This is a list of everything you’d want to stockpile for a disaster.
Naturally, some of these things aren’t reasonable for your situation, and some are expensive.
Personal Effects
Emergency card with the following:
- Known allergies
- Medical conditions, with proper treatments
- Emergency contact information
Slim waist pack or neck lanyard for phone/keys/wallet
Auto emergency kit (for each car):
- Pocket knife reachable from the driver’s seat (for cutting seatbelt)
- Ball peen hammer or automatic center punch reachable from the driver’s seat (for breaking window)
- High-visibility vest
- A simple first aid kit with bandages, triple-antibiotic ointment, decongestant, and painkillers
- Some food:
- At least 6 bottles of water, cycled out every 4 months
- At least 6 packs of beef jerky or MRE’s and a box of granola bars, cycled out every year
- Some hard candy
- Extreme weather gear:
- Thick blankets
- Hand warmers
- Gloves
- Socks
- Ski hat
- Bandana
- Hat
- Sunscreen
- Maps, a Thomas guide, and a compass for navigation
- A simple toolbox for basic maintenance tasks:
- Screwdrivers
- Channel-locks
- Crescent wrench
- Heavy flashlight
- Multi-tool
- Signaling tools
- Whistle
- Telescoping magnet
- Road flares
- Reflectors
- Auto maintenance supplies
- Extra water and coolant
- At least 1–3 quarts of oil and a funnel
- Windshield washer fluid
- Jumper cables or a car starter
- Ice scraper and snow brush
- Extra cell phone charger
- Multi-use supplies
- Zip ties
- Trash bags
- Pen, pencil, and paper
- Safety pins and paperclips
- A spare, charged cell phone in the glove compartment, for calling emergency services.
Dashcam for each car
Household Inventory
A well-stocked first aid kit:
- Wraps
- Assorted sizes of sterile adhesive bandages
- Assorted sizes of safety pins
- Assorted sizes of sterile gauze pads
- Assorted fabric bandages and adhesive plastic bandages
- Various roller bandages
- Triangular bandages
- First aid tape roll
- Instant cold compresses
- Sterilizing agents
- Cleansing agent or soap
- Moistened towelettes
- Antiseptic cleaning wipes
- Hand sanitizer
- Rubbing alcohol or hydrogen peroxide
- Triple antibiotic ointment
- Non-prescription drugs
- Pain relievers like chewable aspirin, acetaminophen, and ibuprofen
- Anti-diarrhea medicines
- Antacids
- Syrup of ipecac or activated charcoal (to induce vomiting)
- Laxatives
- Hydrocortisone cream (to reduce swelling)
- Epinephrine (for anaphylaxis)
- Isoniazid (for tuberculosis and leprosy)
- Levofloxacin (for uncomplicated appendicitis)
- Doxycycline (for cholera and anthrax)
- Artemisinin (for malaria)
- TMP/SMX (for MRSA)
- Fluconazole (for systemic fungal infections)
- Albendazole (for intestinal parasites)
- Tools
- Scissors
- Tweezers
- Needle
- Several pairs of latex gloves
- Mercury thermometer
- Tongue blades or depressors
- Medicine dropper
- Latex-free CPR one-way valve face shield
- Other things
- Tissue papers
- Dust masks
- Sunscreen
- Body lubricant like petroleum jelly
- First aid handbook
- Mylar emergency blanket
- Tons of plastic bags
A reliable firearm
- Shotgun with shells and gunpowder
- Rifle or handgun with extra ammunition
2–4 weeks’ worth of currency in small cash denominations and traveler’s checks
Small, easily tradable, permanently useful commodities like hard liquor, lighters, ammunition, and cigarettes.
