Welcome!
Welcome to week #2 in the “Survival Kit Ideas: A week by week approach” series.
This series is all about making it simple and do-able (and a bit fun!) to get a survival kit (aka 72 hr kit, bug out bag etc) put together for you and your family: something that will help you care for yourself without the aid of others for at least 3 days!
Creating such a kit can be overwhelming and financially difficult to do all at once. So, through this series, I’ve broken it down for you into 26 small steps! Just take one small baby step each week and in 6 months you will have a well stocked kit!
You can even go through the series a few times over a year or two adding just the most basic supplies the first 6 months and then a few more “extra” supplies each time you cycle through it again.
And don’t forget that I give stuff away each week too! I not only want to make this simple for you, but each week, I’d like to help one of you out financially by providing supplies to help you fulfill the coming week’s goals. To enter the drawing each week simply leave a comment about what you have done or plan to do for your kit that week!
I hope all of you were able to gather some water to add to your survival / 72 hr kit last week. Water is absolutely essential to life. You could survive (though not comfortably) without food for 3 days, but you will not survive without water.
Week #3: More Water
As you gathered water to actually put IN your kit, you probably realized (if you didn’t already), that it is heavy! If you were forced to evacuate your home and could take your car, then it is very realistic to take 3+ gallons per person in your family. You should have at least this much water ready to throw into your car at a moments notice.
But what if you were forced to evacuate on foot? It simply is not realistic to carry that much water for any real distance. Maybe this guy could:
but not me! This is especially so if you have a large family. I would need to carry at least 18 gallons for my family! Yet, water is still essential to life. So, what to do?
Chances are if forced to evacuate, you will come across water sources in one form or another: a lake, pond, backyard pool, stream, river, rainwater, etc. If you come across other evacuated homes, you may be able to use hidden water sources there: ice cubes, hot water tanks, pipes, toilet reserve tanks, etc.
*Note: You will need a distiller (in addition to a purifier) to make ocean water drinkable. They are very expensive: $800+
However, since you will be uncertain of the source or cleanliness of these sources, you will need a way to make them safe to drink. There are many methods of doing this. There are pros and cons to each method and no one method will work well for everyone in their current situation.
Once again, I’ve got a bunch of suggestions for you. Choose what works best for your family right now!
Suggestion#1: Bleach
Pros:
- Inexpensive & easy method.
- Available at almost any store.
- Kills most microorganisms.
- Can treat a large amount of water all at once.
- Time-effective
Cons:
- Does not remove contaminants such as heavy metals, salts, and most other chemicals.
- Will not remove mud or dirt or make muddy water clear again.
- Will not fix the taste of contaminated water.
- Even clear water treated with bleach will taste funny.
If you choose this method: If you choose this method, you will need to keep bleach in your 72 hour kit (find a small container at a dollar store or in the travel section). Make sure to rotate it every few months! You may also want to consider adding a drink mix to make treated water more palatable. Print out the following instructions from FEMA and keep them with the bleach:
Use only regular household liquid bleach that contains 5.25 to 6.0 percent sodium hypochlorite. Do not use scented bleaches, colorsafe bleaches, or bleaches with added cleaners. Because the potency of bleach diminishes with time, use bleach from a newly opened or unopened bottle. Add 16 drops (1/8 teaspoon) of bleach per gallon of water, stir and let stand for 30 minutes. The water should have a slight bleach odor. If it doesn’t, then repeat the dosage and let stand another 15 minutes. If it still does not smell of bleach, discard it and find another source of water.
Suggestion #2: Boiling and Distillation:
Pros:
- Very effective at treating microorganisms in water, and used in conjunction with distillation, it will also remove heavy metals, salts and chemicals.
- It will make your water clear to drink and make it taste relatively normal.
- It is also relatively inexpensive if you already have a pot and heat source.
Cons:
- You will need a LARGE pot, lid, and small stove in your 72 hour kit. These items will take up some space.
- You will need to use fuel, which will be precious in an emergency, just to get drinkable water. You may prefer to save your fuel for other things.
