squeeze apple sauce and tuna packets. We also ordered MRE's (meals ready to eat) this year from Emergency Essentials.  We avoided cans because they are heavy and we plan on our children carrying their own packs. This is something that would be near impossible for them to carry on their own.

Each member of our family has a pack, including the baby (dad will have the privilege of carrying that one).
We also have a large family pack on wheels.
I packed our 72 hr kits last fall. So it's now time to open them up, see what's inside, switch out food that will expire, update clothes, and additional supplies. All in a days work. I got this.
In the videos below, I am opening up the kits I made last year in addition to the kits I purchased online. Let's see exactly what's in here, shall we!

If you want to build your own kits, here is a list of case lot sales THIS MONTH. These only come once a year so now is your chance to save.

HARMONS: September 3rd
REAMS: September 8th
RIDLEY'S: September 29th
MACEYS: September 7th
BOWMANS: September 30th
DICK'S: September 30th
FRESH MARKET: September 30th
SMITH'S: September 2nd 

Finally, Save the Children has a free, printable emergency contact card. It includes a child’s name, age, home address and phone number, medical information and emergency contacts. The card fits in a child’s backpack or wallet. We should teach our children how to contact us and where to meet if we get separated. - See more here.