What is the Family Kit System?
The family kit system is simple. Just as individual grab & go bags serve the individual; family kits serve the entire family and provide an extra layer of optional items that can make having to leave home a bit easier to manage. These kits are unique in that they provide the family with an opportunity to plan for a more extended emergency when you don’t know when you will be returning or perhaps where you will go.
Do You Have Extra Room in Your Car?
If your family can evacuate by car and you have the space available for more supplies, the family kit system offers more than your individual grab & go bags possibly could. Using them together will give you more options, supplies, and comfort in what could be a very difficult situation.
Emergency needs differ and space is always going to be an issue. The following kits are part of the family kit system and are offered as suggestions. Is there something missing that would make your life easier if evacuated? Decide what additional items are important to your family so you can have them ready to go.
- Shelter & Warmth Kit
- Food & Cooking Kit
- Light Kit
- Sanitation Kit
- Clean Kit
- Communications Kit
- Tool Kit
- First Aid Kit
- Water Kit
- Battery Kit
- Charging Kit
- Entertainment Kit
- Shelter & Warmth Kit
- Food & Cooking Kit
- Light Kit
- Sanitation Kit
- Clean Kit
- Communications Kit
- Tool Kit
- First Aid Kit
- Water Kit
- Battery Kit
- Charging Kit
- Entertainment Kit
Packing Family Kits
Here are some helpful suggestions for putting your family kits together.
- #1Gather items together and place them in a Ziploc or other type of bag. This becomes a kit. Keep in mind that Ziploc bags come in various sizes including 2- and 3-gallon bags.
- #2Label each kit so the contents can be easily identified, especially if it is not contained in a clear Ziplog bag.
- #3Place all kits together inside a manageable tote or container. Depending on what you pack and how many individual kits you include, you may end up with more than one container. Store family kits alongside your grab & go bags.
- #4Assign this extra tote or container to a responsible adult to make sure it is taken with their own grab & go bag.
What Family Kits Are and Are Not
What they are:
- Optional for evacuation.
- Items the family can share.
Replenishment of and in addition to items contained in the grab & go and shared essential bags.
- An opportunity to take more items than the typical go bag allows.
- A way to provide for a more extended emergency when you don’t know when you will return home or even where you will go.
What they are not:
- Not necessary for evacuation.
- Not a replacement for an individual’s grab & go bag.
- Not a replacement for the shared essentials bag.
- Not meant to be taken if there is a house fire – in that situation, focus on safety first.