72 Hour Kit Series Week #9: Warmth/Heat

Welcome!Week #9 in a step by step 72 hour kit series. Makes building a robust, personalized 72 hour kit affordable and do-able!

Welcome to week #9 in the “72 Hour Kit Ideas: A week by week approach” series.

This series is all about making it simple and doable 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 six 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?

This series is also available as a book. Purchasing the 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.
Purchase Your “Simple 72 Hour Kits” Book Now!

Last Week

I hope you were able to add items for shelter to your kit last week.

Week #9: Warmth/Heat

So, now you have clothing and protection from the elements.  You likely even packed coats/hats (or put them near your kits) if it is chilly where you are.  But what if it is really cold where you are at?  How will you keep your family warm…especially while they are sleeping?

Often, even if it doesn’t get below freezing, it can get chilly: especially if it is rainy.  I know that I will want ways to stay warm: especially for my kids.

If it even gets relatively cold where you are, make sure you add things to your kit this week to keep your family warm.

 

Suggestions

Fire brings warmth, so having a way to start one is important.  Additionally, it will be harder to stay warm while you are sleeping because you won’t be near the fire, and you won’t be generating as much heat.  So, consider lightweight ways to stay warm while sleeping as well.

What We Have Done in Our Family

For starting a fire, we have storm proof matches and the Sparkie fire starter and three Fuel Reserve Packs. We have an emergency sleeping bag for each person and two “Blizzard” bags.  We are hoping to squeeze three of us into each one to generate more body heat.  We also have two thin blankets.  We’d have one blanket covering three of us in each tent.

In addition, we have 18 heat packs (one for each person, each night) and two heat cells (we will burn each for just an hour or two to warm the tents each night).

How about You?

Leave me a comment and tell me what how you will add warmth to your kit.  What will you be doing this week?

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Week #8: Shelter Week #10: Sanitation Week #1: Packaging Your Kit Series Into: 72 Hour 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.

97 thoughts on “72 Hour Kit Series Week #9: Warmth/Heat”

  1. Those firestarter wafers are very neat! Im definitely making some of those! We currently have a lighter in each pack and waterproof matches. I researched the heat cells and I am definitely going to invest in some of those! Of course over here in south Texas it is rare to have even a chilly day but it is better to be prepared and safe than sorry!

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  2. Im currently repurposing all hubby’s old medicine bottles, the waterproof/kidproof ones, to hold matches. We tested some and they are water resistant, not really waterproof if they get squeezed, but good for an extra layer of protection. Have a bunch of the little heat hand and toe warmers too. Id never heard of the heat cell things though, i need to add them to the list to look up.

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  3. We have a ton of lighters and matches, currently trying to teach the wife how to use the strike sticks we have. Thankfully right now we live in the warm climate, but who knows that could change soon. Thinking about making some wax fire starters as a family activity soon.

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    • It is mostly warm where we are too Brandon, but it is a good thing to have, even for cooking! Good luck with the family activity!

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  4. Looks like a lot of people seen the homemade firestarters on pinterest! 🙂 I having been saving lint for a while now. Since we have chickens and therefore rarely buy eggs I do not have the egg cartons, so I have been saving toilet paper rolls to use. I think that I have enough to make some now. I need to get some wp matches and a firesteel. I also want to get some heat packs. Some for the cars and for our packs.

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  5. Sadly, this is one of the areas where we are most lacking. (When the power goes out in the winter, we just put on more layers and stay under blankets). I am definitely going to try making some of those firestarters, and skittish of matches as I am, I can’t believe I don’t own a lighter. The heat packs look like a good idea, too, but I’m not sure I’ll be able to find them locally until closer to hunting season.

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  6. For now I think we will just get heat packs to stay warm under blankets and we already have some waterproof matches and striker for when we camp. Do you have any suggestions for warm gear to pack for a a one year old if we were to set out on foot? What we take camping for her would be bulky to carry for any distance. Thanks!

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    • Kelli, I keep a mobie (front carrier) and a few extra blankets for my 1 year old. I plan to just carry her right next to me under my jacket if necessary. I think the body heat would be better than anything else. She would also sleep in my sleeping bag with me if needed. No way she could warm one up on her own.

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  7. I plan to start off adding waterproof matches to selected packs (not the youngest kids’) and heat packs to everyone’s. That will be a major improvement over the nonexistent heat sources we have now. 🙂

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  8. i plan on adding matches and a lighter, i already have some heat cells but i think we could use a few more. i also need to buy some heat packs. and make some home made fire starters

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  9. I have tons of dryer lint, and a few extra bits and pieces of candles floating around; I might try some of the “home-made fire starters” that others are recommending. I have lots of matches (dollar store has the best deal I think) and a few lighters in the packs, but I’d REALLY love one of those blastmatch things. They are so cool!

