The "Emergency Kit."

I can't believe its Back To School season already. I have no skin in the game, I've been out of even higher education for 17.5 years and I don't have my own kids going back to class... because I don't have my own kids. But, the pop culture commentary channels are already starting to talk about Bama Rush (and sorority rush season in general), and I'm seeing the high school upperclasswomen putting out Emergency Kit stocking videos to put the younger girls on, which is fantastic of them and I love to see it.

I think everyone knows by now that a good, useful bag stock is my JAM, so here's my list of what I include in my own Emergency Kit to this day! Do you need to stock yours with every single thing listed here? Not at all! This is what I find useful, you may not find some of it useful. These kits are very personal, I'm sharing what I fill mine with simply to give you ideas for your own bag you may not have thought of on your own.

I know people hate qualifications nowadays, but I'll still give you mine when it comes to day bag preparedness:

1. I mean, it's been literal decades, but I was a high schooler at one time. I even went to the tech center for half the day, so I commuted between buildings.

2. I was a college student, too, and I didn't live on campus... so I had to pack for 12 hour days.

3. My summer job was at Renaissance faires. Using banks of port-o-pots all weekend, all summer.

4. Not to mention, I was one of those day-to-evening Millennial "#GirlBosses" for 10 years.

And as someone who has survived in those conditions and lived to bring you these tips, I myself carry with me:

• Your favorite menstrual products. That's where this whole thing started. I also recommend a spare pair of panties (and maybe also a pair of period panties, in addition to the pads and tampons/discs) folded into a plastic sandwich baggie... if your cycle is unpredictable like mine was, there's no reason to not be fully prepared for everything. Also, keep some extras on hand of the pads and tampons/discs for sharing. You know how the Ladies' Room is.

• Condoms, dental dams, and sample packs of silicone-based lube. Look. I'm asexual myself, but I'm also a realist. If I'm not going to use it, someone around me will. So, yeah, I do usually keep a Planned Parenthood condom in my Emergency Kit. And yes, I am fine with nebulously giving this advice to high schoolers. Like I said, I'm a realist. I know "the kids" are less promiscuous "these days" than my generation was at the after football game bonfires, but I also know how hormones work.

• NARCAN. Same as above on all counts.

• Vulva-safe wipes. You can get them packaged like baby wipes, or you can get them individually wrapped... individually wrapped makes them easier to hand over with the pad/tampon when you're fulfilling your Period Hero duties, just saying.

• A pocket pack of facial tissue. Sometimes, the stall's out of TP.

• Flushable toilet seat covers.

• Your favorite hand sanitizer.

• Those one-time-use sheets of hand soap.

• A travel toothbrush with a good cover.

• A travel tube of toothpaste.

• Individual tubes of mouthwash.

• A roll of dental floss.

• 2oz spritz bottle of HOCL. You can use this as a hand sanitizer, a surface sanitizer, spray it on your toothbrush and toothbrush cover before and after use to keep it clean, and spray it on the crotch of your panties or under your arms as a deodorant.

• Speaking of deodorant... a travel stick of your favorite deodorant.

• A travel bottle of talc-free powder, to keep damp areas dry and rubbing areas from creating friction. I like Gold-Bond, but YMMV on the menthol sensation. If you don't like using loose powders, check out "liquid baby powder" in the baby care section, it's a silicone-based lotion that dries to a powder finish.

• A Poy-sian inhaler stick. Not super common outside of Thailand, I know! Not only does the camphor and menthol smell act as an energizer and help cover bad smells in the environment, you can screw off the inhaler stick and use the oil dropper to apply the oil to your insect bites, which is one of the few things I've found that disrupts the itching sensation. Again, YMMV on skin tolerance to camphor and menthol.

• A travel bottle of your favorite OTC pain medication. Now, if you're in school, I know a lot of school codes call for all medication to be dispensed by the school nurse, so obviously leave this out if you're bringing this to a school with these rules. If you're not, however... if you're AFAB, you know why.

• A small brush or comb, a scrunchie, and a few bobby pins.

• Individually wrapped alcohol swaps. You can use them to clean your glasses, to clean minor wounds and prep skin for a bandaid, for spot disinfecting any surface, and for removing any adhesives or sticky, oily substances.

• Band-aids. You can usually get a little plastic clamshell with like six bandaids in it for this purpose at a Dollar store, in the travel bins, or with a full-sized box of bandaids as a bonus.

• A small tube of Aquaphor.

• Sunblock. Some days, you find yourself outside. Make sure you're ready.

• Perfume. Why not? We all have random tiny bottles or rollerballs.

As for the kind of bag to keep this in...

The search terms you're looking for are "makeup bag," "cosmetics bag," "pencil bag," or even "electronics pouch" if you want something water resistant with lots of pockets for stashing. You're looking for something fairly flat, and generally in the 8"-10" size. You will likely find something fairly easily while thrifting, but if not, they're particularly affordable for Back To School.

If you know the bathroom stalls you'll be using the most don't have a lot of places to set things down, you may want to consider looking for a small purse with a wrist loop, or cross-body strap so you can wear it while you're using it, or a pouch with a caribiner so you can clip it to the outside of your backpack while you're using the stall.

And you're probably wondering where the makeup is? I prefer that to be a second kit. I don't want to risk dropping my mascara in the toilet as I'm digging for my tissues. The toothbrush is risky enough.