Get up a Go bag

An article came past my desk at work a few weeks ago, and it was so interesting that I thought I’d share it here.

We all know that we should have an emergency kit, or actually several, and most of us don’t. We don’t have a evacuation plan, we don’t have multiple routes thought out, and we don’t really want to put the time aside to do it, either, thank you very much.


Harrisburg, PA, flooding 2008

This article was in Disaster Recovery Journal, a business continuity magazine we receive. It is about making a Go Bag. A Go Bag is the bag you put aside for when you have 5 minutes to get your sh!t and get out. Each member of the family should have a Go Bag, know where it is and how to pack it, and this includes small children. If you have pets that will be coming with you, make them a Go Bag, too. Babies should have a Go Bag as well.

The suggestion is to get a backpack and have as much as you can already packed so you can just grab it and go. Also, add a list of things you need to pack at the last minute, like prescription medications, wallet, camera, cell, etc. Take the time to go through your house and add one thing from each room to the list that you would hate yourself forever if you left it behind. Family pictures, jewelry, etc. Within reason, of course, you don’t want to have to lug around Great Grandma’s solid maple dining room set.

Also add photocopies of any important documents: drivers license, insurance and home ownership paperwork. Phone numbers, too. Another good tip is to make sure that your family and friends know where you will be going if you have to evacuate. Don’t let uncle Bob think you are headed his way when you are actually going to cousin Sue’s house, because uncle Bob will be worrying his head off when you don’t show, and if the phones are down….well.

I have not done this yet, but I have the backpack. I did make a work Go Bag list, though, and I have it in my desk. These are all things I can take from my desk and throw in my tote quickly and easily and get out the door. I’ll share it with you here:

Keys, wallet, work ID badge, Kleenex, meds (I keep a pill bottle with a few of my prescription meds as well as Tylenol and advil), flashlight, candy/food, knife/fork/spoon, toothbrush, deodorant, pens/paper, mirror, tweezers, needles/pins, nail clippers, railroad spike (ok, I have this on my desk as a paperweight, but it can easily double as a hammer, prybar, or even a weapon), utility knives, eyedrops (saline), sweater, mug, antibacterial hand gel, scissors.

Some of these may seem obvious (wallet? keys?), but if all hell were breaking loose you need a list of the obvious because quite frankly, your mind is not thinking about the obvious at that time. Upon looking at the list, I think I’ll bring in an empty bottle so I can fill it with water, if necessary. I should probably steal a roll of toilet paper from the bathroom, too. Hmmm.

A good Go Bag list for general home preparedness can be found here. Some of this list seems more like something I’d put in a larger emergency kit, but you get the idea. Another list can be found here. Now, for the quiz: who can tell me why that website is called ’72 hours?’

In a few future posts, I’ll talk about a larger home Shelter-In-Place emergency kit for longer-term emergencies, and I’ll also talk about an emergency kit for your car, which is very important for those of us that live in snowy and icy climates.