What does it mean to be a prepper? You could answer this question in a number of different ways, but at its core, being a prepper is all about being prepared for the worst to happen. It’s about being at the ready at all times and able to take on any sort of challenge. There are multiple ways to achieve this, but one of the most common is by stocking up on items you may need one day. Today, we’re creating a list of things to stockpile.
Knowing what things to stockpile for economic collapse or a natural disaster is essential to the prepper lifestyle, because once a SHTF situation comes around, getting your hands on items that you rely on each and every day is going to be a lot more difficult.
Because of this, you need to be sure that you’re stocked up on excess items that you’ll be able to use in the time of any sort of crisis.
Every person will take preference to certain items over others, but today, we’re going to be focusing on 10 that are essential to all people.
Water
First and foremost, you need to ensure you’ve got more than enough water to keep you alive and healthy. Water is something that all humans need to survive, and without it, everything else is moot. It’s possible to live for three weeks without food, but when it comes to water, you can’t go more than three days without it.
There are a number of ways to go about storing water, with one of the most popular being the act of buying unopened bottled water from your local store. This water is already packaged up, making it extremely easy for storage purposes. Better yet, the water is already divided up between multiple bottles – something that’s truly helpful if you’re surviving with a group of people.
When storing water, keep an eye on its expiration date and replace any water that you’ve stored yourself if it’s been sitting for six months or longer.
Water is easily the number one item to hoard in a crisis, and once you have plenty of it on hand, you can start focusing on other items.
Toilet Paper/Paper Towel
What’s something that we used every single day but don’t usually think much of? Yep, toilet paper.
Toilet paper can be used for a variety of things, both in and out of the bathroom, and it’s one of the most crucial things to store. Bodily functions aren’t going to stop just because their an economic crisis or natural disaster, and having enough of this on hand will help to keep you and your area as sanitary and clean as possible.
Along with toilet paper, paper towel is another big thing to keep around. Paper towel is usually used for cleaning up things like spills, counters, and more, and they’re absolutely great to have more than enough of.
Batteries
Part of being a prepper is being prepared for any sort of SHTF situation, and should the electricity go out, you’ll need to rely on battery-powered gadgets – including the likes of flashlights, radios, etc.
You may not rely on a lot of battery-operated equipment right now, but should the power go out, that’ll certainly change. And, once you started using those items, you’re going to run through your batteries like crazy.
Batteries don’t take up much space at all, and while they are expensive, keeping around as many as you can will help to ensure that all of your flashlights and other gadgets can keep on going for as long as can be.
Nonperishable Food
Food is clearly an important part of our daily lives, and as such, you’ll want to outfit yourself with a decent amount to keep yourself full and fueled with energy to go about your day.
We could get really specific about the best types of nonperishable or survival foods, but for the sake of time, we’re going to keep things relatively general.
Our top picks for easy-to-store foods include the likes of peanut butter, nuts/trail mix, cereal, granola bars, dried fruit, canned meat, canned vegetables, etc.
When packing food, you want to strike a good balance of items that have a long shelf life while also providing your body with the nutrients and vitamins it needs to keep going. This balance can sometimes be difficult to find if you’ve never stockpiled food before, but after a little bit of practice, you’ll quickly find your footing and get the hang of things.
Fresh Food
If you suspect an economic collapse might be on the horizon, something else that might be worth stocking up on are fresh foods. Even if you don’t have access to electricity, you can still use a cool, dry, and dark place of your house to store fresh food to last for a considerably long time.
So, what sorts of fresh food are best for storage? We suggest picking up apples, unripe avocados, potatoes, unripe tomatoes, and dry salami. Once again, these are foods that will provide your body with the energy it needs while retaining a surprisingly long shelf-life.
Lighters
More specifically, BIC lighters if you can find them. BIC lighters are fantastic tools for starting fires for cooking, heat, SOS signals, and so much more. Better yet, they attract far less attention than a generator (not to mention they’re a lot easier to carry).
BIC lighters are usually quite small and inexpensive, so stocking up on them shouldn’t be that difficult at all. Most preppers rely on this tool as their go-to fire-starter, so having as many of them as possible for surviving in the long-haul is a fantastic idea.
Final Thoughts
With that said, that’s our list of things to stockpile that we think are the most important for most people. There are plenty of other items that you can outfit yourself with, but these are some of the best essentials. Your list will likely get bigger the more you work on your stockpile, but at the very least, this is a great place to get started.
