Obviously, the best time to get prepared for a disaster or an epidemic is not when a serious disruptive event is upon us. Prices of goods would be lower, we’d not be in panic mode and could process with common sense and a calm spirit — we’d make better decisions.
Besides toilet paper, there is so much more to consider! PS You can print this!
I admit, I’ve felt some urgency to start preparing for the last 18 months, but I didn’t know exactly why. In some ways I’ve been working on being prepared since our children were small, when it dawned on me that we were responsible for their little lives.
Be Prepared:
53% do not have a minimum 3-day supply of non-perishable food and water at home.
Our budget would not allow me to gather all the items below overnight, so I’m starting slowly.
Depending on the size of your family and your expected usage (under less than ideal conditions), calculate what YOUR family will need and make a plan—a ‘care plan’ as we used to call it in nursing— preferably one for each person.
You can download or print this partial chart!
What We Have Done To Be Prepared & Thoughts:
Clean water: If you’re dependent on local city water, what will you do if the water system is compromised for a week or two or longer? If the situation is dire, you could get by on about one quart of drinking water per day. The general rule of thumb is to have at least one gallon per person per day for at least two weeks, preferably four.
Two to fours weeks, you say? When people are starving, panic will be in the streets. It’s best to stay inside for at least 90 days till the killing and robbery and mugging die down. Some say that in 90 days, half of the people will be dead.
In an emergency situation, you should drink two quarts (half a gallon) of water a day – more if you’re in a hot climate, sick, pregnant, or a child. The other half gallon can then be used for hygiene (thanks in advance).
You can run rain, pool or even stream water through your Berkey filters and still have pure, uncontaminated water to drink if the electrical grid is down for a length of time. It purifies both treated water and untreated raw water from such sources as remote lakes, streams, stagnant ponds and water supplies in foreign countries, where regulations may be substandard at best.
The single best investment we’ve made was getting a Berkey water filter and extra filters. Water Even If There’s NO Electricity: We Chose the Berkey You will need Green Scotch Brite pads for cleaning filters.
For those with a 4″ well-casing, you can add a frost-free hand pump for water without electricity. We saved for this long ago and have never regretted it.
Self-Protection: Our arsenal is outside of the “scope” of this post 😉 But I will mention SABRE Tactical Stun Gun & LED Flashlight as a nice personal backup (with training) recommended by sheriffs.
Health Needs: Consider children, pets, and medicines. Write out your needs. For ideas: My Complete Guide to a No-Side-Effect Medicine Cabinet.
Power: Consider a generator matched to your needs, but you need to have a finite fuel source in storage.
Communication: (besides devices that still work) A wind-up emergency radio
We’ve tried to get as many of these supplies locally as possible (avoiding Amazon) to support our local economy.
Equipment, survival type:
Gorilla tape, regular duct tape, masking tape (keep in a cool place so it won’t get sticky!)
Packages of BIC lighters, plenty of matches in ziplock bags, some storm-proof matches, plenty of dry tinder or dryer lint
Duracell batteries (CR123s will last up to 10 yrs. for flashlights), std AAs and AAAs, also 10 years) check your other sizes
Flashlights, flashlights!!! And indispensable lantern-type lights like this VONT. Head lantern with LEDs. Be sure to match with batteries (large ones are a good self-defense weapon)
Sea salt or Himalayan salt (not table salt) for electrolytes and minerals which every living thing needs (keep cool, and dry) We need salt for many things
Bags of Epsom Salts (w/ no additives) for sore muscle soaks, drawing splinters, soaking wounds, detoxing
Candles, many sizes: tea lights; flat, wide, chunky candles
Plastic bags, esp. heavy mil contractor bags, (use as tarp, poncho, wind protection – get the best you can afford) (keep old grocery bags)
Tarps with reinforced grommets, (store in plastic they come in)
Paracord, 7 strand
Blankets, high quality sleeping bags
Thick plastic sheeting
Socks, wool and cotton, protect your feet
Medical supplies: Get a First Aid Only kit OR make your own— consider a good first aid guide, a tourniquet, blood pressure cuff and stethoscope, scissors, masks, wound dressings, tape, bandages, ace bandages, lidocaine spray, topical antibiotic, eye wash, etc.
For remedies and supplements by category see My Complete Guide to a No-Side-Effect Medicine Cabinet
How I Use Essential Oils as an Alternative to Antibiotics.
