I mentioned a few years ago that I hired a professional photographer to take pictures of my emergency preparedness items. I’ve taught classes on food storage and emergency preparedness at different churches, subdivisions, businesses, and other groups. With all the challenges we’re hearing about on the news, like the train derailment in Ohio, I thought I better update this post. I wrote the post a number of years ago, but wanted it to be fresh on my mind, and yours.
It’s getting harder and harder for me to haul all my “stuff” to the different locations, so pictures are working great for presentations. Today, it’s all about first aid kits and the many ways you can put one together. First aid kits can be fairly simple, but you can also make them very large when it comes to their contents. You know best what your family may need, but this post outlines some basic ideas as we brainstorm together.
First Aid Kits-What You Need To Survive
Gather Up Your First Aid Items
Please look around your house and gather your first aid items to see what inventory you have so you can then evaluate what you need to replace, discard, or purchase. If you have a first aid kit already, that’s awesome!
If you’re like me, sometimes you need to discard expired over-the-counter bottles or boxes. Here’s the deal, you don’t need to purchase an expensive first aid kit, just start with a little and add the things you need as your budget allows.
The first few pictures are professional photos and then some of my own non-professional ones, but I wanted to share several ways to make first aid kits. Please note that you can purchase most of these first-aid kit containers at your local store or online.
First Aid Kits
The blog I wrote a few years ago making a first aid kit out of a fishing tackle box has been one of my most popular posts. The tackle box is fairly cheap to purchase and you can easily see most of your first aid supplies at a glance. I would add a Fingertip Pulse Oximeter (test oxygen levels) to this list since I’ve learned many of us have breathing issues and need to be tested often.
You can see the box open below with the supplies I use. Now, these are just a few items I have collected to fill this fishing tackle box. Here is the link to a great list if you can use it, remember everyone stores different first aid supplies. First aid: Supplies by Linda
Some initial first aid supplies to consider right now:
- Medications: whether it’s prescriptions you use daily, or over-the-counter items like ibuprofen, aspirin, allergy pills, ointment, sunscreen, etc. These come in handy whether you’re on a day hike in the backcountry, campout, river run, or in a true emergency. If you have a diabetic in the family, you’ll for sure need to include a syringe supply.
- Bandages and Gauze: it could be a small scratch or a major puncture wound, you need to cover it and try to stop the bleeding. Most first aid kits aren’t designed to address real trauma situations, but protecting from bacteria and blood loss is critical. Having some durable water-resistant bandages is a good idea since your challenges may come with some rain or snow.
- Splint Materials: this could include some short rods or wood sticks to hold the bones in place, twine or bandage adhesive, and a sling. Some people like a Structural Aluminum Malleable (SAM) splint that comes with a core of soft aluminum alloy layered between some foam. It is very pliable and can be bent to fit the needs of most bone breaks or muscle pulls.
Stanley Max First Aid Kit
Below, I did another post about using this Stanley FatMax tool storage unit. The Plano fishing tackle is great, but it’s quite heavy for me to carry. It’s perfect in my house for the first aid supplies I use all the time at home. I decided to fill another larger container, thus the Stanley FatMax came to my mind as a great option when I saw it. Plus, it’s fairly inexpensive and has wheels. I looked up Home Depot and Walmart, they still sell this gem.
I wanted something I could take to a school, church, or out to my street if I needed to help people. Keep in mind I am not a doctor, nurse, or anyone in the medical field. I have done extensive research as to what needs to be in a first aid kit. We will all fill our own kits with supplies we feel comfortable using based on family size, members with special needs, finances, etc.
I can put more supplies in this Stanley FatMax unit, so it was a perfect fit for me. I highly recommend this Medical Handbook. I think this handbook and my book Prepare Your Family For Survival will really help you be prepared for the unexpected more than you would be without them.
Take some time to read both, take notes, and ensure you feel comfortable that your family is as prepared as possible. There are so many things that can come up to surprise us. Prepare now so you’re not surprised when you discover you’re missing some critical items when your family is in real need.
5-Gallon Buckets
Now, I realize everyone may not have a lot of money to fill their first aid kits right off the bat. If you have a box, start with that. Most of us have some extra buckets in our homes, they would work great as well.
I did purchase some black vinyl lettering for these 5-gallon buckets, but a magic marker would work great too! Make the job for yourself as simple and easy as you can. Just pick up a bottle of this, a box of that, some band-aids, and some Benadryl, that’s all you need to do to get started.
College First Aid Kit
I gave this to my granddaughter as a high school graduation gift. The box is a medium size box so it wouldn’t take up a lot of room in her apartment or dorm.
I didn’t want my granddaughter to go out at night to pick up some fever-reducing products, Vicks VapoRub, lip balm, cough syrup, or Imodium. Yes, I sent her some of my favorite essential oils. It’s what a grandma does, right?
First Aid Kit For Kids
I’m a grandma and a mom, and when the grandkids come to visit, sometimes we need some supplies just for the younger ones. So I try and keep supplies that are age appropriate. I rotate and discard the expired ones, as needed.
Some of the ones you may want to consider are Tylenol, Motrin, cough syrup, baby wipes, hand sanitizer, Orajel, lip balm, and allergy tablets, just to name a few. A thermometer would be awesome and add some cute band-aids and the kids always smile with a cute band-aid on their boo-boo, right?
I am so thankful that a reader, Joanne D. reminded me to put a “print” button on my website. I realize a few of you print and organize my articles. I’m so grateful you can use them. If you teach others, that will melt my heart. Let’s teach the world to be prepared because I can tell you this, the government will not be able to take care of all of us.
Southern California Snow Storm 2023
We will be on our own, we must be self-sufficient. I saw something on the news from Southern California where they had a huge snowstorm in the city. They received more snow than ever before. My recollection was ten feet over a period of a couple of days at most. The residents knew a big snowstorm was headed their way ahead of time. The problem was the people had no idea it would be this much snow.
Most cities aren’t equipped with the snow removal equipment or the personnel to be able to clear the streets, keep the power grid up and running, and clear the highways with a storm this big. One lady on the news was surprised the city’s street workers where she lived hadn’t been by to help clear their street or at least provide some food. Wait, did I hear that right? They were expecting some food to be delivered when the streets couldn’t even be scraped fast enough for people to drive on.
Please let me remind everyone to keep food for emergencies such as this one. Here’s an article from the New York York Times on the Southern California snowstorms. It was free for me to read, because I hadn’t hit the limit of 2 articles per day, so I hope you can read it. It has some really good pictures.
Final Word
If we have a disaster or unforeseen emergency, we may be on our own for 3 days, 3 weeks, 3 months, or possibly more. You may know I’m not a doomsday prepper, I’m a mom and grandma trying to teach the world to be prepared for the unexpected. May God help this crazy world we live in today. May God Bless the World, Linda
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