10 Items to Stock Up On

My brother wrote this article for me as a response to a video he looked into.  While the video was less than impressive it did lead to some great conversation between the two of us.  Enjoy.

Jon

The other day while enjoying some morning coffee and browsing the internet I stumbled upon a headline I could not help but check out. The title was 37 Food Items Sold Out After a Crisis. I could not help but click on this possible source of some great insight. After clicking on it I was brought to a Site advertising a DVD for sell. I am not the type of person to buy something without first sampling it. If you ever see me at a book store I am the weird guy sitting on the floor with his cup of coffee deciding whether or not to buy a book by a simple process of reading a good majority of the book right there in the store. So I set out on a quest to find the information that was contained on this bestselling (According to the publishing company) DVD. While on my online quest for the knowledge from this video I stumbled upon a link for Amazon customer comments.

When reading such comments as this: “This is by far the worst and most useless collection of pamphlets or non-essential information, I have ever run across” or “I was able to collect 10 times or more information for free off the internet.” Also “it is page after page of hype and disaster painting to get a person worked up into thinking what if. That was the only redeeming quality of the whole thing. And then not really! If you were not already thinking about it you would not have looked up this book.” And lastly “there is no special list of 37 foods that will sell out that most people with any common sense won’t already have or be getting. If fact some of the items are downright bad for you on the calorie or nutrition level. Ramon noodles have no intrinsic value outside of using them as filler. MRE’s may have at one point been a bad choice as far as nutrition they have since been changed. They are good mixed with rice or pasta. I would have given this a negative 20 but 1 is as low a rating as it allows. I am sending my copy back today.” There were many more comments that used less tact and more colorful language to get the same point across.

The most important thing about reading any kind of literature is to get you thinking and pondering whatever it is you have just taken the time to direct your attention to for a while. The biggest thing to understand about advice you read on preparing for whatever event might happen, is that there is no magical solution or list of supplies that you need. You must take people’s thoughts and use then to create a scenario that will best benefit you through your preparations. For example I am a single male that has no ties to hold me down to my current location during an emergency situation. This is why all my preparations are geared to bugging out to my family’s retreat. Then you have my brother who has a wife and several lovely kids and resides in a very good location if anything were to happen. His preparations have all been geared towards staying in his nearby retreat location. Take a common thing like a B.o.B which is a very custom thing that is designed to fit the needs of a specific individual. Mine is geared to get me across two states, while my brothers is just designed to get him home from which tends to be a much shorter distance.

Now with that said, this is a “ten essential list” of items to stock up on for any emergency situation. Most experts agree that there are three essentials to any emergency situation, short term or long term; I have always suggested the 3+1, these being Food/Water, Shelter, Heat, and Miscellaneous items. This miscellaneous category is where you find your comfort items. Now situation dictates which ones of these are going to become the most important. If you are in the desert you are most likely not concerning yourself with heat, but more likely water is your biggest priority.

After some discussion with numerous people I came to the conclusion that these are generally the top ten items to stock up on in your retreat location or B.o.B.

1-Water

On average you can only live three days without water.

You have many options for getting clean drinking water so long as the precious liquid is available. The most efficient way to purify water is boiling it. You can also kill the bacteria by using UV light from the sun. This is done by placing the water in a clear sealed container and letting it sit in the sun. With this method it is not a hundred percent guaranteed to kill all dangerous bacteria in the way boiling does, but is a highly recommended emergency procedure. You have water purification tablets and of course a wide variety of water purifiers. Now if you are stationary in your house you have access to running water that is safe to drink, but the question is how long will you continue to have running water if the shit hits the fan. For this I suggest not only stocking up on water in your storage, but collection as much water as you can while the water pressure is still on. For this I am a super big fan of the bathtub bladder. This is literally a large bladder that is designed to fit you bathtub and be filled while you still have pressure in your pipes. There are many different types and models. I suggest the ones that come with a pump so you are able to extract water as it is needed.  In a city you will be limited to how long the pressure holds out in the city water works.

