You can never stock too much _________

rebecca - April 8, 2022

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What are some things you can never have too much of?

11  

Free time

 

Band-Aids. I make sure all the first aid kits are stocked with gauze and tape and things for more serious injuries, but the majority of the time I just need a Band-Aid.

When my daughter was a toddler, she loved the fun character band-aids. Her godmother got her over 400 for Christmas. We finally had plenty of band-aids, even with my daughter using them as body stickers or for toy first aid. Character band-aids are now my go-to toddler gift.

 

You can never have too much fuel. I’d love to have an endless supply of that, be it propane, gasoline, or wood. You can do so many things with a fuel source, and with many of them it is hard to store them in bulk.

 

Chocolate. Obviously.

Followed closely by coffee. 

 

We have a ridiculous amount of coffee, peanut butter, and alcohol — the things we definitely don’t want to run out!

Also: canning jars, medical supplies, beans, rice, oatmeal, animal feed, spices, non-electric tools, flashlights.

 

Water, sealed up for long term storage, water. You can go a week or two with no food if you have to. But 3 days with no water will kill darn near anybody. Keep that water supply “rotated up” and ready to go.

 

Hope

Regards

John

 

Salt and sugar. Oh and tea.

 

Knowledge

Skills

Tools

I’m speaking here of practical knowledge, “righty-tighty, lefty-loosey” type knowledge. Civilization requires specialisation, that’s our strength as a society but our weakness as individuals. Many if not most rich-worlders are civilized to the point they are helpless without it. We have no idea what goes on beyond the ignition key, light switch, hot water tap, deli case.

People talk about building a prepper community. In my experience with trying to meet self identified preppers, I’ve found mostly Rambos and Listers. You know what I mean: Rambos have a gun/knife/BOB/firestarter for every occasion.  Listers have shelves and shelves of every conceivable consumable and it is all color-coded and checkmarked.

Don’t get me wrong, guns & knives are tools and organizing shelves is a skill. By themselves they are valuable but limited. The thing a prepper without general knowledge, skills, tools can never have enough of is a prepper buddy who may not even classify themselves as such. They they may be an older, frugal “housewife” or “jack of all trades” or “shade tree mechanic”. They are likely not successful in the modern definition because in modern times one must specialize to succeed.

This is my definition of a proper prepper:

“A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects.”

― Robert A. Heinlein

 

Allergy medication – tablets, nose spray, eye drops, Benadryl, and epipen for me and my kids. 

 

Ammo, Heritage Seeds, Fuel, Water, Tea, Land, Space between me and neighbours,  real time intelligence reports, friends, escape routes, knowledge, good luck, self suffiency.