1. Water

A normally active person needs to drink at least two quarts of water each day. Hot environments can double that amount. Children, nursing mothers and ill people will need even more. You will also need water for food preparation and hygiene. Store a total of at least one gallon per person, per day. You should store at least a two-week supply of water for each member of your family. (Read the HPA’s page.)

While you might be able to survive a while without food, you won’t survive long without water. It’s important to be able to stock up on water. There are a wide variety of containers ranging in all types of sizes and shapes. One of our favorite products is the WaterBrick. These containers stack on each other and can be easily formed to different shapes or taken off of the pile if you need to move them.

If you don’t have a supply of water, you could always use water purifiers and filters. These clean up existing pond, river, stream and lake water. (Click here for our previous post on water storage.)

2. Other grains and baking goods
A lot of people stock up on wheat but a lot of people forget things like barley, millet, buckwheat, and grits.

Speaking of grains, a lot of people also forget other staples needed to make breads like yeast, baking powder, baking soda, salts and spices. We also offer these products in a cooking bundle.

3. Sanitation & Hygiene Items
There are a wide variety of resources for sanitation items. Many people have seen the portable toilet seat. However, many people overlook soaps, toilet paper, toothpaste, nail clippers, etc.

Illness and unclean conditions are very common in a disaster situation. It’s important to make sure that when you’re preparing your food or working with other people that you are clean.

4. Extension Cords
If you’ve ever moved into a new house or office, the first thing you end up buying is an extension cord. While other electronics might not be as high of a priority during an emergency, keeping a cooler and generator attached will be very important.

Be sure to check what electrical requirements your different items require. You don’t want to overload or have something not work correctly.

5. Personal Items
Don’t forget about things like personal medications, identification papers, diapers, eye contact solution, extra eye glasses, hearing aid batteries, etc.

While you might be able to survive without them, it might make things pretty hard if you can’t see or hear very well.

Along with personal items, Backwoods Home Magazine recommends that you pack a few “psychological foods.”

Quick and easy foods help you through times when you are psychologically or physically unable to prepare your basic storage items. “No cook” foods such as freeze-dried are wonderful since they require little preparation, MREs (Meal Ready to Eat), such as many preparedness outlets carry, canned goods, etc. are also very good. “Psychological foods” are the goodies—Jello, pudding, candy, etc.—you should add to your storage. These may sound frivolous, but through the years I’ve talked with many people who have lived entirely on their storage for extended periods of time. Nearly all of them say these were the most helpful items in their storage to “normalize” their situations and make it more bearable. These are especially important if you have children. (Read the BHM article.)