Food storage is only the beginning of being prepared for an emergency. Besides food, there are other supplies you’ll want to have in your emergency stash. This list of 100+ non-food items to store broken down by category is adapted from my book, Food Storage for Self-Sufficiency and Survival. Get your copy of this in-depth, nuts and bolts guide to storing food for emergencies. And now, on to the 100+ non food items to have in your emergency supplies.
Medical Supplies
- First aid kit
- Bandages
- Over the counter medications including pain relievers, cough and cold medication, anti-diarrheal medication, children’s medications, and ointments
- Hydrogen peroxide
- Rubbing alcohol
- Thermometer
- Extra prescription medications if possible
Sanitation
- Cleaning products
- Vinegar
- Emergency toilet
- Hand sanitizer
- Bleach
Personal Hygiene
- Toothbrushes, toothpaste
- Soap
- Shampoo
- Deodorant
- Feminine hygiene products
- Lotion
- Lip balm
- Sunblock
- Insect repellent
Paper Products
- Paper plates
- Napkins
- Paper towels
- Plastic cutlery
- Zip seal bags
- Aluminum foil
- Tissues
- Toilet paper
Laundry Supplies
- Laundry soap
- Large tub or bucket for washing (or a unit specially designed for hand washing clothes like the Wonderwash)
- Clothesline
- Clothespins
Shelter and Bedding
- Tent
- Plastic sheeting
- Duct tape
- Sleeping bags
- Blankets
- Sheets
- Pillowcases
- Cot
Clothes and Shoes
- Winter clothing: hats, coats, gloves, boots, snow pants
- Sturdy shoes
- Clothes and shoes for children in sizes larger than they currently wear
Sewing
- Lightweight and heavy fabric
- Needles
- Thread
- Scissors
- Buttons
- Safety pins
Communication
- Battery powered radio
- CB radio
- Handheld two-way radios
- Ham radio (if licensed)
Hand Tools
- Hammer
- Saw
- Wrenches
- Screwdrivers
- Pliers
- Crowbar
- Shovel
- Rakes
- Axe
Light and Heat
- Flashlights
- Oil lamps plus lamp oil and extra wicks
- Candles
- Solar lights
- Light sticks
- Hand warmers
- Fire starters: matches, lighter, striker
- Wood-burning stove
- Kerosene heater
- Some method of cooking food without power
Fuel and Power
- Stabilized fuel (store a variety for vehicles, generator, camping stoves, kerosene lamps or heaters, oil lamps)
- Wood
- Propane tanks
- Solar battery charger–even better if it will charge other electronics as well
- Rechargeable batteries
- Generator
Vital Records (Best to have a hard copy and digital copies)
- Birth certificate
- Social Security card
- Passport
- Driver’s license
- Firearm permit
- Marriage certificate
- Family photos
- Insurance policies
- Mortgage/deed
- Vehicle titles
Baby Supplies
- Diapers (cloth or lots of disposables)
- Wipes
- Clothes
- Medication
- Formula
- Bottles
- Baby food grinder
Pet Supplies
- Food
- Leashes
- Kennel
- Vaccination record
- Medications
Security
- Extra door locks
- Fencing
- Alarms
- Self-defense training
- Firearms and ammunition
Education and Entertainment
- Board games
- Playing cards
- Books (fiction and non-fiction)
- School books
- Needlework supplies (knitting, crochet, embroidery)
- Art supplies
- Tools for any specific hobby you have
What would you add? Let me know in the comments!
Keep preparing! Angela
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Great list here Angela! Sharing on facebook and pinning!
Def need more detailed med supplies list. In depth wound care and trauma.
Also cover what would be needed to keep outdoor machinery running. Oils and lubrication etc
Super glue is missing
Elder care supplies. A lot are similar to baby supplies, but mentioning them separately makes sure they’re not forgotten.
Also, where can you get whet stones anymore? I can’t even find anyone who knows what they are. My dad has one he uses, but he’s right handed.
Try lehmans.com . They have a honing kit for 19.95.
Walmart, Bass Pro Shop and other outdoor sporting goods stores have a variety of knife sharpeners, some that could be used on tools as well. Some require a special oil. It can usually be found in the same store area as the whet stones.
whet stones are at any outdoor supply store….cabela’s, gander, bass pro…..even my local “surplus” store has them and some of the canoe outfitting places.
how do I print this without all the ads and comments????????????????
