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Permalink Reply by Pam Vredenburg on June 21, 2014 at 7:37pm

A good place to start is by focusing on the five basics.... 1) Food 2) Water 3) Shelter 4) Energy 5) Self-Defense If you have those five areas totally covered you will be in pretty good shape. The following are some more things to consider as you are prepping.... *Do not post pictures of money or gold or your preps on Facebook.  If you do, you might get some unwelcome visitors to your home. *Make sure that your preparations are not against the law.  If you have any doubt about this, make sure that you do not go on national television and tell all of America what you are doing. *In the event of a major disaster, there will likely be hordes of "non-preppers" running around looking to take away the things that all of the preppers have been storing up.  This is something that you will need to be prepared for. *The following are 6 excellent privacy tips for preppers that come from an article by an anonymous author that was recently posted on theintelhub.com.... 1. Trust no one that you do not personally know. Even the little old lady down the road will rat on you if she is hungry when the SHTF. 2. Keep your prepping to yourself. Again, do not tell anyone you are prepping. If they know you have stores of food, where do you think they will think of first when the SHTF? Oh and don’t forget, the Department of Homeland Security thinks people with stockpiles of food and weapons as potential domestic terrorist. 3. Don’t share any prepping articles on Facebook or other social media. Don’t draw attention to yourself by posting prepping articles or discussing the topic on the website. You may think you are educating your friends, but in reality you are just letting them know of your actions and plans. 4. Make sure boxes are not labeled with the company name if your order emergency supplies. Most companies will publish this in their ordering information. You don’t want to tip off the UPS driver that you just received a year’s worth of freeze dried food. 5. Do not tell anyone what you are up to. You don’t know how hard it is for me not to tell people I meet that I was almost on the National Geographic TV show. That would be a disaster. 6. Be alert to what others are saying. I was sitting in my dental hygienist chair a week ago and she told me about another customer that was storing food. She thought he might be prepping and she said if it ever got bad, she knew where to find some food. I just acknowledged the statement and let it rest. *In one article that I did about preparation, I listed 10 things that you can start doing right now to get yourself into a better position for the chaos that is coming.... 1 - Get Out Of Debt 2 - Find New Sources Of Income 3 - Reduce Your Expenses 4 - Learn To Grow Your Own Food 5 - Make Sure You Have A Reliable Water Supply 6 - Buy Land 7 - Get Off The Grid 8 - Store Non-Perishable Supplies 9 - Develop Stronger Relationships 10 - Get Educated And Stay Flexible *Would moving to another area of the country be the best choice for you and your family?  In an article entitled "What Is The Best Place To Live In The United States To Prepare For ..." I detailed some of the pros and cons for living in various areas of the country. *In a recent article posted on shtfplan.com, Norse Prepper shared 11 questions that all preppers should be asking themselves.... 1. What am I preparing for? 2. Am I going to bug in or bug out? 3. Can I defend my family, property and preps? 4. Do I have enough to feed my family until order is restored? 5. How will I heat my home? 6. How will I keep clean? 7. How will I provide light and electricity? 8. How will I keep up on information and communicate with the outside world? 9. What do I have to offer others? 10. How will I fight off boredom? 11. How do I pay for all of this? You can read the entire article right here. *In the years ahead food might cost a whole lot more than it does right now.  Your food dollars are never going to go farther than they do right now. *Many people do not realize this, but you can grow herbs that have tremendous healing properties in your own garden. *In a recent article, I detailed some of the things that you will want to consider in the event of a major economic collapse.... #1 Food Shortages Can Actually Happen #2 Medicine Is One Of The First Things That Becomes Scarce During An Economic Collapse #3 When An Economy Collapses, So Might The Power Grid #4 During An Economic Collapse You Cannot Even Take Water For Granted #5 During An Economic Crisis Your Credit Cards And Debit Cards May Stop Working #6 Crime, Rioting And Looting Become Commonplace During An Economic Collapse #7 During A Financial Meltdown Many Average Citizens Will Start Bartering #8 Suicides Spike During An Economic Collapse #9 Your Currency May Rapidly Lose Value During An Economic Crisis #10 When Things Hit The Fan The Government Will Not Save You *You need to have a plan for what you will do if a massive wildfire comes sweeping through your area.  