Maintain Your Emergency Kit(s)
After assembling your kit, remember to maintain it so it's ready when needed.
- Check the out-dates on your food and water twice a year: when your clock "falls back" and "springs forward" (when you replace the batteries in your smoke alarms).
- Test batteries in flashlights and radios every three months.
- Check the expiration dates on medications twice a year.
- Re-think your gear needs every season and replace seasonal items such as clothing and shoes (or pack your kit for four-season use); be sure your emergency kits stays age-appropriate to your children as they get older.