72 Hour Kit Ideas: Organize and Pack

Welcome! Week #24 in a step by step 72 hour kit series.  Makes building a robust, personalized 72 hour kit affordable and do-able!

Welcome to week #24 in the “72 Hour Kit Ideas: A week by week approach” series.

This series is all about making it simple and do-able to get a 72 hour kit put together for you and your family.

Creating such a kit can be overwhelming and financially difficult to do all at once. But through this series, I’ve broken it down for you into 26 small steps! You can see all the steps here. Just take one small baby step each week and in 6 months you will have a well stocked, personalized kit!

You can even go through the series a few times over a year or two adding just the most basic supplies the first six months and then a few more “extra” supplies each time you cycle through it again.

Want even more help?Build a robust, personalized 72 hour kit one week at a time over 26 weeks

This series is also available as an e-book. Purchasing the e-book gives you a few additional benefits over just reading the free series:

  • Additional details and tips
  • The ability to print the entire book!
  • Pictures of my own kit showing just how I pack each week.
Download “Your Own 72 Hour Kit Plan” E-Book Now!

* Some links in this post are affiliate links meaning, at no additional cost to you, I may get a small commission if you make a purchase. Some links (those to Thrive Life) actually provide you with a discounted price. Thanks for your support in this way!

Last Week:

I hope all of you were able to decide how you will package your kit last week!

Week #24: Organize and Pack

How you organize and pack your kit is very important. You will need to be able to find items quickly and should keep like items together. Less important items should be kept on the bottom of your kit.

This week, give some thought to how to organize your kit and then go do it!

Since I’ve chosen to pack our things in a backpack, I will list suggestions for that idea here. However, some of these principles will apply no matter what you are packing your supplies in!

  • Your heaviest items should be placed nearest to your spine and not too high or too low.
  • Wrap softer, lower-weight items around the weightier items to prevent heavier pieces from shifting.
  • Keep small like items together using gallon ziploc bags. Stash frequently used items within easy reach.
  • Fill up empty spaces. Pack smaller things inside of larger items when possible.
  • Tighten all compression straps to limit load-shifting.
  • Take everything out of its original packaging to save on space.

What We Have Done In Our Family:

My first step was to lay our supplies out in one spot. Then, I put items I wanted in a particular pack in front of that pack on the ground. We split things between the two adult packs. For example, my husband carries all the tools and I carry all the first aid supplies. My boys carry their own clothes, sleeping bags, food, water filter bottle, flashlights, whistles and a few water boxes.

The next step I took was to group each pack into three sections: (1) Items we will not need often (clothes, poncho etc), (2) Items we will need often (food) (3) Items we could need quick access to (first aid supplies, lights, communication stuff)

I set aside all things that were a part of group #3 until later. I put items in group number one in the bottom of our packs with the lightest items going in first. I put all our water (heavy) in the middle of our packs nearest our backs.

Once all group #1 items were in the pack, I added group #2 items closer to the top of the pack.

Once the main part of our packs were filled I added in items from group #3 to the outside top, front and side pockets.

How About You?

Leave me a comment and share any tips you have for packing your kit!

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Week #23: Packaging Your Kit Week #25: Rotate Week #1: Packaging Your Kit Series Into: Survival Kit Series, A Week by Week Approach

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Becky is a wildlife enthusiast and pet and livestock care expert with a diploma in canine nutrition. With over a decade of experience in animal welfare, Becky lends her expertise to Simple Family Preparedness through insightful info about pets, livestock, bee keeping, and the practicalities of homesteading.

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