Now that we’ve had a week of near freezing temperature I’ve resigned myself to the fact that my vegetable garden is dead. But what that reminded me of was that I had not reviewed my car emergency kit lately. After moving to Chicago about a year ago it has been in the back of my car just sliding around.
With a possibility for snow in the next few days, now is as good a time as any to make sure I have everything. Here’s what I put together for my car emergency kit a few years ago while I was researching ‘emergency response’ topics. It’s an all weather kit, not necessarily just for winter. I have not included my ham radio gear in the list below, but you should have some kind of portable news radio with you and extra batteries or charging device for your cell phone at least. Cell phones usually do not work during an emergency but if that is all you have, that is all you have.
| Item Description | My Choice |
| Food/Water | |
| Water | 12 – 16oz bottles |
| Snacks | 4 – high calorie bars |
| MREs | 4 (do not substitute with something else, they are a must) |
| Health / Safety |
|
| Kleenex | 1 – Travel Pack |
| Insect Repellent | 100% DET |
| Foam Earplugs | |
| Nose&Mouth Mask | 3 |
| Small FirstAid Kit | RedCross Fanny Pack Kit |
| Misc Pill Box | Ibuprofen Imodium Dramamine Tylenol Cold/Sinus Benadryl |
| Clear Eyes – Eye Drops | 1 – travel pack |
| Dust/Wind Goggles | |
| Fire Extinguisher | |
| AM/FM/NOAA Radio | |
| Whistle | |
| Plastic FirstAid/Safety gloves | |
| Toilet Paper | |
| Strobe-Marker light | battery operated |
| Environmental | |
| Mini Thermometer | |
| Small Flashlight | Surefire Executive Elite E2e |
| Spare Flashlight Battery | |
| Butane Lighter | 1 Mini |
| Waterproof Matches | 1 Box in Waterproof Container |
| Hand Warmers | 4 |
| Rain Poncho | |
| 2 piece rain suit | |
| Green Cyalume light sticks | 5 |
| Space Blanket | |
| Work Gloves | |
| Sunglass | (I have prescription photogray) |
| Baseball Hat | |
| Floppy Jungle/Military hat | |
| Tools / Misc |
|
| Pocket Knife | McHenry & Williams Benchmade 3.9" Locking/Folder |
| Multi-Tool | |
| Mini/Small Binoculars | |
| Ball Point Pen | 2 – Black |
| Permanent Marker(s) | 5 – Multiple Colors |
| Notepad | Small Rite-in-Rain MemoPad |
| Compass | (know how to use it!) |
| Small Unbreakable Mirror | |
| Small Towel | |
| Disposable Camera | |
| Parachute Cord | 1 – 50ft |
| Garbage Bags | 2 – 55 gal |
| Large Ziplock bags | 4 |
| Duct Tape | 1 roll |
| Electrical Tape | 1 roll |
| Spare AA batteries | pack of 8 |
| Ground Cloth | |
WOW! This is impressive! I can hardly remember to bring my lunch to work let alone get an emergency kit together. Thanks for posting this list and saving us all the research of how to be prepared for an emergency. also, thanks for the weather report. as usual your blog is the first I’ve heard of snow. I really should watch more news!