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  • Post last modified:January 30, 2021

Eco-Friendly Emergency Survival Kits

Alternative title to ‘Eco-Friendly Emergency Survival Kit’? I suppose you could also call this ‘The Eco-Friendly Way To Be A Doomsday Prepper‘!

When I lived in New Zealand, you would hear about ‘Emergency Preparedness Kits’ via a Government initiative called Get Thru quite often. This was in response to the earthquakes which happen over there, but was also advised in case of flooding or any other kind of emergency. With the world in turmoil and the current pandemic it’s something I’ve been thinking about a lot recently. Making sure your household is prepared in case of any kind of emergency is always a good idea. Is it possible to create an eco-friendly emergency survival kit though?

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Why create an emergency survival kit or getaway kit?

There are numerous reasons for creating an emergency getaway kit or being prepared for an emergency within your own home. For those living in the more remote areas, it is especially important to consider getting ready for the following eventualities.

  • Earthquakes (not so relevant in the UK, but you never know)
  • Flooding
  • Landslides (cutting off roads to your area)
  • Heavy Snowstorms (cutting off access to you)
  • Prolonged power cut
  • Pandemics!
  • Zombie apocalypse (I mean, you never know these days!)
  • Brexit (sorry for bringing this one up!)
  • Also getting lost on a hiking / camping trip

Preparing for the potential problems caused by Brexit is maybe something people want to think about. Yes it might be ‘project fear’ that there will be food and medicine shortages, but we all saw what happened when everyone panic bought at the beginning of lockdown, so being prepared for potential food shortages, due to panic buying, even if you don’t believe in ‘project fear’, is probably a good idea.

Emergency Survival Kit – Essential Items

  • Food
  • Water
  • First aid kit
  • Torch
  • Camping Stove or similar
  • Radio
  • Warm / Waterproof Clothing
  • Sturdy Shoes
  • Can Opener
  • Blankets
  • Matches / Lighter
  • Swiss Army Knife or Similar

Other items you might need to include are pet supplies, baby food / formula and maybe even things like extra fuel for your car.

But how to create an eco-friendly emergency survival kit? Many of the items listed below are also incredibly useful for an eco-friendly camping or hiking trip. Buying something that has more than one use makes something more eco-friendly than something you might be purchasing for an event that never happens.

Eco-Friendly Emergency Survival Kit

For most emergencies you’re probably going to be able to shelter at home. The following recommendations and ideas are therefore based on that assumption. There are some differences when considering emergency getaway kits, which I’ll go into in a bit more detail later.

Food

I’m not going to talk much about food, because I don’t know what you normally eat! But it’s a good idea to store enough food for 2 weeks for your household. Tinned foods and dried foods such as lentils and beans are always a good idea. Keep some rice and pasta in your emergency kit as well. I strongly advise including stock cubes and maybe some herbs and spices to make sure you can always add flavour to any meal! Make sure you check, use and replace the food you’ve stocked up to ensure it doesn’t go out of date every 8 months or so. There’s no need to create unnecessary food waste.

Water

It’s difficult to have drinking water in your survival kit without using plastic bottles. For emergencies at home why not consider the really large water bottles. You can buy bottles that hold 15 litres, designed for water coolers, for less than £10 each, although most come in packs of 2 or more. The larger the bottle, the less plastic overall is being used.

  • This 15 litre water bottle comes in a 100% recycled bottle.
  • This 15 litre water bottle isn’t made of recycled materials unfortunately but it has a handle, making it a bit more portable for your emergency getaway kit.

One piece of advice that has always stuck with me is to fill the bath with water. If you boil it before using it, it should be perfectly safe to drink once its cooled down.

A great alternative is to buy a water bottle that contains a filter, ensuring that any water you drink has the nasties filtered out.

  • WaterWell 2 Stage Filter Water Bottle – this is a great water bottle which can filter up to 1000 litres of water. No matter where you found the water, a tap or fresh flowing water source, it will filter out 99.9% of waterborne bacteria and parasites.

First aid kit

Every household should have a first aid kit containing the basics to deal with minor injuries. There are numerous pre-made kits you can buy, but they’re unlikely to be plastic free or particularly eco-friendly.

The following are some of the items you should make sure are included in your first aid kit if you choose to make your own. The links below take you to the most eco-friendly and plastic free versions of things that I could find.

Multi-Use Wipes – I know people are obsessed with toilet paper in a crisis (who knew that before this pandemic?). But as far as I’m concerned it’s not the most vital item to have in your survival kit. I’m normally dead against disposable wipes, but in this situation using a moist wipe, when you might be unable to have a shower or bath for a while, will help you to feel cleaner and fresher. The wipes I’ve included have multi-uses are made from bamboo and are biodegradable. They also take up far less space in your getaway kit.

Torch

Having a torch means you always have light even if the power goes out. The torch I like the most, after doing lots of research, is one that can be charged using a hand crank, a solar panel or via a USB port (Goal Zero Torch by Ordnance Survey). It can also be used to charge your devices, like your phone or tablet, which would be incredibly useful.

Alternatively you can always ensure you have candles and a box of matches (make sure they don’t get damp). If you’re vegan, you can buy soy candles. Another alternative is a lantern. If you can buy one that can be charged via a solar panel, even better.