    I know it might sounds strange, but taking the time to “practice” survival skills like building a fire should be everyone’s preparedness roster. Growing up in Alaska and camping often, my brother and I were able to start proper fires from a really young age (with supervision, or course). However, I remember how truly shocked I was in collage when a friend of mine offered to start the camp fire and used an entire (large) box of matches trying to light a big, damp, log. After finding another box of matches, I showed her that there is a process to fire starting (tinder, kindling, then fuel logs….all dry) and that it is more than wood + flame. Other processes I know I need to work on are finding/building natural shelter, first aid and natural healing remedies, and perhaps a few more intense survival skills.

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    • Not strange at all Andrea! All these “things” won’t do us much good at all if we don’t know how to use them!

      Wanna do a guest post on “How to start proper fires?” I’d be happy to give you a free blastmatch if you’d like! (-:

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      • I would LOVE to do a guest post on building proper fires! I believe you can see my email, so feel free to contact me and we can set up the details!

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  10. I’ve been collecting dryer lint to make homemade fire starters: stuff into egg carton cups, drizzle melted way over, break each cup apart for individual fire starters. I think it’s time to finally make those!

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  11. Well since I won last weeks prize this is an easy one for me! Thank you! I do think I will add the Heat Cells too, though.

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    • If you want to exchange a few of the warmers for heat cells, I’m happy to do that Mary, just let me know! I won’t be placing your order until tomorrow (Friday) evening!

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  12. We have lighters and matches. Will be adding cotton balls soaked in gasoline as a fire starter. Havwnts tried yet but have seen it work in videos. I will try it to make sure. And my granparents were costantly camping and made their own fire starters out of lent and old candle wax or crayons. I will also make that this week to see for my self how well it works. But its the only fire started my grandparents used so I an holding out hope. As this would be super affordable. Almost no cost to someone with kids. 🙂 also am going to get some sort of magnesium starter or something like that. Misty have you used shelf reliences stareter. Do you know how comparable it is to others?

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    • Let me know if your ideas work Christina! DIY prep is a great option!

      I have the Sparkie firestarter and love it, but I’ve never used anything else, so I can’t really offer an objective opinion. Sorry.

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    • Christina, be careful with gasoline as it can explode. It might be better to use kerosene or lamp oil. The best is to dip cotton balls in melted bees wax. The bees wax waterproofs the cotton balls and is easy to break open and light. One of these will produce a fire that will burn approximately 10 minutes.

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    • Cotton balls in gasoline sounds dangerous. Try saturating cotton balls in Vaseline (put 5 or 6 in a plastic bag with a glob of Vaseline, and squish around for a minute or so). Just a piece of one will burn for seriously two minutes or better, which should be plenty of time for your tinder to catch. No fumes, but all the good flammability of a petroleum product. Also, after a few months, the Vaseline dries out a bit and it’s really easy to work with.

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  13. I will buy some matches and lighters for each pack later today, but i love the idea of the heat cells as hubs and I are terrible at lighting fires 🙂 Last time we went camping one of us always stayed by the fire so we never had to relight the fire as it just took us too long each time!

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  14. My husband and I each have a SOL emergency bivvy in our bags, and we each have an emergency blanket, but we really need sleeping bags for everyone.

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  15. I have some waterproof matches but I didn’t think about the heat packs. I am going to stock up on those which will work nicely in our sleeping bags if needed. Thank you for all you helpful information!

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  16. saw on someones YouTube video that if you buy regular matches and dip each one in nailpolish, then lay on wax paper to dry, they become water proof. we have not tried this yet but will be purchasing matches and giving it a try. much cheaper than buying WP matches.

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  17. I found two huge boxes of white emergency candles in my garage tonight while cleaning! I will add those to our kit along with a couple boxes of slugs for the shotgun.

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  18. Aside from the trailer's provisions, I am weak in this area. That is why the Featherlite zero degree sleeping bag is so tempting.

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  19. We have several lighters for candles but need to get fire starters and matches so will be ordering those…also liners for sleeping bags…our jackets have the omni heat technology so they reflect body heat and those come from Columbia jackets…expensive but good. also have insulated snow pants for everyone and wool socks and base layers…
    got the large back packs and sleeping bags are on order…tent will come soon….working on things slowly but surely

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