- You can only distill so much water at a time.
- This method is not time-effective.
If you choose this method: Add a large pot with a handled lid (see illustration below), a small cup, string, and a small stove (with fuel) to your 72 hr kit. Print these instructions from FEMA and keep them with your pot:
Distillation involves boiling water and then collecting the vapor that condenses back to water. The condensed vapor will not include salt or most other impurities. To distill, fill a pot halfway with water. Tie a cup to the handle on the pot’s lid so that the cup will hang right-side-up when the lid is upside-down (make sure the cup is not dangling into the water), and boil the water for 20 minutes. The water that drips from the lid into the cup is distilled. (see illustration)
Suggestion #3: Water Purification Tablets / Treatment solutions
Pros:
- Inexpensive: a bit more expensive than bleach, though not by much.
- If you live in Utah, you may be able to get them at the grocery store!
- Take up very little space.
- Usually taste better than bleach
- Will kill most microorganisms.
- Can treat a large amount of water all at once.
- Time-effective.
Cons:
- Will not remove other contaminants such as heavy metals, salts, and most other chemicals.
- Will not remove mud or dirt or make muddy water clear again.
- Will not fix the taste of contaminated water.
If you choose this method: Make sure that the option you purchase includes directions and be sure to include them in your kit. If you can’t get some at your grocery store, here are a few options: Aquamira water treatment , Purification tablets. You may also want to consider adding a drink mix to make treated water more palatable.
Suggestion #4: Water Filtration Bottle
Pros:
- Relatively inexpensive (when compared to other water filters).
- Convenient.
- Filter water just as you need it.
- Treats microorganisms and filters heavy metals and chemicals as well as sand, mud, silt, etc.
- Can have one for each family member.
- Filtered water is easily portable.
- Filtered water will be clear and taste normal.
Cons:
- Will need to replace filter periodically (usually after filtering about 30 gallons).
- Sometimes difficult to push water through the filter: you can’t suck it out. You will need to push it through the filter into a glass or cup.
- Filter has a shelf life. Even if you only use it once, you will need to replace it after 6 months.
If you choose this method: You can get two different bottles through Shelf Reliance: One for $19.99 and one for $29.99. You can also get a Seychelle bottle for $31.67. If you want to get a group of friend together and purchase them in a 12 pk, you can get them for $14.60 each. Contact me directly for that deal.
Suggestion #5: SteriPen
Pros:
- Very quick! Water is ready in just seconds.
- Convenient. Small & Light. Fits almost anywhere
- Fits into almost any water bottle or cup.
- Very effective against all microorganisms.
- Can have one for each family member.
Cons:
- Relatively expensive: especially if you buy one for everyone in your family.
- Does not filter heavy metals, salts, and most other chemicals or sand, mud etc.
- Will not fix the taste of contaminated water.
If you choose this method: Purchase one (or more) of the SteriPens: The SteriPen Emergency or the SteriPen Journey and add it to your kit.
Suggestion #6: Water Filters
Pros:
- Effective against microorganisms and heavy metals, salts, and most other chemicals as well as sand, mud etc .
- Typically lightweight.
- Can usually pump and filter at the same time.
- Most can filter and incredible amount of water: some up to 13,000 gallons.
- Some can be attached to your faucet and used if you were to shelter in place and still had running water, but were unsure of its safety.
Cons:
- Expensive (the filters that Shelf Reliance carries currently range from $60-$360).
- You will have to replace the filter after you filter so many gallons.
- Filter has a shelf life. Even if you only use it once, you will need to replace it after 6 months
If you choose this method: Purchase one (or more) water filters and add it to your kit (here are those available through me at Shelf Reliance)
Suggestion #7: The Aquapail
Pros:
- It has an indefinite shelf life! Wow!
- It is the fastest portable water filtration system on the market
- It is completely gravity fed
- It is 100% USA made
- It kills up to 100% of All Viruses & Bacteria (complete non-detection on all tests!)
