Building a survival kit can be a real challenge if you don’t live in a place that will accommodate the level of space needed to create a large surplus of emergency supplies and food. It can be anxiety inducing to contemplate having to go without certain pieces of survival equipment. But there’s a solution. You can actually create a mini kit that will help you be prepared for any kind of situation that might rock the world, without taking up every square inch of your home or apartment.
The best place to begin is understanding what, exactly, a survival kit actually is. According to the folks at Tactical, “A survival kit is a pack filled with the essential supplies for an emergency. A standard kit in the armed forces, survival kits are a big must-have for preppers and survivalists since it provides the tools and supplies you need to survive when basic necessities aren’t readily available.”
Survival kits are usually specialized for specific events and scenarios, depending largely on where you live. Folks who live where earthquakes are common might have a kit that is filled with the kind of supplies needed to survive that kind of emergency. Same with being lost in the wilderness, going through a hurricane, or even a major winter storm that might lead to being stranded in your vehicle.
A mini survival kit is compact and can be taken with you on the road. It can fit in with your camping gear or in a kid’s backpack for school.
Find a container
The first thing you need when you are putting together your mini kit is something to put all of your gear and supplies in. It needs to be small, compact, and won’t draw a lot of attention.
One item you can use is a water canteen. If you get one with a big enough opening, you can put all of your items inside of the canteen and it will fit in a lot of packs or under your seat in the car. Of course, once you get the things out of it you need, you can use it to actually store water. A metal canteen can be used to boil water in order to ensure it is safe for consumption.
Depending on the type of kit, you can also use an Altoid mint container. You’d be surprised how much stuff you can actually fit inside this kind of container. However, you will need to to carefully think through what kind of stuff you need in order to make sure you utilize the space in the container wisely.
You can also get small survival cases made for just this purpose. You can get ones that are really heavy-duty and waterproof depending on how much you have to spend in your budget.
Step 2: Choose Your Items
Once you’ve figured out what container you’re going to be using, it’s time to choose what to put into your kit.
Now, you can’t just grab whatever random household item is next to you, no. There’s a little more finesse to it than that. First, you have to consider the following things:
- Who is this mini survival kit for?
- What likely emergencies could you get into?
Once you figure that out, you can be more purposeful with what you pack. Here are a few things we came up with that’ll be perfect for your compact mini survival kit:
A Notepad and Pencil
Don’t go overboard—you’ll be good to go with just a few pieces of paper cut out to fit your container and a small pencil. Aside from writing, you can use the paper to start a fire and the shavings of the pencil as tinder.
Money
It doesn’t have to be a whole roll of hundreds. Just a few $2 bills will do. You don’t want to add too much cash, or you’ll get tempted to spend it.
Waterproof Matches
In a survival situation, warmth and light are two important things to have. One way to achieve having both is by starting a fire, so it’s a no-brainer that waterproof matches are essential in your kit.
Tactical also recommends placing some first aid items in your mini kit such as Band-Aids and alcohol wipes. You might consider some sort of antibiotic ointment for wound care. Other essential items include a sewing kit, dental floss and a multitool.
Dental floss has a number of beneficial uses in a survival situation aside from the obvious care of your teeth. If you tie a fishing hook to some floss you do some fishing if you’re lost i the wilderness. You can also set up an impromptu alarm system or booby traps for safety and security.
Sewing kits are great too. Mend your clothing or even your wounds with the needle and thread a kit contains.
Last, but not least, your mini kit needs a hand held compass. If stuff gets real bad, like an EMP blast that knocks out electronic items, you need to be able to find your way around without your phone. A compass can assist you in finding your way back to your home or camp and doesn’t rely on electricity in any form
Storage
Okay, so you’re kit has been assembled. Where should you put it?
In your most-used bags
Don’t just put a mini survival kit in your everyday bag. Put it in your most-used bags, too. We’re talking about your camping or hiking backpack, that big old luggage you use for traveling, your gym bag—bags that you often use.
In your BOV
Your bug out vehicle (BOV) might also be your everyday car, so you may already have supplies in the back or even a BOV emergency kit. But as much as possible, you don’t want to touch THAT supply. A mini survival kit in the glove box will assure you don’t have to use up your main supply.
In your lockers
Whether it be your locker at school, work, or the gym—you can put your mini survival kit in there. These are places you most frequent, and if a disaster were to strike, you’d most likely be in one of these areas.
You also might want to consider creating additional mini kits for places where you spend a lot of time, like at work. You can easily store one of these in your desk and have it ready to go if things go sideways while you’re on the job.
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