Most Overlooked Preparation Items Update

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Thanks to all who contributed to the earlier post of most commonly overlooked preparations items/issues. The list got very long, so I have typed all the answers into one list and will ask that now we add to this list!! The items are not really in great order, but they will spark your thinking, and judging from the responses, this has been a VERY popular list.

Thanks again for those who contributed. Let's see what we can add in round two!!! We'll categorize them better later: for now, just sharing the "raw" data is helpful. Don't let the summer weather fool you into thinking winter won't be here soon, and along with it a worldwide event unprecedented in scope and risk in world history.

Walter Skold Lazarus Foundation

Most-Commonly Overlooked

Septic tank drained? Pet's check up; 3 yr rabies shot; annual boosters, OTC first aid kit epoxy putty (sets like steel, fixes pipes, all kindsa stuff), I recommend some malleable mild steel wire, which we in Australia know as fencing wire. Get it in a few different guages if possible. You can fix an amazing range of things with fencing wire and ingenuity. Wire coat hangers can be used as well but the quality of the wire does not seem as high.

Another idea is the big silvery mylar sheets sometimes known as space or emergency blankets. As well as their survival use to keep warm they make fantastic reflector material for low cost solar ovens.

ACKYPUCKY....my term for those things which come in a tube and always come in handy. Shoe-goo, GE silicone (aka RTV sealant), 5-minute epoxy (and the stronger 1-hour variety), superglue (the heavy-duty, modeler's variety).

Xacto knives and plenty of #10 blades (while your at the hobby store), Kevlar fishing line (300 pound test, worth the extra buck), filament reinforced strapping tape.

Dry wall screws (better than nails and reusable), 10 gauge insulated solid copper wire is better than bailing wire although more costly. WD40, waterproof lithium (white) grease. Hand Guard barrier cream and more WD40, an excellent handcleaner and goop remover.

I was thinking chain links (in case you have to "bug out" and want to "pull" more than one wagon, for instance (to hold together) with a lock.

clothesline & pins. Siphon

Most people and/or families cannot get all the things on these list. That is one reason why planning and working together as families, and as neighbors, if at all possible, is so important

clear poly rolled sheeting (6 mil (?), 20 ft or so each) cheap at Wally World: Use for tenting, window cover, covering wood, collecting water, rain poncho, etcetera.

Thermos for hot liquids and/or cooking grains by pouring boiling water in with grain, capping and leaving overnight.

If you're wearing contacts and you're worried about supply interruptions, make sure that you have spares, along with cleaning solution.

Birthday surprises for children/spouses/friends Fuses for Car House breakers

Newspaper (Can be used for newspaper logs for fire; insulation, making sleeping bags warmer; toilet emergencies,)

Birth Control Hair cutting scissors

Magnifying glass

Patterns for Clothing Cloth for Clothing Cloth Scissors

Photo Album Film Extra Camera Batteries Batteries for Watches Batteries for Alarm Clocks

Extra scrap paper (record-keeping; coloring and games; writing; fire-starting; barter) Bug spray and flypaper Waste disposal Extra copper pipes with elbows and soldering kit just in case pipes freeze and burst. A basket for your bike/s

Sponges/rags Window Insulation Kits Area topographical maps voltage tester

lamp wicks, heater wicks, windup watch, flashlight bulbs, hacksaw blades, car oil/air filters, jars and lids, extra oil and filters for genset.

hand lotion, clothes pins, take scissors and garden tools to be sharpened--or stash sharpener--manual lawnmower, lots of sturdy plastic dropcloths/tarps, screening material for replacements, extra aluminum flashing, roof sealant, extra shingles, personal battery-operated fan, fly-swatters, all kinds of Ben Gay and similar for those aches and pains from unaccustomed exercise.

Tetanus shots Children's immunization's up to date

Velcro Fix-a-flat kits for bikes and cars Spare shoelaces. Spare shoes (one size ahead for children)

Linen handkerchiefs

Carborator cleaner SAFETY GLASSES Razor blades

Bicycle inner tubes, correct size for your bicycle... you DO have a bicycle don't you??? Repair kit for above. Extra set of tires for the bicycle, just in case. If power goes off for WHATEVER reason, for any length of time, you will not be able to get gas from a modern gas station.

zippers, buttons

sandbags, snow shovels etc.

Corn starch Rice milk. "Luxury" food for special treats/birthdays to lift sprits

MEDICAL Things: Moleskin for blisters. Poison oak/ivy treatment (calamine, etc.). Salt tablets for summer heatstroke. Bandannas or equivalent for sweatbands. Lots of 'em. Petroleum jelly for heat sores. cough drops, cough syrup, cold/flu medicine or (my favorite) CHAPSTICKS

Homeeopathic Medicine "Household Kit."