Never be without toilet paper. Put 4 rolls in 2 gallon Ziplocs and put 1 bag in each car, one in the garage, one under each sink in the house. That way, regardless of what disaster occurs – you are prepared.
Longer term needs I like to have in hand to be prepared:
Sanitation:
• Bleach, splash-proof, medicine dropper to disinfect water if no alternative (see Berkey above)
• Much safer than bleach, 3% Hydrogen peroxide is recommended by the EPA for use in Healthcare, Institutional, and household use and kills coronavirus on laundry, skin, and surfaces
• Hand sanitizer and wipes: store-bought hand wipes, baby wipes, I can also made my own with castile soap, olive oil and ess. oils.
• DIY Hand Wash kills viruses and bacteria: 3% hydrogen peroxide diluted 1:1 with plain water. Soak hands for 30 seconds and do not rinse, then dry.
• Gloves, nitrile, latex, etc.
• Luggable Loo is very inexpensive for the convenience it will add to life with no water. You’ll need bags.
Laundry: to simplify you CAN use dish soap, just not much! Under tough conditions, I would use Dawn dish soap to cut grease even though it isn’t the most healthy.
• Measure the dish soap. Don’t add the same amount of dish detergent as you would when using laundry detergent. If you add too much dish detergent, it will foam up and spill out of the machine. Always add the correct amount:
• Add 1 teaspoon for small loads; 2 teaspoons for medium loads; 3 teaspoons for large loads.
If no electricity, folding dryer racks, wash tubs, clothesline and clothespins (from Lehman’s catalog)
Trash: Heavy duty trash bags (high 3 mil), kitchen garbage sized, Ziploc bags, regular trash bags
Dental care: toothbrushes, toothpaste, dental floss, dental pick
Personal care items: quality fine-edge tweezers (splinters), cuticle scissors, scrub mitts, lotion, feminine hygiene needs
Plenty of underwear, socks, sunhats, ball caps, gloves (both warm and cold weather)
Hair supplies: clips, elastic hair bands, basic shampoo, conditioner, combs, brushes
Eye care: extra Contact lenses, spare glasses, CL cleaner, spare sunglasses
Paper goods: besides TP, paper towels, enough paper plates, cups, disposable utensils to get by for a while
Pet needs, pet food, litter?
Fire extinguisher(s)
Paper and pencils/pens
Books, games, puzzles or other activities for children
Heirloom seeds. Hybrid seeds cannot reproduce in many cases. (Learn how to garden now, so you know what you are doing if/when you really need to!) A small kiddie pool makes a quick, cheap raised single-season garden bed. Download directions from these posts and save together with seeds:
• straw bale gardening, cold-frame gardening
Basic cleaning supplies: Baking soda, white vinegar, your favorite cleaners, 5 gallon buckets, gloves, rags, paper towels, various spray bottles
Stock up on Dish soap if there is no electricity! (Dawn removes grease) Scotch Brite pads, scouring powder
Wash cloths, (I buy inexpensive 12 packs at Walmart), save clean rags and old towels, save clean old clothes for cloths
Cooking needs: (you may never need any of this, but it’s good to have some level of preparedness)
• Have on hand propane canisters, large size and small, an outdoor grill with at least 1 stove burner
• Cast iron (non-stick) or other skillets, Dutch oven, stout scissors for cutting, good set of knives, 2 manual can openers, tongs
• Pots, pans, stainless utensils, 4-5 day ice chest, big stock pot for boiling water
• Fire pit accessories where you CAN cook if needed, grate, coffee pot with stay-cool handle (supply of readily cut wood)
• Do you have a wood stove? That’s both heat and cooking surface.
• Green Scotch Brite pads to clean pots and pans
For hunters: Morton Coarse Kosher Salt (quantities) for preserving meats, 5 gallon buckets with lids. (The salt solution was judged ready when it would float a raw egg. This solution would require approximately 4 lbs of salt to 2.5 gallons of water.) Preserving meat without salt
Prepare with Nutritionally-Dense Foods:
Freezers are grid-dependent appliances. See my post Food Storage: 10 Foods That Last Practically Forever
I keep a good quantity of pasta sauces, simmer sauces in glass, and other canned foods. Canned salmon, tinned sardines, raw honey, almond/peanut butter, etc.
Beans and white rice are long-lasting foods that provide a complete protein when combined. You can opt for different types of legumes that you might like better or find easier to digest than pinto beans, like high nutrition garbanzos, red kidney beans, or lentils.