This is especially true if you live in the western half of the United States. *In a previous article entitled "20 Things You Will Need To Survive When The Economy Collapses And ..., I made a list of 20 things that you will need when you are not able to rely on Wal-Mart or the grocery store any longer.... #1) Storable Food #2) Clean Water #3) Shelter #4) Warm Clothing #5) An Axe #6) Lighters Or Matches #7) Hiking Boots Or Comfortable Shoes #8) A Flashlight And/Or Lantern #9) A Radio #10) Communication Equipment #11) A Swiss Army Knife #12) Personal Hygiene Items #13) A First Aid Kit And Other Medical Supplies #14) Extra Gasoline (But Be Very Careful How You Store It) #15) A Sewing Kit #16) Self-Defense Equipment #17) A Compass #18) A Hiking Backpack #19) A Community #20) A Backup Plan *In the comments following that article, my readers suggested a number of additional items to add to that list.... 1. A K-Bar Fighting Knife 2. Salt 3. Extra Batteries 4. Medicine 5. A Camp Stove 6. Propane 7. Pet Food 8. Heirloom Seeds 9. Tools 10. An LED Headlamp 11. Candles 12. Clorox 13. Calcium Hypochlorite 14. Ziplock Bags 15. Maps Of Your Area 16. inoculars 17. Sleeping Bags 18. Rifle For Hunting 19. Extra Socks 20. Gloves 21. Gold And Silver Coins For Bartering *There are more preppers out there than you might think.  Don't be afraid to reach out and make new friends. *In a recent article, Brandon Smith shared some of the factors to consider when choosing a location for a survival retreat.... 1. Property Placement 2. Community Network 3. Defensibility 4. Water Availability 5. Food Production 6. Proximity To National Forest 7. Secondary Retreat Locations You can read the rest of that article right here. *Almost everyone can grow a survival garden.  Even if you only have an apartment, you can still grow a few things on your balcony. *Don't underestimate the impact a major transportation disruption could have on our daily lives. *You would be surprised what you can actually do with limited resources.  For example, there is one family that is actually producing 6000 pounds of produce a year on just 1/10th of an acre right in the middle of Pasadena, California. *Survival Mom once shared the top ten survival tips that nobody wants to talk about.... 1. Duct taping your windows will not save you from radiation poisoning. 2. You may have to dig a latrine (more than one time). 3. You may not receive any government benefits or payment from your place of employment during a disaster. 4. It is possible that you may be sick or in the hospital during a disaster. 5. Your pets may not survive. 6. It is likely that your cell phone will not work. 7. No one is coming to help you. 8. Insurance doesn’t cover everything, if there is an insurance company left. 9. There will not be enough food and water for everyone. 10. If it is the end of the world, the previous nine tips will not matter!!! *An EMP burst caused by a high altitude nuke or by a major solar event could fry most of your electronics.  What are you going to do if that happens? *Spending a million dollars on a "survival condo" in an abandoned missile silo in Kansas is probably not a very efficient use of your limited resources. *Off Grid Survival recently posted a list of four powerful traits that most survivors have in common.... 1. Survivors stay Calm in the face of Danger 2. Survivalists are Experts at Improvisation 3. Survivors are D.I.Y Experts 4. Survivors are Great Leaders *You can always learn more.  Organizations such as The American Preppers Networkenable preppers to network and learn from one another. *During the difficult times that are coming, in addition to physical preparation it is going to be absolutely crucial to be both mentally and spiritually tough. Many have accused me of being a "doom and gloomer", but I don't see anything negative about being prepared. In fact, having a plan can give you a tremendous amount of hope.  There will be a lot of people out there that will be tremendously blessed in the midst of the chaos that is coming.  Victory often goes to those who are most prepared. But if you choose simply to have blind faith in the system and you choose to stick your head in the sand, you might find that "ignorance is bliss" for a little while but when the stuff hits the fan it is going to be incredibly painful for you. Previous generations understood that it was wise to store up supplies in the good years in order to make things easier in the lean years. Unfortunately, most people these days have never been through truly hard times so they have no idea what they are like. Just because the world has enjoyed a tremendous amount of prosperity for the last several decades does not mean that things will always be this way. Wake up, take a look at the storm on the horizon and get prepared while you still can. If you choose not to prepare now, you will regret it later. - See more at: http://unitedtruthseekers.com/profiles/blogs/120-powerful-pieces-of...

