I've been considering and tweaking and fiddling with my Personal Emergency Kit for a long while now. I know how many pieces make up the kit and I know how to use each piece with the other pieces. After all of this I realized something, "Only I know how this thing works." At least I'm the only one of my friends and family that knows how this thinig works. And I can't speak for the average Joe or Jane out there.<br><br>Then the question occured to me. "If I were in a survival situation with one or more people that didn't know how to use 'my' kit and I was unable to communicate to them how it works (most likely due to injury), how would they know how to use it?"<br><br>Answer: Include a guide in the kit.<br><br>But my kit is designed to be very small. I can't include a book on survival in it. What would I do? I'll tell you what I did. I made a guide on one piece of paper. How?<br><br>I made an inventory chart and expanded it. The chart lists:<br>Quantity, Item Name, Item Discriptiion, Use(s) for that item, Item(s) that that Item is used with, How to use that item, and Notes.<br><br>Here's an example.<br>Qty______Item__________Description__________________Use(s)____________________Used with________How to use<br>1__Magnifying Glass__Flat plastic, in case___Fire starter, magnification, measurement_____Sun, tinder___Magnify sun to a point onto tinder<br><br>I've written the instructions in plain English that anyone with moderate literacy could understand. Instead of calling it a Frenel Lens it's a Magnifying Glass, instead of Exacto Blades they're Razor Knife Blades, instead of a Sewing Awl it's a Big Sewing Needle.<br><br>I've managed to include all of this on one side of a normal 8 1/2 X 11 sheet of paper. Actually it's a bit smaller. The other side will include illustrations of how to make a handle for the razor knife blades and how to set up traps with wire to name a few.<br><br>After I've completed this Emergency Kit Guide for Dummies I plan to spray it with some kind of flame resistant coating so no one can use it for tinder.<br><br>What do you think? Any suggestions or comments?

What you created is called a cheat sheet, or less colorfully,instructions. the best test is to hand the kit to a complete novice and see if the instructions work. I wouldn't worry about making it fireproof, but waterproofing with mapseal is a good idea.

Is Mapseal a spray?

No, it is applied with a sponge applicator. It is available through Campmor.