Putting together a disaster kit

I'm a little embarrassed to say that we are 100% not prepared if a disaster hits us. We should be, living in a place with plenty of potential natural disasters. In the 3.5 years that we have lived here we have never sat down and put one together (all we have is some bottled water in a closet, which is better than nothing, but still not great). Since I come from a place where we were taught about emergency kits in homes and cars in Elementary School, you would think I would be better prepared. 

I know there are many store or websites you can visit to purchase an emergency/survival kit, but they are really not that hard to put together yourself. The main things you need are water, canned food, flashlights (or lanterns), batteries, radio, important documents (birth certificates, social security cards, marriage certificate, etc), appropriate clothing, blankets. 

Building a 72-hour kit can get pricey, but you if collect the items over time, it won't but a huge dent in your budget. You want a 3 day supply of food and water for each person (think of special considerations, if you have a baby or someone with diet restrictions). Simple toiletries (toilet paper, soap, toothbrush, deodorant, wet wipes in case of no water), flashlights with extra batteries, radio with extra batteries, a first aid kit, some cash, blankets (you can find emergency blankets for cheap at some places), at least a 7 day supply of any medications. Also think about the types of disasters you would be preparing for. If you live in area where blizzards are common, you might want to add things like hand warmers and frostbite kits. We need to think about typhoons, which means storing kits in an a waterproof tub. Another thing to think about is water treatment, you can buy tablets that treat water. Make sure you switch things out as needed (about every 6 months). 

Food items to consider for 72 hour kit:
Tuna pouches
peanut butter
beef jerky
instant soup
granola bars
instant oatmeal
trail mix
dried fruit
goldfish
fruit cups
energy bars
*This is just an example of food to put in a kit. It is recommended to have 1 gallon of water per person per day. 

There are also good ideas for car kits (in the event that you must evacuate quickly.