Beans and bullets, probably the largest and well known reference to stockpiling food and weapons when it comes to prepping. Yet a large stockpile of these items alone will not guarantee your safety or survival if the S Hits The Fan. The following is a short list of often overlooked items that many preppers fail to stock up on.
Hand Sanitizer: Small bottles are cheap to buy and have a long shelf life. It is easy to get sick if you do not maintain proper hygiene when living in austere conditions, failure to sanitize hands could prove deadly. These are also good barter items.
Feminine Napkins: Pads, tampons, the stuff women use during “that time of the month.” This is also a hygiene issue and I’m sure the women out there would not want to be without their “absorbent material” when they need it most.
Pet food: Pets can survive on people food, but it’s not optimal. If you can stock up on bags of pet food I would encourage it. Buy an extra 40lb bag every other month and rotate through your supply.
Bleach: Good for many uses, the most important of which would be (in my opinion) the purification of water. Here is a good water purification volume calculator.
Vinegar: Even more uses for around the house than bleach, cheap and easy to stock up on. In a survival situation vinegar has many uses, helping to treat burns and clearing up respiratory congestion being just a few of them.
Alcohol (Vodka specifically): Go into a liquor store and look around, the Vodka will dominate all of the other types/brands of liquor. Besides the obvious potential to barter with Vodka, the liquid has many other uses like treating poison ivy or keeping insects away.
Toilet Paper: Quite a few people have toilet paper stocked up, but do you have enough? What is your backup plan to wipe if your supply runs out? Toilet paper is hard to store because it takes up a lot of space, but I would recommend having at least 100 to 150 extra rolls on hand (if not more).
Wall phone (no battery): Many people do not even own a home phone, but if you do make sure you have one that plugs directly into the wall. None of this battery with voice-mail stuff, just a cheap phone that you can probably pick up for less than $10 at Walgreens.
Bug Spray: West Nile virus is no joke, 48 states have reported over 2,600 cases and there have been 118 deaths this year. Make sure to have some bug spray on hand and plenty of it. You wouldn’t want all of your preparation derailed because a tiny little bug decided to feed on you.
Good boots: If you have to walk any distance with more weight than you are used to, your feet will be the first thing to go. If your feet go it’s game over, I’ve seen strong men go down because of a blister the size of a nickel. Make sure you have some sturdy, well broken in boots that you can wear if you have to operate outside. Your running shoes, Uggs, and beach sandals won’t cut it if you have to hike over uneven terrain.
Handheld radios: Good for maintaining communication in a grid down situation, and in optimal conditions these radios can often reach out more than 5 to 10 miles. Most have features which allow them to listen to weather alerts as well.
Honey: A natural food sweetener, this substance can also be used to treat sore throats and as an antiseptic to treat wounds. Unlimited shelf life means you never have to worry about it going bad!
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