55 PREPAREDNESS ITEMS TO GET YOU THINKING

55 PREPAREDNESS ITEMS TO GET YOU THINKING

By Brian Schultz in Dooms Day Preppers

There are many survival preparedness items that you can store now, and “forget” about, which you may need later during varying degrees of an emergency. The following are 55 suggested items that you can store and have ready.


1. Toilet paper, and other sanitation items such as feminine hygiene products, diapers for infants, etc. These are items that should be mass stored if possible.
2. Paper Towels. Too many uses to mention, store as many as you can.
3. Coffee filters. For those drinkers of coffee of course, but these are excellent filters for many other purposes.
4. Trash bags. All sizes. You can also store many free plastic grocery bags from the store everytime you get them after shopping. Important for bagging up refuse and preventing disease.
5. Zip up type plastic freezer bags. Lot of uses.

6. Ice coolers, various sizes. If you have room, can be used to keep things cool or cold, but also used to keep items from freezing in very
cold weather.
7. Shovels. All sizes from small garden type to those used for digging. Very important to have after a disaster.
8. Kitchen items. Sponges and other scratchy pads. You are likely not going to have a dishwasher after a disaster and you have to have some means of cleaning pots, pans, dishes.
9. Cotton balls. First aid uses, putting cotton in ears of people that need their ears protected from the cold, etc.
10. Paper to write on. This includes note pads, index cards.
11. Pens and pencils, especially the click pencil type that don’t need a sharpener.
12. Rubber bands. This also includes hair bands. Used to keep items organized and from flying apart.
13. Tape. All kinds from duct, masking, electric, to scotch. Many uses.
14. Hand sewing materials. Threads, needles, buttons, zippers, you are going to need them.
15. Matches. Keep them dry and store lots of them.
16. Salt. You won’t believe in certain areas how hard it is to get this necessary mineral for survival. Store as much as you can.
17. Aluminum wrap. Good for cooking and many other uses.
18. Candles. All sizes. Not only for light at night, but can be used to heat small items up in small cookware.
19. Hand operated can openers. Without many of these you will have a bad time trying to get your canned food out.

20. Basic Tools. This includes hammers, screwdrivers, saws, axes, utility knives, scissors. Anything extra that you can store from your
tool chest.
21. Small hardware. Nails, screws, hooks, wires, etc. Store in clear jars with lids or in original packages.
22. 5 or 6 gallon plastic gas containers. Can be used for gas or other fuels as well as for water that are durable.
23. Magnifying glasses. Use to see small items, main use to start fire if matches are wet or out of them.
24. Envelopes. All sizes for storage. Smaller for seeds you can get from the wild as one example. Tough postal envelopes are also good for storage after a disaster.
25. Empty boxes. You are really going to need this if you have to suddenly move somewhere quick for clothes and other items. Many grocery stores will give you free fruit boxes that are sturdy and have lids. Also large plastic boxes with lids. Try to store empty boxes within the empty spaces of each other.
26. Shoe laces. Many people have shoes that are still wearable and need shoe laces. Shoe laces are also good for tying off material with other purposes.
27. Paper plates, plastic eating utensils, disposaable drinking glasses and cups. IF you can store enough, excellent way to save your soap supplies by not having to wash the dishes.
28. Bedding. Blankets, sheets, pillows, pillow cases. Just because you are in emergency does not mean you have to live like a refuge.
29. Bathroom towels. All sizes from hand to bath. You will be very grateful to be able to dry yourself off with something you are use to.
30. Fishing line and string. Lots of uses.
31. Nylon rope, cord, clothes lines. Do not be without.
32. Dental needs. Toothbrushes, dental floss. Even without toothpaste you can still keep your teeth healthy.
33. Q-tips. Not only personal use, but uses for fine detailed work.
34. Honey. Lasts practically forever and a good sweetener for many foods.
35. Spray bottles. Use to disperse insect repellent as one of many uses.
36. First aid kit. Most items such as bandages, gauze, tweezers, nail clippers, scissors, wrapping tape, etc. can be stored without rotating.
37. Newspaper. Yes, newspaper for starting fires, wrapping delicate items, insulation. Keep dry and preferably in sealed boxes.
38. Safety pins. Fastening of almost anything that has broken. Bobby pins also good.

39. Cheap plastic sunglasses. You will really need to protect your eyes after an emergency, glare is something that people forget about
if they have to be outdoors for extended periods of time.
40. Hats. One size fits all baseball type caps, scarfs, ski caps. A lot of heat is lost through an uncovered head, also sunburn.
41. Gloves. So important from keeping hands warm to protection of your hands from hazards such as broken glass.

42. Extra clothes that you will not wear other than after a disaster. Don’t forget the extra comfortable shoes, socks, underwear, warm
jackets.
43. Small hand held mirrors. For signaling but also for personal grooming and seeing what your eyes can’t without a mirror.
44. Cloth grocery bags with handles. A very good way of collecting usable things such as food from the wild.

45. Stapler with plenty of staples. Also paper clips to seal off small items and fastening paper. Your package of survival seeds as for
example.
46. Electric extension cords. You may actually still have electricity from some source such as a generator. Can be used as a substitute for light duty style rope also.
47. Brushes. From nail, paint, to hair brushes. One good use for a hair brush is removal of ticks, fleas, burrs, from clothing.
48. Measurement devices. Tape measurers, rulers, very important to know distances, how big, how small something is rather than guessing.
49. Games. Boredom is awful, and a simple deck of cards, boardgames, something to take up time if confined after an emergency.
50. Books, Books. Anything that will give you information and instructions on survival, cooking, plant identification, map books. Your bookcase may not be around after a disaster, store information you will need someday.

51. Wind up clocks and watches. Your battery operate clocks and watches or other time telling instruments are someday not going to
work. Wind up clock better than using a sundial.
52. Snap top plastic containers. Ziploc, Tupperware, anything that can air seal something. All sizes.
53. Stick on notes. Use to label what you have after the disaster. Secure it better with scotch tape if you want.
54. Money. If you can store it somewhere and forget about it and not spend it other then in emergency. Cash money may be the only way to buy anything after a disaster that has not taken out the monetary system.
55. Plastic tarps. Many sizes and inexpensive. Cannot emphanize how many uses these have, and can be folded up and stored in smaller spaces.