125 Preparedness Items You Need To Stock

Today I have 125 preparedness items you need to stock as your budget allows. You may be better prepared in some areas than others. That’s okay, this list is to help you think about what you have now and what you may need in the future. Let’s be clear, these preparedness items will mainly be used at your home, although you need to also consider things you may want in your car and at your office

I understand a lot of people may go up in the hills if a disaster hits or an unforeseen emergency directly affects their family. I won’t be heading for the hills, that would make me a target for the people up there who are looking to take advantage of others or who have no common sense. At our age, we’ve pretty well decided to shelter in place unless required to evacuate.

Would you like the world to go back to eating at the dinner table as a family? With zero electronics, phones turned off, and communicating with one another face to face. As we put our family emergency plan together, we need to teach our kids and grandkids to listen up, be aware of their surroundings, and apply the things they’ve been taught to do in emergencies.

Some of the kids can help fix the meals, with some help. Our offspring also need to “clear the table” and wash the dishes or load and unload the dishes together as a family. I view it as learning to be kind to one another and learning to work together as a team, all things that are important during survival situations.

Preparedness Items

Food Storage/Stock The Pantry/Freezer

One critical aspect of any disaster or emergency situation is to have enough food to maintain energy and cognitive skills. The list below is a minimum inventory of things that will help maintain a healthy and nourishing environment for those you love. Some are non-perishable food items you should consider as staples to build meals around, others need special storage considerations so they don’t go bad.

• Flour/Wheat: if you have these you can make bread or bread-based meal products. Of course, the wheat has a longer shelf life.
• Oil: used in many recipes and to cook with. Some varieties are more shelf stable than others, requiring some homework on your part.
• Salt: we all need salt in our diets to stay healthy, not just to flavor our food.
• Honey: a great sweetener with a fairly long shelf life. If it crystallizes, just heat it up.
• Sugar: many recipes call for sugar, particularly pastries and other desserts. Ingredient kids love to see.
• Spices: in an emergency, meals may tend to be bland. The right spices can make a real difference.
• Butter: another common recipe item and can be used as a cooking oil too.
• Instant milk: if you lose your power you’ll want a supply of instant milk as a substitute for fresh milk. Has a decent shelf life for storage.
• Yeast: needed when making bread-based foods so they rise properly. Works best when fresh, so I keep mine in the freezer.
• Brown sugar: besides regular sugar, some recipes call for brown sugar.
• Canned meats: awesome addition to your longer-term storage with the proteins we need.
• Canned fruits: canned fruits make it possible to enjoy our favorite fruits all year long.
• Canned vegetables: great additions to salads, soups, stews, and more.
• Canned tomatoes: we love to make Italian and Mexican meals all the time. Tomatoes are a key ingredient in almost all of them.
• Beans/Rice/Pasta: superb long-term storage items with so many meal options.
• Pet food: we can’t forget our furry friends, they need help in emergencies too.
• Seeds: preferably Organic, Non-GMO, or Heritage Seeds: if you really want to feel comfortable with your preparedness plan, make good use of your property and grow your own food. There’s nothing like knowing how your veggies have been grown regarding pesticides and fertilizers.
• Infant Formula: although there’s been a shortage, try to get a good supply for your storage inventory as you can. The formula comes in powder and liquid.

Water

• 4 gallons of water per person per day: you need water for hydration, cooking, cleaning, and personal sanitation. Can’t survive without it!
• Water purifiers: we can’t trust all our water sources. Be sure to have a way to filter and purify.
• WaterBricks: one of the best water storage products I use. Stack easily, not too heavy, and be stored under your bed.
• 50-gallon water barrels with a pump: very popular water storage option. Do require a pump to extract the water, but they work great.
• High Capacity Water Tank: we have 160-gallon and 250-gallon tanks in the garage. We use Water Preserver so we don’t have to change often.
• Water Preserver: allows you to only drain and replace the water every 5 years, gotta use it!
• Big Berkey portable water filter systems: well-known and respected company. Campers and backpackers highly recommend these.

Preserving our Bounty

• Quart mason jars: both Ball and Kerr make good products. I like using wide-mouth jars.
• Pint mason jars: some things will be easier to store in smaller containers.
• 1/2 pint mason jars: work well when making jams and jellies.
• Mason jar lids and rings (thanks Harriet): these have been hard to find. I’d shy away from lesser-known manufacturers.
• Water Bath Canner: my food preserver mainstay. We’ve canned thousands of jars of fruits and veggies over the years.
• Pressure Canner: especially good for meat canning. Amazing how fast they process the foods.
• Bottle lifter: protect your hands when pulling the bottles from the hot liquids.

