How to Make a Survival Safety Kit

It’s always a good idea to maintain a survival kit, or make sure the one you already has is up to date and fully stocked. Even if you’re not in a particular disaster zone, fires and other natural disasters can happen anywhere.

With luck, you’ll never need it, but if you ever do, you’ll be glad you had it. A well-stocked survival safety kit can provide the essential tools and resources you’ll need to stay safe and self-sufficient until help arrives or the crisis passes.

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Whether you’re preparing for natural disasters, power outages, or unexpected events, building a comprehensive survival kit is a smart and proactive step that everyone should take.

Ready Made Survival Kit

You can buy ready-made survival kits like this one at Amazon at a lot of online and offline stores. This is a particularly good option if you (understandably) just can’t bring yourself to think about having to evacuate your home and run for your life.

Any of these kits are a great start. That’s right – “start”, because they aren’t necessarily going to contain everything that you and your household will need, and we’ll get to that in more detail later.

Evaluating Kits

You’ll notice some of the ready-made survival kits specify they’re for a certain number of people, or a certain type of emergency (earthquake, hurricane, etc.), or for a certain number of people for a certain number of hours.

Most kits are designed to give you about three days’ worth of food and water. By that point, rescue workers will most likely have reached you.

These kits, or some of their components, have to be replaced every few years, as the food and water have a shelf life. I like the ones that are in the form of a backpack. Grab it, strap it on, and go with your hands free.

But if the kit you like doesn’t come in a backpack, you can just buy a camping backpack for it. Aside from food and water, these survival kits usually contain first aid tools for patching up scrapes, warming someone in shock, etc.

Most contain LED flashlights or lanterns,  news and weather radios that can be powered by handcrank or solar and have mobile cell phone chargers with universal adapters for any phone. But note: these adapters usually require a car charger kit rather than a charger that plugs into an outlet.

Make sure you have one for your phone, and keep it in your kit. These kits also contain sanitation supplies to help you keep clean.

Specialized survival kits

There are survival kits specially designed for the needs of pets. If your pet isn’t a dog or cat, you’ll have to make your own.

It’s a great idea to keep a kit in every car, in case you find yourself having to evacuate in a hurry. Then you have at least one kit with you, no matter where you are when disaster happens.

How many survival kits should you have?

One Near the Front Door

It’s essential to have at least enough kits to cover your family near the front door or most likely exit you would use in an emergency. Plus kits covering your pets.

One in the Car?

If you’re out driving around when a hurricane/earthquake/forest fire prevents you from getting home, you’ll have to take shelter wherever you are. That means you need some survival gear with you.

There are kits designed specifically for cars, which have tools that can help if something happens to your car. We recommend having the tools you need for car trouble in your car at all times, not as part of a survival kit.

The survival kit should be food, water, camping gear, medication, etc. Some of it will expire over time and need to be replaced, but the car tools will stay with your car until you get a different one.

One in Every Bedroom

It could be expensive, and even unnecessary, to maintain survival kits in every bedroom. On the other hand, if there’s a house fire and your best exit is your bedroom window, you might be glad you had a kit to grab on the way out.

Look at your particular situation. If your home is very spread out, you might want to keep survival kits in every bedroom and even teach your kids to grab them in case of fire or emergency. You might even stash clothes and shoes in them so everyone will have at least something to wear.

What you definitely should keep in your bedroom, whether or not you keep survival kits there: a crowbar under the bed. It could help you pry open a door or window if an earthquake or tornado has caused the room you’re in to collapse.

Once your kids are old enough, you can also train them to use a crowbar to get themselves out if they become trapped in a disaster.

What to Include in a Survival Safety Kit

The contents of your survival kit will depend somewhat on your unique circumstances, location, and potential risks. However, there are some essential items that should be included in every well-rounded kit.

Water and Food

You’ll need clean drinking water and non-perishable food. Experts recommend packing at least 1 gallon of water per person per day, enough to last for at least 3 days.

Since this would be incredibly heavy and bulky, sealed water pouches, purification tablets, and portable water filters can come in very handy.

For food, focus on compact, high-calorie, and long-lasting items like energy bars, dried fruits and nuts, canned goods, and dehydrated meals. Make sure to include a can opener and any necessary utensils as well.

First Aid Supplies

A first aid kit is essential for treating injuries, illnesses, and other medical issues that may come up during an emergency. At a minimum, your kit should contain bandages, gauze, antiseptic wipes, pain relievers, prescription medications, thermometer, and any other personal medical items you may need.

It’s also a good idea to include emergency blankets, hand warmers, and other supplies to help maintain body temperature and prevent hypothermia. A small first aid manual can also be extremely helpful for providing guidance on proper treatment techniques.

Light and Power

Pack a high-quality flashlight, headlamp, and/or lantern, along with extra batteries. A portable charger or power bank can also ensure your phone, radio, and other electronics stay powered up.

You may also want to include glow sticks, matches, and a portable camp stove with fuel canisters to provide additional lighting and heat sources.

Communication and Navigation

In an emergency, being able to communicate and find your way is paramount. Include a battery-powered or hand-cranked radio to stay informed about the situation and any emergency instructions. A simple whistle can also help signal for help if needed.

For navigation, a compass, map of your local area, and a GPS device (or the GPS functionality on your smartphone) can be invaluable for finding your way to safety or locating important landmarks.

Speaking of phones, make sure you have some kind of charger. Many hand-crank radios can also charge phones without electricity or batteries, which is super helpful.

Shelter and Warmth

Depending on your environment and the type of emergency, you may need to shelter in place or evacuate to a safer location. Pack a weatherproof tent or tarp, sleeping bag, and extra warm clothing to protect yourself from the elements. Hand and foot warmers can also help you stay comfortable in cold conditions.

