Doomsday Preppers Unite: 15 Things You Need to Stockpile For Survival
As a child, my mother often canned the vegetables in our backyard garden. Today, instead of standard practice, canning is a topic for homesteading blogs. Far beyond a homesteading housewife, however, there is a need to prepare for natural disasters and what some call “doomsday.”
Doomsday prepping isn’t new to the American public, especially those who lived through the Y2K turn of the millennium in 2000. However, in recent years, companies have sprung up with everything from survival food kits to firestarter kits that work even in wet weather. Prepping for doomsday doesn’t have to be complicated and can be a fun and rewarding experience if you know what to prepare beforehand.
In a doomsday event when food, clean water, and even money access are scarce, having these items on hand in large quantities can ensure your family doesn’t suffer from a shortage of food, water, or other essentials.
1. Potable Water
Drinkable water is the most critical survival item you can stockpile during a doomsday-style event. Yes, you’ll be hungry if you don’t have enough food, but you can quickly dehydrate if you don’t have enough water.
Creating a water catch system that collects and filters rainwater is essential to creating a solid, reliable survival system.
2. Shelf Stable Food
Your next big ticket item to check off is shelf-stable food. Shelf-stable food is canned, boxed, or prepackaged food that can sit on a shelf for years without rotting. Whether you can the food yourself or buy it canned, having a good supply is right up there with drinkable water.
Some great shelf-stable items include beans, rice, tomatoes, sauces, dips, dressings, tuna, canned chicken, pancake mix, canned veggies (corn, green beans, peas, etc.), peanut or alternative nut butter, etc.
3. Security is Key
People will get desperate when the world is hurting and basic necessities become paramount to survival. Desperate people do desperate things, and keeping what you have secure is vital to your survival. If you’re a gun owner, knowing how to keep and carry your firearms safely is essential to everyone’s safety. Also, knowing the laws surrounding firearms for your state is paramount to keeping yourself out of trouble.
If you don’t like the idea of using firearms, you could get a non-lethal stun gun or bean bag shooter. You could also take some martial arts or self-defense classes. Another great option is a six-foot perimeter fence, with or without electricity attached. A big, beautiful dog or two may also deter those trying to take what you have. Planting thorny shrubbery on your fence line also makes for a painful experience should someone hop your fence.
4. Gold and Silver
Nothing can compare to financial security like gold and silver. As a store of value, you can’t beat them. Owning physical gold and silver also allows you to barter for items other people may have that you’d like to buy. Imagine taking a stack of gold bouillon and paying outright for a property or a home you’ve been wanting.
Suppose the day comes when the American dollar is no longer the world reserve currency and is essentially worthless, which is not entirely impossible. In that case, gold and silver will be vital to helping you keep your wealth intact.
5. Fruit Trees
One way to get a two-for-one benefit is to plant fruit trees. They take some time investment (usually six to ten years to produce fruit) but will give you an excellent yield and plenty of lovely shade if nurtured properly.
Once your trees start fruiting, you can also preserve them. Peaches and applesauce are two wonderful treats when sugary goodness is hard to come by.
6. Vegetable Garden
When my oldest children were little, one of my babies loved to take snap peas right off the vine to eat them. Being able to snatch a snack fresh from your garden is an experience not to be missed.
Being able to can much of what you grow is also a massive benefit to your food stockpile. You can store beets, corn, potatoes, tomatoes, pickles, and even carrots for enjoyment years into the future.
7. Deep Freezer
Utilizing a deep freezer is an excellent way to preserve large amounts of meat, which will become increasingly expensive. Buying meat on sale and in bulk can easily stock up your freezer for future meals when groceries become so costly that purchasing them becomes impossible for the nation’s poorest families.
It’s also a great way to preserve ice cream, sherbert, and frozen yogurt. Frozen vegetables are also another resource for storage in a deep freezer.
8. Biodiesel Generator
Power will be in short supply, and the government may even cut power to certain sections of the nation in a doomsday-style event. Having a biodiesel generator on hand to power the most essential appliances and items in your home can be strategic for enabling your family to eat and drink clean water.
Showering and toileting will also become vital in these dark days, and a generator is a great way to ensure you have emergency power.
9. Trade Skills
If you have a particular skill in a trade, like an electrician, welder, carpenter, mechanic, plumber, or the sciences, your skills will be in high demand. They will allow you to feed your family by helping other families.
When cash becomes useless, you can barter your trade skills for food, water, and other essentials your family may need.
10. Fire Starter Kit
Being able to light a fire, especially in wet weather, may become a basic need in the event of a doomsday upheaval. Whether you use a flint and steel or some other fire-making apparatus, knowledge of fire tinder, kindling, safe fire practices, and other fire essentials will be worth your while.
As food becomes increasingly scarce, hunting will become prevalent. Being able to cook and process the meat you garner where you catch it may ensure that your family and other creatures make the most of the meal you find.
11. Burnable Wood
While all wood can burn, oak, hickory, and cherry offer palatable smoke for cooking, grilling, or smoking meat and other goodies. Creating a stockpile of these types of wood can ensure decent-tasting food.
Wood from these trees may also be a bartering tool for anyone looking to grill meat and want a specific flavor. Scarcity can make just about anything valuable to the right people.
12. Burn Barrel
A burn barrel will become vital to keeping your home and yard clean. If gas becomes a rationed commodity, you won’t want to waste it by taking garbage to the dump. Instead, you’ll be burning everything you can, and a burn barrel will help ensure your space stays cleaner than just creating a junk pile in your backyard.
If you get a few burn barrels now, you’ll save hundreds over waiting until everyone wants to purchase one.
13. Solar Panels
If you can afford to invest in solar panels for your home, you can ensure an almost constant stream of electricity. Solar panels can also benefit you if electrical grid sections are shut down.
Imagine being able to supply electricity to your neighbors. An essential commodity like electricity could be worth pieces of silver or gold, given the demand they have on the electrical bank you have to offer.
14. First Aid Supplies
A wide range of first aid supplies can save a life if emergency services become overwhelmed. You’ll want to stock up on a few essential items far beyond bandaids.
Gauze (both adhesive and non-adhesive), suture line, needles, alcohol, peroxide, disinfectant, antibacterial cream, a sturdy neck brace, a stretcher (which you can make from two long, straight trees, and thick canvas), over-the-counter pain medicine, children’s fever reducer, thermal blankets, and other vital items are all great additions to any homemade emergency first aid kit.
15. Whistle and Flashlight
Whistles, flashlights, and a stockpile of batteries for every family member can be life-saving if you have to leave your home or get split up. Whistles can signal for help, and in the dark, a good flashlight can keep you in the light.
These small safety measures may be the key to safe travel if you must move on foot or travel at night. Stocking up on them is always a great idea.
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