Posted on 11/03/2011 9:06:40 PM PDT by Kartographer
If you’re fully stocked and prepared to survive anything, you may want to take that next step and start stockpiling popular bartering items.
The exact items you choose to start stockpiling will depend on the situation your planning for, but in general the following items will all probably be in high demand after a total collapse:
Water Purification Most people don’t realize how hard finding clean drinkable water will become in a post-collapse situation. When the water treatment plants stop running, people are going to be scrambling to find a way to purify their drinking water. Iodine tablets, bleach, water filters, canteens and even cooking pots will all be needed and in very high demand.
Ammo
1 out of every 3 Americans own a gun, but how many of these gun owners actually stockpile an adequate amount of ammunition?
In a SHTF situation Ammo is going to be a highly sought after item and will quickly become a very popular barter item. I recommend stocking up on calibers that you actually use followed by the most common calibers (.22, .223, 9mm, .45, 30-06, 12ga, & .308)
Guns & Accessories
If the SHTF those 2 out 3 Americans who don’t own guns are going to be wishing they did. From people looking for parts to repair broken guns to those who are currently anti-gun, I can almost guarantee that guns will become one of the most wanted items after a collapse. Even pellet guns might be a good items to stock up on. They’re cheap, easy to find and would be easier to part with.
Alcohol
Let’s not beat around the bush here, in an apocalyptic SHTF scenario there’s going to be a huge number of people who will want to drink their sorrows away. Hard liquor is going to be the best option because of it’s shelf life.
Medications
Almost half of all Americans are currently taking at least one prescription medication. In a post-apocalyptic world prescription medications will be another highly sought after item. From people who need to treat life threatening illnesses with antibiotics to those that will just want to forget everything that’s happening, medications will be worth their weight in gold.
Food
Check out our list of some of the most important foods to stockpile. These will all be in high demand and are all a good idea to start stocking up on.
underground.
Yep. And keep it quiet.
“you could launch the Survivor State Project or whatever you want to call it.”
I thought we just called it “Idaho,” LOL.
I guess I am still in trouble because I live outside New Orleans and you can’t dig very deep without hitting water. Maybe someone here is from NOLA and can correct or inform me.
When I was a kid, for a brief time I lived with my Grandmother (just shy of 80, now), and there were a lot of us living with her at the time (somewhere near 12-15 total in the house), and I remember that intead of taking baths, we would “warsh up,” with a washcloth. The baths were only once or twice a week. I learned where needs to be washed, and where doesn’t. With that in mind in my prepping materials, I have made sure to get some Germ-x wipes from Sam’s. They’re just a little thinner than a washcloth, but like a wet-nap, just high quality. A box of 100 runs for about $10, and they are individually wrapped. I don’t normally sanitize my hands, etc. because I don’t want to breed stronger bacteria, but I keep some on me just in case. I’m also going to invest in some baby wipes. If, and more likely, when, there is a breakdown of society, both food AND fuel will become difficult to come by. I expect that baths will be scarce, but I remember seeing that in “Book of Eli,” and it immediately made me think, “Have a way to bathe with as little to no water as possible!”
(There is a river a few hundred yards away, and a well on the property, and a tin roofed barn that could be used to gather rain, but I’d still rather be safe than sorry!)
Might I suggest, if you can get to one, a Sam’s club or Costco, also. I remember pricing Diarrhea medicine (Lopteramide, or however it’s spelled), over the years, and Sam’s club by far is the cheapest. The beast deal I could find elsewhere was like 100 ct for somewhere around $8 at Walmart, but they’re like 350ct for $5 at Sam’s, ditto with pain relievers, etc. Which reminds me, if you don’t have some, think about getting Ambesol (or any Lidocaine, etc.) for not just tooth aches, but for a local wound, that may need sutures. If you can’t have a real strong pain killer, that may be the next best thing, and I’ve used it to help in treating major cuts, etc.
Agreed, I have thought a lot about Salt. Pepper was once valuable too. Pepper could make nearly spoiled meat taste palatable. The main historical reasons that spices were so much was for the cost of transportation (everything by camel, mule, horse, or by walking). Still if it comes to that, while I don’t think we’ll see a huge increase in prices like millenia ago, I suspect it will be quite costly.