Do not try to store brown rice long term (>6 months). White rice will store MUCH longer! Since brown is the healthiest to eat, keep some on hand. A month supply is good. And just rotate through the stash. Save the larger quantities of white rice for long term and no need to rotate through it as much. White is for when we don’t have other options. (Even then supplemental nutrition will be needed.)
We put whole oat groats (and other whole grains) in 3 gal tubs and have a Marga oat roller. For the most bioavailability, soak your beans and grains.
You can purchase high-quality freeze-dried food from , Legacy Food Storage or Wise Emergency Food. I plan to learn to make pemmican to stockpile some meat. Pemmican is considered to be a survival super-food.
Learn how to identify and forage native food – a skill that has been lost.
Essential Oils Go a LONG way as effective antimicrobials: Essential oils store for years and a little goes a long way. An especially useful oil is my thieves blend.
Be prepared to Create a “sick room”:
People can get hurt, catch colds, and get fevers. You can’t just run out to the store easily when there is a pandemic going on. You have to have all of the supplies you need ready.
Make sure you have the common painkillers and prescription meds, etc. See My Complete Guide to a No-Side-Effect Medicine Cabinet.. And see “sanitation” above.
Bug Out Bag
To make my husband a BOB for Christmas, for final ideas I went to the Sensible Prepper. See his list below:
Bug Out Bag Contents: Total Cost (approx. may change) $313.76 plus tax
- Morph 26 Back Pack $18.97
- Leather Gloves $9.56
- 550 Paracord $5.97
- Maglite Flashlight $22.32
- Energizer Headlamp $19.97
- Duracell AA Batteries $6.18
- Water Bladder $9.97
- Arctic Watch Cap $5.00
- Waxed Cotton Ball Cap $7.47
- Bear Grylls Basic Survival Kit $19.97
- First Aid Kit $15.88
- Survival Reflective Tent $8.74
- SS Thermos $18.67
- Cotton Balls 200pk $1.88
- Petroleum Jelly $.97
- Survival Food Bars $4.97
- 4- 1 Whistle $3.97
- Gorilla Tape $5.97
- Coleman Bio-Wipes $3.97
- Dust mask $.97
- Dickies Work Socks $8.77
- Sawyer Mini Water filter $19.97
- Safety Glasses $5.97
- Suspension Multi- Tool $26.84
- Tealight Candles 50ct $2.33
- Stanley Wonder Bar Tool $8.97
- Gerber Prodigy Fixed Blade Knife $49.97
We personally have not done every last thing listed to be prepared, but I have expanded this post to stimulate thinking on what you may need!
Be safe and be blessed!
We can thrash around for answers about what to do, but our God can direct us in a way we never could by ourselves.
“An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.”
~Benjamin Franklin
“In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”
~Jesus speaking in John 16:33
***For the Full Spike Protein Protocol to protect from transmission from the “V” and to help those who took the “V”, go here.
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Joy
Hi Jaque! What a wonderfully compiled list! Also thank you for including meat preservation, I’ve been searching the internet for a long while now trying to find a method for preserving meat that doesn’t involve nitrates.Where did you purchase your salt from?
Jacqueline
Hi, Joy! I actually don’t remember now, but look for the 25 lb bags of Morton’s Iodized Table Salt.
Caveat: I would experiment with a little meat before I’d do a lot. I have not done this yet and only will if I need to!
I hope that helps!! ~Blessings to you, ~J
Joy
Great thank you!! Yes I’m a littler nervous to try preserving meat, but felt prompted by the Lord to at least look into it. Another quick question about food preservation, I’m seeing online that people recommend lining the 5 gallon food buckets with mylar bags along with the oxygen absorbers to really remove all oxygen prior to sealing the food buckets up. Did you do all that? Or just put your rice and beans in the bucket itself and put the lid on? Thanks so much. Really appreciate you always taking the time to read comments and respond!
Vicki
I could use some advice about water. I live in farm country and my well is high in nitrates. I have a reverse osmosis system installed under my kitchen sink that filters them out. Should I have a hand pump on the well in case the power goes out and my stored water is used up? Would it be OK to drink high nitrate well water? Is there another way to filter it? Berkey does not filter nitrates.
