82 Survival Kit Ideas That You Can Fit In a 5 Gallon Bucket

With large-scale disasters common across America it is wise to start thinking about emergency preparedness and how a 5-gallon bucket can help you with spark some survival kit ideas.

Our friends over at Five Gallon Ideas have put together a great article about their own DIY emergency preparedness kit.

Since their website is about 5-gallon buckets they chose to put their emergency kit into a bucket. Not only is this a cheaper way to store your kit but it will keep it airtight as well.

You can read all about how they came up with the contents of the emergency kit, including some great free survival tools, on their website by clicking here but for the purpose of this article, I’ll share with you the exact contents of their kit so you can get some survival kit ideas yourself.

Organizing your 5 Gallon Emergency Kit

The bucket emergency survival kit is divided into a few broad categories to keep the supplies organized:

• General Supplies
• Hygiene Supplies
• First Aid Kit

Every item is listed in detail in a printed contents document. On the back is a list of important phone numbers such as relatives, insurance companies, local law enforcement, fire department, etc.

Don’t forget the date! This helps you remember when the bucket was put together so you can keep track of all your expiration dates.

A good emergency survival kit can easily last 5 years or more, but not everything inside will be good for that long and may need to be replaced periodically. Again, the EpiPen example – they only last about 20 months from the day they are made. Replacing an expired EpiPen could be a life or death matter!

Download the List: 5 Gallon Emergency Survival Kit Ideas

The rest of this article will be a list of the contents of the bucket. Download this list in an editable Word .doc format by clicking here:

5 Gallon Bucket Emergency Survival Kit.doc

What about Food?

Humans usually need at least 2,000 calories every single day – which adds up really fast. Depending on your anticipated needs, you may want one or several food-geared buckets in addition to your emergency supply kit. I have some ideas on the pre-packaged emergency kits article I mentioned earlier.

General Supplies

I’ve put purchase links on some of the more unusual items that you might not find at your neighborhood hardware store.

• glow sticks (12 hrs)
• flashlight (see above)
• liquid candle
• matchbooks
• mylar thermal blankets (link)
• hand warmers (link)
• AM/FM radio
• whistle and lanyard
• sewing kit
• blank notebook
• pencils
• extra batteries (for flashlight and radio)
• zip ties
• P-38 can opener (link)
• trash bags
• N95 dust masks
• duct tape
• small tarp
• paracord (link)
• safety goggles
• split leather gloves

Hygiene Supplies

Hygiene supplies are packaged inside their own separate bag. These basic supplies should look familiar – it’s similar to a toiletries bag you might take on vacation.

• bar soap
• kleenex
• floss
• baby shampoo
• hand lotion
• sunscreen
• toothpaste
• toothbrushes
• feminine hygiene pads
• comb
• toilet paper
• washcloths

First Aid Kit

The first aid box is packaged with a list of contents taped to the inside of the lid. Moist towelettes and antiseptic towelettes and latex gloves kept on top so you can clean your hands before digging through supplies.

• basic first-aid guide
• moist towelettes
• antiseptic towelettes
• latex gloves
• acetaminophen (Tylenol)
• ibuprofen (Advil)
• aspirin
• diphenhydramine (Benadryl)
• loperamide (Imodium A-D)
• burn cream
• sting relief towelettes
• hydrocortisone cream
• triple antibiotic ointment (Neosporin)
• cough drops
• earplugs
• instant ice pack
• tweezers
• nail clippers
• scissors
• digital thermometer
• cotton balls
• waterproof adhesive tape
• gauze rolls
• gauze pads
• moleskin
• band-aids
• butterfly bandages
• ace bandage
• triangular bandage
• hand sanitizer
• Q-tips
• petroleum jelly
• RAD sticker or card (personal radiation dosimeter) (link)
• potassium iodide (radiation emergency thyroid blocker) (link)