Winter Emergency Car Kits.

 I was doing pretty darn good on the No/Low Spend Challenge Carla hosted in January up until yesterday when Kara and I had a BLOW out shopping spree. As a matter of fact I was able to say with confidence I would have given myself a B+. Having the cash on hand that I had saved during the month from my weekly budget we hit two stores hard and heavy to create Winter Emergency Car Kits for the whole family.

 I am sure everyone in the USA has seen the news reports of the devastating after effects from the Southern winter storm last week. If not check out this report from USA Today regarding the Atlanta Area. The poor planning and readiness of the GA powers that be FAILED!! Could it happen to our town?

Maybe......I can say that for the 20 plus years we have lived in the surrounding Charlotte NC area our state and local governments have done a pretty darn good job when any sever weather is approaching. All major roads, overpasses, and interstates were treated 24 hours before the storm. The back roads and neighborhoods were a mess but the government can't be expected to do every road in the state!! Our schools were closed hours before the storm arrived. Parents had been warned the day before that there was a GREAT possibility that schools would close early. Parents had time to prepare and make any child care arrangements that would be needed.

All that being said I don't think anyone should depend on government to keep them safe, warm, and feed. We should all take responsibility to do the best we can to be prepared. Hubby and I have always kept emergency kits in our cars. Maybe because we have lived all over this great county of ours and traveled extensively that we know from first hand experience STUFF Happens!

Our big kiddo's on the other hand are not prepared :(. They did all hit the grocery stores on the day before the storm arrived to purchase whatever they might need. They also are aware that power outages are always a possibility in the south as we get ice storms in the winter a whole heck of a lot more often that snow. They are financial able to do an emergency run for whatever their needs are.

The one thing hubby and I knew was they were not likely to invest in Emergency Car kits.We have the means, motivation, and guts to hear them say "Go put your tin foil hats on".

Here are a few things that were included in the kits. I have a full list at the end of this post.

 Hats, "Gubs", and socks are in their kits. I bought the value packs in each size we would all use then split them between everyone. None of them wear the old fashion crew socks but...if your stuck on the highway or byway ugly full size socks would be a heck of a lot warmer than cute socks.

 Coloring books, word search books, washable markers, and ink pens might not seem like an emergency item for some but let me tell you if you have ever been stuck in a car with little ones for many hours the are a MUST!!!

 Our two DD's who have blessed us with grands also have a few diapers, wipes, and girl stuff if you know what I mean tucked in their bags. How many times have ladies been out and about without girl stuff? When our DD's were still at home I had a supply stashed in the car. Those days are long over, a bottle of Tums antacid have taken their place.

 Another layer of preparedness are these very inexpensive coin purses. A pack of 4 was under $3.00 at Wally world in the Birthday party favor department. Our SIL's will have to get over the fact that they are blinged out. I folded a $20.00 bill along with $3.00 in coins for each bag. They are tucked in their kits for any emergency be it big or small.

I knew throwing everything in a grocery bag wouldn't cut it as things could get loose rolling around in the cars. I needed something that they could tuck under the seat or in the trunk. I purchased the SIL's oversize lunch boxes to store their gear. The girls...diaper bags. Diaper bags were the cheapest price I could find for a roomy bag. The diaper bags also have lots of nice oversize pockets inside and out.

Putting this many Emergency kits together didn't come cheap but knowing they will be in the cars of our big and little kiddo's was worth blowing some of what I had saved over the month.

Wally worlds grand total, $182.00
Dollar Tree, $97.00 BTW everything was just a dollar! The buggy was full to the brim.

All told it worked out to about $50.00 per kit. Much of what I put in the kits could be collected from around the house but I knew I couldn't put together this many. Most of us have old back pack's, travel bags, or sports bags hanging around in the attic or the back of a closet, digging something like that out would have saved $20.00 each.

Here is what I included in our kits;
Bags - Wally world
Emergency blankets -Wally world
Rain poncho's - Dollar store
Socks -Wally world
Gloves - Dollar store
Hats - Dollar store
Flashlights - Wally world
Whistle - Wally world
Flares - Wally world
Lady needs - dollar store
Tissue - Dollar store
Baby wipes - Dollar store
Hand sanitizer - Dollar store
Diapers - Home
Coloring books - Dollar store
Markers - Dollar store (put in zip lock bag in case they leak)
Word search books - Dollar store
Ink pens - Dollar store (put in zip lock bag in case of leak)
Power bars
Peanut butter cheese crackers
Fruity snacks
Beef sticks
Peanuts
Individual peanut butter snack tubs
Suckers
M&M's
Water (put in zip lock bag in case of leak)
Money/coin purses. - Wally world

I also used zip lock baggies for the sacks to keep things organized. Most of the snacks are from the dollar store.

Last but not least I marked May first on my calender to collect the Winter bags from all of the kids. I plan on taking out the winter items to put back for next year. The snacks will be rotated to the snack basket in the pantry. Summer needs and fresh snacks will then be rotated into the bags before I return them to the big kids just in case!!

Do you have an Emergency Car Kit? If so what else would you suggest I add too what I have already packed up? I think these would make nice Christmas, Birthday, or even Valentines gifts for loved ones. Our kiddo's will be receiving theirs at Sunday dinner this week. I will sleep better at night knowing when they out and about they will have enough supplies to keep them safe until help arrives. These are really a gift to me from me!!