Jacqueline
Hi, Vicki! We love our hand pump by Bison bc it is frost-free and can be used even in the winter. It has been a concern of ours that we have water even without power. That said, I don’t know too much on the effects of drinking high nitrate water over a long period of time. We use TRS to remove all positively charged toxins and metals, and I would assume nitrates fall in that category, but I can’t prove that. http://psep.cce.cornell.edu/facts-slides-self/facts/nit-heef-grw85.aspx
I did just find this is the studies I have on hand (so TRS does remove nitrates and have an affinity to them):
“Besides metal cations and water resident in zeolites’ cavities and pores, other molecules and cationic groups may be accommodated as well, such as, for instance, ammonia, and nitrate ions, all of which are bound to different zeolites at different affinity levels (Gaikwad and Warade, 2014). For example, selectivity alignments of the zeolite clinoptilolite cation exchange have been given as Ba2+ > Cu2+, Zn2+ > Cd2+, Sr2+ > Co2+ by Blanchard et al. (1984), as Pb2+ >Cd2+ >Cs+ >Cu2+ >Co2+ >Cr3+ >Zn2+ >Ni2+ > Hg2+ by Zamzow et al. (1990), or as Co2+ > Cu2+ > Zn2+ > Mn2+ by Erdemetal.(2004).
If you’d like more information on the exact product I’m speaking of email me and I can give you complete studies and my link to the product. Vetted (not a knock-off) product is only sold through distributors. I’m at [email protected] or you can friend me on FB here (https://www.facebook.com/jacque.line.357
You may want to read this: https://deeprootsathome.com/heavy-metals-need-to-go-they-are-food-for-viruses-bacteria-fungi/
Blessings,
~Jacque
Vicki
I believe nitrates (NO3) have a negative charge. I will have to do some more research on that. Thank you for pointing me in the right direction.
Linda
Thank you so much for all your hard work compiling this list.
There’s alot on it I never thought of.
Jacqueline
Linda! Thank you for the encouragement! I felt a lot of responsibility when I compiled it, both for our family and others’ families!
God bless you! ~J
Brooke
Thank you for this list. The fact that you’re suggesting preparedness is such an encouragement. I appreciate your time in this and for ALL of your articles. Your Wisdom is very much needed and received here! Love to you and bless you for speaking up on all the things. Your courage is also a blessing to me.
Jacqueline
Aw Brooke, I appreciate that! Thank you!!
We are preparing now with warp speed! If it ends up we don’t need it, then we will give it to a local food bank. We will always have extra on hand for others, too! I believe we all should have some food stores and other things put away. There are threats from within and without… ultimately we must not trust in (food, necessities, goods of any kind, guns and ammo, etc.) but in the Lord himself alone!
Hebrews 9: 27-28: And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment, so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him.
Keep the Son in your eyes!
Jacqueline
Joy
Manuka honey was on one of your lists, and I can attest to the fact that it works! Our 16 yr old son got MRSA last week and the Manuka honey has greatly helped by applying it directly to the boil – no longer red and enflamed, no more discharge. We are believers!
Nancy Moreland
I am so grateful for you and your postings on FaceBook. With everything we are seeing on TV there is going to be quite a storm headed our way. Thank you so much for your thoughtfulness in sharing with your readers. This listing is quite helpful and mentions things of which I’ve not considered. We are still in the midst of selling our home – trusting God for the perfect person He has selected and is perfecting. (Or maybe it is me He is perfecting in this wait?) We will be moving to the Atlantic coast of central Florida and I’m praying we will have a chance to settle in before all of this. Be strong, and of GOOD courage! Thank you!
Jacqueline
Aw, Nancy, I’m glad the list is helpful! I did it for our family and just thought I’d share it with everyone!
God bless your move and all you put your hands to, friend. ~Jacque
CJ Meissner
I missed the first time around when you posted this. It is even more important now than ever, for us to prepare for what we can. Thank you so much for compiling this list!. On the one hand, I was happy to see that we are well prepared in some areas, but a tad overwhelmed at what still needs to be done. One step at a time. Our days are numbered by the Lord. We are blessed that we can rest in his sovereignty.
Jacqueline
Yes, CJ, I feel so much the same way! We don’t know what the time ahead holds, but we can be prepared, emotionally, physically, and intellectually and especially spiritually holding on the the Lord Jesus!
God bless you, friend!