  • Goal Zero Torch – hand crank and solar panel plus USB input / output
  • Goal Zero Crush Light – compact and lightweight solar powered lamp with built in rechargeable battery and solar panel. It weighs only 91g, and folds to only 15mm thick, making it perfect for your getaway kit
  • Goal Zero Lighthouse Lantern – hand crank and USB input / output

Other really useful items

Camping Stove

There’s always the possibility that you experience a prolonged power cut. Having the means to cook food, boil water or just to make a cup of tea means any emergency situation is made much easier. This to me is probably one of the most important items to ensure you have available. You could purchase a camping stove that can be used with a gas canister, or you could buy a wood camping stove. It’s important to take into account that at some point the gas will run out, so having an alternative option is always good.

  1. Portable, Lightweight, foldable wood stove – Made of titanium, this is small and comes with a mini titanium alcohol stove as well. It folds flat to fit into any pocket and uses twigs, leaves, branches etc as fuel. This may not be brilliant if you need to cook a lot for a lot of people, but is an excellent stove for backpacking and if you’re on the move.
  2. Foldable Wood Stove with Grill – Another foldable and lightweight stove, this one can be used with a pan or just use the grill.
  3. Propane Burner Camping Stove – Probably not as eco-friendly and your gas will run out at some point. However, my feeling is that things will heat up a lot quicker when using a gas canister with a stove.

Radio

It’s maybe a good idea to carry a battery operated radio, just in case you can’t get a mobile signal, or your phone just won’t charge. You want to be able to hear any potential emergency transmissions.

  • Small Radio – a nice little radio that can be charged via a USB port, which is great if you’ve purchased the solar panel

Warm / Waterproof clothing & Sturdy Shoes

If you have a power cut, or there’s flooding or a snowstorm, your power, and therefore your ability to heat your home has gone. Make sure you have access to warm clothing and a waterproof coat, especially if you might need to venture out to find help. If it’s horrific weather, Wellington boots could be a good idea. Make sure you have comfortable, warm, waterproof shoes that are well made and are capable of coping with undesirable conditions.

Can Opener / Swiss Army Knife

There is little point in having lots of tinned foods if you can’t open any of your tins. Make sure you have a can opener, or even better a Swiss Army Knife or something similar, so that you have some useful tools for a variety of situations.

  • Can Opener – basic metal can opener
  • Swiss Army Knife – you can buy Swiss Army Knives with so many functions. Why not buy one that comes with a can opener, screwdrivers, blades and all the usual attachments like scissors, nail files, bottle openers etc.

It’s probably worth thinking about cutlery as well. I have this set of bamboo cutlery in my handbag.

Blankets

You could purchase emergency blankets (the silver ones), which are lightweight. Or you could make sure you have wool blankets which will help to keep you warm. Wool blankets will become very heavy and take a long time to dry if they get wet, but if they stay dry you’ll be very grateful for them. Having some survival blankets in addition to ordinary blankets is probably a good idea.

Matches / Lighter

Handy if you have candles or a camping stove or if you need to make a small bonfire to keep yourself warm.

How and Where to Store your Emergency Survival Kit

If your house floods, it’s no good having all of your emergency items stored in the basement or on the ground floor on the floor. Keep your emergency survival kit in a sturdy plastic box (this is one situation where plastic is extremely useful). If you aren’t using a plastic box, keep it off the lower levels of your property as much as possible. It should be easily accessible (don’t keep it in the loft underneath a load of boxes of stuff you’re storing).

  • Large, sturdy plastic box – it should be big enough to hold all items that could be damaged if they get wet, such as food, your first aid kit, any clothing etc.

Emergency Getaway Kit

This is slightly different to an at home emergency survival kit but essentially contains the same items with a few additions. I would probably focus on dried and not tinned foods for a getaway kit as they’re more lightweight, however a few tins will be useful. As far as I’m concerned you should plan for the possibility you have to leave your home at short notice and if you have to hunker down at home for a prolonged length at time. Should you prepare a separate emergency getaway kit and an emergency survival kit? That’s probably not required. What I would do is prepare a kit that is usable and useful for both situations.

How to make an emergency survival kit that’s also an emergency getaway kit

You should still keep everything in the sturdy plastic box, and make sure it’s easily accessible. The difference is that you pack your emergency items into small backpacks. The size of the backpacks, and what goes into each one depends on how many people live in your household. You have to consider that driving might not be an option, which is why you should include a backpack, or backpacks. This is one of the good reasons to ensure that the items in your emergency kit are lightweight and easy to carry.

I don’t have an emergency getaway kit as such, however I do have my ‘going out for the day’ kit, which could easily double as an emergency getaway kit. I have a small backpack that I keep by my front door, that contains all of the following:

  • Hat
  • Gloves
  • Scarf
  • Thick Socks
  • Mini First aid kit (plasters, anti-septic cream)
  • Reusable water bottle
  • Thermal Cup (so I can get a takeaway coffee!)
  • Bamboo Cutlery (to avoid single use takeaway cutlery)

Normally I have a torch and a pair of nail scissors in my handbag as well. I can grab the backpack when I’m going out and know if the weather turns that I have a hat and gloves to keep me warm and thick socks to change into if my feet get cold!

I could easily add a small foldable camping stove, matches, a solar panel and power pack and a few more first aid items and I’ve almost got a complete getaway kit already. All that’s really missing is food, a waterproof jacket and emergency blanket.

Does it make you a pessimist to be prepared? Maybe. But is it that bad to know that your family will be safe in any emergency?

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eco-friendly emergency preparedness kit