If you’re a regular reader of our weekly Survival Scout blog, then you know the importance of having plenty of life’s vital necessities on hand at all times.

First of all, you need a proper supply of food and clean water for each person in your group.

This means having long-term storage food – the kind that stays fresh for up to 25 years. You get it and forget it.

But it also means having good water filtration equipment – because you won’t be able to count on your municipal water source, or even your well, when the system falls apart.

So here’s the point: Once you have the “basics” taken care of, it's almost mandatory to stockpile adequate supplies (in bulk) of several other key items that make daily life easier and more bearable during a crisis.

The purpose of this article is to discuss the five kinds of items to store in bulk so you can you build your personal preparedness plan for you and your loved ones.

But beyond that, we also want to discuss how to barter for things you’ll need during an emergency. Because that’s where the ‘magic’ is… 

While this is certainly only a ‘partial’ list of strategic bulk items you’ll want to store, it’s based on the My Patriot Supply philosophy of "basic needs first."

After all, nothing is more important than food and water.

And our company can definitely help you with all those needs.

In the meantime, a few trips to your local suppliers and retailers will get you well-stocked for the future, whatever it may bring.

 

AMMO

In a political or economic crisis, many people will unfortunately become violent. This makes weapons and ammo essential for survival against someone who wants to raid your supplies. It's also crucial for hunting for food – if there are any animals left. 

Even if you're NOT a gun owner, hunter, or shooter… stockpiling ammo is a worthwhile practice because of its value for barter.

Think about it: In a protracted crisis, bullets will be scarce once the initial chaos is over. Since very few people know how to make their own ammo, the remaining supplies will become more valuable than ever.

Perhaps more valuable than gold!

Fortunately, ammo doesn't take up a ton of space and has a long shelf life when stored properly. It’s great for protection, hunting, and barter.

To put it bluntly… after food and water, ammo should be your top priority.

In the preparedness community, we have a saying: "Bullets, Beans, and Bunkers!"

But I like to add “Beverages” to that, because none of us can live without hydration. (Notice I didn’t say “Beer”!)

You can’t live more than THREE DAYS without hydration.

And that’s why water filtration is so important.

(Check out our Alexapure Pro here for the very best water filtration unit you will ever find. Drink water with fewer contaminants, all day long!)

 

CLEANING SUPPLIES

Many folks completely overlook cleaning supplies as a part of their emergency preparedness plan.

Why? Probably because they think the coming emergencies will be short-lived or temporary. 

And yes, you can easily go without a shower for a day or two. But after 3 or more days, hygiene and sanitation can become a real issue – especially in terms of human waste disposal. 

What will happen in a major systemic collapse? Quite simply, sanitation will become an urgent and pressing concern. 

Therefore, since so many people will be caught unprepared, you can have the “upper hand” if you stockpile a lot of sanitation items on hand (more than you personally need).

This is what will become very valuable for barter when people are desperate.

So here’s just a short list of “strategic” cleaning and disposal items to stock up on, while you can:

• Bleach (unscented, 4-6%)
• Trash bags, and lots of them
• Distilled white vinegar
• Lye (for making soap, cutting grease and cleaning stoves)
• Rubber gloves
• Sponges
• Dish soap
• Re-usable spray and pump bottles
• Toilet paper, paper towels, Kleenex and more paper products 

 

MEDICINE + HYGIENE SUPPLIES

Another highly overlooked preparedness category is medicine and personal hygiene.

One of my top items on this list is antibiotics, which require a prescription. This can be tough, but I've found that with an honest conversation with your doctor, they might be willing to write an occasional script for your stockpile. The only trick is maintaining the supply as the drugs expire.

Here are several supplies you need in this category:

• Over-the-counter medications: aspirin, pain-relievers, antihistamines
• Prescription medications (if you can get them from an understanding doctor) for antibiotics. (You need to replenish them once they expire.)
• Bandages
• Rubbing alcohol and hydrogen peroxide
• Toothpaste
• Feminine hygiene products
• Floss
• Washcloths
• Vitamins and herbal supplements
• Surgical needle and thread

 

SALT

Salt has been valuable since the dawn of civilization. Wars were fought over it!

Perhaps you’re familiar with the phrase "worth his salt." It comes from the ancient slave trade, where slaves would be traded for this commodity.

Also, Roman soldiers were paid in salt, called a salarium, which is where we get the word "salary."

Why was salt so highly valued? To keep food from spoiling. Before modern refrigeration, salt was heavily used for food preservation, especially meat. 

So imagine how valuable salt will become during a situation like a power grid failure or natural disaster! 

There are so many uses for salt, it would be impossible to list them all here. But here's a pinch (pun intended) to get you started:

• Food preservation -- pickling/fermenting vegetables and curing meat
• Soothe a sore throat – just add it to a glass of water and gargle
• Make an antiseptic saline solution (1 tsp salt per 1 cup water)
• Put out grease or electrical fires (water is not safe in these scenarios)
• Clean greasy pans without dish soap (coarse salt is recommended)
• Remove pinfeathers from a chicken by rubbing its skin with salt
• Kill weeds -- spread salt around roots of weeds
• Melt ice (coarse or rock salt)
• Mix with baby oil to exfoliate skin

Our recommendation is to stock up on a variety of salts, such as sea salts, iodized salts, and rock salt. This gives you the versatility you need to handle the largest number of tasks you might face.

Storing salt away from moisture, humidity and light will keep it fresh – although it has an incredibly long shelf life, even in poor conditions. If you want to be truly careful, you can seal it in Mylar packaging with oxygen absorbers, as we do with our freeze-dried food.

 

ROPE

My father always used to say, "You can never have too much rope."

He loved boating and sailing, where rope can be a life-saving tool in many unexpected ways.

I also remember it coming in handy in one of my favorite adventure/survival stories -- Deliverance – where they had to scale down deep river canyon walls.

But rope is actually indispensable in ANY emergency situation.

Rope is necessary for shelter building, whether you use it as a simple guy line or are lashing timber together.

You can use it to make snares for hunting small game.

You can build a security alarm trip-wire for camp by attaching it to tin cans or bells.

I could go on.

Be sure to store a number of different thicknesses, materials, and lengths.

One final note on rope: know your knots. Without that, rope is pretty much useless.

Honorable Mentions

If you get the above five categories taken care of, you’ll be in good shape during any emergency. However, here are three more items that deserve some attention…

Coffee

Coffee has made it to the top of our “Items To Hoard” stories in the past, and it needs no explanation. If you missed that story, click here to read it.

Bottom line: coffee is delicious, energizing, as well as a powerful item for barter.

 

Alcohol

A lot of preppers store up alcohol even though they never touch the stuff. Why? It's perfect for barter when people are weary and desperate.

Alcohol also has a wide range of uses, from a sanitizer to a propellant.

 

Cigarettes

As with alcohol, cigarettes have an extremely high value for barter. If you don’t smoke, you won't be sad to trade it for food, medicine, or whatever else you may need.

I hope you find these tips enlightening.

Click here to read our archived articles for more in-depth discussions about “bulking up” for the future.

Stay alert and stay alive, fellow Patriots!

In Liberty,

Grant Miller
Preparedness Advisor