From power outages to bee stings, summer can come with unexpected happenings. While you can’t predict when, where or what type of incidents may occur, you can be ready to deal with them with a summer emergency kit. A summer emergency kit is a good idea for both your Buffalo area home and car to help ensure you’re prepared wherever you are.
You may already have many of the summer emergency kit items in your home. The key is ensuring you will know where to find them quickly, easily and potentially during a power outage. Keeping a dedicated bin full of emergency items in a highly accessible location in your home can save a lot of scrambling in the dark. The same holds true for keeping emergency items in a dedicated area of your trunk or vehicle.
Several summer emergency kit items should be found in both your home and car, while others are specific to each location.
Summer Emergency Kit Items for Both Home and Car
Start building your emergency kits with the basics you need in both your home and car. These include:
- Insect protection, with items like bug repellent and an anti-itch ointment or other type of bug-bite relief
- First aid kit, with items like Band-Aids, an Ace bandage, antiseptic, antibiotic ointment, cotton balls, gauze pads, tweezers, hand sanitizer, aspirin or similar medication
- Multi-purpose tool
- Manual can opener to open cans of food
- Non-perishable foods, such as canned items, nuts and energy bars
- Small, battery-operated fans
- Flashlights
- Extra batteries
- Water in gallon jugs, in case you lose water service at home and to stay hydrated in the car
- Cell phone chargers, with a car charger in the car and solar-powered charger for extra protection
Additional Summer Emergency Kit Items for Home
A couple of items should also be at the ready as part of your home kit:
- Wrench or pliers to turn off utilities if needed
- Small fire extinguisher
Additional Summer Emergency Kit Items for Car
Your car emergency kit can also include items that can help in a pinch on the road:
- Sun protection, including sunblock, and hats with brims, such as baseball caps, visors or sunhats
- Umbrella to serve as protection against the sun as well as rain
- Whistle to signal for help
- Jumper cables
- Bandanas, which can come in handy for multiple uses, such as mopping up sweat or soaking in water to help you cool down
- Snacks, which can include non-perishable items that can stave off hunger pangs until help arrives
- Moist towelettes
- Garbage bags and plastic ties
- Blankets and towels
These summer emergency kits give you a solid starting base for supplies, and you can always include additional items required by individual family members or pets. Just like a regular home inspection, keeping a summer emergency kit in your Buffalo area home and car is a good habit to establish to help keep you and your family safe.