Did you ever think of storing these things?

We are quite fixated on storing food, but did you ever think about all the other supplies you might need if we end up in the worst-case scenario?

What if we are in a huge widespread disaster, where there are no stores open and no power for an extended period of time?  Do you have enough of these in your storage?

• Batteries

Tools

• Hand saw
• Bow saw
• Hand Drill
• Basic portable Tool Box
• Glue and tape

Miscellaneous

• Black trash bags (all sizes) 101 uses.
• Work gloves
• Roll of window screen (101 uses).
• Thermometers
• Cleaning products, disinfectants,
• Aluminum foil. (all sizes).
• Ziploc bags (all sizes).
• Safety Pins
• W/D 40.
• Small cash of "junk" silver coins and some cash.

Vehicle

• Case of oil
• Vehicle Emergency kit
• Gasoline
• Filters
• Anti-freeze
• Transmission fluid
• Brake fluid

Survival Books/ Instruction Manuals

• Recipes printed out, not online
• BSA Fieldbook
• Dutch Oven Cooking
• many more

For Barter

• Salt
• 2,000 paper matches, (50 booklets per box) for trade.
• Extra quart-bottles of Clorox (for water purification).
• Several boxes (2,000 each) of those sugar packets for trade.
• Extra Duct-tape for trade.
• Needles and tread
• Finger-nail clipper
• Tweezers
• More work gloves
• Fly/Bug killer
• Cloth diapers, plastic pants
• feminine hygiene supplies

Gotta Have Toilet Paper

I've always been a fan of food storage, but only in the last couple of years have I realized how many non-food items are super important to my happiness and wellbeing. So I have started trying to calculate how much of each thing I need, and to store a year's supply of it.

Carolyn Nicolaysen in Totally Ready blog said to keep track of how much toilet paper your family uses, and then use that figure to calculate a year's supply. I bought a package of Quilted Northern 12 "double rolls" and waited until we were out of toilet paper inside the house, then opened the package. It took us from Apr. 28 to May 19 to use it up, that is 22 days, that is about half a roll per day.

I am going to make sure I have at least 182 double-rolls of toilet paper (365 days X 1/2 roll per day), because I don't want to go without it.

(Of course, if we were stranded at home 100% of the time instead of going to work and school, we would use more, so I should include that in my calculations.)

I store food inside the house where it is airconditioned and heated. But paper goods don't need airconditioning, so here is how I store toilet paper and Kleenex and paper towels in my attic. Seth built these shelves in between the trusses.