I purposely did not bring my wallet so I would not be tempted to spend more but I did bring an extra twenty just in case. Grabbing a cart I went down each isle only once and did not go back. This gave me just one chance to find stuff. Here is what I came home with.
I did not take a list with me and went off the top of my head. As I went along I tried to grab one or more item from several groupings. These groupings would be water, fire/light, first aid, hygiene and food. This is not a list of stuff you have to go buy just what I grabbed as I went along.
Water
I picked up two six packs of water and a container of bleach. The bottles are obvious and with the bleach more water can be disinfected for drinking, cooking or bathing. The bottles can be used again and keeping the lids when you open them will allow you to carry water with you if need be.
Treating water with household bleach containing 5.25-8.25 percent chlorine
Volume of Water to be Treated Bleach Solution to Add
1 quart/1 liter 5 drops
1/2 gallon/2 quarts/2 liters 10 drops
1 gallon 1/4 teaspoon
5 gallons 1 teaspoon
10 gallons 2 teaspoons
Fire/light
At first I found tea lamp candles, a pack of eight, as I went along I found these emergency candles. According to the burn time on the box and the obvious size difference I put the tea lamps down and took these. Doing some quick math the total number of matches bought in the smaller boxes was higher then if I bought one big box. By twenty matches. Might not sound like much yet twenty matches could be the deciding factor between being warm, having light and even a hot meal. The glow sticks are rated to last several hours and could just be the trick to keep the kids happy!
First Aid and Hygiene
Looking through what was in the aisle I bought the box of band aids which had the largest variety and amount. The Hydrogen Peroxide is a good multipurpose item. The wipes are good for hygiene and first aid when dealing with minor cuts. Also looking through the medication I found the largest number of doses for pain killer I could find. You would be surprised, there are the exact same type in two different boxes. One can have six doses and the one right next to it can have three times that amount. You have to read the containers and get the most you can. The last item, toilet paper. If you have ever run out you will understand the importance of this item!!!!
Food
These might not be the first items you would pick but their is a limited amount of choices. I picked with the idea of one days worth of food in mind. The pancake mix can be breakfast and the batter can be used to also make biscuits or other items. The batter is basically flour and you can use it in the same way to make things. When picking cans, look for the ones with the furthest best by dates, check for dents and if they are dented DO NOT BUY THE CAN! The same thing if you find rust on the can. I grabbed one container of garlic salt to add some flavor. The candy is for the kids or dessert! The Top Ramen has six packets and can easily last longer then one day for one person. Yes that is instant coffee, no it is not a necessity to survive. Well for you coffee might not be, for me it is!!!!!
All together this took about fifteen minutes to gather. Total price was $21.07. Good thing I brought the extra twenty! I did not add in taxes or the CRV fees for the bottled water when I figured I could buy twenty items for twenty dollars. One item I would have added is a flashlight but I did not see one. Odds are I walked right by them.
Although getting started might seem a daunting task, you can see it really is not. A couple of dollars spent on the right items can go along way in making sure your family and you are able to take care of yourself if something bad happens!!!!
Stay Safe!