Tincture of Iodine 7% (not the "gentle stuff") for handling festered wounds from whatever cause, abcesses, puncture wounds, wherever you wanted an antiseptic with a slight cauterizing effect - it works! For the last 10-12 months my wife and I (she really is the leader in this) have been practicing the use of home medicine through the use of a Homeeopathic Medicine "Household Kit." This kit contains 35 small jars of various homeopathic medicines, and we are finding them very successful in treating a variety of conditions. We have a 5 year old boy, a 8 month old girl, and my wife and myself. Just in case we do not have access to medical care, we have been practicing, with the help and counsel of a wise older woman familar in the use of these medicines, as well as leaning (now) on a Naturopath Physician. Recommend you look into having one of these Household Kits in your possession. Personally I have found it beneficial for colds, flu, back ache, indigestion, headache, therapy following a tooth extraction, etc. My wife found it extremely beneficial before and after childbirth; children's teething problems, etc.

Household/clothing leather Patches for the jeans. Extra cotton string mops When your hair starts to grow and the perm is gone -- Will you have hair sissors/bobbie pins/barrettes??.....

Tools pipe clamps, monkey wrench, reverse thread bolts

ALTERNATE HEATING clean chimney Weatherproof home

Community (and the areas of your out of town family) who operates a ham radio. Possibly during an emergency they may be able to relay a message for you (check for local Ham operator clubs!)



-- Walter Skold (wskold@lazrus.org), June 08, 1999

Answers

Thanks Walter.

-- Rick (rick7@postmark.net), June 08, 1999.

There is a dental kit available at WalMart the will relpace lost fillings and fix loose caps. I think it is called Temp-Fix. Shoe polish is never mentioned as an inventory item.

-- Carol (123@123.com), June 08, 1999.

Birth Control Hair cutting scissors

Maybe you should use a comma? eeeek!

-- ouch (ouch@ouch.ouch), June 08, 1999.


What, no duct tape or fruitcake?!

Thanks, Walter, for all your work. Linda

-- newbiebutnodummy (Linda@home.com), June 08, 1999.


Duct tape is on the Essentials List. This is a list of things that people have forgotten to put on their essentials list, therefore, there is a fairly good chance that others will have forgotten to put in on their list. Of course the essentials list is way longer than this, and covers food, water, shelter, document, etc. etc. etc, as seen on many lists on the Net. Both the essentials and the most commonly forgotten list are essential. (depending on where you live, how much $ you can spend, what your lifestyle is like, etc)

I used paragraph returns but they were somehow erased when I posted this, hence, the hillarious birth control hair cutting scissors!!!! What the heck, just forget the hair part (for men) and we'd have a permanent final solution to that birth control problem!!!!

ciao for now

-- walter skold (wskold@lazrus.org), June 08, 1999.



Staples for office and heavy-duty staplers; do we have Ace bandages listed?

-- Old Git (anon@spamproblems.com), June 08, 1999.

Insect repellent; lots of hoses for watering extensive future gardens, outfit made out of mesh/bug screening to garden in if you live in Northeast.

-- judy (wednesdayschild@hotmail.com), June 09, 1999.

Bag Balm, wicks for lamps/heaters and glass globes.

-- && (&&@&&.&), June 09, 1999.

Bag Balm, glass globes for lamps

-- && (&&@&&.&), June 09, 1999.

Carbon paper.

-- Libby Alexander (libbyalex@aol.com), June 10, 1999.


I don't think I have seen anyone mention a gas cap lock for your car.

I remember how common it was for people to siphon the gas out of your car when the price shot up twenty years ago. By 1980, everyone had a gas cap lock.

Now it's not so common.

Even if society doesn't break down the way we envision the worst case scenario, it think it is very likely that people will attempt to empty your gas tank if shortages occur.

-- GA Russell (ga.russell@usa.net), June 22, 1999.


Get locking nuts for your wheels, too! God one about the gas cap, GA.

It used to be a fad to have locks on your car's hood [bonnet?] but with the advent of inside hood lock release, they went out of fashion. Not all cars have inside hood release, so you might consider this as well.

And extra light bulbs for the car, always needed anyway, but what the heck!

If your car is immobilized for a time due to lack of fuel, can you prepare it for long term storage. something to consider...

-- J (jart5@bellsouth.net), June 22, 1999.


Solar motion detector flood lights gives a better sense of security .window locks,fertelizer for garden next year,push carpet sweeper,starter dough in place of yeast.

-- maggie (aaa@aaa.com), August 13, 1999.

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