With all the talk about preparedness in the Economy Crisis Looming? thread, I got to wondering.....what should one pack for maximum preparedness in case of evacuation from the home.  I'm thinking of a family of four with a sedan, not a huge SUV.  What would you take?

 What are you evacuating from?  A Katrina situation where you can never go back?  Or a hurricane where you will go back within a week or two, an earthquake, fire, flood?   I think you have to preparee for your climate or area.  For us it is hurricane, we have 3 rubbermaid containers prepped with enough gear and clothes to get us thru 2 weeks or so, we have a small amount of cash on hand, our pets are all provided for, the vehicles are maintained and full of gas at all times.

For when we can return to our home, we have alternate forms of cooking, essentials for light at night, home protection, and tons of stored water.  For food, we are fine!  lol  

 water, a portable water purifier (one of the ones that removes micro-organisms), camping dishes, a portable stove, freeze-dried ration packs/tinned food. Personal hygiene requirements, first-aid kit. If I could afford it, a porta-potty or else some other way of dealing with human waste (if you are in an urban environment with no functioning sanitation). Blankets, tent. (a proper, small camping tent, not one of those huge home-away-from-home ones).

 Medications are important, but with the short shelf life, I'd just make sure you keep any prescriptions filled and together in a place where you can grab them quickly. If I was seriously concerned about natural disaster.

Also keep a portable file with essential personal documents, ID, passport, recent bank statement, mortgage, birth certificates, ready to grab. Ideally, photocopy them and send a copy to a relative to keep.

Work out how far you'd need to go in the event of whatever is worrying you, and how much  gas you need to get there compared to the volume of your tank.

We live in the country, so I've lately been trying to make sure I keep at least half a tank - we aren't that far from town, but I can guarantee the day I need to make an emergency hospital dash is the day I'll be running on empty! 

 The flylady website has a great list: http://www.flylady.net/pages/FLYingLessons_Prepared.asp ..I copied and pasted her 11 tips for preparing.

1. PEOPLE: Have a plan for getting out of the house and make sure everyone knows it. Have an emergency bag of food and water for your family. Include wholesome snacks and treats for the children: dried fruit, nuts, peanut butter, crackers and granola bars.
   
   
2. PETS: Keep pet carriers and leashes readily available to lead pets to safety. Also take pet food with you.
   
   
3. PICTURES: Keep negatives or CDs of pictures in a lock box or at a family member's home. Have picture albums in one place ready to grab and go at a moments notice.
   
   
4. PAPERS: Have all your important papers in a lock box at a bank and only keep copies at the house. This keeps you from panicking. If you have them at home then put them in a folder that you can easily grab if you have to move fast. Color code it so you can find it!
   
   
5. PRESCRIPTIONS: Take your medications with you. Don't forget the ones that have to be refrigerated like insulin. Have small ice chest and cold packs readily accessible to pack and go. If you have babies; remember their formula or medications.
   
   
6. PURSES and PETROL: This is where you keep your identification, credit cards and cash. Keep a stash of cash for emergencies and grab it. You may not be able to use an ATM in the event of a power outage. Make sure your car always has a half a tank of gas.
   
   
7. PROPER CLOTHES and COMFORT ITEMS: According to the weather conditions; gather up a change of clothes along with outer clothing: coats, rain gear, boots, gloves and hats. If you have babies remember diapers. Remember to grab your children's favorite blanket, stuffed animal or toy. A game or a deck of cards could keep them occupied and calm too.
   
   
8. PLANNER/CALENDAR/CONTROL JOURNAL: These documents have all the information you will need from phone numbers, insurance numbers and important dates. They are small and filled with things you don't have to try to remember.
   
   
9. PERSONAL PROTECTION: Many of us still have that time of the month. Be sure and grab a box of your preferred protection. It may be hard to find if you have been evacuated. Stress can cause our bodies to do strange things too. So be prepared. Take medication for cramps too.
   
   
10. PHONES and RADIOS: Many of us have cell phones now. Always keep them charged up and have a charger in the car or an extra battery. They may not work in the event of power outages, but then they might. Know which local radio station has emergency bulletins. Keep your battery powered radio tuned to that local station and have plenty of batteries for it.
    
    
11. PATIENCE: This is one of the most important things to pack. Keep it inside of you so that you have a clear calm head. Having your P's to Preparedness list guiding you will keep you patient. In the event of an evacuation there will be lots of displaced people. Being patient will make things less stressful. Your children need to see you calm and collected. This will help keep them calm too.
    
    

If you are evacuating, My Family's Interest posted the list that resembles what I follow. Except I add food, some personal mementos and toys for the kids. 

When we evacuate it usually is to a motel or relatives home so food and water are a must if we don't want to spend a lot on take out or impose.

The mementos are only a few things I would hate to loose and all fit in a small box. The toys, books or whatever keep kids from getting bored and driving everyone insane in a small space.

General emergency kit info can be found by googling emergency preparedness- but on a personal level- I'm still working on one. I think that one of the first thoughts has to obviously be food and water (and a good can opener :)  I am working on gathering items that I would take on a camping trip. In addition, of course, is the water. That's one of my biggest concerns. You can stuff a bag full of protein bars but water can only be so portable. Plus, If you're in an area of high temps, plastic water jugs can heat up very quickly. I know that there are small carton containers sold as well. They may be a better idea but until they can be purchased, I think that the jugs are the easiest/cheapest source.

On long journey's, my sister always gave her kids lolly pops as a treat AND so that they wouldn't be quite as thirsty- thus cuttiing down on restroom stops.

Some emergencies, such as a dirty bomb etc, we have had no experience with as a nation- and it would also contaminate some items- I'm still looking into that one.