Step 5: Get Home Bags & Every Day Carry

This is the category that I have the most experience with, but also think will be the most difficult to organize and execute.

Obviously, in my day-to-day, I carry around supplies for all sorts of situations - a small first aid kit, extra diapers and wipes for the kid, water bottles, snacks, tylenol/ibuprofen, maxi pads, lip balm and sunscreen, spare clothes for the kids. I also never leave the house without my sunglasses, wallet, keys, phone, and a buff/hat.

The “Get-Home-Bag” or GHB and your Every Day Carry or EDC, is basically a small collection of essential items you carry with you daily, that you might need in a situation when you’re away from home and need to get back there asap during an emergency or unexpected event. It’s kind of like a short-term Bug Out Bag (BOB), but for travel in the other direction. The purpose of it is to deal with anything that happens while you’re out, and/or reunite with your family/unit/household as easily as possible in the event of an emergency and the be able to wait out the storm.

You probably already do this more than you think

I can’t tell you the number of times I’ve used the spare things I have with me.

• spare clothes for when the kids have an accident on a trip more than 10 minutes away from home

• snacks/water for almost every time we leave the house

• spare clothes/blankets for a day out in the mountains with temps way lower than forecast

• tylenol/ibuprofen for the inevitable headache after a day running errands in the city with the kids

• my multitool/knife to open packaging of something I buy while out and away from home

• first aid kit for all the kids boo-boos

• tampons/pads for when I get “surprised” and I’m out for the day

• the list goes on an on

A quick note here to say that the GHB is separate from your car kit. Your car kit would have larger/bulkier things such as a more extensive first aid kit, obviously things for your vehicle, and more extensive things like a camp stove and/or freeze dried meal or two; things that might be too bulky/heavy to carry in your GHB.

Some examples of uses for your GHB:

• you’re driving home from work and someone near you gets into a bad accident. It’s rush hour and it’s gonna be quite a bit of time before emergency crews get to the scene of the accident.

• A natural disaster strikes while you’re at work.

• power goes down while you’re at work, you have no packed lunch and places are only accepting cash

• terrorist attack and all major modes of transportation are shut down

• you’re out for a walk in the city on your day off and you get attacked by a mugger.

• you’re stuck on the highway during a bad winter storm and can’t get home for hours, or even until the next morning

Some of these scenarios are far more serious than others, and many of them have happened to us or people we know. The main idea is, while you’re away from home, if something out of the ordinary happens, you an handle it without too much trouble.

The thing with a GHB and your EDC is that what you can reasonably put in it will vary widely based on what your daily routine looks like. If you commute to work in a car each day, a 30L backpack similar to your BOB would make it easy to fit everything you could need in and be ready to go if you need to abandon your vehicle. If you commute by public transportation, something as small as a hip pouch/bum bag/fanny pack might have to do, with a more substantial bag living in a locker/under your desk at your place of work if possible.

Remember that your GHB is a short-term focus bag, so even something as simple as a bit of extra cash, a small collapsable cup (for water), a couple granola bars and a backup battery pack for your phone in there might prove much more valuable to you than a multitool and freeze dried meal, depending on your location/what you need to travel through to get home.

Common sense will prevail here. Everyone’s GHB will look different.

The list

Here’s what’s recommended by a few different experts:

• ICE (In Case of Emergency) details on a laminated card in your wallet/purse

• water

• high-energy snacks

• phone and usb/wall charging cable

• rechargeable battery pack/solar charger

• flashlight

• pocket knife

• multitool

• personal hygiene items

• weather/season appropriate spare clothing

• lighter/fire starter

• map/compass

• small sewing kit

• whistle

• paracord

• small IFAK (First Aid Kit)

• respirator

• waterproof notepad and pen

• hidden cash and/or credit card

• pepper-spray/self-defence item

What you need to remember is that when you’re away from your home base, your GHB will be your only source of supplies if you need to evacuate in the opposite direction of your home, or are stuck away from home. Also remember that there’s no point in having something in your bag if you don’t know how to use it. Having a paracord bracelet is awesome, but if you don’t have a multitool/knife to undo it, or know any knots/know what to use it for, it’s just taking up valuable space/weight in your bag.

I live in a place where the weather varies widely from summer to winter, and sometimes even from day to day. I’ll be adding in a few more things to my GHB to cover some likely scenarios:

• emergency blanket/bivy

• pads/tampons

• ibuprofen/tylenol

• lip balm

• gps tracker

• personal medication (eg. asthma puffer)

And because of kids, I always have a stash of extras/essentials with me in my bag I throw in the car:

• diapers/wipes/diaper rash cream

• filled water bottles

• snacks

• kids tylenol

• a couple kids books

With a few additions, I think I’m well on my way to having a decent GHB. I think the biggest considerations for me will be keeping it as simple as possible and having “double-up” items - such as a multitool/knife in one piece, my whistle on my keychain or amalgamated into my backpack sternum strap. Also things like a respirator would be nice to have, but I don’t think that’s coming along any time soon.

I’ll show you the contents of my GHB as soon as it’s complete!

What have I missed? Anything you would add? Take out? I wanna hear your thoughts/experiences!

Just a reminder: I’m no expert and nothing in any post/blog/section of this website should be taken as advice. I just want to be prepared so I can worry less, and enjoy life more and I wanted to share it with you! Any tips/tricks you have for me - let me know! :)