- It is 100% environmentally-friendly, Totally recyclable green product
Cons:
- Even the smallest (gives you 400 gallons per person) is just a bit bulky for a 72 hr kit, but personally, I think it is worth making it fit!
- Expensive ($82-$504 through Shelf Reliance right now)
If you choose this method: You can purchase an Aquapail through me here. Or, purchase one through one of these distributors. I suggest purchasing the smallest for your 72 hr kit and an 2nd larger one for your home.
What we have done in our family:
When we first started our 72 hr kits, we used purification tablets. I still keep some in our kits. Then we added a filtration bottle for each family member. We have two in each of the large kits and one in each of the boy’s kits. This will allow us to filter 180 gallons of water w/o changing any filters. I like that my boy’s kits have their own: if they were separate from us for any reason, those helping them would be able to filter water for them. Once I started doing well will Shelf Reliance, we used some of our free product benefits to add a water filter (that can also be attached to our faucet if needed) and the smallest Aqua pail (the 400) to our kits.
And once again, I know this series is about building a kit you can take with you, but we also have an Aqua pail 1000 outside of our kit. We will likely add a 5000 soon.
How about you? / Enter Drawing
Leave me a comment and tell me how you’ve decided to add the ability to purify / filter water to your kit. Remember, everyone who participates by leaving a comment between today, April 25th and 9:00 am PST on Wednesday May 2nd will get one entry into this week’s free product drawing! This week’s winner will win a 12 pack of the new THRIVE Express meals which will help them fulfill next week’s challenge:
And don’t forget….
Add $1 per person to your survival kit this week. Make sure you use $1 bills and / or quarters
Last Week’s Winner:
I had 36 entries (only 1 entry per person and only comments between April 18th and April 25th count) and according to random.org, comment number 1 or “Crystal” was the winner of the water filter! Crystal said:
I’m so excited about this easier approach to emergency kits. I just discovered your site through pinterest! It’s great. I rotate water bottles for drinking water and have gallon containers full of water for other needs. I need to make all the water a little more accessible in case of an emergency. I wouldn’t want to hang out in our basement just to have the water near.
Congrats Crystal! I will contact you by email with details about how to claim your prize that should help you with this week’s challenge!
I'm hoping that I won't have to use my water supply, but if I do and I'm at home…I'm adding my Thrive drink mixes to them for a tasty treat! Love all the work you are doing on your blog. I'm going to have to start working more on my 72 hr. kits. At least I started with H2O!
Awesome Lindsey! Water is incredibly important!
I like the idea of having different sized water storage options for different situations. Thanks!
We've been doing the water boxes and Water Filtration Bottle. I got enough for all of us for 72 hours I like that they are portable but eventually I'd like to get a Water Filter to put in our kits as well.
@DH: You are welcome!
@Sabrina: Good for you! Hopefully you will WIN (or earn) a water filter before the end of the series!
Along with bleach I already have stored, I want to purchase the filtering water bottles, Steripen, and one of the larger volume more long term water filtration systems to make sure I have many bases covered (both home and on the go). A bonus in this months Q are pantry can sizes of the drink mixes to try so that we will have a way to flavor our already stored water!
P.S.
The filtering water bottles, Steripen, and any form of portable water filtering (along with what smaller bottled water we have in our 72 hr packs) would be of greater importance in the event of any sort of emergency that required us to evacuate. I don't own a car and depend on the city bus for transportation. Should there be an evacuation with none of that available, walking with multiple gallons of water would be a very limited option!
My parents have their own well so I would probably head on over there for water, they have a generator and stores of fuel for it to run their whole home. They have two cows canned and some frozen plus more, they are wayyy more prepared then my family but they have enough to share if the time came.
A good water filter is on the top of my wishlist. We have a good start on water jugs but who would want to carry them or use it all for washing. Luckily we live next to a creek that could work if needed.
Great information again, Thanks!
Yay! I won!! This water filtering information is great!! I always wondered about water since it is so heavy to take with you.
Too heavy! (-:
I have added quite a number of gallon jugs of tap water, am saving juice and other containers that I can refill, have purchased enough water bricks for 55 gal of water, and have some acquatainers. This is on top of a combi water filter and a refill and carbon refills…Would like to get some of the aquapails….