Just a P.S. if you’re ever stuck in the wild, surviving, my understanding is that eyeballs (from deer, etc.) are a good choice to get salt, or so I saw on a military survival training video.
lol.
Idaho or Wyoming or northern Alaska.... whare ever you want it.
Just a note, Salt literally cannot go bad. Salt can only be diluted or polluted. Nothing can live in salt, so the cheapest salt is usually found in baking sales (coming this month!), I picked up a 39 LB box (24-26oz cylinder boxes) for about $8 either early this year or late last year. As long as it doesnt get wet it will be fine. You can put it into a bucket, too.
“I’d recommend splitting the salt into smaller containers and then resealing them. This would give it a much longer shelf life.”
This would probably help you keep it manageable and keep it from getting wet, or all of it getting contaminated, etc. But just remember, it can’t spoil, so keep it clean and dry and you’re golden.
I’d add Montana too. I just said Iadho, because I live near the border (minutes), and they can be pretty rugged. Also, James Rawles (who wrote “Patriots,” “How to Survive Anything,” etc.), wrote “Patriots” setting in Idaho, and suggest moving to Idaho, and they also passed a law making you able to pay property taxes in Precious Metals, so I’d say they’re pretty prepper friendly. But you are absolutely right, there are lots of places that a person could do well. I hate living in Zone 4 with 6-month winters, but I choose to because I do like the fact that the unprepared will head South, and not north!
Do you think homemade fuels would work on used Chinese army vehicles??
You can buy them here: http://www.alibaba.com/trade/search?SearchText=army+truck&CatId=0&IndexArea=product_en&fsb=y&sq=y&tracelog=detail__direct_0914
I’d add Montana, too. I just said Idaho, because I live near the border (minutes), and they can be pretty rugged. Also, James Rawles (who wrote “Patriots,” “How to Survive Anything,” etc.), wrote “Patriots” setting in Idaho, and suggest moving to Idaho, and they also passed a law making you able to pay property taxes in Precious Metals, so I’d say they’re pretty prepper friendly. But you are absolutely right, there are lots of places that a person could do well. I hate living in Zone 4 with 6-month winters, but I choose to because I do like the fact that the unprepared will head South, and not north!
If everyone in Idaho prepared even a little, and were willing to band together to defend it when SHTF then that would be perfect.
Don’t forget the “Pot-in-pot” technology used for thousands of years. Basically it is two terra cotta pots, one smaller that the other. You take the big pot, put in the small pot, and fall the space between the two with sand. Then you wet the sand, soak a towel and drape it over the pot (it may need re-wetting at some point). You can get the temperature to dip down into the 40’s in the right conditions. It’s also called a “Zeer.” Although it’s noteworthy, that you get more of a cooling effect the hotter and dryer a climate is, but also, that there is a maximum cooling effect that can be reached by evaporation. (Like evaporative coolers/swamp coolers, can only cool air about 30-40º before becoming ineffective.)
Here’s a wiki page for it:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pot-in-pot_refrigerator
And a video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LfKgOpJc7Ps&feature=related
True. Idaho has a large percentage of Latter-day Saints, too, (I just looked it up, 23%) who believe in storing a years worth of food, fuel and clothing. MAybe there’s a reason so many wall street bankers, etc. are building their bug out properties there. I bet the local population would prefer the yuppies never get there, lol.
Grab a bag of brown rice and a bag of white rice. Which has longer shelf life?l Same goes for sugar and flour (self-rising vs. normal)....
Mead:
1 part honey
3-4 parts water
1 tsp suitable yeast
glass jug, airlock (balloon will do)
Bring water to near boil, take off heat. Stir in & dissolve honey.
(If wild raw from-the-tree honey, continue low boil and skim off froth/extras.)
Cool.
Add yeast.
Dump into glass jar, apply airlock.
Wait 1 week for initial fermentation. For better results, rack (siphon off all but bottom residue) and repeat weekly for a month.
May be consumed then, or bottled and let sit for 6-24 months to mellow.
Cool! (literally;)
THIS.
Any suggestions on makeshift anti-coagulants, as so many are on them?
White last longer, brown has oil that goes rancid.
Storage Guide and Shelf Life list:
http://www.dealstomeals.com/docs/One_Year_Supply_Guide.pdf
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