The weather this month has really been frightening.  We’ve seen earthquakes, tornadoes, and even a Hurricane in the United States alone.  When natural disasters like these occur, we need to be ready.  We need to have an Emergency Evacuation Kit for our family so we can quickly get the things we need and get to safer ground.  Other names for these kits are 3 day kits and 72 hour kits.  These kits help us to be prepared for the unexpected.  If we don’t take the time to get some stuff together, we may forget to take important things like medicines when we are given a short amount of time to evacuate.  You may think this will never happen to you, but these types of storms can come when we least expect.  It will give you peace of mind to be prepared.  For a list of items to place in your kits see Ready America. This list can get you started but every family will have different needs.  Make a list of the items you could not live without and go from there.  Don’t forget to include things small children need like diapers and formula and items for pets.  It is best to have one kit for each family member.  Backpacks work great to store these items.  Some of the items you will need for your kits can be really expensive and you may not be able to buy them all at once.  Here are a few ideas to get your kits made on a budget.

Shop at Home

This is one of the cheapest ways to start gathering items for your emergency kit.  Take the list of items you made of the things you need and go searching in your house.  You will probably save yourself a lot of money just by shopping at your house.

Set Aside Money

Another way to get your kits together when you do not have a lot of money to spend on it is to set aside a set amount of money you can spend each month or week.  This money can be used to add items to your kit.  After awhile your family’s kit will start to grow.

Ask for Gifts

We often get asked by family what we want for our birthday or Christmas.  Why not ask for items to place in your kit?  This is a great way to get the more expensive items you will need like a first aid kit or hand cranked radio.  You could even ask for a backpack that will be used for storing all of the items.

Free Samples

Samples are usually smaller and easier to pack in an emergency evacuation kit.   One great place to find samples online is Wal-Mart.  They have a ton of great samples and lots of items that would be perfect for your kit.  Another site I like to get samples from is StartSampling.

Store Reward Cards/Coupons

Store reward cards from places like CVS, Walgreens, and Rite Aid can help you save money.  If you match some of these store sales with coupons, you can even score some free products like shampoo, toothpaste, and other personal care items.   Coupons can also be matched at stores without reward cards for free and low priced items.   You can also find food items for your kits that you could use a coupon to match with a store sale.  Keep an eye out for coupons for items on your list.

End of Season Clearance

I like to look for backpacks at the end of the back to school sale.  You can find backpack for 50%-75% off, or more.  I have found some great backpacks by waiting until these items get marked down.  You can also find a lot of camping items on clearance at the end of summer.  Look around for end of season clearances to find great deals on needed items for your kits.