The Aqua pails really are fabulous and so is the owner of the company! I’ve been very impressed with him!
Thank you for the extra info about water, water in the one thing worry about most. It’s one of the most important thing you need to live but it can be really dangerous if not properly care for. I do have a question, I’ve noticed that you recommend that we put one dollar away a week for each person in your family. Do you suggest we keep all one’s or is bigger bills ok also? Or does it not matter? Thanks for you time and advice!
I like that you have researched several different options for treating water. I am just starting “prepping” and it is a little overwhelming, but I do think that a variety of preparations will add flexibilty if the time ever comes that we have to use it. Thanks for all your time spent researching and organizing!
Thanks Holly! And welcome! Don’t get too overwhelmed! Just work little by little and you will soon be surprised by all you’ve accomplished!
The smaller the bills the better Tiffany. Coins are heavy, so I recommend a few quarters and mostly $1 bills. In an emergency situation, people may not be able to make change. You don’t want to pay $20 for a loaf of bread simply b/c that is the only bill you have and the store doesn’t have change.
I’m going to order the Aquapail! I do have a question about the water filtration bottles. I have one I bought for my 72 hour kit a couple of years ago. I have never used it. Does that mean the filter is no good since it is older than 6 months? It kind of seems pointless to me to even spend money on those if they go bad that fast because it’s not really something I’m going to rotate.
If you have NEVER used it, then you are fine. It should be just fine. But if you have used it even once, then it has expired. I learned that the hard way. I didn’t know about the shelf life and used one of my bottles to demonstrate at a preparedness seminar. Only used it once and had to toss it 6 months later! )-:
Wow! Thanks for the great info. My husband and I are just starting our emergency kits and I found your link on Pinterest. We have a family of 7 so we need to gather a lot of supplies. I think we’re leaning towards the filtered bottles and the tablets because of the amount of water that we need to be able to survive. Thanks for sharing!
I really like the water bottles…especially with that many people. They can each filter their own water when / if they need it!
Eventually i would like to get a water filter (in my dream world i would be backpacking for recreation so this would be a necessary investment for that also), in the mean time i will likely get some water purification tablets (for shelf life and ease of use), when i went overseas a dr recomended iodine, so i may look into that. I will likely include some kind of drink packets (ready to use) to disquise any tastes for the (day care) kids i would have with me.
Sounds like a great plan Megan!
I think we might need to add another bottle. Maybe one the 2 little ones can share.
We store water at the house and have built a filter from two 5 gallon buckets following these instructions. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DIgHkKgmZAU
We have a lake close to our home so could use this for emergency water. For our bug out bags, we carry 3 quarts of water and have water purification tablets in the packs to treat any water we come by. We also have Sport Berkey water filter bottles in our packs. http://www.sportberkey.com/index.html.
We got a great deal on the berkey bottles before I found Shelf Reliance.
My family ordered the indiviual water pouches for our 72 hour kits and are working towards a nice filter! Everyone also has a canteen, but a bottle with a built in filter would be amazing! I want to look into those!
The water bottles are nice! And remember, you don’t have to get them all at once. I bought ours one at a time!
I have 1 filtered water bottle and need to just suck it up and purchase the other 5 I need for our kits. We have a portable filter meant for larger amounts also with our kits. I think I’ll have to look into the AquaPail, pretty neat product. Perhaps that might be our next big purchase.
The Aqua Pail is truly one of my new favorite products!
I love the idea of having water filtration bottles for each of our family members. Of we get separated everyone would have a way of getting fresh water and that gives me piece of mind!!
Me too Amber!
That Aquapail looks great! I have never seen those. I have bleach just in case but I hope to get a small water filter. I just purchased some tablets but have never used them. Thanks for the great info!
Not having to use them is probably a good thing Sierra!
I have Katadyn tablets for my emergency kit, but I am hoping to add a filter to our supplies soon.
