Get a dollar store FAK. Has 42 items! (mostly band-aids and alcohol wipes) in a handy plastic case. Add a $1 imitation pepto tabs and a bottle of $1 ibuprofen and you're set.

Lots of people sneer at the dollar stores, but they have a lot of stuff to get a beginner started for a reasonable price. Cheap is worth a lot compared to having nothing at all.

Start with a cardboard box. Put a folded newspaper in the bottom.
Put TeacherRO's (above) first aid kit in it.

Then walk the aisles and see what they've got for a short-term emergency:

Bottled water (gallons)
Alcohol antiseptic gel to start fires

Foods that don't need to be cooked: granola/protein/fruit bars, peanut butter/crackers, canned juice, tuna, chicken, fruit.
Can opener.
Paper plates, cups, plastic utensils.

Add more first-aid when you can: gauze pads, antibiotic salve, cleansing towelettes, adhesive tape, hydrogen peroxide, tweezers, latex gloves, rubbing alcohol, more bandaids. Get small containers of meds you usually use: anti-diarrhea, antihistamine, pain reliever, antacids.

Flashlight & batteries (splurge on decent batteries if you can).

Cleansing items: washcloth, towel, bar soap, toothbrush/paste, small shampoo, TP.

Tools: pry bar, a couple of screwdrivers, pliers.

Safety: dust masks, plastic goggles, extra reading glasses.

Pet stuff: Leash (check for weak clasp), sturdy collar, bowls, plastic bags for food.


People who have a nice little kit built from dollar store purchases are still far ahead of most Americans who think that nothing will ever happen to them.

Sue

Darned if I don't like the way this woman thinks!

I'm sorry, but I just don't get it. The described FAK is by no means adequate for anything other than the most superficial injuries. While it may indeed be better than nothing, it seems like a dollar wasted. Most of the dollar stores I have seen contain a lot of junk.

Just make sure the $1 store stuff you intend to ingest is made somewhere other than China,Also don't feed your dog anything made in China,you have to remember those people eat Everything,so anything discarded from there,Can't be Good!Ibuprofen could possibly be compressed drywall,pepto bis pills-possibly drywall w/watered down red paint! Using cheap crap for a kit of any kind,Will still be cheap crap when you need it most!Beginners Tip-Start with Quality,End with Quality!I would rather have my wits & empty pockets than Full pockets of crapola!

I would like to remind some of the people here who have well-paying jobs that the minimum wage in CA is only $8. For a 40-hr week, that's a gross of $16,640. AR is $6.25 ($13,000), MN is $6.15 ($12,792), WY and GA are $5.15 ($10,712). Now, after deductions...

You don't get it, do you? These people are ALREADY EATING FROM THE DOLLAR STORES!

Sue

Bandaids cost a fortune in the grocery stores. I think I'd be quite happy with the cheaper versions sold in dollar stores. I don't really need designer bandaids. A few basic shapes are all I need. The designer bandaids come in all sort of weird shapes you'll never use, but you pay for them as part of the designer assortment anyways - like they're made to go inside your ear or up your nose or something. Then you got the ones covered with silver, or aloe vera, or some other strange unneeded stuff. And you pay extra to have Sponge Bob's face on your bandaid too.

TeacherRO,

Here is a link you may enjoy.

Yes, it is shameless self-aggrandizement; I can live with it.

http://forums.equipped.org/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=177566&page=1

True - as people feel the pinch, there is little spare for emergency kit. While we all like quality tools, for the average urban dweller who doesn't use this stuff, brand names seem a waste. $10 in the dollar store for water, spare food, trash bags gives a huge advantage over nothing. But dropping $000s on quality kit just won't happen

Right again, Sue!

Please produce the evidence for this. I've no opinion since obviously we don't have dollar stores. But in the UK our equivalent would be 'Pound stores' or '99p stores'. Not once have I ever heard of toxic goods in them.
qjs

>Just make sure the $1 store stuff you intend to ingest is made somewhere other than China,Also don't feed your dog anything made in China,you have to remember those people eat Everything,so anything discarded from there,Can't be Good!Ibuprofen could possibly be compressed drywall,pepto bis pills-possibly drywall w/watered down red paint! Using cheap crap for a kit of any kind,Will still be cheap crap when you need it most!Beginners Tip-Start with Quality,End with Quality!I would rather have my wits & empty pockets than Full pockets of crapola!>

Interesting points -- Yes Its not a trauma kit. Its not comprehensive. BUT

Its a start, For $3 I can have some tools available. (or my kid in school, or travel bag, etc.) I have a $60 first aid kit...But most people don't. As a teacher, when I want people change their behavior, small step are easier.

This thread is for beginners who need simple ideas...and solutions that don't break the bank.

Start, then perfect. Not the other way 'round.

This is $19.98 at my local Sam's club.

http://www.samsclub.com/sams/shop/product.jsp?productId=196928&navAction=push

This offers the best bang for the buck for a complete kit I have seen. I use this kit often. It's not perfect but at $19.98, I am not complaining.

I'm not associated with Sam's Club or T.R.I. I just like their kit.

