Tag: Space blanket

Packed and ready . . .

We recently asked readers what worried them the most. There was one clear winner (if that’s the right term for it):
“Not being prepared to evacuate.”

One person (Elizabeth!) had a very specific request regarding evacuation, and that’s what we’re addressing today.

“Can you please send us a SHORT list of what we need to have ready?” 

Here’s what goes into the . . .

Get Out The Door Bag.

This is the bag you need to have packed and available at all times, ready for that unexpected emergency.

This is the bag you grab when suddenly there’s a police officer banging at the door and yelling at you to get out, because . . . there’s been a train wreck, a chemical spill, some sort of terrorist attack, whatever. You have ONE MINUTE to get out! 

You pull this bag out from under the bed, scoop it out of the closet near the door, or maybe it’s already stored in the car when you scramble in.

And if it happens in the middle of the night, remember, you are in pajamas.

The Get Out The Door Bag is meant to get you to wherever you end up and give you a sense of confidence until the situation is straightened out, which may take minutes or hours.

This is not the 3-day or 72-hour kit that we talk about so often. Watch for THAT list later. It’s a longer list, so it doesn’t fit in this Advisory!

What 10 things go into the Get Out The Door Bag?

(If you look carefully, you’ll see all these in the image above!)

1. Sturdy shoes and socks
2. Long pants, long sleeved shirt (You might be in pajamas, remember?)
3. Jacket
4. Flashlight + extra batteries
5. Emergency radio
6. Cell phone and charger
7. List of emergency contact names and numbers
8. Toiletry kit including several days’ worth of medicines
9. Extra glasses, sunglasses, contacts
10. The one small thing you just can’t leave behind . . .

Everything 1-9 on the list will fit into an ordinary-sized backpack, depending on the size of your shoes! This was my list, and it all fit into my bag, with room left over!

As for that item #10 . . .

If you have extra room, or specific concerns, one or more of these might be your “one small thing you just can’t leave behind.”

• Cash
• Extra set of keys
• Memory stick/flash drive with copies of your important documents including website/account passwords
• Pocket knife or multi-tool
• Favorite photo, book, etc.
• Stuffed animal
• Mylar space blanket/sleeping bag

Because Joe and I are such fans of walkie-talkies, we’d probably each have a hand-held radio, too. You may also have noticed the hard candies in the image above. I always gotta have something sweet!

Some suggestions about how to pack your Get Out The Door Bag.

Line your backpack with a big plastic bag to help keep everything dry.

To make this really work, you will have to “build” a second toiletries kit, just for the Bag. Get a small toothbrush, small sized deodorant, wipes. Pack a supply of pills in small plastic bags. (Get in the habit of replacing pills with a new supply every other week or so.)

Use another plastic bag to build a minimal first aid kit and tuck it into the toiletries bag, too.

And as for phone and charging cables, if you always plug in at the same place, you’ll be able to scoop everything up as you head out the door. Have a plastic bag or see-through packing cube for them, too.

Keep reading for more about plastic bags!

Specific recommendations to consider for your Get Out The Door Bag.

The Packable Jacket

While I was waiting in one of the endless lines at the airport last summer, I watched a young woman dig into her suitcase and pull out a wadded up piece of clothing.

She straightened it up, slipped it on and everybody standing around nodded and smiled in approval! Turns out this is an actual fashion: the PACKABLE jacket. These jackets look like a very light-weight, close-fitting down jacket. Some, of course, are filled with material other than down. The outer material also varies; some are weather resistant. Some have hoods. But all of them are very light, very crushable and would be the perfect item to pack in your Get Out The Door bag and/or have in the car all the time!

Here are a couple of examples from Amazon: prices for packable jackets start as low as $25 (though most are more), so check out several different brands.  (Click on the images below to go directly to Amazon to start your comparison shopping.)