But I really should think about having water bottles with purifiers for everyday use anyway, and keep them in our emergency kits. Thanks for all the ideas!
The day I was able to add a filter to our supplies was a very happy day! (-:
Great run down of options. Thanks! I think the best option for us at the moment is the water bottle filters. I also believe that we have a water filter in some backpacking stuff that was given to us so I am going to make it my mission to find it when we move.
Good luck Marie!
I too have the water bottle for my family but really want a way to filter larger amounts of water using the aqua pail or something similar… Thanks for the info.
I’m am really loving the Aqua Pail. Nothing else like it (that I know of! )
This is incredibly helpful and I’m so glad you are putting together all of these tips for us! My family has a kit for hurricane preparedness, but I was troubled by the water preparation. This is invaluable information. Thanks a bunch!
You are welcome Ashley!
I just started this journey. Right now I have a case of water in my car, a few gallons in the garage. I think I will start saving for one of the water filtration Aquapail.. Thanks for all of your helpful suggestions!
Welcome to the journey Pam! Sounds like you have a good start! The Aquapail is fabulous, WHEN you can afford it! (-:
I think I will have to start small with the purification drops, and the filtration bottles. I hope to work up to the water filter and the aquapail though. The Aquapail so cool, I didn’t even know about those. How big is the smallest Aquapail?
It is 0.6 gallons and about 7 inches tall Erin.
i bought pouches of water for my bug out bag. i have 12 to start with and i also have a steel water bottle. that way i can boil water in it if i have to
Steel bottle is a fabulous idea Chonte!
I just found your website and am adding to my emergency kit that I had already created. I’m hoping to get some water purifying tablets and a couple water filtration bottles. I think that will work best for us at the moment.
Both are great options Natalie!
I am looking at getting both water filtration bottle and a steri pen.
Sounds fabulous Deidra!
Just found this site. So much great information and we are right in disaster alley so I’m going to get started!
Welcome Karen!
I am just getting started, like many others, and have filters on my list. I would like to get some portable water bottle filters as well as a household filter.I will start setting aside some bleach, then go from there.
Sounds like a great plan Barb! Every little bit helps!
I just found your site through Pinterest and I am excited to get our emergency kits up to date and effective. Thanks!
You are welcome Rachel!
We’ve decided that our best approach will be having more than one method. Our first is bleach, and an eye dropper. We will also be getting a steripen.
When you can afford it, more than one effort is always the best approach!
We have bleach, but I should get more; and I have with and the filtration bottles. I hadn’t thought of the purification drops. I will start saving for the aquapail though. The Aquapail so cool, I didn’t know about those. Thanks!
LOVE the Aquapail Hilary!
im going to add a small bottle of bleach and water purification tabs. then work up to getting 4 or 5 water filtration bottles and eventually getting a aquapail
Good thing the series repeats every six months, right? (-:
Love your survival kit series!
I put some Aquamira tablets in my Amazon cart. I’ll also be ordering water filtration bottles from my co-op.
Fabulous Erin!
Purification tablets turned out to be much less expensive than I expected, and one package will treat enough water for the two of us for three days. I will add filtration bottles as we repeat the series.
Sounds great Aimee! Isn’t it fun when things are less than we expect? (-:
Do you have information on purifying water from a pool or spa? We live in an area with lots of pools, and we have a spa treated with bromide, but having trouble getting info on purifying it. jI’ve also heard once the power goes off, the filter stops, so alge can build up quickly.
The Aquapail! Seriously! The largest will treat 5000 gallons of sewer water: even more pool water! It is a fantastic product. If you have a pool, you have a HUGE supply of emergency drinking water!
I would love to be able to purchase a water purifier for all family members. May take a while to get the ones that can filter several hundred gallons before needing to be replaced.
Yes, I had to save up for quite a while! (-:
I love all of your ideas. You have given us some terrific things to consider for your BOB kits. A thought I had was to include a few coffee filters in your 72- hour kits. That way you could easily filter sediment from your water before purifying it and they wouldn’t add much weight at all.
GREAT idea eNVy! I will add it to the list!