Just a reminder that you should be stocked up on literally everything you would need to survive for an extended period of time. I stopped by the grocery store today and was shocked at how little produce they had out, there were several bare spaces in the aisles where canned goods should have been, and when I asked the lady in the bakery where their French bread was, since it was missing from it’s usual spot, she said the truck didn’t come in so there was none. And this was on a typical day. Imagine what the store would look like if there was a sudden disaster (actually you don’t really need to imagine it, just Google for photos of empty store shelves when a hurricane is expected).
Since 2024 promises to become (currently is?) an absolute dumpster fire, be sure you have plenty of the following on hand:
- Cash (in a fire-proof/waterproof safe)
- Medical supplies
- Winter survival supplies (sleeping bags, hand warmers, etc)
- Water (rotated often, of course)
- Food (ditto)
- Prescription medicine
- Toiletry items
- Toilet paper (or better yet, buy a bidet for all of your toilets)
- Alternate ways to cook (wood stove, propane stove, backpacking stove, etc)
- Alternate heat sources (propane heater, wood stove, etc)
- Fuel (for your vehicles, propane for stoves/heaters, firewood, etc)
- Clothing for all seasons
- A way to hand wash clothing (soap, buckets, clothes line, clothes pins, etc)
- Solar panels and battery storage battery system
- Filters (for your furnace, vehicles, water filtration systems, etc)
- Guns and ammo
- Barterable goods (cigarettes, whiskey, coffee, etc)
- Rags, buckets, cleaning supplies, trash bags, etc
- Water and fuel containers
- Mortar and pestle
- Vitamins
- Supplies for babies, the elderly, the infirm, pets
- Condoms
- Feminine hygiene supplies
- Tools
- Seeds and gardening supplies
- Matches/lighters/ferro rods
- Rechargeable flashlights, radios, batteries, etc
- Books, board games, quiz books and other non-electric entertainment items
- Bleach
- Edged tools (knives, ax, hatchet, etc)/sharpener
- Sewing supplies (needles, thread, fabric, etc)
- Repair supplies (duct tape, wire, rope, plumbing parts, electrical parts, etc)
- Fishing and hunting supplies
- Items to can and preserve food
- Candles
- Bicycles/repair parts
- Battery banks/extension cords
- A library of survival/bushcraft/medical/repair books
- Anything else that is important to you but may not be replaceable in the future
Then when you think you have everything you need, live without tap water/electricity/gas/the sewer system/garbage service and other modern day comforts for an entire weekend/entire week and make a list of anything else you would need during a disaster then stock up on these items as well.