PACK YOUR BAG! Day 24: When there’ s no place else to go

One more week left in our day-by-day project to build your “Go Bag“/emergency kit – full of essentials to help you and your family get by in case of catastrophe.

Tonight’s advice from West Seattle Be Prepared has to do with the most basic of needs:

This is something new that has come up for preparedness lists: Put a bucket with a lid, some plastic sheeting and box of large garbage bags with ties in your kit today. Think of these as your emergency bathroom kit. People who are recovering in Christchurch were bathroomless 18 months after their earthquake; they emptied personal toilet buckets into larger city-provided waste containers placed on the streets. If you don’t have the room for a bucket (and it certainly won’t fit in an average backpack), at least put the garbage bags in – they can be used in multiple ways.

We’re going into the final weekend of Washington State Disaster Preparedness Month. No, nobody’s grading you, but think of the increased peace of mind you’ll have when your kit is done – or at least well on its way. So catch up if you need to. Our installments are all archived, newest-to-oldest, here.

5 Replies to "PACK YOUR BAG! Day 24: When there' s no place else to go"

  • T October 26, 2013 (6:30 am)

    A bucket makes a good container if your emergency supplies won’t fit in a bag. Then you have a way to carry them and a place to go too.

  • WSB October 26, 2013 (5:50 pm)

    Thank you!

  • sarah October 26, 2013 (10:37 pm)

    When all of our supplies are packed, where is the best place to keep this kit? We have had water containers stored in our basement for years (we do change the water periodically) but realize that they may not be accessible in the event of a major earthquake. Our free standing garage is probably too damp to keep things in the kit dry, so where? We have a fairly comprehensive first aid kit that stays in one of our cars (a safe space for that in an earthquake) but for this big stash of stuff? Ideas welcome.

  • Cindi Barker October 27, 2013 (3:41 pm)

    hi Sarah, that is a topic coming up one one of the last days. Near one of your outside doors is a best place for your kit, but is you can put it in a waterproof plastic tub, maybe then your garage could still be used. You could also store some of your water out there, in a separate tub or container in case it freezes and then bursts.

  • sam-c October 28, 2013 (1:39 pm)

    this may seem obvious so it probably doesn’t matter where / which day I put this comment.
    in order to conserve packing space, you can use some of those vacuum bags to pack all the compressible things like extra clothes, socks, blankets, diapers, ponchos, what have you. I believe they sell them at BB &B, but I’ve always been surprised at how small they can get. my MIL uses those when she packs and you wouldn’t believe how much stuff she fits in her suitcase when she puts them in those special bags and sucks all the air out.

Sorry, comment time is over.