Probably the easiest way is to select the text you want, then copy it to a word processing document and print.
What about the little “print” button so many of the other sites have that saves all the hassle?
I’ll see if I can get one of those put on the site. Thanks for the suggestion!
And a good how to encyclopedia would be nice….home repair manuals……carpentry books……
NON GMO seeds, gardening tools, chainaws, mauls, axe, firewood, charcol, greenhouse, empty flower pots, canning jars, lids, rings, canner, canning supplies, blueball canning book, building supplies, woodworking tools, soaker hoses, water barrels, mechanic tools,
meat grinder, wheat grinder, pri D, pri G, smoker,
I get the other three but what are pri D & pri G?
A dehydrator would be nice as well as a few treat items to pull out when everyone hits the wall. What those treat items should be depends on you and your family. For me and the honey, it’s chocolate but the dogs are big into jerky treats :)
Books on first aid, edible plants and herbs, and other survival related topics.
Don’t forget books for entertainment and not just digital but hard copy, including paperbacks, as well
A large garden cart – If you had to leave on foot for any reason you can pull a lot of supplies behind you in a large garden cart. Ours is on the list to bring if we are ever asked to evacuate. It can be easily loaded into the vehicle and other supplies can be packed inside.
A fuel less generator, black out sheeting for windows etc, some fishing equipment; poles, hooks, sinkers etc. Stock up on paper towels, toilet paper, energy saving light bulbs, extra rope, paracord bracelets, belts etc, homemade faraday cages to keep some electronic devices in. Good defense knives, bow & arrows to go with the ammunition & guns especially for hunting. In a faraday cage you can put a laptop, ipad, cell phone, DVD player, small TV etc. Keep Dvd’s to watch if you are fortunate enough to have a fuel-less generator. Sun Oven for outside cooking.
For those who sew (with that fabric you suggested) They will need straight pins for holding the fabric while they are cutting out a pattern.. Perhaps marking chalk and measuring tape.
Rain gear would be a plus. Poncho’s, a tarp with rope and tent stakes. A couple of towels for washing up,
hand towels for dish drying, a dish scrubber.
Pepper spray, base ball bat and ball
A bicycle for message delivery
A hand-cart for travel from your home to a safe sight in case of real damage to your home and area.
Water (bottled or in larger containers)
Hydrogen peroxide for cleaning cuts, calamine lotion for itches
Bible and other scriptures, journal – pencil, pens
White flag, American flag and flag pole for encampments
Toiletries (large bag with chemicals to decompose solids)
Message bags to tag trees with info or family route (see movie “Man From Snowy River”)
24 to 78 hour kits (plan on 2-3 weeks before local or federal assistance would be available) Food for 2-3 weeks for family
Take the CERT class at the Fire Department ASAP
Bio toilet bags and tablets for solid waste
I pick up a few puzzles each year to add to my stockpile of entertainment materials. Blank journal books, copier paper, pens, pencils and little travel sized games (checkers, connect four, etc because they don’t take up much room in a bug out bag) as well. The Dollar Tree is a great place to get these and not spend an arm and a leg.
What a great site to express one’s total paranoia in the face of potential danger! Y’all would make into a great army ……. for the enemy side of a war. Most of what I see listed by the author and everyone who gave their ideas are things of which are probably already in the inventory of most peoples’ homes. Sheets? Pillow cases? Soap? C’mon, at least put some thought into your cravings. Nobody even mentioned a large flat rock?? Why not, y’all are sounding like that’s where you already reside ……. under. If we come to the final phase of governmental and social breakdown, there will be no need for any Faraday cages in which to store all of your cute little electronic play toys. You won’t be worrying about the sheets and pillow cases being squeaky clean or folded with just the right crease in them. You will be, full blown, into SURVIVAL MODE with every moment of your yet to be experienced lives in no way faintly resembling what you have grown to enjoy or cherish. Take a look around you right now, what do you see?? The awful threats that we face each day, in limited quantity for now, will be everywhere in the waning months after the so called SHTF calamity of which everyone refers but nobody talks frankly about. You can call ME paranoid if you want, but I prefer to see things with a 73 year old experienced eye to what has come to be in the past, what we have done in the name of science and technology to arrive at this present moment, and how all that stuff won’t make a whiff in a windstorm’s difference when the “rules” change for the worse for many of us.