Fuel/Emergency Stoves/Matches

• Butane Stove with Fuel: I used one of these for a number of months while waiting for my gas stove to be installed. Very pleased with how well it worked.
• Butane Fuel: can’t run the stove without some fuel. Be sure to set aside a place away from your home for storage.
• Dutch Ovens (Keep in mind those cute colored ceramic Dutch ovens cannot be used outside): use mine all the time to cook so many things. Be sure to get one with a lip on the lid to effectively hold the briquettes.
• Sun Oven: great backup option to cook if you lose power. As the name suggests, you do need the sun to make them work.
• Camp Chef Stove/Oven Combination: not only good for camping but also a trusty plan B option if your stove goes out or you lose power.
• Propane Tanks: most camp stoves use propane, so it is readily available and reliable.
• Briquettes (without starter fluid): can be used in your BBQ, grill, and Dutch oven.
• Buckets with Gamma Lids to store briquettes: I use these for all my carbon fuel options. I have them color coded so I can track inventory.
• Cut Clean Wood: as mentioned, I have a bunch cut into small pieces and stored in buckets. Great for starting fires and cooking too.
• Matches/Fire Starter/Butane Starters: need a way to get those fires started. Have some waterproof containers just in case of rain.

First Aid/Medical Book/Home Remedies

• First Aid Kit Linda’s First Aid Kit List: very extensive list you should print out. Don’t forget the importance of different sizes of bandages, gauze, hand sanitizer, masks (including dust masks), moist towelettes, and more.
• Medical Handbook “Survival Medical Handbook”
• My Book, “Prepare Your Family For Survival”
• Our Friend, Raymond Dean White, “Bugging In”

Laundry

• Laundry Soap/Detergent: we at least need to clean our underwear in an emergency. One of the reasons we need ample water supplies.
• Laundry Buckets: we need somewhere to wash and then rinse the clothes.
• Laundry Hampers: a place to store and protect the clothes until it’s time to wash them.
• Clothesline: that trusty dryer may not be working in a disaster situation. Have a place to hang the clothes to dry them out. Our ancestors did!
• Clothespins: buy good quality clothespins, you may be using them for a while.
• Emergency Laundry Buckets

Sanitation Supplies

• Toilet Paper: you can make your own “personal rags”, but I’d sure prefer good old TP.
• Hand Towels: paper or cloth work well.
• Shower Curtain: we all appreciate privacy.
• Garbage Can: we can’t burn all our rubbish.
• Lotion: if you’re forced outside, your skin can dry out pretty fast. And don’t forget some for protection from the sun.
• Shampoo: makes you feel all the more clean.
• Conditioner: maybe not the most important, but maybe more so with the ladies of the house.
• Hand Soap: fights bacteria from all kinds of sources. A good two-minute washing habit is a good one to have.
• Shaving Cream: you can go a few days without a shave, but you’ll feel better and have less chance of disease with a clean shave.
• Shaving tools: we have single-blade and multi-blade varieties.
• Menstrual Pads: that time of month comes whether we’re ready or not, better to be prepared.
• Menstrual Tampons: most women’s preferred method.
• Diapers/Cloth or Disposable ones: if you have little ones, these are critical.

Emergency Toilet

Linda’s Emergency Toilet

Kitchen Supplies

These are all pretty self-explanatory. Having a good supply of each item will make surviving the emergency so much easier.

• Paper Towels
• Hand Towels
• Wash Rags
• Hot Pads
• Garbage Can
• Stand Mixer
• Hand Mixer
• Can opener: don’t forget to have a manual one, the power goes out more than we’d like to admit.
• Toaster
• Dishes/cups/glasses/silverware
• Various cooking/baking pans
• Wheat grinder
• Bosch Bread Mixer
• Bottle opener (thank you, Wendy)
• French Press (thank you, Patti)
• Candles/Oil lamps with oil (thank you, Patti)

Emergency Vehicle Supplies

Linda’s Emergency Vehicle Kit

Sewing Supplies

• Sewing Machine
• Treadle Sewing Machine
• Bobbins
• Thread
• Needles
• Scissors
• Seam Ripper
• Needle threader

Garden Supplies

• Shovels
• Square shovel
• Hand clippers
• Lawnmower
• Garden Tiller
• Lawn Edger
• Spade
• Hoses
• Garden sprayer
• Hoes
• Picks/Axe
• Water Key
• Smaller garden tools
• Rakes
• Snow shovel

Tools/Building Materials

• Screwdriver (various ones)
• Drills
• Wrenches
• Saws
• Scrap wood
• Levels
• Hammers
• Pliers
• Power nailers
• Tiling tools
• Ladders
• Spackling tools
• Paintbrushes
• Paint trays
• Paint drop cloths
• Work gloves (thank you, Patti)
• Flashlights, headlamps, batteries, solar flashlights, and lanterns

Knowledge and Skills (my favorite thing)

• Books
• Internet
• Library
• Podcasts
• Documentaries
• Classes
• Movies
• Venues

If you have some preparedness items for me to add to this list, please comment and I will add them ASAP. Thanks again for being prepared for the unexpected. May God bless this world, Linda

Copyright pictures: Kitchen Utensils: AdobeStock_184536668 by Merces Fittipaldi, Ingredients for Making Bread Depositphotos_246192340_S

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