DIY Itty Bitty Emergency Kit

When I was thirteen, I carried around a computer speaker in my purse. I guess I thought that if I ever wound up in a situation where a party was necessary, I could whip out my speaker, plug my iPod in, and get things going. It was never used, but it did take up my entire purse. 

Anecdote to get the post going aside, I've always been the sort who usually winds up in a bit of trouble where ever I go and likes to be mostly sort-of prepared for it. This is why I've always wanted one of those MINImergency kits. They sell them in all the kitsch shops; they're tiny and silver and come with " hairspray, clear nail polish, nail polish remover, emery board, lip balm, earring backs, clear elastics, sewing kit, double-sided tape, stain remover, deodorant towelette, pain reliever, tampon, breath freshener, dental floss, and an adhesive bandage." 

I definitely could use half those things most the time, but earring backs? nail polish? HAIRSPRAY? I don't ever use those things; I'm pretty sure I haven't brushed my hair in the past week. Besides, I have everything in the kit at home, all I needed was a container to put them in and I could totally make my own. It wouldn't cost me a penny, let alone the twenty dollars it costs at my favorite clothing store. 

So that's exactly what I did.

A few days ago my new backpack arrived in the mail. My old one's straps were broken so it was quite necessary and not an impulse buy, I continue saying to myself. Look at it. Isn't it the prettiest? 

It was empty and so obviously, I had to fill it. I packed in the silk travel sheets I bought for hostel hopping throughout the year and the travel towel I bought for the same reason. I put in pens and hand warmers, since I am from a subtropical climate and the last time I went to London it was summer and still THE COLDEST PLACE I'D EVER BEEN. Seriously, it was COLDER IN JULY THAN IT IS HERE AT CHRISTMAS. 

If it's so hot here, why do you have a bunch of hand warmers, you ask? Soccer. Bench warmer. In January. In the rain. Always. 

Then, I continued on to making my mini emergency kit. I'm a fan of eating ALL of the Altoids, so I have tons of tins lying around. I gathered one of those, and began stuffing it, using my own criteria as to what I might need. Here is what I packed into it.

1. Gauze: whenever I seriously rip myself up, I always find it more useful than band-aids, and it's long and stretchy and soft and could probably be used for tons of things that need tying. 

2. Elastic bands: as someone with long hair, I find myself in need of these all of the time. 

3. Binder clip/bobby pins/paper clips: as someone with long bangs (or fringe, if you must), I often find myself in need of anything that will keep them out of my face. Anything.  Besides, they're all pretty versatile. 

4. Q-tips: While good for cleaning ears, they also work for anything from putting on eye shadow to starting fires to ripping the cotton off of for makeshift bandages when paired with gauze. 

5. Needles, thread, and buttons: for obvious reasons

6. Band-aids and butterfly stitches: for more obvious reasons

7. Mini toothbrush w/ built in toothpaste: the most forgotten item ever

8. Cough drop: for no reason I can think of

9. Ibuprofen: in sealed ibuprofen travel packets. If you want to make a kit, those are one thing you should buy if you don't have. Loose pills aren't exactly recommended. Also, if you're planning on using your emergency painkillers for hangovers, avoid Tylenol. Kidneys and alcohol and Tylenol don't go well together. My mom works for the pharmaceutical research department at a med school and refuses to let anyone take Tylenol ever. I would give you a link to some medical research thing, but I'm too lazy. 

10. A gold craft pipe cleaner: it's wire and so that could definitely, possibly be useful, right?

11. A tampon: I'm a girl. Many of my friends are girls. An extra one is always handy. Also, you can file this under THINGS I NEVER EVER WANTED TO DISCUSS ON THE INTERNET.

12. A flashdrive: I'm a nerd. Many of my friends are nerds. An extra one is always handy. 

13. Eye drops: rarely do I ever need these, but they're one of those things that, when you need them, you absolutely need them.

14. Earrings: Just because I did such a super job of packing everything I needed in, I figured I could add something I didn't need. They're New Orleans themed. 

Really, anything you think you might need, you can put in one of these kits. I raided my parent's medicine cabinets and sewing kits and desk drawers for things that were small and handy. At one point, I had so much  that there was no way what I had would fit into ten Altoid tins. Then, I had to remind myself that I'm not climbing Mount Everest. I'm going to big cities with convenience stores everywhere. When you're travelling you want these emergency kits to take up as little space as possible, so pack what can't wait twenty minutes for you to run to the convenience store down the corner. Anything that can, leave out. 

Also, I haven't put any emergency documents in my bag yet, but before I leave, I'm going to put photocopies of my visa and passport and driver's license in a ziplock bag and stow them in the bottom of my pack. I also took pictures of all of those things on my phone and emailed them to myself, so if everything I own gets stolen, I'll still have a way to access them. 

21 days to go.