If you've ever had an emergency at work, you know how unfortunate it can be.
Whether you get something stuck in your teeth, lose a button from your shirt, or get a splitting headache, if you don't have the materials to solve the problem, it can completely ruin your day.
And it doesn't matter where you work — everyone from elementary school teachers to high-powered business executives runs into emergencies at the workplace.
Because these seemingly little problems can throw off your entire day, it's important to have some essential items on hand.
But nobody wants to walk around with all the contents of their medicine cabinet in their purse of briefcase, so instead, try making this brilliant Altoids tin emergency kit!
We've seen a similar approach for creating itty-bitty survival kits, but this workplace version is just as useful!
Reese Lloyd, who created this clever Altoids tin kit, explained on Instructables, "Given that 5 days a week I spend working in a business setting, I need a survival kit of a different sort to keep me alive and rolling when catastrophe strikes."
Thumbnail Photo: Wikimedia / schyler (talk)
Reese explains that there are a few requirements for his kit:
- Has to cover issues that might afflict me at home or on the road
- Only needs to get me home, to the hotel or somewhere I can buy what I need
- First aid doesn’t need to be covered *
- Has to fit into a mint tin
* I carry an augmented mini first aid kit already
Basically, it's a first aid kit, but for career emergencies, not medical ones.
The items required for this simple kit include:
- Altoids tin
- assorted medicine
- small plastic container
- small 7-day pill box
- micro flashlight
- Buttons
- safety pins
- flossers
- foam earplugs
- sewing needles
- small nail files
In addition to these necessary items, there's also a variety of other items you could add, including:
- eye drops
- bobby pins
- hair ties
- Band-Aids
- nail clipper
- toothpicks
- emergency contact list
The pill container is actually for organizing the supplies inside your Altoids tin.
Reese says that it needs to be adapted a little bit:
The pill container is a bit large for this build so you’ll need to cut it down to make two small containers with three “days” each.
Sorry, Wednesday, we don't need you for this one.
Reese notes that in order to create smaller pill containers out of a seven-day organizer, these are the steps you should follow:
- Using a utility knife or x-acto, cut off the lid from the Wednesday pod.
- Trim out the Wednesday pod.
- Trim up the edges of your newly created smaller pill boxes.
- Using the x-acto carefully shave off the day and braille markings.
- Label properly and fill appropriately.
He fills his containers with buttons, mints, and Advil, but you can use any small items you like.
Next, trim your nail files down to size if necessary, then place them into the Altoids tin.
You can layer in your modified pill containers next, since they're bulky.
After that, add your sewing kit — if you have a premade sewing kit (like the kind from a hotel), you can use that, but if not, make your own!
All you need to do to make your own sewing kit is poke a few needles through a business card, then wrap a few colors of thread around the card.
Reese explains the next item, writing:
I like to carry medicine to get me through the day/trip. As with everything, I’d rather be safe than sorry.
Trim down each pill's blister pack until only the smallest amount is left. For pills that aren't easily identified by their package, use a sharpie to label them. Toss them all in the plastic container and you're all set.
Finally, put all the items together in the Altoids tin. If there's any free space left, use it to pack in extra items.
Reese says that putting in some cash, like a $20 bill, is a good idea because it will always help in the case of an emergency.
If you're excited to make one of these Altoids tin emergency kits, please SHARE this article with your friends and family!
