I often get e-mails from clients that have just found European Prepper Blog/Shop or were recommend by a friend. Their response is surprisingly uniform: People feel overwhelmed by the enormity of what it takes to get a family or group prepared.
First, take a deep breath and just relax. Just realizing that you need to get prepared has already put you ahead of 95% of your neighbours, who are sadly little more than clueless sheep. If you accumulate a one-month food supply then elevates your preparedness into the 80th percentile of preparedness. And by the time you work your way up to a one year supply, you’ll be in the 98th percentile. It’s not very difficult, it’s not very expensive, and it’s not very time-consuming. Just do it one step at a time.
First Things First
Now you are ready to embark on an adventure that will result in not only greater logistical preparedness, but also in learning valuable skills that you can use throughout your life. These skills will build your self-confidence and when combined with acquiring the requisite tools, you’ll develop genuine self-reliance–regardless of the adversities that you might someday face. By being well-prepared and well-trained, you’ll also be in a position to share your skills and some of your extra supplies with less prudent relatives, neighbours, and friends.
Start with a “List”
You should start your family preparedness stocking effort by first composing a List, then draft prioritized lists for each subject, on separate sheets of paper. Just be sure to print out a hard copy for use when the power grid goes down!) It is important to tailor your lists to suit your particular geography, climate, and population density as well as your peculiar needs and likes/dislikes. Someone setting up a retreat in a coastal area is likely to have a far different list than someone living in the mountains.
Your List should include:
Water List
Food Storage List
Food Preparation List
Personal List
First Aid /Minor Surgery List
Nuke Defense List
Biological Warfare Defense List
Gardening List
Hygiene List/Sanitation List
Hunting/Fishing/Trapping List
Power/Lighting/Batteries List
Fuels List
Firefighting List
Tactical Living List
Security-General
Security-Firearms
Communications/Monitoring List
Tools List
Sundries List
Survival Bookshelf List
Barter List
Water List
House downspout conversion sheet metal work and barrels. (BTW, this is another good reason to upgrade your retreat to a fireproof metal roof.)
Drawing water from open sources. Buy extra containers. Don’t buy big barrels, since 20 litres food grade buckets are the largest size that most people can handle without back strain.
For transporting water if and when gas is too precious to waste, buy a couple of heavy duty two wheel garden carts–convert the wheels to foam filled “no flats” tires. (BTW, you will find lots of other uses for those carts around your retreat, such as hauling hay, firewood, manure, fertilizer, et cetera.)
Treating water. Buy plain Clorox hypochlorite bleach. A little goes a long way. Buy some extra 5 litres bottles for barter and charity. If you can afford it, buy a “ceramic water filter. Even if you have pure spring water at your retreat, you never know where you may end up, and a good filter could be a lifesaver.)
Food Storage List
Store the essentials, in quantity:
Salt: Salt is very important to store, both for preserving food and as a practical means to attract wild game. (It is noteworthy that in many locales, natural salt licks are off-limits to hunters, since hunting there is too easy and hence not considered sporting. That ought to tell you something.) I recommend that you store several times more salt than you think that you’ll ever need.
Unless you literally live next to a salt lick or salt marsh, I cannot overemphasize the importance of storing salt. Salt is cheap and plentiful now, but in the event of any major event it will be a scarce and valuable commodity in most inland regions. Salt also has a virtually unlimited shelf life. Do some research on natural salt deposits near your intended retreat.
Lay in a supply of 5 Kgs of salt per member of your family. (This figure may sound high, but again it includes extra for attracting wild game.) The portion for cooking and table salt should be iodized.
Rice: I prefer white rice, as its storage life is longer than that of brown rice. The combined weight should be about 30 20 Kgs per adult, per year. Storage life is +/- 8 years.
Wheat (or substitute grains, for celiac): Grain storage is a crucial aspect of family preparedness. Grain will soon no longer be cheap or plentiful, so stock up! Buy 100 Kgs per adult, per year. (Part of this can be in the form of pasta.) Storage life is 30+ years. Buy plenty for your family and your livestock. I also recommend buying plenty of extra for bartering. You’ll soon be glad that you did.
I do not recommend storing flour, since it only keeps for two or three years. Whole wheat stores for 30+ years with 80% or more of its nutritional value. Buy whole grains and a hand wheat grinder.
Don’t overlook the easiest preparation method of all: soaked wheat berries. By simply soaking whole wheat for 24 to 36 hours, it plumps and softens. When then heated, wheat berries make a nutritious breakfast cereal.