Tools and supplies
- Camping lantern with extra fuel
- Extra kerosene for heating
- Ponchos and raincoats
- A flashlight with extra batteries (keep the batteries separate to avoid acid leaking)
- Light sticks and signal flares
- Plenty of duck tape, aluminum foil, rope, and cable ties
- Matches in a waterproof container, lighter, lighter fluid
- Basic tool kit with screwdrivers, screws, pliers, hammer, nails, and multi-tool
- Knives and knife-sharpeners, preferably carbon steel over stainless steel
- Camping ax
- Nitrile gloves
- Scissors
- Large contractor trash bags
- Paper, pencil, needles, thread
- Plenty of bug repellant
- A wrench to turn off the gas and water
- Boric acid (aka Borax)
- A tent large enough for your household
- Battery-operated or hand-crank AM/FM radio receiver
- Emergency whistle
- Walkie-talkies with extra batteries
Emergency documents
- Will, insurance policies, contract deeds, stocks, bonds
- Passports, social security cards, and immunization records
- Bank account numbers
- Credit card account numbers and companies
- Inventory of valuable household goods
- Important telephone numbers
- Family records (birth, marriage, and death certificates)
- Backup hard drive and CDs of essential files
- Emergency communication plan
- Emergency contacts
3 days’ water: 1 gallon/person/day, plus pets (1 oz/lb/day), cycled every 6 months
- Water filtration system, either carbon or reverse osmosis
- 4-6% unscented sodium hypochlorite bleach (typically household bleach)
- Sodium dichloroisocyanurate pills (Aqua Tabs)
Extra food (cycled 12 months)
- Canned meat/fruit/vegetables
- Canned juices/milk/soup
- Sugar, salt, pepper
- High-energy food like peanut butter, jelly, crackers, granola bars, trail mix
- Energy bars
- Ramen packets
- Daily multivitamins
- Special dietary needs, such as food for any elderly or infants
- Comfort/stress foods:
- Cookies
- Hard candy and lollipops
- Sweetened cereals
- Instant coffee and tea bags
- Non-electric can opener or utility knife
- Paper cups, plates, plastic utensils
- Plastic storage containers
Personal care items:
- Several changes of clothes, as well as a set of dress clothes.
- Deodorant
- An extra set of warm clothes (avoid cotton, since it absorbs sweat)
- Sunglasses
- Lip balm
- Camp soap
- Extra blankets and pillows
- Toilet paper
- Comfortable shoes for everyone, preferably waterproof
- Extra medications, extra glasses/contact lenses
- Toothbrushes/toothpaste
- Feminine hygiene products
- Clean plunger and bucket (as a washing machine)
Disability needs:
- Medical/disability history
- Hearing disabilities:
- Extra hearing-aid batteries
- Language challenges:
- Pen and paper
- Assistive technology like digital tablets
- Communication cards
- Battery operated lantern for lip-reading
- If walking disability:
- Extra battery or charger for power wheelchairs
- Manual wheelchair
- Patch kit or can of sealant for flat tires, or extra inner tube
- Canes or walkers
Backup electricity:
- Hand-crank generator
- Generator, with extra fuel
- Solar cells, with window cleaner and ice scraper
Backup laptop:
- Extra batteries
- Satellite internet connection
Household Fixtures
Tools:
- Chainsaw with extra fuel
- Sledgehammer
- Pry bar
Wood, nails, and a hammer for barring doors and windows
Roll-up ladder
Fire pump kit (if near a body of water)
Home security system
Large safe, such as a gun safe
At least 2 small ABC fire extinguishers:
- Kitchen
- Bedroom
Smoke alarms near every room or corridor
Long-Term – Moving
Passports for every family member
“Burner” pay-as-you-go phones, with top-off cards
Corporation filed with a new identity.
Long-Term – Staying
Plot of land, relatively secluded from society
Bomb shelter or bunker
- Bunker security system
- Plans for keeping the bunker anonymous
Guidebooks on whatever you plan to use:
- Bushcraft
- How to forage and find edible wild plants
- Gardening, farming, and agriculture
- Hunting
- Fishing
- Mechanical repair
- Wilderness medicine
- Woodworking
- Masonry
- Amateur electronics and computer programming
At least a few power generation solutions:
- Diesel generator
- Solar cells
- Wind turbines
- Very high-capacity battery
Bicycle with attached wagon
Anything that empowers a simpler, more self-sustained vocation:
- Seeds and gardening supplies
- Magnesium sulfate (Epsom salt)
- Livestock
- Crafting supplies like a kiln or carpentry tools
- Spinning wheel or manual sewing machine
Critical items to stockpile:
- Bottled water, water filters/purifiers, and bleach will always disappear first.
- Liquor, especially hard liquor.
- Canning supplies like mason jars, lids, pressure cookers, and pectin (disappears rapidly because there’s normally a low supply).
- Canned foods, without any discrimination.
- Dehydrator, assuming you will have access to electricity.
- Jerky, MRE’s, and other long-lasting no-prep foods (though roadkill has more nutritional value than a packaged beef stick).
- Any staples like rice, beans, wheat, flour, yeast, and powdered or condensed milk.
- Any grains marked for human or animal consumption.
- Gardening supplies like seeds, gardening books, and tools.
