We here on ThatAquaponicsGuy have detailed a lot of things that you could use for those times when things get hard, money is scarce, and resources get low. There are always the tried and true items that you need for food prep, or heating, or self-defense. But there are many other things that can be in consideration depending on your own individual needs and requirements.
No matter where you live, where you want to go, how you are going to go about it there are things that are unique to you. Here are a couple dozen we brainstormed that are not in the Ordinary category.
Some of the answers we came up with were indeed, great ideas and quite non-traditional. Others, while more commonplace, were preps that are often overlooked and worthy of repeating. With that in mind, today we share some of the very best non-traditional preps that sprung to mind.
The Best Non-Traditional Preps List
1. A iPad or a tablet for viewing prepping info. Couple with that, an external hard drive that you can connect to for storing that info. It would be impossible to store that many paper/hardback in a limited space.
2. Paintball pellets and guns that can be used for vermin or intruder deterrence without using lethal force. Sure is a memorable sting once you are it with one, and if it is plugged with cayenne pepper or bear spray gas the better.
3. Marbles are another good idea! Use them in a wrist-rocket slingshot. They make great ammo, cost little, and are seen as a toy for children, so they are not as likely to be stolen or confiscated. In addition they are of a uniform size and weight.
4. Books on herbal craft. Use them often when OTC drugs become sparse and Big Pharma goes away.
5. Fabric in several types (flannel, cotton, wool etc.) and sizes; plus patterns, scissors, needles, and thread!
6. I have a treadle sewing machine and quilting supplies. Also, yarn to knit/crochet sweaters and mittens and hats and socks.
7. Grandma’s cookbooks. There are a lot of “from scratch” recipes and ways of doing things, right down to how to prepare a rabbit from the hutch to the table.
8. Small library of books on foraging for herbs, wild edibles, and medicinal uses along with about essential oils and their uses.
9. . Paper maps of your regional area. There is no guarantee that the electronic forms of maps we are now used to will be working at all. Also a world map would not hurt either.
10. If you don’t have a cold storage space downstairs under your front porch, use sandbags in a basement room that has no window access and where you can keep the heating vent sealed off. Sandbags filled with damp sand can keep the coolness longer than otherwise and you can set up another storage space to keep food cool.
11. Carving tools, and precise knife cutting set that can work wood, and other plastics and materials. Easier to use than a sharpened kitchen knife.
12. Simple cutting edge materials, like razor blades that can be carried with little or no bulk to them.
13. Versatile things like Dr. Bonners Castile soap. It has multiple uses from cleaning people and other surfaces to laundry and floors. Think Swiss Army Knife type of stuff.
14. Don’t see them too often but burlap sacks that can carry anything from clothes to dirt. Durable and can take a beating for a long time.
15. The things like diapers, wipes, and rash creams that are abundant now but will be non-existent in a hardship point of time. Look at what you have now that is essential for your kids (not a luxury) that will go out of production once push comes to shove.
16. Timepieces that you can wind up and not rely on electronics to work. Something that you can use when all else fails.
17. Non traditional and portable ways of cooking. Solar ovens, or something called a WonderBag. Bunson burners, small camping cooking gear is also a good thing to have on hand before SHTF. Campfire grill, tripod pot holder are also good items to have.
18. Water purifying capabilities, filters, individual straws or even a water distiller where you can also make a little alcohol for barter purposes.
19. Plastic containers from food packaging that can be cleaned and reused for other purposes. Yogurt cups, ketchup bottles, pickle jars etc.
20. Medical devices that are needed in a bug out type of scenario. Canes, walkers, inhalers, insulin pumps, whatever may be the need for those in your family circle.
21. Collection of portable games, card games, Uno, Skip-Bo, and playing cards that can be used to pass the time when you are shut in or needing a break from the rigmarole of it all. This can also include crossword and suduku puzzles.
22. Writing supplies, notebooks, journals or just loose paper with the writing utensil that you like to use and will last for a longer amount of time.
23. Specialized first aid items like tweezers, surgical tape, clean gauze etc. When the E.R. isn’t around you never know what you will need.
24. Get a safe, fireproof, waterproof box that can be taken with you that has your family’s history in it. Birth certificates, pictures, passports. Hardcopy and on flash drives or DVD’s. Family history of the grandparents, and those who came before will be the stories that those who come after you will use as bed time stories.
Overall TakeAway
When we are asked where our ideas and knowledge comes from, we typically respond with “anywhere and everywhere”. Seriously, knowledge and inspiration comes from a variety of sources: first hand experience, books, online forums and of course, and other like-minded individuals.
The bottom line is not that we are smarter or more clever than everyone else. On the other hand, our passion for being prepared (the Boy Scout Motto) and made it an active part of life. There is life on the other side of the upcoming hardships and we want to be there to live it with gusto.
