I'm sitting here in the office with a blistering headache thinking that if I could only have a nap I'd feel so much better. I tell you this not for sympathy but because it makes me think of my office kit. With winter fast approaching, it's time to review and repack.

My office kit is designed to get me through at least a few overnights in the office. Weather, problems at the nuclear plant, an industrial accident or chemical spill on the major railway or highway... all potential risks I'm prepping for.

My kit's sitting here under my desk and I have to admit, I haven't touched it since I put it there about 7 months ago. I had to look up an old post to remind myself of what's in there:

FAK: AMK kit, soap, bandana, personal meds, safety pins, nail clippers baby wipes, small bottle of purelle, pocket pack of kleenex, cpr mask and 2 pairs nitrile gloves, 2 dust masks, sewing kit

CLOTHES: wool socks hat and gloves, thermal shirt, emerg rain poncho and blaze orange baseball hat, light rain pants, leather work gloves, subbed in a primaloft jacket instead of fleece.

SHELTER: AMK bivy, sleeping bag liner, paracord, heatsheet

WATER: large full kleen canteen, micropur tabs, military mess cup, juice crystals, instant hot chocolate tea and cappacino, wrapped the water bottle in duct tape

FOOD: 4 cliff bars, 1 pack jerky, 2 powerbar harvest bars, MRE meal and heater

FIRE: bic, match safe (with tinder-quicks, b-day candle and strike anywhere matches), couple of tealights, sierra saw, 2 larger candles, esbit stove and tabs

RESCUE: AMK signal mirror, lanyard with whistle/led light, roll of quarters, blaze orange whistle to an external zip

MISC: SAK, multi-tool, bandana, LED flashlight and extra batteries, extra glasses and sunglasses, leatherman folder, LED lantern, LED headlight and extra batteries, 2 decks playing cards, pry bar, extra house key, 4 chem lights, 4 chem hand warmers, 2 lg garbage bags, 2 small garbage bags, eye glass repair kit, pocket radio and extra batteries, case of all the extra batteries

TOILETRIES: soap, toothpaste, toothbrush, deodarant, washcloth, feminine stuff

Other stuff I've got available here:

-1 box of cliff bars, personal OTC meds and vitamins, 2 mason jar candles
-coffee, tea, sugar, instant oatmeal, cereal and canned goods in kitchen (with manual opener)
-about a couple of weeks worth of TP, paper towel and kleenex
-equivalant of a couple of bags of ice in the freezer
-24 bottles water in freezer
-gortex jacket with fleece jacket
-2 fishing rods
-1 X 4 wheeler and small can of gas
-1 propane bbq with 1 full tank
-1 snowblower
-2 large flashlights
-multiple tools
-my GHB in my parked car about 50 feet from my desk

What's in your office kit? What would you add as sub-zero temps and snow looms on the horizon?

Your kit looks good. Would it make sense to add a cellphone charger, and/or a an old cellphone that doesn't have current service but might still be good for a 911 call?



My employer is moving soon, and it may be possible for me to keep a small office kit in the new location. We'll see. For now, if I take the train, all I've got with me is in my laptop bag.

What - your office has no dormatorium? (A.k.a. a quiet corner with a sofa). Every decent office should have one.

Great job on the kit!

Don't I wish!

do you have a reclining chair or couch to sleep on?... if not, a closed cell foam sleeping pad will make the cold hard floor a little more comfortable

With all due respect, I think that your kit is a tad unrealistic for "overnights in the office" - having slept in my office more than a few times in my life, I'm going to go item for item and suggest that you consider a more compact and practical arrangement. I don't mean to be a smart butt, at all, I'm saying that I've been stuck in offices, and I've had to sleep in offices, and it's really not that bad.



OK not bad, but your office should have a large FAK for all of the staff. This is kind of an FAK/Personal Hygiene kit.



Not really sure what this does for you in an office. Does it rain in your office? Are you planning to walk out?



I think a blanket would suffice. Maybe two.



I can't think of an office that does not have cups and mugs, most offices have tea and coffee already.



This is the one thing that I see as a really needed good thing to have, because waking up and having 4 packs of sugar and 3 packs of duck sauce for breakfast sucks. My food stash at work leans more to the granola bar family, but a nice stash of snacks is one of those "man I wish we had more of these here in the office" things.



Ummm....sierra saw? You making a campfire in the reception area? Get a few cans of Sterno and a sterno stove. Esbit fuel stinks like urine. Candles are a good idea if the power's out, but LED lanterns are safer and last longer.




I'm trying to think of an office scenario where you'd need a roll of quarters. Phone calls? Can you even THINK of a location with a pay phone anymore? The last pay phone I saw was in a movie. The signal mirror? Well, maybe if my office wer subject to flash flooding and I was on the roof awaiting a helicopter...maybe...



Well, most of this stuff is EDC, but some of it is just basic office gear. If your office does not have radio/batteries/flashlights on hand at all times, that's just sad.



THIS is the stuff you really need when you wake up in the office. You'd be amazed at how much of the "necessities" you don't really care about when you're stuck in a "stay put" situation and how many things you realize you want to have that you'd never have thought of.

For example, pajamas that are "public friendly" - sweat pants and a sweatshirt. Ear plugs. Because offices make all kinds of noises your house does not. A pillow. Because you want to get some rest and improvised pillows are terrible. Extra blankets. Because you're going to be sleeping on the floor, and it's darn cold down there.

Razors, shaving cream, etc. are also a must for men.

Now because of my job, I have at work a full change of clothes and an overnight bag packed at all times - I can come to work in the morning expecting to come home and end up in Los Angeles that evening due to an unexpected meeting, so I'm "hotel ready" at any given time, so my perspective might be a little different.

Thanks Martin. When I originally packed this kit, I was intending to use it as a GHB for my commute as well. I've since decided against using public transit so created a GHB that lives in the trunk of my car so I definitely need to revist the office kit that lives under my desk. Thinking about taking a nap is an eye opener - thermarest, blankets/sleeping bag, sweats/fleece instead of rain gear, etc... Thanks for the wise suggestions! Never having been a stay put situation before your experience is MUCH appreciated!

FYI - it's a very small office (only 3 full time employees) and has been a little lax about things like FAKs, flashlights, etc. in the past. They seem to have been in the "it won't happen to us" camp before I arrived but that's not good enough for me.

Just for the record - the nearest pay phone is North East of here, at a gas station about 3km away. There's another West at a convenice store about 4km away.

When I think of an Office Bug-in Kit I gotta ask, "Why?". Here, I'd be bugging in because a major earthquake just shutdown SOCAL; the power is off and probably water too. In Canada I'm thinking major winter snowstorm and an office can get cold enough to require camping gear inside. That said, good kit.

You may want to keep some of this in your car so it's always nearby. If whatever hits while at work the car kit supplements your office kit. OTOH, it's also with you on the road. Add more food and a camp stove.

LOL!! Those of us who don't have cel phones tend to keep a closer eye on them than you young 'uns with the high flauten technology.