Last Tuesday night me, my 11 year old and two dogs were camped out in the most interior room of our house (which happened to be our laundry room) for a scary evening. Although we wandered around a bit to check the TV weather reports (when it was receiving a satellite signal) and looking outside at the sky, for the most part we were doing our best to stay calm and gather up needed supplies for the sudden Tornado Warning we were experiencing. I managed to find some candles, matches, peanut butter crackers, water, a few bottle of Gatorade and dog food…..Oh, and my id.

I discovered how unprepared I truly was for this Tornado Warning.

If you’ve seen the news lately, you probably heard of the terrible tornadoes that swept through Tennessee, Arkansas and Mississippi. The damage left thousands without power, devastation for many homeowners and several lives were lost.

I spoke with a mil-spouse friend of mine about how to prepare a “72 hour disaster kit” for each of us, plus the dogs. I really felt terrible I hadn’t already done this, so I’m determined to get this taken care of before the next scare. I’m not used to tornado warning sirens, they are not fun. I am used to Hurricane Warnings, where if you are evacuated you have at least a days notice and can drive to a four star hotel or the nearest military base TVQ/ Lodge.

I imagine I’m not alone in not having one of these 72 hour kits. So, I thought I share my endeavor to put one of these things together. I’m doing my research and have already discovered they have fold-able dog crates that I can keep in my trunk…..who knew?!

In the meantime I’ll be reporting on what exactly is supposed to be in these kits.

For my pets my friend suggested:

Shot records, fold-able crate(s), dog food, 2 bowls, leash, towel, tie down

and thats just for the pups….