People often forget that while they need to have plenty of food stored, they also need the other essentials in life. What would be those you ask? Items such as batteries, toliet paper, feminine supplies, soap, deodorant, and other essentials make life so much easier and better smelling for all of us! Plus there is a lot of items we do not use every day, but we would certainly need in case of emergency!

How do you plan to address these things? Do you plan on making them yourself or having them on hand? Either way, you need to have the items on hand!

What do you need to have on hand when stocking non-food items? I have a list of things I definitely want to have on hand, but that list could look different for everyone. Here is some questions I ask myself and you may want to ask yourself to start or beef up your non-food stockpiles.

1. What are you prepping for? For example: power grid failures, EMPs, natural disasters, financial collapse, job loss, rising food costs, etc. What items will you need to deal with those situations?

2. What does your family use on a daily basis that they could not live without? I do not mean electronics. I mean personal care items, clothing, etc. Keep track of what they use and start making a list. Have the members of your family makes lists of things they use also to make a better list.

3. What items will you need to have on hand if you have no power as opposed to having power? I have flashlights, batteries, solar chargers, and crank flashlights/radios in case I have no power, but those things would not be a necessity if we had power. I want to be ready for either contingency.

4. What do you need to keep on hand in case you can not go anywhere, need to service your vehicle,  or medical services are not available?

5. What do you need to have on hand to protect your family and yourself?

6. If you garden, have pets, or keep livestock, what do you need to have on hand?

7. If you have a baby, small children, or elderly people to consider, what do you need to have on hand?

After asking yourself those questions, start making a list. I am including a link to a list I keep with me in case I have some extra money or see a great deal to add to my stockpiles.

 Non Food Shopping List

I also look for multipurpose items. I do not like to keep things that only have one purpose, but I know that does need to happen. I also look for items that do not require electricity or can be solar powered.

Also remember, two is one and one is none. I may be able to have too much of an item, but I don’t want to take the chance of running out. Neither should you.

A list I did not include is personal security and protection. That list will look different for everyone and greatly depends on what you want to do and what you already have on. I believe in multiple layers of security, but I have friends that believe in just knives and guns. To each their own.

What items do you like to include on your list? What else would you consider?

Thanks for reading,
Erica

Thanks for joining the Prepared Bloggers as we work our way through 30 Days of Preparedness. September is National Preparedness Month so you will find everything you need to get your preparedness knowledge and skills into shape. Take one post each day, learn as much as you can about the topic and make it a part of your preparedness plan.

Day 1 – Ready, Set, Get Prepared! Welcome to 30 Days of Preparedness from PreparednessMama 
Day 2 – The Family Meeting Place and Escape from Laughingbear Adventures
Day 3 – I’m Safe! How to Communicate with Family in an Emergency from PreparednessMama
Day 4 – Does Your Family Have a Fire Escape Plan? from Home Ready Home
Day 5 – Preparedness For Pets from The Busy B Homemaker
Day 6 – The Escape Exercise from Laughingbear Adventures
Day 7 – It all Falls Apart Without Mental Preparedness from PreparednessMama
Day 8 – It’s a Matter of Emergency Kits from A Matter of Preparedness
Day 9 – Nine Great Emergency Light Sources Other Than Flashlights from Food Storage & Survival
Day 10 – Cooking Without Power from Mama Kautz
Day 11 – The Importance of a Shelter & Staying Warm and Dry from Trayer Wilderness
Day 12 – The Importance of Having The Right Tools In Your Pack from Trayer Wilderness
Day 13 – Practice Living Without Electricity from Food Storage Made Easy
Day 14 – How We Choose The Right Gear – (including the MultiFlame Tool) from Trayer Wilderness
Day 15 – Water Storage & Purification from The Busy B Homemaker
Day 16 – Food and Water for a 72 Hour “Go Bag” from Homestead Dreamer
Day 17 – 8 Foods You Should Be Storing and How from Melissa K Norris
Day 18 – Planning Your Pantry from The Organic Prepper
Day 19 – Stocking Up on Non-Food Items from Living in Rural Iowa
Day 20 – Dutch Oven Cooking: Off-Grid Before Off-Grid Was Cool from The Backyard Pioneer
Day 21 – Pressure Canning the Harvest from Timber Creek Farm
Day 22 – Personal Protection & Awareness from Living in Rural Iowa
Day 23 – KISS First Aid from Herbal Prepper
Day 24 – Mommy, I have to go Potty! from Mom With a Prep
Day 25 – Fire Starting 101: The Why and How of Lighting a Fire for Survival from Food Storage & Survival
Day 26 – How to Filter and Purify Water from Prepared Housewives
Day 27 – How To Make A Shelter from Trayer Wilderness
Day 28 – Put Your Preps to the Test with 24 Hours Unplugged from The Organic Prepper
Day 29 – What Is Char and Why You Should Have It To Start A Fire from Trayer Wilderness
Day 30 – How To Utilize Bushcraft Skills and Forage From The Wild from Trayer Wilderness

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