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What’s in your GO-BAG?

rbspecht

What’s in your Go-Bag? I’m not talking about that small travel bag that you take on an overnight visit or the one that you cram into the overhead bin on an airplane. And I really don’t mean the bag you keep in the back of the bottom drawer of the filing cabinet at work in case you don’t make it home after having drinks with friends the night before.

I’m talking about your emergency evacuation ‘get-the-hell-out-of-Dodge’ GO-BAG!

Things have gotten tough enough and unpredictable enough that we really need to consider having a Go-Bag ready ‘just in case’.

We’re facing wildfires, extreme weather, and in some locales civil unrest.

The world is on fire! The planet is slamming us with unpredictable weather, and seismic upheavals, and on top of all of that, our fellow humans are being mean to each other!

What’s in your Go-Bag?

Your Go-Bag is the stuff that you need to have on stand-by in case you’re ordered out the door in minutes, or in case a natural disaster slams you without warning.

Packing the Go-Bag takes a bit of thought. It should not be the haphazard result of scooping some stuff off a shelf, emptying your medicine chest or simply changing your shoes.

There is some relevant and reliable advice available out there about what a Go-Bag should contain. Consider this list.

Go-Bag Checklist

A few years ago when I was doing a Disaster and Emergency Management course online through York University in Toronto I put together a 72 Hour survival kit. 

It’s too bad that I didn’t know about the University of Nevada’s publications at the time. The info that the University of Nevada makes available is invaluable to anyone facing natural disasters. Civil Defense and local emergency management practitioners should take a moment to review their library.

Contents list as suggested by the University of Nevada’s Reno Extension department. Wildfire Evacuation Checklist

A part of the York University course was an assignment to document putting together an emergency evacuation kit. That was my lightbulb moment.

There are two parts to this kit. There’s the 72-hour preparedness kit and there is the emergency Go Bag.

72 Hours—Is your family prepared?  This is one of the catchphrases that disaster and emergency planners use to drive home a couple of points;

In case of an emergency, can you survive without services for 72 hours?  The time frame they reference is because past history shows that a community on evacuation notice or trying to survive after a disaster could be without water, power, access to food, and only limited access to accommodation for up to 72 hours.  It can take that long to restore the basics.  Well, hopefully, it only takes that long.

So, back to the original question.  What’s in your Go Bag?

Your Go-Bag is the stuff that you need to have on stand-by in case you’re ordered out the door in minutes, or in case a natural disaster slams you without warning.

Let’s be clear about this.

The Go-Bag is where you’re going to stash your id, your critical documents, money, credit cards, and the really important stuff!  The 72 Hour kit is the food, water blankets/sleeping bags and tent or tarp, and the bits and pieces that will help you survive for three days.

I bought a 72-hour kit and then augmented it with stuff in the house. This not cheating! In an emergency, you are not going to have the time to find everything you need.  It is better to have it all packaged and packed and stuffed into a place in your garage or your front hallway closet or hidden in a deck box on your balcony. Buying a GO-BAG and a 72 hour survival kit is not cheating.

Consider these guys as a source for the GO-BAG; 72 HOURS (I don’t get anything for recommending this organization.)

I also suggest you get a collapsible wagon or cart of some kind to use if you cannot use, or do not have a vehicle.

Space in an apartment is always at a premium so why would you tie up valuable space on the balcony with this stuff?  Having it ready in your apartment building’s locker is a nice idea but ask yourself; can I get to it in an emergency?

Having a kit that you cannot access defeats the purpose.

Myself, I can be out the door and joining the vehicles fleeing our community in five minutes.  That does depend on my wife and visiting grandchildren cooperating. 

Step one; grab the document storage, laptop, external hard drive, charging stations and cables for all electronics.

Step two; grab the legacy jewelry and cash storage.

Step three; back the car out of the garage.  If the power is out, I can disengage the garage door and raise it manually.  I had it rebalanced several years ago to make this possible, but it has to be done from within the garage.  That’s a bit of theft prevention.  Once the car is out of the way I grab the 72-hour survival kit which is all in one large backpack and one box, and toss it all into the back of the SUV.  Then I load the two five-gallon jugs full of fresh water I keep stored in the garage. I also grab the tent, sleeping bags, tarps, and umbrellas.

Just a bit of caution. Any water you store needs to be refreshed occasionally and checked. This month I checked my water and discovered it had frozen solid, and popped the seams on one of the containers. Oops!

One reason the Go Bag is often in the front closet is so you can grab coats and jackets applicable to the season!  You don’t really want to pre-pack parkas when you’ll need raincoats and your wellingtons on evacuation.

Go Bag Contents

What goes in the Go Bag?  For each person in your household, the Go Bag should have two changes of underwear, two shirts, two sweaters, two pairs of pants, jeans preferably, and spare shoes or boots.  And three pairs of socks.   Shoes are obligatory!  Sandals are optional.  Closed toe!  Think about where you might end up.

Don’t be silly about the clothing.  Put GOOD stuff in the bag.  You don’t want to be stuck in an evacuation center with ratty old underwear you’re not comfortable in, or dress pants that you’re afraid to get dirty.

Documents

You’re gonna need copies of fun things like your passport, your driver’s license, your birth certificate, maybe your marriage certificate depending on where you live, and any immigration certificates or something that proves your right to actually live in this community. You could just as easily put your originals in the Go-Bag and if you’re going to store it by your front door anyways that would be a great place to keep all of your originals. Just make sure you’ve got other copies somewhere that you can access conveniently when you need to. Cool?

What about money? What about your credit cards?

Think about it this way: if someone were to question you about your reason for being at an evacuation centre or on the road and how you’re going to live, what documents will you need? That also includes funny things like your banking card, healthcare card, and even something as silly as your grocery shopping rewards card.

Why would you need all that if you’ve always got your wallet and phone with you?

Do you always have your gear with you?

I keep a copy of all of my passwords and usernames for online services in the Go Bag in a very handy little Moleskin branded notebook.  And yes, like so many of us, I do use my computer and my phone to store passwords but, what happens if you no longer have power or access to your phone or computer? 

In addition, I suggest you keep a spare key and the related stuff that you need to get into your safety deposit box in the Go-Bag. To be honest, I don’t have a safety deposit box.

What about a copy of your WILL if something goes really bad?

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