As someone who just moved and had to reduce her belongings drastically, the question asked hundreds of times a day was, “Am I going to use this?” The second question was “Will I need this?” Many things went down the road because of those two questions. Many things are still being decluttered because of those two questions.

As a prepper and someone who desires to be self-sufficient, those questions create a paradox. Of course, I think that anything could be useful in the right situation. If you are preparing for a catastrophic event or the apocalypse, you could stockpile your house, garage, and sheds with many useful things because you don’t know what you might need. There is a good chance that Dollar General will not be open so you may need anything and everything.

Most people who prepare are not preparing for those circumstances. They are preparing for natural disasters, job loss, economic downturns, and power outages. Those things are generally not apocalyptic. Although they can seem like it at the time. What you need is less than what you think. What you are going to use may be different than what you initially thought would be necessary.

Honestly, it is hard to know what you will need or not need until you go through an event. I have been through a few things, including power outages, life events, divorce, poverty, and flooding. Every one of those things had different challenges, different plans, and required different items.

As preppers, we get bombarded with things that creators and experts tell us we need. I realize I am one of those people too, but I try to be very practical about what I think you will need to weather different events. You will have other preppers who will tell you that you need to spend thousands of dollars on gear and bunkers. You will have preppers tell you that living in the city is horrible and that you need to move now. They will sell you items that they are paid to promote, but never have used.

You become convinced that you need those items to survive the “big one”. You buy them and find out they are not practical or useful. I have purchased food storage buckets that tasted horrible. I have bought many gidgets and gadgets that broke in the first use. I have spent my hard-earned money on battery and solar chargers that never fully charge.

I have been influenced more than I care to admit and I have come to one conclusion. You would save money by buying things from the dollar stores. At least, you know that they might only be single-use items. I decluttered many so-called ‘useful’ survival items because they were junk. Better yet, invest in buying quality items and save yourself the frustration later.

So, how do you know what you need and what you will use in a preparedness situation?

One thing I would encourage you to do is to run through mock scenarios. Whether you do this for a day, weekend, or week, you will get a better idea of what you actually will use. Whenever I have been through a situation or an event that I have had to use my gear, I have taken detailed notes on what I used and what I could have done differently. You will have the opportunity to test your gear and make sure it works for you. You will get a reality check on what you used and what sat on the shelves.

During a blizzard last winter, I spent twenty-one hours without electricity. For me, it was no big deal because I was prepared. I was surprised by how little I used and how conservative I was with my preps. Granted, if this outage had lasted longer, I would have had to use my propane heater or run my generator. I was prepared to use those things, but I hoped not to have to use them. However, I took notes of what I used to remind myself that I would need those things in the future.

As I was packing and decluttering my things to move, I realized I was holding onto things that were not in line with my prepping goals. I was becoming an apocalyptic prepper with the “well, maybe someday” attitude. The truth was that I was not keeping things for “just in case”. There is a difference between the two attitudes.

“Well, maybe someday” items are things taking up valuable real estate in your storage. You think you might need them someday and you want to make sure you always have them. However, more than likely, you will forget you have the item and buy a new one anyway. Case in point: I had a sewing machine I used once and tried to use once more. I had purchased fabric that was rotting in my cabinets as well as other sewing items. I am probably not going to use them and, if I need to, I have family and friends who have sewing machines. I thought I needed to keep them because, well, maybe someday, I will need them. Turns out I haven’t needed them in the ten years I have owned them. The sewing machine and fabric were donated.

“Just in case” items are things you will need to be prepared. You might not need them every day, but if an emergency arises, you will need them. If the power goes out, you will be happy to have lanterns, flashlights, and extra blankets. If you need to evacuate, you will be glad you packed a bugout bag and a 72-hour kit. If you have a job loss, you will be relieved to know that you have extra food, soap, and cleaning supplies to ride out the waiting time.

Only you can decide what is essential to keep and what you will need. Everyone has different circumstances and criteria. Until you have been through some situations, you can only use the information of other survivors. Again, deciding what you are preparing for is an essential first step for determining what is important to have “just in case”.

Thanks for reading,
Erica

Related articles:
Five Tips on How To Declutter and Get Organized While Still Being A Prepper
Scarcity Mindset and Hoarding: Two Trauma Responses That Can Derail Your Prepping
How To Deal With Prepper Overwhelm

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