These are excellent questions with no easy answers. First you need to determine the time frame you want your kit to sustain you. I suggest a minimum of 7 days, two weeks if possible but some families develop a program that will sustain them for a year. Once this has been determined, you have a better idea of what you will need. The most important item in your program is water. Remember that the Red Cross recommends at least a minimum of 1 gallon of water per person per day. For a family of four that’s 28 gallons of water for one week. Now that is a minimum requirement. If you have pets you should include them as well. There are lots of additional factors that haven’t been taken into account that will require the use of water. For instance, is the majority of your stored food dehydrated? Water will be needed to rehydrate it for cooking and eating. Do you have a small infant that you will need to mix formula for? You might want extra for that too. What if someone was injured? They might require additional water as well. My point is, the 28 gallons are a bare minimum. I would suggest between 35 and 55 gallons of water be stored. According to 21st Century Food Storage, you should store 14 gallons of water per person for a two-week supply. This will allow each person drinking water and a small amount for hand washing, teeth brushing and so forth. You can purchase food grade water drums that you can fill and store your water in. If you choose the larger size drums I really suggest you purchase a drum pump. It works like a siphon and makes getting your water much easier!
You will want to be sure to sterilize your water before storing it away. An easy way to do this is with the use of Redi Chlor Water Disinfection Tablets. One tablet will treat 5 gallons of water, 10 tablets for a 55-gallon drum. If you sterilize your water and store it in a cool, dark, dry area, it will remain drinkable for about 3-5 years. I also recommend you label and date your water so you will know exactly what and where and when it was stored. I’ve listed resources for water drums and water purification at the end of this article.