Other useful shelter items include duct tape, rope, and a multi-tool or pocket knife for making emergency repairs or constructing a makeshift shelter.

Sanitation and Hygiene

Maintaining proper hygiene and sanitation is crucial for preventing illness and infection during an emergency. Pack items like toilet paper, hand sanitizer, wet wipes, feminine products, and a small trowel for burying waste.

You may also want to include soap, toothpaste, and other personal care items to help you stay clean and refreshed.

Important Documents

In the event of an evacuation or other crisis, you’ll want to have easy access to important personal documents. Make copies of your driver’s license, passport, birth certificate, insurance cards, and any other critical identification and financial information. Store these in a waterproof bag or pouch within your survival kit.

Better yet, put them on flash drives that are stored inside the kits. If you’re concerned about someone getting hold of information they shouldn’t have, you can encrypt the files with a simple password the whole household knows.

Additional Survival Tools

Depending on your specific needs and situation, you may also want to include other survival tools and equipment, such as:

• Multi-tool or pocket knife
• Duct tape
• Paracord or sturdy rope
• Sewing kit
• Fishing line and hooks
• Signal flares or mirror
• Dust masks
• Plastic sheeting and duct tape
• Wrench or pliers to turn off utilities
• Cash in small denominations

The key is to think through the various scenarios you may face and pack items that will help you stay safe, healthy, and self-sufficient.

Additional Items Not Everyone Needs

You, your household and any pets you have may have additional needs beyond these.

Medication

If the people in your household take any medications, stash a 3-5 day supply of each medication – carefully labeled with expiration dates – in your kit (or each kit if you have more than one). Always replace these medications before they expire.

Talk to your doctor if you have questions about how often your medications should be replaced and/or need them to write you a refill a bit sooner than usual to collect the pills you need for your stash.

It can be difficult to get extra prescription medications from insurance companies. Sometimes you can get them by going around your insurance, if your doctor will write an “emergency” prescription.

Sometimes you may need to call the insurer. Laws vary from state to state and country to country.

Contact info

Keep contact information for all family and friends on waterproof paper in your kit. This stuff will survive rain, though not being underwater for a long time, so you’ll also want to keep it in a waterproof pouch.

You may be thinking you have everything you need in your phone, but it’s easier to leave a phone behind in a panic than you might think.

Also write down your insurance contact info: your account numbers, the phone numbers, the name of your agent. The sooner you’re able to make a claim, the sooner your life can get back to normal.

Essential papers

You should store your original birth certificates, property deeds, wills, living wills and so on in safety deposit boxes or a similar off-site, secure space.

But if it looks like you may lose your home, copies of these documents in your kit may prove invaluable. If you need to apply for FEMA aid, for example, you may need to prove you’re who you say you are, and that you own your home and that it’s insured.

You could keep the papers on a flash drive in a waterproof case, but don’t rely on the assumption you’ll be able to find a computer to run it. Paper is always available.

Foods for anyone with food allergies

If anyone in your household has food allergies, make sure the MREs or food bars in your kit are safe for them to eat. If not, find food items suitable for your allergy-sufferer and stock the kit with them.

Remember to use these and replace them before their shelf life expires.

Extras for pets

There are some good kits online for dogs and cats, but you may want to make your own anyway – and if you have more “exotic” animals like birds or lizards or even bunnies, you’re pretty much on your own. You may need:

• A leash, travel cage, etc. – something to contain a frightened pet and keep it near you where you can protect it.
• Poop bags.
• Fresh bedding for caged pets. Bedding is going to be a heavy item to carry, so only pack enough for a few days.
• A 3-5 day supply of pet food. Remember to use and replace this every now and then, before it expires.
• Talk to your vet about first aid supplies specific to your pet. For example, you may only need bandages for dogs and cats, but birds bleed quickly and need styptic pencils to staunch the flow. There are also sedatives which a vet might recommend stashing if there’s any concern a highly strung pet will be especially hard to handle in a panic.

Entertainment supplies

If you’ve got room, bring some playing cards, travel games or puzzle books – something distracting to do while you’re waiting for help (that doesn’t use electricity). Some of the ready-made kits come with these items. It may seem unnecessary, but it’s a great way to keep anxiety and boredom at bay.

Cash

It’s a great idea to have some cash on hand – a few hundred, if you can manage it – in your survival kit. In case of a local disaster, ATMs and credit card machines may be down. Cash may be the only way to get goods from shops.

Maintaining and Updating Your Survival Kit

Once you’ve assembled your survival safety kit, it’s important to maintain and update it regularly to ensure it remains effective.

Check Expiration Dates

Many of the items in your kit, such as food, water, and medications, have expiration dates. Make a habit of checking these dates every 6 months and replacing any expired items. Set a calendar reminder to review your kit on a consistent basis.

Rotate Perishable Items

For perishable items like food and water, it’s a good idea to rotate them out every 6-12 months. Consume the older items and replace them with fresh supplies.

Update Personal Items

As your personal needs and situation change over time, make sure to update the contents of your survival kit accordingly. Replace medications, eyeglasses, or other items that may expire or become outdated.

Adapt to New Risks

Pay attention to any new or emerging threats in your area, such as extreme weather events, civil unrest, or disease outbreaks. Adjust the contents of your kit to address these evolving risks. For example, you may want to add N95 masks, hand sanitizer, or additional water purification supplies.

Store Properly

Keep your survival kit in a cool, dry place that’s easily accessible in an emergency. Avoid storing it in hot, humid environments like an attic or garage, as this can damage or degrade the contents.

Make Copies of Documents

As an extra precaution, consider making digital copies of your important documents and storing them in the cloud or on an external hard drive. This will ensure you have access to critical information even if your physical documents are lost or damaged.