Reality is probably the hardest consequence of our actions to have to face up to but that will be the only choice those of us who survive the final attempt to “change the world” to fit some egocentric’s idea of Walden Pond will have at our disposal. Study the actions and lives of the pioneers for THAT will be how your daily lives will be spent. You will ditch that iPhone 16 or whatever edition of your doodads that may be in vogue at the time for just one ferrocerium rod and a little pile of dry tinder to build a fire when it’s blowing snow all around you and your house is in shambles from normal deterioration of all the drywall and plastic carpeting becoming so rotten and black with mold that it is unfit in which to live. And all the glass, which once held such a beautiful view of the meadow, is not broken out from flying debris from storms or vandalism and you crave just a clean corner of a little shed to huddle in for protection from the cutting cold winter winds. Yeah, reality is a cruel teacher but so is mother nature and you will have to deal with both of those elements of your “now” life because THEY will be in control, not someone in the Oval Office who has the expectations of driving democracy out of the country and starting a “New World Order” of the likes of the Bush dynasty.
Sure, this is all conjecture and I am simply rambling on about nothing much of interest …… now. But, I didn’t see almost 3/4 of a century of seasons and experienced much of what has led us to this cross road to Ignore the possibility that it all COULD be coming. I sincerely hope that I can say without any sorrow that I was sorry to scare all of the readers with my tale of fantasy and that all is well with the world and those who are in its hands. But, if y’all want to set priorities, do it with some common sense and try to cover the bases of what really counts if there is no electricity, no phones, no sewage, no piped in water supply, maybe no water at all, or any of the things that we take so easily for granted nowadays. And then build on what you will need to survive if what we have today is all either gone or has been rendered so much junk because of the need for fossil fuels or major
processing or the need of some lab created chemical to sustain us in any mode we are in after the fact. ANYTHING, ANYTHING AT ALL, that you choose to stock up on will, guaranteed and without any hint of doubt, eventually run out! You can either stock up on all your drugs and canned goods and plastic or paper plates or whatever suits your fancy, but sometime after the fact, you will have to go back to the basics and learn all over again how to live in a world where you have to make your needs from scratch. It was done before without all the planning and stockpiling and worrying about if there is enough of this or the right number of that and you will be whittling knives and spoons out of sycamore branches and tending to your evening meal over an open fire. The possibility is real. The future is changing. We will be making life altering decisions starting NOW because we ALL need to gather together and use the most POWERFUL tool we have at our disposal. WE, as a nation and as a “clan” must get out and cast our VOTE on November 8th, for whomever we choose to lead us from this point onward. We saw the start of the changes that are blowin’ in the wind, to borrow a great song’s title, from the last 8 years and we have a difficult decision to make and NOBODY will make that decision for us. We have to take our one vote and do some soul searching and cast our one vote for whomever we think will point this great country in the right direction. It is OUR fault we have been lax in our supervision of those people with whom we have placed the responsibilities for keeping this country free and prosperous. Now we have to do some house cleaning and get the dead wood out and put in some new faces and let them know from the outset that they are there in their position because WE put them there, and WE need to spell out the whys and wherefores of what they will do for us while in office. Because, if they don’t do our bidding, WE WILL REMOVE THEM AT THE NEXT ELECTION AND PUT IN SOMEONE WHO WILL LISTEN TO THE PEOPLE WHO HAVE PLACED THEIR VOTE IN FAVOR OF THE REPRESENTATION GRANTED TO THEM. I truly still believe that we ARE “One Nation, under God, indivisible with Liberty and Justice for ALL”.
Time for a donut and coffee …….
We had to have earthquake survival kits for our kids to keep at school. One thing they were talking about adding to the list was unpasturized honey. It never goes bad, it is an antibacterial and if you get a cut or scrape you can put it on to prevent infection. Also nutricious.
I would add Q-Tips to the list. I know that is a brand name but I can’t think of what the generic for them is.
Hi! I really enjoyed reading your post!
If I missed it, my apologies, but I would add alcoholic beverages for cleaning wounds and bartering. Also on other sites, I have read cigarettes are popular to barter goods with too, even if you don’t smoke yourself.