Emergency Preparedness for the Little Ones

i'm the first one to openly admit, that i have like no emergency preparedness stuff. well, take that back. i currently have a few things put together thanks to a faithful lady in my ward who cornered me in nursery party to ask if i had my 72 hour kit together yet. and embarrassingly enough, i dont have one. i was sort of into it during the summer time but that whole mess freaked me out cause i went into end-of-the-world apocalypse mode and overwhelmed myself. so then i just quit and looked into all that since.

but there are some crazy things going on in the world and it's winter time over here. you never know what could happen. but i guess there have always been crazy things going on in the world but you just have to be prepared. that's the whole point isn't it? and i'm a mom now and have two little ones to keep alive in case there is an emergency and man oh man just the thought of being unprepared and panicked makes me cringe.

anyways, i committed to her that i would start on my kit the following day, so i went out with the few extra dollars i had and hit up the thrift store for backpacks and wal-mart for the things that i needed from the list. i'm happy to report that at least i have the 72 hour kits ready for the kids.

i was going to create this super awesome cutesy little printable to go along with this post, but that's not what is important. what is important is...

STARTING AND COMMITTING (isn't that the case for everything?)

and it's almost the new year, best time to start new and get things done!

here is an AWESOME starter list that was simple and not overwhelming for me. avoid pinterest, too much going on for the sake of an awesome blog post. this is seriously all you need.

here are a few tips to just help you start immediately:

- go around your house and see if you can find any of these items already.

- the "backpack" - if you have an extra travel bag, duffel bag, or even a pillow case, use that. just find something that can store things in. it doesn't have to be some lightweight whatever back pack but if you want that you can get this one for $20 on amazon. one per kid! 

- use a bunch of ziploc bags to separate everything

- go to your kitchen - if you have ramen or anything processed that has an expiration date of six months from now, put it in there

- schedule - write in your planner, set an alarm to check the 72 hour kits 6 months from now to replace clothes and food. 

you can imagine my pure joy at the small/toys and games suggestion for the little ones. here's my two cents on it:

- include a toy/activity or two that you know your toddler always has an interest in (peej loves cars and junie loves building things)
- notebook and writing/coloring utensils - there are endless things you can do with a notebook and a pen

we worry about getting things that make us look good or make our kids look adorable. we want people to ask us, "where did you get that?" and say "OMG! you look awesome." but when it comes down to being prepared, physically and/or financially and all we have are cute clothes and expensive stuff, none of which are emergency-preparedness worthy, who is the fool!? right??

after you've read this, start. START NOW. if you need someone to report to, report to me please! i'd love to hold you accountable ;)

GO!