Corn: Whole corn stores much longer than cracked corn or corn meal. (Grind your own.) Get 25 Kgs per adult, per year. The storage life of whole corn is 8 to 12 years, but cracked or ground corn stores only 18 to 36 months
Oats: Lay in a supply of 10 Kgs per adult, per year. The storage life of oats is 3 to 7 years, depending on variety and packing method.
Fats and Oils: I recommend storing primarily olive oil, mayonnaise, canned butter, and peanut butter. The combined weight of these should be about 45 Kgs per adult, per year.
Powdered Milk: Buy the non-fat variety. Store about 10 Kgs per adult, per year. For the longest storage life, it is best to buy nitrogen packed dry milk, that type has a 5+ year shelf life.
Canned Fruit and Vegetables: It is most economical (and good practice) to can your own. As long as you rotate continuously, you should lay in a two year supply per family member.
Canned Meats: Again, you must rotate continuously, and don’t store more than you would use in two years.
Sugars: I prefer honey (except of course for infants), but depending on your taste, you will also want to lay in a supply of sugar, molasses, sorghum, maple syrup, and various jams and jellies. The combined weight of these should be about 25 Kgs per adult, per year.
Other important items for your food storage:
– Canning lids and rings.
– Coffee
– Sulphur for drying fruit.
– Vinegar-Buy a couple of 5 Litre bottles.
– Spices.
– Baking soda.
– Yeast.
– Food storage (freezer and vacuum) bags.
– Aluminum foil (Buy lots! 101 uses, including making improvised solar ovens.)
– Deer bags.
Food Preparation List
Having more people under your roof will necessitate having an oversize skillet and a huge stew pot. You will want to buy several huge kettles, because odds are you will have to heat water on your wood stove for bathing, dish washing, and clothes washing. You will also need even more kettles, barrels, and 20 litre PVC buckets–for water hauling, rendering, soap making, and dying.
Don’t overlook skinning knives, gut-buckets, gambrels, and meat saws.
Personal List
(Make a separate personal list for each family member and individual expected to arrive at your retreat.)
Spare glasses.
Prescription and non-prescription medications.
Birth control.
Keep dentistry up to date.
Any elective surgery that you’ve been postponing
Work off that gut.
Stay in shape.
Back strength and health—particularly important, given the heavy manual tasks required for self-sufficiency.
Educate yourself on survival topics, and practice them. For example, even if you don’t presently live at your retreat, you should plant a vegetable garden every year. It is better to learn through experience and make mistakes now, when the loss of crop is an annoyance rather than a crucial event.
“Comfort” items to help get through high stress times. (Books, games, CDs, chocolates, etc.)
First Aid /Minor Surgery List
When tailoring this list, consider your neighbourhood going for many months without power, extensive use of open flames, and sentries standing picket shifts exposed in the elements. Then consider axes, chainsaws and tractors being wielded by newbies, and a greater likelihood of gunshot wounds. With all of this, add the possibility of no access to doctors or high tech medical diagnostic equipment. Put a strong emphasis on burn treatment first aid supplies. Don’t overlook do-it-yourself dentistry! (Oil of cloves, temporary filling kit, extraction tools, et cetera.) Buy a full minor surgery outfit, even if you don’t know how to use them all yet. You may have to learn, or you will have the opportunity to put them in the hands of someone experienced who needs them.) This is going to be a big list!
Biological Warfare Defense List
Disinfectants
Hand Sanitizer
Sneeze masks
Colloidal silver generator and spare supplies (distilled water and .999 fine silver rod.)
Natural antibiotics (Echinacea, Tea Tree oil, …)
Gardening List
One important item for your gardening list is the construction of a very tall deer-proof and rabbit-proof fence. Under current circumstances, a raid by deer on your garden is probably just an inconvenience. After the balloon goes up, it could mean the difference between eating well, and starvation.
Top Soil/Amendments/Fertilizers.
Tools+ spares for bartering.
Long-term storage non hybrid (open pollinated) seed. (Non-hybrid “heirloom” seed assortments tailors to different climate zones.
Herbs: Get started with medicinal herbs such as aloe Vera (for burns), Echinacea (purple cone flower), valerian, et cetera.
Hygiene/Sanitation List
Sacks of powdered lime for the outhouse. Buy plenty!
Toilet Paper in quantity (Stores well if kept dry and away from vermin and it is lightweight, but it is very bulky. This is a good item to store in the attic.