Jacqueline
Jenny
Love this post as I also have been feeling an urge to prepare for the unexpected, and for being more independent. The issue I’m having may seem silly, but I’ll say it anyway. I’m really trying to get away from supporting Amazon (for many reasons, especially of late). I find quite a few of most bloggers links to recommended products to be through Amazon. It’s a lot of work to find other sources of goods, as well as generally more expensive to buy directly from manufacturers. However, if we find something important we can do it, yes? My question is, Jacqueline, have you had any stirrings inside which compel you to get away from Amazon? If so, might I look forward to a post on how you would do such? Thank you!
Jacqueline
Hi, Jenny!
Wow, I hear you and have had gut wrenching concerns for years. Problem is, I have over 600 posts and in them, many links from before It was even on my radar. It would take me literally years to rework them, and am swamped with my TRS consultations and continued writing for the blog alone. I just got sidelined with debilitating shingles (from a shedding vaccine) for almost 3 weeks so am just now starting to un-dig myself. I am not complaining, but it is the reality of life and soon to be 3 grandbabies happily clamoring for attention.
What I would do is use Duck Duck Go as your search engine, add the product you are looking for and see what comes up. That is what I have to do and what we will all have to do to get out of the grips of the monster.
I apologize that I am no real help, but I am more convinced than ever that the Lord will lead us as we ask Him for wisdom!
God bless you! ~Jacque
Jenny
Thank you for your swift response. I hope I didn’t sound critical with my comments and question. I didn’t mean to sound like I was singling you out. I find the Amazon links on almost all blog sites that I visit. I felt safe asking here because you made a point to say in your post that you prefer to buy direct.
I’m sorry to hear you had shingles! My no-vacc son had them in junior high and was quite miserable. I always wondered if he contracted them from a shedding vaccine, but everyone said “that’s impossible”. So I find it interesting to hear you say that.
I do use duck duck go as I am also trying to avoid any and all things google. I will do as you suggest for product searches. You are a help, especially in acknowledging the struggle we have and affirming the need to find ways around Amazon and Google.
Thank you again and enjoy those grandbabies!
Katie
Just a frugal/preparedness tip for anyone reading this:
We used cloth diapers with our babies. At the time, it made sense to use cloth wipes for them, too. It didn’t take long for me to realize I could use cloth wipes for the whole family and wash those with the diapers. Then I started using homemade cloth pads for my monthly cycle (I really like the ones from Life Giving Linen). https://www.lifegivinglinen.com/pleasant-pads.html
We have been using cloth wipes and pads now in our family for 10-15 years. We keep toilet paper on hand for guests. Not purchasing toilet paper as a staple has saved us so much money.
For those who would like to try the same, research how to wash these types of things properly. We have an HE washer that has a sanitary cycle. Our homemade laundry detergent has borax which sterilizes and is anti-parasitic. I just quickly wash out pads by hand in the bathroom sink with cold water and soap, then toss in the pail with wipes. We wash those things every other day.
If you cannot/do not want to wash such items in your washer, you can still consider making cloth wipes for times when toilet paper is not available. You can cut up old or thrifted shirts, sheets, towels or flannel baby blankets into small pieces for using as disposable wipes.
Katie
Jacqueline
What a great way to prepare, Katie. Even wrapping our minds around these topics is helpful in preparation for who knows what is in the future.
I’d love to know your homemade laundry detergent!
Thanks for the tips!
Jacque
Katie
I use your daughter’s laundry powder recipe here on the blog. =) I’ve tried some homemade liquid detergents, but don’t think they work as well, plus they take up way more space for storage.
One more tip for cloth diapering babies. Elizabeth Elliot shared in her book about her childhood how she helped prepare for the birth of her baby brother. Their family used homemade cloth diapers and one of Elizabeth’s jobs was to help cut up old rags to use as an insert in the cloth diapers. These caught the baby’s solids (#2’s) and were thrown away. This helped keep the diapers more clean for washing.
Have a good weekend!
Katie
Jacqueline
Yay! Rebecca has used that now for a number of years and it is still her favorite!
Glad you find it works well for you, too!
I loved hearing about E.E.’s story preparing for the birth of her baby brother.
Blessings,
Jacque
Katie
Jacque – Just want to tell folks here about Darn Tough Socks made in Vermont. They have a lifetime warranty. If you wear your Darn Tough Socks out you can send them in to get another pair free. We ordered one pair for each family member to try and are waiting for them to arrive. Wish I had gotten them years ago as our kids wear holes in new socks within a few weeks!
Katie
Jacqueline
Katie,
Thank you for sharing about Darn Tough Socks! I love to support small, local, familiy businesses!! ~J