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Permalink Reply by Pam Vredenburg on June 21, 2014 at 7:41pm

1. Generators (Good ones cost dearly. Gas storage, risky. Noisy…target of thieves; maintenance etc.) 
2. Water Filters/Purifiers 
3. Portable Toilets
4. Seasoned Firewood. Wood takes about 6 – 12 months to become dried, for home uses. 
5. Lamp Oil, Wicks, Lamps (First Choice: Buy CLEAR oil. If scarce, stockpile ANY!) 
6. Coleman Fuel. Impossible to stockpile too much. 
7. Guns, Ammunition, Pepper Spray, Knives, Clubs, Bats & Slingshots. 
8. Hand-can openers, & hand egg beaters, whisks. 
9. Honey/Syrups/white, brown sugar 
10. Rice – Beans – Wheat 
11. Vegetable Oil (for cooking) Without it food burns/must be boiled etc.,) 
12. Charcoal, Lighter Fluid (Will become scarce suddenly) 
13. Water Containers (Urgent Item to obtain.) Any size. Small: HARD CLEAR PLASTIC ONLY – note – food grade if for drinking. 

14. Solar powered Generators. 

15. Diesel powered Generators. 
16. Propane Cylinders (Urgent: Definite shortages will occur.) 
17. Survival Guide Book. 
18. Mantles: Aladdin, Coleman, etc. (Without this item, longer-term lighting is difficult.) 
19. Baby Supplies: Diapers/formula. ointments/aspirin, etc. 
20. Washboards, Mop Bucket w/wringer (for Laundry) 
21. Cookstoves (Propane, Coleman & Kerosene) 
22. Vitamins 
23. Propane Cylinder Handle-Holder (Urgent: Small canister use is dangerous without this item) 
24. Feminine Hygiene/Haircare/Skin products. 
25. Thermal underwear (Tops & Bottoms) 
26. Bow saws, axes and hatchets, Wedges (also, honing oil) 
27. Aluminum Foil Reg. & Heavy Duty (Great Cooking and Barter Item) 
28. Gasoline Containers (Plastic & Metal) 
29. Garbage Bags (Impossible To Have Too Many). 
30. Toilet Paper, Kleenex, Paper Towels
31. Milk – Powdered & Condensed (Shake Liquid every 3 to 4 months) 
32. Garden Seeds (Non-Hybrid) (A MUST) 
33. Clothes pins/line/hangers (A MUST) 
34. Coleman’s Pump Repair Kit
35. Tuna Fish (in oil) 
36. Fire Extinguishers (or..large box of Baking Soda in every room) 
37. First aid kits
38. Batteries (all sizes…buy furthest-out for Expiration Dates) 
39. Garlic, spices & vinegar, baking supplies 
40. Big Dogs (and plenty of dog food) 
41. Flour, yeast & salt 
42. Matches. {“Strike Anywhere” preferred.) Boxed, wooden matches will go first 
43. Writing paper/pads/pencils, solar calculators 
44. Insulated ice chests (good for keeping items from freezing in Wintertime.) 
45. Workboots, belts, Levis & durable shirts 
46. Flashlights/LIGHTSTICKS & torches, “No. 76 Dietz” Lanterns 
47. Journals, Diaries & Scrapbooks (jot down ideas, feelings, experience; Historic Times) 
48. Garbage cans Plastic (great for storage, water, transporting – if with wheels) 
49. Men’s Hygiene: Shampoo, Toothbrush/paste, Mouthwash/floss, nail clippers, etc 
50. Cast iron cookware (sturdy, efficient) 
51. Fishing supplies/tools 
52. Mosquito coils/repellent, sprays/creams 
53. Duct Tape
54. Tarps/stakes/twine/nails/rope/spikes 
55. Candles 
56. Laundry Detergent (liquid) 
57. Backpacks, Duffel Bags
58. Garden tools & supplies 
59. Scissors, fabrics & sewing supplies 
60. Canned Fruits, Veggies, Soups, stews, etc. 
61. Bleach (plain, NOT scented: 4 to 6% sodium hypochlorite) 
62. Canning supplies, (Jars/lids/wax) 
63. Knives & Sharpening tools: files, stones, steel 
64. Bicycles…Tires/tubes/pumps/chains, etc 
65. Sleeping Bags & blankets/pillows/mats 
66. Carbon Monoxide Alarm (battery powered) 
67. Board Games, Cards, Dice 
68. d-con Rat poison, MOUSE PRUFE II, Roach Killer 
69. Mousetraps, Ant traps & cockroach magnets 
70. Paper plates/cups/utensils (stock up, folks) 
71. Baby wipes, oils, waterless & Antibacterial soap (saves a lot of water) 
72. Rain gear, rubberized boots, etc. 
73. Shaving supplies (razors & creams, talc, after shave) 
74. Hand pumps & siphons (for water and for fuels) 
75. Soysauce, vinegar, bullions/gravy/soupbase 
76. Reading glasses 
77. Chocolate/Cocoa/Tang/Punch (water enhancers) 
78. “Survival-in-a-Can” 
79. Woolen clothing, scarves/ear-muffs/mittens 
80. Boy Scout Handbook, / also Leaders Catalog 
81. Roll-on Window Insulation Kit (MANCO) 
82. Graham crackers, saltines, pretzels, Trail mix/Jerky 
83. Popcorn, Peanut Butter, Nuts 
84. Socks, Underwear, T-shirts, etc. (extras) 
85. Lumber (all types) 
86. Wagons & carts (for transport to and from) 
87. Cots & Inflatable mattress’s 
88. Gloves: Work/warming/gardening, etc. 
89. Lantern Hangers 
90. Screen Patches, glue, nails, screws,, nuts & bolts
91. Teas 
92. Coffee 
93. Cigarettes 
94. Wine/Liquors (for bribes, medicinal, etc,) 
95. Paraffin wax 
96. Glue, nails, nuts, bolts, screws, etc. 
97. Chewing gum/candies 
98. Atomizers (for cooling/bathing) 
99. Hats & cotton neckerchiefs 
100. Livestock 

101. Powder Protein: From a healthy health food store (not a GMC) would have the most nutritional value. 

102. Rubber boots 

103. fishing overhauls (if you have room): Many people do not realize how important it is to keep your feet dry. 

104. Protein Powder: From a healthy health food store (not a GMC) 

105. Outdoor Oven/ stove, Propane gas. - See more at: http://unitedtruthseekers.com/profiles/blogs/100-must-have-items-th...

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Permalink Reply by Pam Vredenburg on June 21, 2014 at 7:44pm

I am glad you brought this up because there are many  more ideas, this just touches the brim.

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