Soap in quantity (hand soap, dish soap, laundry soap, cleansers, etc.)
Bottled lye for soap making.
Ladies’ supplies.
Toothpaste (or powder).
Floss.
Fluoride rinse. (Unless you have health objections to the use of fluoride.)
Sunscreen.
Livestock List:
Hoof rasp, hoof nippers, hoof pick, horse brushes, hand sheep shears, styptic, carding combs, goat milking stand, teat dip, udder wash, Bag Balm, elastrator and bands, SWOT fly repellent, nail clippers (various sizes), Copper-tox, leads, leashes, collars, halters, hay hooks, hay fork, manure shovel, feed buckets, bulk grain and sweet feed (store in galvanized trash cans with tight fitting lids to keep the mice out), various tack and saddles, tack repair tools, et cetera. If your region has selenium deficient soil (ask your local Agricultural extension office) then be sure to get selenium-fortified salt blocks rather than plain white salt blocks–at least for those that you are going to set aside strictly for your livestock.
Hunting/Fishing/Trapping List
Night vision gear, spares, maintenance, and battery charging
Salt. Don’t “go hunting.” That would be a waste of effort. Have the game come to you. Buy 20 or more salt blocks. They will also make very valuable barter items.
Sell your fly fishing gear (all but perhaps a few flies) and buy practical spin casting equipment.
Extra tackle may be useful for barter, but probably only in a very long term Crunch.
Buy some frog gigs if you have bullfrogs in your area. Buy some crawfish traps if you have crawfish in your area.
Learn how to rig trot lines and make fish traps for non-labour intensive fishing.
Power/Lighting/Batteries List
In the event of a grid down situation, if you are the only family in the area with power, it could turn your house into a “come loot me” beacon at night. Make plans and buy materials in advance for making blackout screens or fully opaque curtains for your windows.
When possible, buy nickel metal hydride batteries. (Unlike the older nickel cadmium technology, these have no adverse charge level “memory” effect.)
If your home has propane appliances, get a “tri-fuel” generator–with a carburetor that is selectable between gasoline, propane, and natural gas. If you heat your home with home heating oil, then get a diesel-burning generator. (And plan on getting at least one diesel burning pickup and/or tractor). In a pinch, you can run your diesel generator and diesel vehicles on home heating oil.
Kerosene lamps; plenty of extra wicks, mantles, and chimneys. .
Fuels List
Buy the biggest propane, home heating oil, gas, or diesel tanks that your local ordinances permit and that you can afford. Always keep them at least two-thirds full. For privacy concerns, ballistic impact concerns, and fire concerns, underground tanks are best if your local water table allows it. In any case, do not buy an aboveground fuel tank that would visible from any public road or navigable waterway. Don’t overlook buying plenty of kerosene. Stock up on firewood or coal. Get the best quality chainsaw you can afford. I prefer Stihls and Husqvarnas. Buy extra chains, critical spare parts, and plenty of two-cycle oil. Get a pair of Kevlar chainsaw safety chaps. They are expensive but they might save yourself a trip to the emergency room. Always wear gloves, goggles, and ear-muffs. Wear a logger’s helmet when felling. Have someone who is well experienced teach you how to re-sharpen chains.
Firefighting List
Now that you have all of those flammables on hand (see the previous list) and the prospect of looters shooting tracer ammo or throwing Molotov cocktails at your house, think in terms of firefighting from start to finish without the aid of a fire department. Even without looters to consider, you should be ready for uncontrolled brush or residential fires, as well as the greater fire risk associated with greenhorns who have just arrived at your retreat working with wood stoves and kerosene lamps!
Upgrade your retreat with a fireproof metal roof.
2” water line from your gravity-fed storage tank (to provide large water volume for firefighting)
Firefighting rig with an adjustable stream/mist head.
Smoke and CO detectors.
Tactical Living List
Adjust your wardrobe buying toward sturdy earth-tone clothing.
Dyes. Stock up on some boxes of green and brown cloth dye. With dye, you can turn most light coloured clothes into semi-tactical clothing on short notice.
Two-inch wide burlap strip material in green and brown.
Cold weather and foul weather gear—buy plenty, since you will be doing more outdoor chores, hunting, and standing guard duty.
Don’t overlook ponchos and gaiters.
Mosquito repellent.
Synthetic double-bag (modular) sleeping bags for each person at the retreat, plus a couple of spares.
Night vision gear + IR floodlights for your retreat house
Subdued flashlights and penlights.
Noise, light, and litter discipline.
