Are you prepared to leave your home quickly and with enough supplies for your family? Everyone in your household needs a Go Bag should you need to leave quickly. Plan now, you never know when an emergency evacuation will hit! Here are some tips to pack the essentials.
For the Family
- Pack a bag for each person
- Food for 3-5 days/each person
- 2-3 changes of clothes
- First Aid Kit
- Flashlight
- Batteries
- Chargers
- Whistle
- Cash
- Face masks
- Wipes
- Gloves
- Blanket
- Toiletries
- Contacts or glasses
- Feminine products
- Roll of toilet paper
For Infants & Children
- Formula or baby food
- Snacks
- Bottle or sippy cup
- One book
- One toy
- Medicine
- Diapers and wipes
Take pictures and save to a flash drive or cloud of
- Your home and each room
- High value items
- Important documents
- Driver’s license and/or ID
- The deed to your house
- Your will and/or trust
- Insurance declarations and/or proof
- Medical records for you, children and pets
- Passports
- Social security cards
- Birth certificates
- Credit cards
- A list of contacts with contact info
Tips
- Hang each person’s bag on the back of their bedroom door, or on the wall by the door for easy access.
- Practice escape routes as a family. Make it fun by taking turns of who is in charge of each emergency drill.
- Tie a pair of shoes to your bed. Tuck them under and away, but leave them in a spot that is easy to reach quickly. In the case of an earthquake, you most likely will be barefoot while sleeping and glass may be broken. Protect your feet with one simple solution.
- A go bag is great to have at home. Don’t forget to have an emergency bag also packed in the car and a small one at work too.
- For toiletries, try having a second set of everything that you use to get ready for the day, and pack them in your vacation toiletry bag. When you go on vacations or travel, use the pre-packed bag and you will save the time of packing. You can restock when you return home and will turn your product over as well. For emergencies, store your “vacation” toiletry bag with your go bag. This way you will have what you need in case of an emergency, and will also have items handy and pre-packed for planned travel.
For a detailed list of more items to add to a go bag or first aid kits, click here