In the post above, I tried to make the following comment: "You just stated perfectly the reason I'm a KPCC member. Remember that later this month. The comment engine didn't believe there was a post there, though.

I keep my emergency kit backed up on a CD-ROM. Just in case.

We are talking about home made 'Emergency Kits' to sustain a family (4) for 72 hours in your own home! Right? W/o electicity we would/could be w/o our refirgerator if not used sparingly (opened). W/o water, except what you have stored in your bathtub is another problem. How many gallons per person is needed to sustain life and how many gallons per person per day is needed for cleanliness?
I know some people drink and bathe more than others but I need a middle of road average to start saving and storing water! And where to store a drum of water (or six cases of bottled), indoor/garage or outdoor in a utility shed or just a shady place. Now with or w/o chemicals (bleach, 1 cup/30 gals drum per month is my starting guess!).
Having some gas is a must eventually; how much and where to store it is hard to fathom due to the fire danger.
Portable TV is an option and portable radio is a must unless you are entertaining teenagers; checkers, chess and reading material you could never get them to touch is good for starters.
A freezer full of frozen good stuff that we can cook with a solar oven. But where do I get a cheap portable for storage?
What about a portable generator. Always a good idea until you come to price, maintenence, the safety factors (auto shut off when running out of gas & etc), and where to store the damn thing. Due to its value must it be in the garage where everything else of marginal value is stored?
Seeds and nuts sound good, unless your living with them, then you probably need gatherers. You know to scout around for a lemon tree in order to make lemonaide to put on your cereal in case you just ran out of milk. Powdered milk is expensive to let it just sit on the shelve and expire or to try and use up every three to six months.
A working laptop sounds like a must but who wants to run over to their daughter's college just to borrow it. Of course she will be screeming & fighting you all the way if she knows why you are coming to visit during a blackout!
Please fill in any missing words you may find above and post your corrections. Thank you & gone, WJH
PS: Best planning of all, is to be on vacation where the emergency isn't happening, reading about it and trying figure out when and how you are going to get home and whether the resort will let you stay for free after your paid up time expires.

BICEPP, the Business and Industry Council for Emergency Preparedness and Planning has a web site with many helpful links. http://www.bicepp.org/Links.asp

Thanks for the link Kitty!

Check out 72hours.org get tips!