Security-General: Locks, intrusion detection/alarm systems, exterior obstacles (fences, gates, 5/8” diameter (or larger) locking road cables, rosebush plantings, “decorative” ponds (moats), ballistic protection (personal and residential), anti-vehicular ditches/berms, anti-vehicular concrete “planter boxes”, razor wire, etc.)
Electronic light amplification scopes are critical tools for retreat security.
A scope (or goggles, or a monocular) literally amplifies low ambient light by up to 100,000 times, turning night-time darkness into daylight–albeit a green and fuzzy view.
Security-Firearms List
Guns, ammunition, web gear, eye and ear protection, cleaning equipment, carrying cases, scopes, magazines, spare parts, gunsmithing tools, targets and target frames, et cetera. Each rifle and pistol should have at least six top quality (original military contract or original manufacturer) full capacity spare magazines..
Communications/Monitoring List
When selecting radios buy only models that will run on 12 volt DC power or rechargeable nickel metal hydride battery packs (that can be recharged from your retreat’s 12 VDC power system without having to use an inverter.)
As a secondary purchasing goal, buy spare radios of each type if you can afford them. Keep your spares in sealed metal boxes to protect them from EMP.
If you live in a far inland region, I recommend buying two or more 12 VDC marine band radios. These frequencies will probably not be monitored in your region, leaving you an essentially private band to use. Note
Tools List
Gardening tools.
Auto mechanics tools.
Welding.
Bolt cutters–the indispensable “universal key.”
Woodworking tools.
Gunsmithing tools.
Emphasis on hand powered tools.
Hand or treadle powered grinding wheel.
Don’t forget to buy plenty of extra work gloves (in earth tone colors).
Sundries List:
Systematically list the things that you use on a regular basis, or that you might need if the local hardware store were to ever disappear: wire of various gauges, duct tape, reinforced strapping tape, chain, nails, nuts and bolts, weather stripping, abrasives, twine, white glue, cyanoacrylate glue, et cetera.
Barter List
For your barter list, acquire primarily items that are durable, non-perishable, and either in small packages or that are easily divisible. Concentrate on the items that other people are likely to overlook or have in short supply. Some of my favorites are ammunition. Store all of your ammo in military surplus ammo cans (with seals that are still soft) and it will store for decades. Stick to common calibers, get plenty of .22 LR (most high velocity hollow points) plus at least ten boxes of the local favorite deer hunting cartridge, even if you don’t own a rifle chambered for this cartridge. (Ask your local sporting goods shop about their top selling chamberings). Also buy at least ten boxes of the local police department’s standard pistol cartridge, again even if you don’t own a pistol chambered for this cartridge.
Ladies supplies.
Salt (Buy lots of cattle blocks and 1 pound canisters of iodized table salt.)
(Stores indefinitely if kept dry.)
Two cycle engine oil (for chain saw gas mixing. Gas may still be available after a collapse, but two-cycle oil will probably be like liquid gold!)
Gas stabilizer.
Diesel antibacterial additive.
25 Kgs sacks of lime (for outhouses).
30ml bottles of military rifle bore cleaner and Break Free (or similar) lubricant.
Waterproof duffle bags in earth tone colours (white-water rafting “dry bags”).
Thermal socks.
Semi-waterproof matches (from military rations.)
Military web gear (lots of folks will suddenly need pistol belts, holsters, magazine pouches, et cetera.)
3 Litre cans of kerosene.
Rolls of olive drab parachute cord.
Rolls of olive-drab duct tape.
Spools of monofilament fishing line.
Rolls of 10 mil sheet plastic (for replacing windows, isolating airspaces for nuke scenarios, etc.)
Strike anywhere matches. (Dip the heads in paraffin to make them waterproof.)
Playing cards.
Cooking spices.
Rope & string.
Sewing supplies.
Candle wax and wicking.
Lastly, any supplies necessary for operating a home-based business. Some that you might consider are: leather crafting, small appliance repair, gun repair, locksmithing, et cetera. Every family should have at least one home-based business (preferably two!) that they can depend on in the event of an economic collapse.
Different countries have different laws, so make sure you are legal in your prepping arrangements. High powered riffles can be substitute by high powered compound bows/crossbows, not just they are more affordable, and they are also silent.
You’ll not want to attract unfriendly neighbours or marauders with the noise of a powered tool, keep it silent, keep it hidden, and keep it safe.
This post was written by John Ganhao, owner of European Prepper and had parts of it taken from many survival and prepping sources.