Printable List for Your 72-Hour Kit
I created a 72-hour kit printable list to help you stop feeling overwhelmed and confused when creating 72-hour kits for your family! Get it for free below!
At the end of 2019, Sam and I decided that we’d like to start doing a “Family Focus” and would identify one or two things we’d like to work on as a family that year. We decided that in 2020 one of our focuses would be emergency preparedness.
Well, you know what happened in 2020…. along came Covid-19, quickly followed by an earthquake here in Utah….
Whaaaaat??
Needless to say, we needed to get going on our emergency preparedness. We decided to start right away and make our 72-hour kits.
What Should Be in a 72-Hour Kit?
It can be VERY overwhelming to start from scratch! I’m no expert, but I’ve gathered ideas that worked for us and I’ll share with you what we did.
I took a lot of my ideas from my mom (thanks!), Melanie from PlanforAwesome.com, and Jordan from FunCheaporFree.com and the LDS website, now ChurchofJesus Christ.org (Melanie has tons of resources–take a look if you’re ready to jump in!)

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How to Make a 72-Hour Kit
My BEST tip is to just take it one step at a time. Don’t feel like you have to do it all in one day. I still need to finish up a few things…a year later!
I’ve also got it scheduled once a year in April (during General Conference weekend) to do a quick check and minor updates on the kits. Get something on scheduled too, so it’s not suddenly 5 years later 😉
72-Hour Kit Printable List
After looking through lots of information, I compiled a list of supplies and food for everyone. The adult lists are a little different than the kids. You can download them here for free!
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Hopefully, this list will give you a good foundation to start with. Tweak it as needed for your family! Everyone has different medications, dietary needs, etc, so be mindful of that. Sam and I both wear contacts, so that is part of our list. That may not apply to you!
Food for 72-Hour Kits
Let’s talk about food. I use a two-gallon ziplock to store it, so all the food stays together in each pack. The food for each meal, each day is written out on the supply list. Again, you can get a copy here for free!

I tried to pick foods that weren’t totally disgusting haha! We’ll be going through these 72-hour kits every couple of years, eating and replacing them, so they won’t go rotten and be bad when we might actually need them!

One quick tip–the checkout lines at Walmart have single-serving sizes of trail mix and beef jerky! So definitely check those out!
What Do I Put My 72-Hour Kit In?
My mom got these awesome roller-backpacks that have tons of space inside! I found more of them here–I just bought another one for Oakley, since she’s bigger now and will need her own kit.



Melanie also suggested having identification cards with pictures for your kids, so I created those using her template. You can grab them here. (It’s all the way at the bottom of the article!)
I also made copies of and laminated Birth Certificates and Driver’s Licenses and put some cash in a ziplock bag.
Grab List for Your Kit
Another important thing (that I’m still working on!) is creating a “Grab List” and posting it next to the 72-hour kits. Things that you’ll want to grab if you have time: medications you take daily, emergency binder, baby carrier, stroller, phone charger, laptop, coats, sunglasses, external hard drive, kid’s special blankies, et.

If you’re worried about forgetting something, Google it, and lots of ideas will come up you might need.
I also want to have an extra bag ready to go with just water bottles in it.
Babies have unique needs–formula, bottles, diapers, wipes, binkies, etc. So consider those needs as well.
Quick Tips for How to Make a 72-Hour Kit
Here are a couple of tips: get neutral sweatsuits for your kids as their change of clothes. If it’s hot, you can cut them into shorts and a shirt. You can then just pass the sweatsuit down to the next child as they are grown out of! Saves money and brainpower 😉
- During the winter months, the Dollar Store has little finger gloves! Stock up then.
- The camping section at Walmart has tons of emergency essentials. And then of course there’s always Amazon.
- Did you know a tennis ball can be used to plug up an overflowing toilet? So if we had an earthquake and the pipes get broken, and the toilet is overflowing, grab the tennis ball from your kits and plug it!
- Or if you’re sitting in a shelter and the kids are bored, a tennis ball is a great toy!
- Maybe you need to leave a message for part of the family who isn’t home right then–use a sharpie to write it on your wall. They won’t miss it.
- One thing we don’t have is an emergency plan in place. That is next on my list.
Final Thoughts
Some final thoughts on making 72-hour kits.
Some of the supplies we split up between bags–like I didn’t buy sunscreen for each member of the family. I have a large one in my kit for everyone. Sam has paracord in his and I have a small cooking pot in mine. That is one reason I included two adult lists.
I also keep the list in each bag so we know what is in there and what we can eat each day.
We decided to put the kits in Lincoln’s closet upstairs, in case we couldn’t access them in the basement for some reason.

I know this is a lot of information!
Ok, So What Should I Do First?
Start by printing off the lists and seeing what you already have on hand. Then just start gathering things. Add one or two things a week to your grocery list and it will start to come together!
Food and water are probably the first things I would get. And maybe emergency blankets!
PLEASE let me know if you have any questions or if you have other ideas! I hope this helps you feel that making 72-hour kits for your family is doable and not too overwhelming!
It really feels good knowing that you’ve got things prepared in case of an emergency!
Printable List for Your 72-Hour Kit