Amazon Essentials Men’s Lightweight Water-Resistant Packable Puffer Jacket, Charcoal Heather, Large Amazon Essentials Women’s Lightweight Long-Sleeve Full-Zip Water-Resistant Packable Puffer Jacket, Black, X-Large

Plastic baggies

A second essential item for packing is something you may have at home, but maybe not – and that is a collection of different sized zip-lock or other plastic baggies! There’s nothing better for building that

• Streamlined toiletries kit
• A small first-aid kit
• A sewing kit
• Place to store your cell phone cords, charger, etc.
• Last summer I spent about $2 I think to buy individual pill baggies. They are tiny – and perfect to hold a daily supply of a half-dozen pills!

I saw this collection at Amazon and it looked very convenient, with six different sizes. Get a couple of packs so everyone will have the sizes they need.

You know what plastic bags look like. Click the link to see this collection:

ShipGuard 600 Ziplock Bags 6 Assorted Sizes Clear 2MIL baggies1.5×2 2×2 2×3 3×3 3×4 3×5

Packing cubes

Here’s yet another packing idea. This one you should consider if you travel AT ALL!

They’re called “packing cubes.” The cubes are soft-sided rectangular-shaped  zipper containers that you pack tightly (fold or roll) and then stack in your suitcase. Put underwear in one, socks in another. PJs in another. All your little “kits” – toiletries, sewing, first aid– in another. The idea is to not have to paw through everything to get to the bottom of the case where these socks are hiding.

Obviously, our Get Out Of The House bag won’t have multiples of many items, but still, organizing in layers simply makes sense. Here’s one set that is bright red. Click on the image to get details.)

Amazon Basics Small Packing Travel Organizer Cubes Set , Red – 4-Piece Set

Extra warmth

And finally, particularly for the Get Out The Door bag, pop in a couple of space blankets or even one of the space blanket mummy bags. These flexible sheets of Mylar aren’t too sturdy, but could add extra warmth in place of or even inside a sleeping bag. The shiny reflective side goes toward your body to capture heat, or turns outside to reflect the sun.

(I added  some duct tape to my kit. I could use it to tape my blanket into a bag.)

Bought singly they cost somewhere around $4-5 each; buy in bulk and you can get them for more like $1-2 each. We have space blankets in every survival kit we own.

EVERLIT Emergency Mylar Thermal Blanket (4 Pack) Space Blankets for First Aid Kit Camping Kit Hiking Outdoor

Here’s another Mylar product that’s been turned into an instant “sleeping bag” with its own fabric case, perfect for emergency shelter and/or camping:

Tact Bivvy 2.0 Emergency Sleeping Bag, Compact Ultra Lightweight, Waterproof, Thermal Bivy Sack Cover, Emergency Shelter Survival Kit – w/Stuff Sack, Carabiner, Survival Whistle + ParaTinder (Orange)

You don’t NEED any of these Amazon items to pack up your Get Out The Door bag. Still, having the right stuff will make the bag easier to pack, easier to carry and easier to manage when you need it.

Let me know when you’ve got YOURs all packed!

Virginia
Your Emergency Plan Guide Team

Ready to get an emergency radio — or another one? Check out our radio reviews. One of these small radios will fit in your Get Out The Door bag, just like my black and red one does.

I have to assume your recognize the item in the photo. We’ve seen them all over the news in images of marathon runners, immigrant children, and earthquake survivors. These mylar space blankets are lightweight, cheap and versatile, and they are on every list of emergency kit supplies.

But even if you have one or two, do you really know much about them?

Today’s little quiz will give you a better idea of what you’re carrying. And if you don’t have several, why you might want to take advantage of BLACK FRIDAY SPECIALS and pick up one or two dozen!

FIRST QUESTION: HAVE YOU ACTUALLY UNFOLDED YOUR SPACE BLANKET?

How big is it? How sturdy? How slippery? How shiny?

As with everything else, space blankets come in different sizes and qualities. The least expensive are often the smallest – maybe only 35 in. wide. Personally, I prefer larger sizes. A standard large size is 55 x 84 in. and there are a few even bigger than that.

