We recently got an e-mail from a Girl Scout troop leader, describing how she wants to start a project making 72-hour “bug out” bags for the troop members. Her goal is to get her troop members better prepared, yet not tip-off their parents to her own level of preparedness. She wants to avoid making herself look like some sort of “preparedness nut” or “whacko”.
The important thing to keep in mind is that terminology and phrasing are crucial to how people form opinions. Do not use terms such as “Bug Out Bag” or “Get Out of Dodge Kit” or “Survival Kit.” It is much better to use the term Disaster Preparedness Kit, or even better yet to phrase the title to match the locally expected disaster. (Such as “Earthquake preparedness kit” or “Hurricane preparedness kit”. You get the idea….Our scouting friends in California made earthquake kits for their cars which they keep in a large Tupperware bin in the trunk. They contain bottled water, canned tuna, a can opener, granola bars, space blankets, knit hats, matches, and so forth. Suggested packing lists are available in PDF from the FEMA web site [1].