On a side not I had a friend tell me that for years their family had washed out milk jugs and filled them with water, adding a few drops of bleach before sealing them.  It seemed like a great idea till an emergency hit and they had to resort to the water; which he told me was the most foul milk tasting water he had ever drunk; even after boiling.  Take care in what you store your water in.

2-Food

Now this is a highly debated topic. I suggest taking time and plan what best suites you and your needs. I like the freeze dried items and large quantities of dried stored goods. A thought to keep in mind; if you want to buy and stock large buckets of flour and similar grains you have to ask yourself if upon opening these items can you use all of it before it spoils, so maybe storing in smaller sizes might best fit you. Money is always a large concern when it comes to stocking items; so I like to make a three part list. First priority are items you can acquire and afford. The second is items you plan to get. Then third are your wish list items. The most important thing I will stress on food storage is the ability to use your food storage. If you stock up on whole wheat have a way to grind it unless you plan on rubbing rocks together to grind your wheat. If you have cans it is advantages to have something to open and prepare them. If your power goes out are you still able to cook items that need to be cooked.

3-Heat

Heat is always a crucial. When you are cold your use more energy. This causes you to burn more calories than you would in warmer weather. IF you have a way to heat your house with wood it is crucial that you keep a good stock of seasoned wood. Going out and cutting down that tree in your front yard that your wife has been bugging you to trim will not suffice. Most wood takes six to twelve months to dry enough to be considered seasoned wood that will burn efficiently. There are many alternatives to burning wood like a wide variety of propane heaters and such items like that. The thing to keep in mind when burning any kind of fuel whether it is a heating or light source that fumes are dangerous and ventilation is important for your wellbeing.

4-First Aid

This can be as simple as some band aids and disinfectant. Keep in mind that if you are someone who requires continues refill prescriptions; it might be smart to have extra to last you through an extended period. Your first aid supplies will be dependent on your knowledge and need. If you don’t know how to give someone an IV it might not benefit you to have a supply of intravenous kits on hand.

5-Literature

This can be anything from entertainment to books that can be used as tools to benefit your situation. Books on First Aid, edible plants, and basic knowledge how to live in a more basic life style without modern convinces.  If you can look it up you don’t have to memorize everything; especially because the average person has a hard time remembering everything when you don’t live the survival lifestyle day to day.

6-Tools

This can be anything from a hammer to garden tools. Once again this is going to be geared towards you. If you stockpile seeds then you want lots of garden tools on hand.  My brother spent several years in the Philippines where machetes are an absolute must in remote regions.  Many military types enjoy E-Tools, or entrenching tools as they can be used as an ax shovel or pick ax.

7-Light

This is pretty self-explanatory. This can include flashlights, candles, glow sticks, and kerosene lamps. With everything you have to keep in mind what batteries and fuels are necessary to run your light source.

8-Soap

This includes all personal hygiene items and for cleaning dishes and house.  Disease and illness can kill you as quick as another human.  Not washing your hands can leave you down for days; and that may be a life or death situation, and at a minimum a huge hindrance on your fellow survivors.

9-Seeds

I am a big fan of seeds; although you have to make sure you have that you stay away from the hybrid seeds. These seeds will produce great crop yield, but in most cases will not produce non-hybrid seeds; which means you will get one crop but with no seeds to use for the next season.  Stock piling of organic natural seeds is huge within many prepping circles and significant enough that frozen vaults are maintained around the world above the polar line.  The use of hybrid seeds is highly debated around the world and is worth reading about.

10-Clothing

This last category has all the good jazz about clothing to suite all situations and extended to bed clothes.  Everything is dependent on situation.  If you are in the cold layers are always the best option over super coats.

Hope you found this list beneficial; and if not I hope it at least aided your thought process.  Survival prepping is and should be very personal.

Dave