How sturdy? The blankets range in thickness from a minimum of 12 microns and then get thicker and thicker depending on how many layers are involved. The basis is just one sheet of stretched-out polyester. These are light and fragile – and are see-through. It’s only when another thin sheet of aluminum is fused to the plastic that you get what we know as space blankets. More than one layer of material can be added. The more layers, the heavier and sturdier.

Slippery actually translates to water repellent, which is good. But these blankets aren’t exactly cozy. Their job is to contain and reflect your own body’s heat. They don’t cling.

Shiny really refers to the reflective nature of the blankets. Some have a silver metallized surface, others gold. By the way, NASA first used thin metallic sheets to deflect heat from the Skylab that was becoming dangerous from temperature rise. That’s where the name “space blanket” came from!

SECOND QUIZ QUESION: LIST SEVEN THINGS YOUR BLANKET CAN DO FOR YOU IN AN EMERGENCY!

1. HEAT. Wrap up someone who’s exhausted or injured. Turn the space blanket into a sleeping bag of sorts (with the help of duct tape?) to make it through a cold night outdoors. Use as insulation over a window to keep heat in and cold out.

2. COOK. Yes, that’s right! According to one manufacturer, you could fashion a bucket shape out of your mylar blanket and hold it over the fire to heat water. You could put food in there to heat, too. Of course, don’t get the blanket IN the fire, because it will burn up. It’s plastic, remember.

3. COLLECT WATER. Use your blanket to capture rain or melt snow.

4. WATERPROOFING. Line your backpack and your boots with Mylar; wrap it around feet and legs to keep out the damp from snow. Use a space blanket with grommets to build a lean-to to keep off the rain. Use another space blanket as a keep-out-the-damp ground cover.

5. STORE FOOD. Hang food in a mylar package to keep it out of reach of animals. Keep food cold by sinking it in the creek in a carefully sealed mylar bag.

6. SIGNAL FOR HELP. Turn your blanket into a mirror to reflect light. Use torn off pieces to mark your trail.

7 AVOID BEING SEEN. The reflective metallic coating can reduce your infrared signature if that’s what you want. The Taliban has used blankets this way.

If you wanted to do all these, then obviously you’d have to have more than one blanket.

LAST QUESTION: HOW MUCH DO SPACE BLANKETS COST?

The VERY GOOD NEWS – Space blankets are amazingly inexpensive! Bought in bulk, you can get one for less than a dollar. And the concept of “bulk” starts with about 5 in a package!

I know that this year may be different when it comes to your holiday gift budget. But space blankets are so inexpensive and so useful that you can have several in every vehicle and every Go-Bag.

Here are some variations on the mylar space blanket theme that demonstrate just what we’ve written about above. The images and links will take you to Amazon, where we are Associates. If you buy through these links we may get a small commission — which will help support this website!

Space Blanket Sleeping Bag (with emergency whistle)

I have a number of plain space blankets like the one in the photo at the top of the article, but I am adding this space blanket sleeping bag to every one of our emergency kits (Go-Bag, car kit, etc.).

BesWlz Emergency Sleeping Bags,2 Pack Survival Sleeping Bags with Survival Whistle, Waterproof Portable Bivvy Sack Survival Gear for Outdoor Camping Hiking with 2 PCS Thermal Emergency Blankets

Insulated space blanket tarp with grommets

(This blanket is advertised to reduce your infrared signature. Check out the images on the sales page.)

In an emergency you could build a simple shelter using this blanket and some cord; lay down a second space blanket as ground cover; climb in your shelter and into your emergency sleeping bag.

Arcturus Heavy Duty Survival Blanket – Insulated Thermal Reflective Tarp – 60″ x 82″. All-Weather, Reusable Emergency Blanket for Car or Camping (Orange)

The basic blanket – pack of 20 (less than a dollar apiece)

Science Purchase 73MYLARPK20 Emergency Mylar Thermal Blankets, 54″ x 84″ (Pack of 20)

Mylar space blanket companion items

Paracord comes in over a dozen colors including olive drab and camo

Use this to build your shelter, string up your food, etc.

