72 Hours

Most 72 hour kits make for a much more cushy disaster survival, but this is the bare bones, the absolute minimum amount needed to stay alive. If you can make a more elaborate one, that's great, but this is nice and compact, perfect for a college student or young married couple without much money or space.

As long as I can remember, I have loved being prepared. It makes me feel safe and secure, knowing that whatever happens, I will be ready. As a kid I remember having a 72 hour kit—a bag filled with everything I need to survive for 72 hours, the average amount of time it takes to get rescued if you are in a disaster of some sort. Instead of making the kit then putting it in a closet and forgetting about it like most normal people (actually, most normal people probably don't have one at all) I would carry it around with me everywhere. I also had a giant purse with all of my most prized possessions in it, and all the mommy essentials that I might need in a day-to-day emergency, and my entire life savings (stay tuned for my more current super prepared mommy purse next week, even though I'm still not a mommy and won't be for a while). I was only about 6 at the time.

My brother was a pyro, and every time he would play with the fire or even just a candle, I was certain he was going to burn down the house. So I'd gather up my 72 hour kit, my purse, and my cat and sit by the mail box (our meeting spot in case of an actual fire) until he was done. One day, I was playing house with my friend in the front yard—with my purse and 72 hour kit of course—and ran inside to get something. While we were inside, we got distracted by something else, and by the time we came back outside everything was gone.

Since then, I don't think I've really had a 72 hour kit. We have a big one for our family out in the car, but I didn't have anything much for myself, especially away at college and away nannying and all that. But on a whim the other night, I had that urge to be prepared again, so I immediately went to Safeway, bought everything Brian and I would need for three days, and came home and made us our very own 72 hour kits. And if you ever feel the need to be ready for a disaster, feel free to follow along. I've never done a tutorial before, but hopefully this will be coherent enough for you to figure it out.

Milk Carton 72 Hour Kit Tutorial

1. Gather all your food.

I bought what I like and what I could find, but substitutions can definitely be made. Just make sure you stay roughly the same size and nutritional content. Me sure to try to find things with lots of protein, like a beef stew instead of tomato bisque and a nutty granola bar instead of just oats. For EACH kit, you'll need the following:

4 granola bars

1 can of soup

1 stay fresh pack of Ritz crackers

3 packets apple cider mix

4 sticks beef jerky

2 packs fruit snacks

2 packs instant oatmeal

2 packs hot cocoa

2 packs dry soup mix

14 hard candies

18 sticks of gum

Besides the Ritz crackers, I would never eat, let alone buy, any of this. But in an emergency it will have to do. And all of those chemicals in packaged food helps it last until I redo my kit next year.

Can you believe all of that actually fits in a half gallon mik carton? Well, that's because it doesn't. I had to ditch the apple juice carton.

And most importantly, a half gallon milk carton (or cream, or juice), emptied, washed, and dried. If you're actually as prepared as I'd like to be, you can plan ahead. But, if you decide to do this all in one night like me, you'll have to find somewhere to put the milk.

Lovely frothy milk. I know it tastes the same, but there's something about drinking milk from a pitcher that just feels wrong for some reason.

2. Pack your kit.

First, put in your soup can. It will be a tight fit, but it will fit. Make sure that the can is in line with the top of the carton (I don't really know how best to describe it except that the first and last pictures in the image below are at a 90º angle to each other). This will ensure that even when the carton is filled almost to overflowing, you'll still be able to close it.

Stuff the dry soup mixes in the spaces left on either side of the can, then place the ritz crackers between them. Place the oatmeal packets on one side of the carton and the cocoa and cider mix packets along the on side, push them down as far as they will go. Stack the granola bars on each other between the oatmeal and drink mixes, push them down as far as they will go. Push the hard candies into any spaces you can find around the granola bars. Put the gum on top of the granola bars and two sticks of jerky on either side of the gum. Finally, place the fruit snacks on the top and push it all down close up your carton.

It may seem like a bit much for me to give step by step instructions on packing it, but it's harder than it looks. I had to try at least 5 different ways before I could get it to fit.

Fold one edge of the top of the carton slightly over the other, and tape it up.

If it's as full as mine was, taping it closed is probably a two person job.

Print out a menu/instructions (see below) and tape it to one side of the carton. I taped along each edge then added an additional strip down the middle to make sure the whole paper was covered and somewhat protected from the elements.

Day One

Breakfast: 2 Granola Bars

Lunch: Canned Soup, 5 Ritz Crackers, & Apple Cider

Dinner: 2 Sticks Beef Jerky & Fruit Snacks

Snacks: 5 Candies, 6 Sticks of Gum

Day Two

Breakfast: Oatmeal & Hot Cocoa

Lunch: Granola Bar, 2 Sticks Beef Jerky, & Apple Cider

Dinner: Soup Mix & 6 Ritz Crackers

Snacks: 4 Candies, 6 Sticks of Gum

Day Three

Breakfast: Oatmeal & Apple Cider

Lunch: Soup Mix & 5 Ritz Crackers

Dinner: Granola Bar, Fruit Snacks, & Hot Cocoa

Snacks: 5 Candies, 6 Sticks of Gum

SAVE CAN from canned soup to mix in.

For oatmeal and soup, add to can and fill to top with water.

For cider and cocoa, add powder to can and fill halfway with water.

The 3-day menu. We'll be living like kings.

Each person will also need water to survive the three days. If you want to stick with the bare minimum, a 2-liter bottle will be just enough to make everything for your meals. If you also want some extra drinking water, it's probably best to have two 2-liter bottles for each person.

And there you have it. One beautiful, space-efficient survival kit.

P.S. Today I looked up the visiting teaching message, and it just to happened to be on self reliance. That can't just be a coincidence, can it? So I decided to be a wonderful person and selfless* friend and give the two kits I made to the lovely girls I visit teach and make new ones for Brian and I.

*Okay, so I mostly only gave them away because I already had enough of everything except the soup to make two more kits anyway. Plus, I was totally selfish and opened up the kits, dug out the yummy granola bars I had bought and replaced them with dinky ones I found in my mom's pantry. I'm a little disgusted with myself, but they're really good granola bars!