Making A Speciality Kit

For some, rain can be quite relaxing. Nothing is more soothing than sitting on the porch, watching it come down like buckets while sipping your favorite hot beverage. Every year, 6.6 billion tons of precipitation fall from the sky every year. Nearly 1,800 storms are occurring at any moment around the world. The average size of a storm is a 15-mile radius, at the most, making it small and isolated. Storms often lead to multiple other disasters such as blackouts, flooding, mudslides, tornadoes, etc. Making a Rainy Day Box is a fun project to do with the family, so if, and when, you find yourself stuck at home because of the rain you’ll have something to do.

Craft Kits

The average storm lasts thirty minutes, but some can last up to five hours. Few can even last a couple of days. Craft kits are great at killing at least an hour of your time. There are many types out on the market that can also teach you a useful apocalypse skill. Make-your-own spa goods, like soap and lip balm, can be useful for bartering. Loom kits can teach you how to weave fabric out of yarn and wool. Slimes are a fun toy that has been proven to reduce anxiety in kids. Sand bottle craft kits are the most popular on the market today. You might learn nothing from those types of kits, but they can create lasting memories, which are just as good as any skill.

Modeling Clay/ Play Dough

Unlike craft kits, modeling clay can provide hours of fun, as something you can reuse again and again. You can buy it pre-made, or make your own out of flour, water, cream of tartar, salt, oil, and food coloring. Child psychologists use Play-Dough as a tool to help make it easier for children to express their thoughts and feelings to adults. We have scientifically proved that the simple act of rolling and squishing this spongy material can relax and relieve stress in people. Blackouts can be very stressful for parents with tots, so this would provide them with a great distraction from the current situation. Hold a contest on who can make the whackiest creation to keep their focus on that instead of wondering when the power is coming back on.

Many, Many Books

There are so many styles of books out there on the market that you could fill up your kit with. Word search and crossword puzzle books can expand the mind while challenging your general knowledge of certain subjects. Same with Sudoku and puzzle books. Coloring books are another fun way to pass the time during the storm. Just don’t forget the crayons, gel pens, markers, or colored pencils to fill them in with. Rainy days are a good excuse to crack open that book you’ve been putting off. As a writer, I keep extra journals and fun pens in my rainy day kit because I find the rain soothing enough to clear my mind, relaxing me enough to write better stories.

Turn It Into A Spa Day

Falling rain is a very common sound used to help people fall asleep. According to researchers, we love the sound because it sends us brain waves similar to that of sleeping, thus relaxing us in the process. If you are a Pluviophile, someone who finds the sound of rain to be peaceful and enjoying, turn the storm into a spa day. Give yourself a manicure, a pedicure, or both. If there is no lightning outside, then draw yourself a nice, warm bubbly bath. Try out that new face mask you’ve been putting off. If the power is out, consider burning your favorite scented candles while enjoying a break from your phone. Blackouts are the perfect excuse to shut the phone down for a bit, providing you with a much-needed break.

Fun And Games

Turn the rainy night into a game night. Have a deck of cards, or two, to play a variety of games such as solitaire or blackjack. Get one with survival facts on it so you can learn a new skill while waiting your turn at Gin Rummy. Use a sketchbook and a pack of cheap pens for multiple rounds of Hang Man or Pictionary. Puzzles are fun to put together while taking a lot of time to assemble. Small toys, like a slinky or stress ball, are great at entertaining kids and adults alike. If your household is big enough, consider stocking up on board game classics like Trial by Trolley or Clue. If you practice an indoor hobby, consider keeping supplies for it on hand.

The Box

The last piece to get would be a box to hold it all in. You should get the supplies for it first, so you know how big of a box you’ll need to get. The larger the home, the more supplies you’ll need to keep in it. I usually try to get a pretty colored one so it’ll stand out on the specialty kit shelf. Mine is a cloth cube which is just as good as a box. Make sure that you clearly labeled it on the front. When putting together a checklist for it in your Preparedness Binder, include the expiration dates of any items that have one to make sure they are properly rotated. You’ll want to keep it in an area that is accessible in rainy weather and on a high shelf in case of flooding. If told to evacuate, make sure it is light enough to grab so you can put it with your Bug-Out Bags so you’ll have something to do once you arrive at the Bug-Out Location.