Preparing on a Shoestring Part 12: The 7 Day Kit

After you have built the 3 day kit, the next goal is the 7 day kit. The good news is that once you have built a 3 day kit, you are almost half way to the 7 day. The better news is that some of the items in the 7 day kit were bought for the 3 day and will not have to be bought again.

I will only be publishing the additions just for simplicity. These are in addition to the supplies already in the 3 day kit. There will be a couple of additions to the equipment. Some are optional, but come highly recommended.

FOOD AND WATER

Canned soups – 4 cans per person in varieties of each person’s choice

Frozen bread – 2 frozen loaves per person. These are prepared, frozen dough that must be
baked. Can substitute 4 additional cans of biscuits per person.

Canned meats – 4 cans of tuna, chicken, Spam, corned beef, or whatever appeals per
person.
Alternative is a large canned ham per each 2 people or part thereof
(2 large canned hams for 3 people.), or 1 cured country ham for 4 people.

Canned veggies – 4 cans of refried beans, green beans, corn, etc. per person.

Comfort foods – 2 packages of beef jerky or ¼ pound of hard candy per person.
A large package of gum is an alternative. Soft candy and chocolate
are an option but don’t last as long per piece.

Baby food – 30 jars of baby food. Powdered formula can be used in place of part of
the baby food jars. If your children are past the formula stage, a manual
food processor can be used to produce baby food from normal canned
goods. Increase canned veggies and meats by 16 per child. For breast fed
children, the mother’s ration should be increased by 1 can each of
vegetables and meat per day. After all, she is eating for 2. The same
goes for pregnant women.

Vitamins – One bottle of your preferred vitamins. One bottle of children’s vitamins
if you have children.

Water – 6 gallons per person. 10 gallons would be better. (you will want to wash)

EQUIPMENT

One camping lantern that uses the same fuel as your stove. A battery lantern is an alternative. D cell or 6-volt is best but battery lanterns are not generally recommended due to battery needs. (optional)

At this point in your preparations, you really should procure a heat source. Kerosene heaters are a near perfect solution for sheltering in place. One of the propane catalytic heaters is the way to go for a bugout heat source. Never use a heater while sleeping. It is dangerous and if you have good sleeping gear, you won’t need it and will simply be wasting precious fuel.

10 gallons of #1 kerosene for a kerosene heater or 7 pounds of propane. Use either heater only intermittently to take the chill off then shut it down. Constant use will require much more fuel than suggested here. I suggest using heaters when you get up through breakfast, when eating dinner and supper, and for 1 hour before bed. A 22,500 (barrel type) kerosene heater will burn through 5 gallons of fuel a day with constant use. A propane heater will run 4-6 hours on a 1 lb. canister.

Four 1 pound canisters of propane or appropriate liquid fuel for your cook stove.

Four 1 pound propane canisters or one gallon of appropriate liquid fuel for your lantern.

A Coleman folding camp oven or equivalent. This unit folds down to a roughly
12” X 12” X 2” size. It is designed for use with a camp stove and has a thermometer in the door. This allows you to bake biscuits, bread, and things like casseroles. It will even do a good job of baking a pie. (optional)

Two additional changes of batteries for all battery powered equipment. If you purchase a battery powered lantern (not recommended for this reason), keep 4 changes of batteries. Rechargeable D cells are available but rechargeable 6 volt batteries are not to my knowledge.

Feminine hygiene products for each female to increase supplies to 7 days.

Two rolls of toilet paper per person.

As with the 3 day kit, this one can be added to. Also as with the 3 day kit, adding to the 7 day kit increases weight and storage space needed. Nonetheless, your additions might well be worth the extra weight and space.