- General gardening tools like brooms, shovels, rakes, pitchforks, pickaxes, and hoes.
- Grain grinders.
- Salt that can preserve meat.
- People will quickly hide, hoard, steal, slaughter, and trade chickens, goats, cows, pigs, and any other livestock.
- People will rapidly catch and remove the local wild game from the surrounding area, or inexperienced hunters will drive them away with noise.
- Convenience drinks like teas, coffee, sports drinks, powdered drinks, instant, ground, or bagged drinks.
Anything that makes fire or a light source:
- Lighters, matches (especially waterproof), flint and steel fire starters, fire pistons (a handheld device that starts a fire with air).
- When firewood isn’t accessible, people will stockpile charcoal.
- Cooking oils as fuel for oil lamps.
- Candles, especially unscented.
- Cast-iron frying pans, portable ovens or any other cookware that could get used over an open flame.
- Hunting or foraging books.
Health and personal care items:
- First aid kits disappear immediately.
- General paper hygiene items like toilet paper, tissue paper, and paper towels.
- Over-the-counter medications like headache pills and cough syrup, especially after people start suffering caffeine/sugar withdrawals in the first few weeks.
- Any vitamins and herbal supplements which can prevent nutrient-deficient diseases like scurvy.
- Personal hygiene supplies like shampoo, toothbrushes, toothpaste, feminine hygiene products, mouthwash, and floss.
- Baby and toddler supplies like formula, cloth diapers, washcloths, and cheap toys.
Camping supplies:
- Sleeping bags, blankets, pillows, and mats.
- Inflatable mattresses and hand pumps.
- Guns, cleaning kits, and ammo.
- All “travel” version of a home item.
- Flashlights, lanterns, and glow sticks.
- Batteries and fuel.
- Hunting knives and multi-tools.
- Fishing supplies and fishing tools (since fishing will be more accessible than wild game).
- Camouflage and hunting clothes.
- Bug traps and sprays.
Multi-use household supplies:
- Plastic wrap, wax paper, and aluminum foil.
- Anything that can improvise a shelter or fasten anything.
- Washing and drying supplies like clothespins, line, hangers, washboards, plungers, and mop buckets.
- Any types of gloves which can protect hands.
- Mouse and rat traps.
- Cleaning or disinfecting supplies of any kind.
- Paper, pads, pens, pencils, sharpeners, and solar calculators.
- Any non-gun weapons like pepper spray, knives, clubs, bats, tasers, slingshots, and pellet rifles.
- Hand pumps and siphons for gas, water, and oil.
Hardware:
- Most non-power tools like bow saws, axes, hatches, wedges, machetes, and hammers.
- Tarps, plastic rolls, stakes, duct tape, electrical tape, twine, nails, rope, spikes, glue, nuts, bolts, and screws.
- Sharpening stones and honing oil.
- Lumber, sheet metal, insulation, and any other building supplies.
- Car batteries, solar/gas/diesel/propane/kerosene generators, solar-powered systems.
- Motor oil.
Convenient containers:
- Wagons, wheelbarrows, carts, and shopping carts.
- Any containers that can hold gasoline or water.
- Insulated ice chests as baskets and frost protection.
- Backpacks and Duffel bags (backpacks first, since Duffel bags are more difficult to walk with).
- Large trash bags (especially thick 55-gallon size) to store, move things, or collect water.
- Every possible size and shape of bucket.
Clothes:
- Cold weather clothing, wool, and polyester clothing.
- Work boots, belts, blue jeans, and thick socks.
- Any extreme weather clothing like raincoats or wide-brimmed hats.
“Survival” supplies:
- Survival-related and medical literature.
- Gas masks and body armor.
- Portable toilets or toilet lids to use with five-gallon buckets.
Any advanced medical and surgical equipment, if you know how to use it.
Other odds and ends:
- Animal control items like cage traps and dog collars.
- Since bicycles will become the most efficient transportation, bicycles and tires, tubes, repair kits, pumps, and chains.
- Because of their fuel economy, motorcycles will become high-demand.
In Nature
Maps of where you’re going
Compass
Multi-tool
Headlamp or flashlight
Extra set of clothes
Some type of fire starter, like matches or a lighter
Extra food, preferably high-protein and high-fat foods
A simple first aid kit with bandages, triple-antibiotic ointment, decongestant, and painkillers
Sunglasses and sunscreen (especially with snow)
Sleeping bag/tent (especially with cold weather)
Machete/axe
Fishing pole or fishing net
Cookware