First, let me say that I am relatively new to the idea of prepping
and also to your blog. Excellent information on your site and I have
learned so much in such a short amount of time. Thank you for the
service you provide to those of us out there that realize that we don't
already know everything there is to know and that there is always more
to learn. Now, onto the kit.
This is my first attempt at making a kit and I decided to make this
one for my wife. This is not a kit designed to survive TEOTWAWKI,
zombie apocalypse, bug out, or even necessarily 72 hours in the
wilderness. This kit is designed for a "soccer mom" with two young
kids (and married to one big kid at heart) to survive in suburbia,
working in an office, traffic jams, scraped knees, etc. The tin is not
the standard rectangular shape. it's actually 4 inches square rather
than the approximate 4" x 2.5" of the Altoids tin, but it does fit in my
dress shirt pocket, and fits in my wife's purse quite well. Thickness
is the same as a standard Altoids tin. If the change from the
rectangular size disqualifies me from the contest, that's fine. I had
so much fun just putting this together that was prize enough for me. In
order to get my wife on board with carrying it I had to agree to make
it in a container she wouldn't mind carrying (found this Thomas Kincade
tin that used to hold gift cards). I also had to agree not to buy
anything to add to the tin. I made this only out of things we already
had lying around the house. The tin is held together with 3 hair ties
and one asparagus rubber band from the grocery store. Contents inside
are as follows:
1) $20 bill and $1 dollar bill. The twenty is for get out of
emergency type situation, the one dollar bill is for vending machine
type "emergencies".
2) Inside lid of tin is one half of hook and loop velcro tab. The other half attached to the back of the small mirror.
3) Small mirror that was part of an old shave kit. Could be used
to signal with, etc. Most likely will be used to make sure make-up is
applied correctly, teeth are clean following a meal, etc.
4) Approximately 2 feet of 550 paracord (for whatever may come up).
5) One more small rubber band (to go with the big one that holds tin together)
6) Two safety pins
7) Two ear plugs (wife works in an office that is inside a
factory that makes medical supplies so she has to have ear plugs
frequently. Also, you never know when you may needs these to plug up
ears, nose, etc., stop a leak temporarily, making black smoke when
burned for signalling. Lots of potential uses for these little things.)
8) One ft. piece of thin plastic coated wire (the kind used to hold toys in their packaging these days)
9) Two "Q-Tips"
10) Two "Neo-To-Go" Neosporin packets. (See: Two young boys and scraped knees above)
10) Two "Neo-To-Go" Neosporin packets. (See: Two young boys and scraped knees above)
11) Three different sized rectangular adhesive bandages "band-aid's (again see boys and knees above)
12) One small round adhesive bandage "band-aid"
13) One razor blade
14) One small non-climbing rated carabiner (don't anticipate her having to scale too many cubicle wallls on anytime soon)
15) One travel sewing kit with various colors and thicknesses of
thread, 2 different sized sewing needles, and two different sized and
colored buttons in a small zip top bag
16) One balloon that could be used for water container, etc. but
will probably just be used as a form of cheap entertainment for the boys
while waiting in line somewhere
17) One forever stamp
18) Eyeglass repair kit which includes one small screw driver, one
replacement screw, and two replacement nose pads and a zip top bag that
these items plus a few of the others fit into
19) One eyeglass cleaning cloth inside a plastic case
20) Approximately 3 ft. of gorilla tape wrapped around an old gift card
21) A few "post-it" notes
22) Pencil from the local golf course
23) Two alcohol prep pads
24) One Wet Ones wet wipe
25) One Off! Botanicals insect repellent wipe
26) One fingernail file
27) One pair of nail clippers
28) One pair of tweezers
29) Four quarters taped up in painters tape to keep from shifting around (also probably for vending machines, etc.)
30) One Colgate Wisp teeth cleaning system (tooth pick on one end
and tooth brush on the other, packaging cut down to remove excess and
make it fit better)
31) One lemon scented Fresh Nap moist towelette
32) Two matches
33) One birthday candle
34) One travel sized pack of Crest Glide dental floss (approximately 2 ft.)
35) One travel sized pack of Crest tooth paste
Thanks again for the motivation to make one of these. I had a
blast doing it. I also look forward to any comments, suggestions,
critiques, etc.
*****************
Interested in entering the Pocket Survival Kit contest? Check out the details.
First prize will receive a neo-tribal forged survival kit from Randy Church, an AR-15 Essential Parts Kit and Car Rescue Tool from Choate Machine & Tool, $50 in credit from Shelf Reliance consultant Jade Garn, a bundle of survival gear from OscarDelta & SnakeDr666, a copy of the Doom & Bloom Survival Medicine Handbook, and a $25 certificate from Paladin Press.
Second prize
will receive an AR-15 Essential Parts Kit and Car Rescue Tool from
Choate, a bundle of survival gear from OscarDelta & SnakeDr666, as
well as at least $30 worth of survival books & gear from TEOTWAWKI
Blog.
Third Prize will receive a Choate Car Rescue Tool and at least $20 worth of survival books & gear from TEOTWAWKI Blog.
