Every Day Carry, or EDC. It’s a thing. Who knew? I sure didn’t, until I stumbled across a video featuring Adam Savage of Mythbusters fame.
“Every Day Carry” is an inventory of the things you take with you on a daily basis. Think about what you have in your pocket or purse (or laptop bag!) and how you use it on a daily basis. How useful is everything in a pinch? What do you have handy that has you prepared to handle the ups and downs of the day?
For me, EDC includes an EpiPen, a pocketknife, eyeglass cleaners and my keys. (My pocketknife is a lot like this one! It was my grandpa’s originally, and then my grandma gave it to me.) The eyeglass cleaning wipes come in handy: they clean my glasses, my cell phone screen, my car’s GPS/control panel screen, and I use them to wipe the inside of my windshield in a pinch. Another piece of hardware I’m seriously thinking about adding to my purse is a 3-in-1 Pocket Screwdriver. It’ll clip to an interior pocket, and it’s lightweight. I can use it to keep my glasses snug, pop open electronics and soda cans, and open letters.
In Your Bag
Small means mighty. The Pocket Screwdriver and Pocket Dentist, for instance. Keep your kit as streamlined as possible (especially if you’re active), so it doesn’t weigh you down. Just a pen or two, only the cash you’ll need for the day, just one credit card in case of emergencies. Wallets are the worst collectors of daily bulk. If you’re driving carpool, keep the children’s necessities in the car if at all possible. Can you get by with just a pack of tissues, and a portable pack of wipes in your bag? A flat tin for balm is reusable as a pill box when the balm is used up. I keep my keys and pocketknife on a carabiner, but if you want something less bulky, consider one of these saddle pins. It’s easy to remove keys or individual items.
Look at everything you carry with a view to multi-purposing if possible.
In Your Vehicle
Sure, the standard stuff: antifreeze, oil, windshield washer fluid. But think about what’s compact and may help you in pinch: a foldable shovel, a blanket, an extra phone charger, spare hat, gloves and a scarf; water, snacks…the list could go on. You want to be able to put everything in a container, and keep it nice and tidy, and obviously, you don’t want it to take up tons of room in the car. And contrary to popular opinion, snow isn’t the only weather danger in the latter half of the year. Driving rainstorms that can lead to flash flooding can be equally dangerous. If you’re stranded on high ground, make sure your kit has items that will keep you a little more comfortable.
In Your Home
Do you have enough water and food to last you at least 72 hours, should the need arise? Check out some of the blogs right here for ways to get a small stash together should you need to: just type “preparedness” into the search box, and a list will pop right up.
Kits are available too, and Lehman’s has a nice one packed into a practical, straight-sided square bucket that won’t take up tons of storage room.
At the very least, make sure you have a few gallons of water per person and food that you can eat without heating up–or food you can heat over a fire or on a cookstove. Have a day or two worth of wood for that fire or cookstove inside the house or garage too. Store it someplace where it’s handy, and will stay dry. If the weather is too bad to go outside, it’s going to make a wet mess of your firewood too. You won’t want to wait for it to dry out so you can dry out and stay warm.
