Matches only cost a few cents and you always have a package of them or a lighter around somewhere, often promotional gifts which you don’t care about. However, in the event of a crisis, those few freebies that you keep in different junk drawers, are used up quickly. There are many things like that which you urgently need in the case of a crisis but that you aren’t able to purchase somewhere any longer.
Here, we suggest to you 30 of the most important utensils which maybe didn’t cross your mind:
1. Matches and lighters.
2. Stored firewood! In the case of a crisis, it doesn’t make much sense to trot off and fell some trees. Fresh wood doesn’t burn. It must be stored for about two years.
3. Chopped firewood, fatwood, cardboard to light a fire.
4. Having oil lamps is a must. You probably have enough lamp oil. But do you also have enough spare wicks for it?
5. Water filter: Water may be quite easy to find but it is rarely potable. Boiling is only the next best solution and doesn’t remove the dirt.
6. Water containers: Even if you find some water, how do you carry it home?
7. Toilet paper. Explanation unnecessary.
8. A possibility to relieve yourself when the water is turned off. Could be anything from an outhouse with a chalk-filled pit (get some chalk!) in the garden to a camping toilet (keep some spare chemicals in stock!)… how are you going to achieve it?
9. Baby diapers – even if you don’t have any children of your own. Young parents mostly wouldn’t dream of a crisis. Nor do they have cloth diapers. Preferably just buy some packages of disposable diapers and cloth diapers. You can easily get young parents to lend a hand in your household or garden, if you are able to help them out with things like that.
10. Feminine hygiene products. You can hardly find any replacement for them in a rush. In earlier times, they used muslin cloths for that but in a crisis situation, you can’t get those either. An excellent item of barter!
11. Body care and hygiene: soap, shampoo, toothpaste, disinfectants, hand detergents.
12. First aid kit including adhesive bandage, dressing material, antiseptic. Although it’s required by law to have one in your car, it is used up very quickly because you will have to do a lot more things by pure muscular strength making the risk of injury much higher. However, it belongs to the items that will be available again soon in hospitals and pharmacies because it is prescribed by the state. Nevertheless: Spending money on them when they are hardly available, is an avoidable expense.
13. Useful tools. In a crisis situation, do-it-yourself turns from hobby to survival. Sufficient screws, nails, metal brackets, good glue, knife sharpener.
14. Aluminium foil. It’s a universal makeshift for many things like repairing, sealing, cooking food in the fire, it reflects heat and light. At a pinch, you can turn it into a solar reflector in combination with a bowl, in order to use it to light a fire and heat up food (solar oven).
15. Duct tape. The silvery coated, fibre-reinforced, broad adhesive tape is a valuable all-rounder as well.
16. Solid string and twines. Likewise, universally usable.
17. Safety pins and sewing kit. Good scissors.
18. Garbage bags. The waste collection is probably not able to come for some time. Waste bins are filled up quickly, garbage piles up and turns into a hygiene problem. This is more dangerous than you think.
19. Manually operated can opener. The less luxurious and sophisticated, the better. The simplest model of them all is a steel plate with a solid crescent-shaped thorn. Hand-operated kitchen appliances such as whisk, potato ricer, flour mill, onion chopper etc.
20. Fire extinguisher! Especially, when you use a woodstove for heating and cooking as well as candles and oil lamps for lighting, fire extinguishers are an absolute MUST! Install smoke detectors in the hallway, bedrooms and living rooms!
21. Warm underwear, warm clothing, wool socks, wool gloves or thermo-gloves, beanies. Even with woodstoves, it won’t be nice and warm in your home 24 hours a day. You can’t afford to get a cold!
22. Warm bedding for the winter (see item 21). A sheepskin is an unrivalled sleeping rug and prevents rheumatism.
23. Good, durable, water-repellent winter boots. The thickness and insulation capacity of the soles are crucial. No matter how well the bootlegs have been fur-lined, if the soles are too thin, you will get cold feet and freeze.
24. Pesticides, mouse traps, insecticides. Otherwise, all the nice inventory will be useless in no time.
25. Spare pair of glasses, medication.
26. Bicycles. In case there is no fuel available for some time, you can still make better progress than by foot. Additionally, stockpile spare parts along with a repair kit for tyres.
27. Seeding material for salads, vegetables, herbs etc. Make sure to obtain seedfast seeds. NO HYBRID MIXTURES!
28. You are only able to harvest and sow again or exchange new seeds from seedfast seeds. Most of the colourful sachets only contain terminator seeds that yield beautiful plants only once but aren’t fertile anymore.
29. Gardening tools to take care of plants on the balcony, windowsills or in the garden.
30. Herbal book about edible wild herbs – or my collector’s edition “Edible Wild Herbs”
What about all the condoms your gonna need. Condoms should be before water. Other wise your gonna have freak babies like at the bus stop in total recall
That’s funny; now I have to see the movie. Besides the obvious, condoms are great for carrying water or use as bobber for a fishing line. Many prepper sites demonstrate a multitude of uses. Indeed when the SHTF, we might wish we hadn’t squandered so many so casually.