Jeanette Isabelle

I like that SAM'S CLUB kit! Thanks for pointing it out Jeanette. I think I'll buy two of those, one for each of my kids (now young adults living away from home).

As I write this,I have an empty can of Armour-Vienna sausages I just ate in front of me,So Hold your horses there,Maxine! They were made in Cherryhill,NJ 08003-3620,I purchased them at the 99 cents only store.I don't see any posts that claim to dis-spell shopping there or anywhere for that matter!I also don't see anything regarding wealth/poverty or toxic anything,Sherlock,lol!As for cheap bandages,I use Duct tape & Gauze more often than not,I'm also drinking a water bottle that was bottled at Niagara Bottling LLC,Same place the $1 stores bottled water came from except mine was bought at Costco from Kirkland,WA 98124 I did see a post telling about" Most of that stuff is Junk",of which is Absolutely Correct!I posted about Ingestable Chinese products,Read where things are made,it just may save a person Alot of Grief!Quality in fact can be cheap,& very affordable,ie... The Doug Ritter PSK,Still the most Bang for your Buck! I have no affiliation with the above products/company's,but I did stay at a Motel 6 once!

Hello, All,

I have bought some items at the dollar store- notably duct tape, some tools and non-perishable (& common branded) foodstuffs. Do I expect L.L. Bean quality? No, but those items have held up. Caveat emptor. Research & test.
WalMart has several great items for $1- the Outdoor Gear folding lockblade with partially serrated blade (its EDC & work for me) and the Day-Glo Coleman match safe. I have used the knife to throw sparks off the mini ferro rod on the safe. Yes, the blade is stainless, but it worked.
The Sam's Club kit looks pretty good. I purchased one from Cheaper Than Dirt and built my own (former Army medic). After EMT education & certification, my FAK will be significantly larger & complex.
Anyway, with a minimum of expenditure, you can buy a few bits at a time and check them out. I'm dirt poor (8.25/hr.) and get deals where I can. Of course, I'm saving for a Kabar and have paid good money for quality items, but I research & save.
Have a great weekend!

Finn

The theme seems to be, put together a kit for cheap that if you lost it you wouldn't be out a lot of money.

Just had a decent minimal kit stolen from my truck, in my driveway. I'm more mad the knife in it I'd had since the mid 80s.

The new kit will come from the dollar store, more or less. Rather than losing a $12 space pen, lose a $1 for a pack pencil.

Live and learn.

Figure the dollar store stuff is daily quicky use.

I've mentioned her videos before, but "The Patriot Nurse" on YouTube has recommendations to equip a pretty comprehensive home kit...it is in the $50 range, and addresses upper respiratory, diarrhea, and skin integrity problems

also recommend "USNERDOC" series on YouTube

Recently I bought a couple of (similar?) kits from a local store. They had the basics for my kids, and came in a very nice little plastic case - with room to add some extras.

Its certainly not a fully comprehensive kit by any means, but its a great way to start a kit, and its far better than nothing !

Everything in the kit is well within anyone's ability to use - selected bandaids, small bandages, wipes, tweasers etc. It can't cause any harm and gives the kids some more independence and responsability - ie having their own FAK

I think one advantage of starting with any kind of emergency kit (even a very cheap one) is that it may get the owner to thinking what else could go into it whenever they see it.

"Hey, I could put that multi-tool Dad gave me in there! And a pair of gloves. And a woolly hat for winter..."

Sue

So true...

I built my smallest kit containing food in one of the containers from a dollar store FAK. At the very least you get bandages and wipes to beef up a standard FAK Hiker.

Wow, Be nine please. If the products are made in America, name brand items Likee Excedrin and Aleve such as at my local dollar store, they should be safe. We're all here to learn and share, no need to be so negative. Thanks for listening.

I agree that anywhere is a good place to start. That said, I found the prices on FAK supplies to be just as reasonable if not better at the local Target. In fact, there was a promo coupon last year where a starter kit could be had for a mere .22 cents.

Myself, I began with a little freebie first aid pouch I got from a mechanic's shop many moons ago. Something like this:

http://www.epromos.com/product/8833294/custom-zippered-kit.html

Great idea if you have a business to promote...

It IS a great place to start. You can get a lot for little money. After you have some basics i would save my money and invest in quality supplies as $ permits. Nothing wrong with dollar store prepping especially for beginners IMO.

I would say this tirade is unwaranted. About twenty years ago, I spent a month in China, well away from the standard tourist destinations. In one hamlet we were the first westerners to visit since WWII. The twelve in our party ate local cuisine exclusively, prepared by Chinese cooks. We did eat some different entrees - I know we consumed dog a few times - and we all learned it was better just to shut up and eat since some of the meals were banquets attended by the local big wheels. None of us had any ill effects at all - not a single case of "Mao's revenge" or anything like it.

Humans are great scavengers - that is how we evolved - and we can eat a wide variety of items comfortably, no matter who preps it.

Guys. Just remember, you are both replying to a thread that was started well over a year ago...

oh add a $1 sunscreen tube or chapstick!