PARACORD PLANET Mil-Spec Commercial Grade 550lb Type III Nylon Paracord (Orange, 100 feet)

That all-purpose duct tape

This is black. You can get all other colors, of course! You may not need the largest roll. You may also want to mash it so it fits more readily in your pack.

Duck Max Strength 240201 Duct Tape, 1-Pack 1.88 Inch x 45 Yard Silver

You could probably buy everything on this page for the price of one ugly sweater. Having space blankets tucked in your car or in the kitchen drawer could provide a lot more serious warmth — and a bit more peace of mind as we head deep into winter.

Put some space blankets on your list!

Virginia
Your Emergency Plan Guide team

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Last week’s article about “extra” items for a first aid kit inspired me to use the topic for our monthly neighborhood emergency planning group meeting.

The meeting turned out to be . . .

Another good meeting idea!

Here’s how it went.

Procedure

1. First, I invited our neighbor Theresa, who is a Registered Nurse, as our featured guest. She brought along her own first aid bag as a “show and tell.”
2. Second, so we’d have something to compare it to, I bought a brand new first aid kit (cost around $10) at the hardware store down the street (photo).
3. Third, as a reference, I printed out the Red Cross’s list of “20 basic first aid items.” Everybody got a copy.

As Theresa pulled out an item from her bag, we checked it off the Red Cross list and then looked in the kit I’d bought to see if it was included.

Results of the Comparison

Number of items

The new kit had about 60% of the items suggested on the Red Cross list.

Quality

The bigger problem: nearly everything in the kit was in miniature! Packets were tiny (one squeeze, and the ointment would all be gone), gauze squares were tiny, gloves were tiny. We all laughed, in particular, at the roll of adhesive tape. Take a look at it in the photo, bottom right. Really, it’s about as big around as a quarter and weighs less!

Missing from both the list and the kit

Here are the items that Theresa had in her kit that were not in the kit AND were not on the Red Cross list:

1. Antihistamine ointment
2. Liquid skin
3. Duct tape
4. Flashlight
5. Plastic bags
6. Dust mask
7. Eyewash
8. Phone number of Poison Control center
9. Whistle
10. Sunscreen
11. List of medicines currently being taken

And finally, one last item that our group felt needed to be in there:

12. Extra eyeglasses

Shocking finale

Attendees had been invited to bring their own kits to the meeting, too. One guy had his neatly packed into a fishing tackle box. One neighbor shared her pet first aid kit.

What shocked me, however, were the people who admitted they didn’t have a kit in their car. And there were a couple of people who said they didn’t even have a kit in the house!

The reason it’s shocking is because this is our neighborhood emergency group, supposedly tuned in to being prepared!

Lessons learned

Emergency preparedness starts and continues with the basics.

• If you have a first aid kit, check on its contents and “top it off” with more supplies. Use the lists above for suggestions.
• If you are missing a kit, build one from scratch or buy an inexpensive one, like I did, and add more supplies.
• If extended family members don’t have kits, buy up a supply and hand them out for Father’s Day or Mother’s Day or Christmas! Or without any explanation other than, “You need to have this!”

I looked for a better kit. I found one at Amazon that looks pretty good as a starter. I like the way its clear pockets fold out to make things easy to find. It costs about twice as much as the one I bought at the hardware store ($19 instead of $9), but instead of “77 items” it advertises “121 items.” Again, you’ll want to add some extras, but this kit would be a good start, particularly for the car.

Here’s the direct link: AAA 121-Piece Road Trip First Aid Kit

Don’t let something as simple as not having a first aid kit turn an accident into a real emergency!

“Friendly but Forceful” Action item: Take care of your first aid kit/s right away!

Virginia Nicols
Your Emergency Plan Guide Team

P.S. What first aid items haven’t been mentioned in this article?  Please share your recommendations in the comments box so we can all benefit.