# Commonly overlooked preps



## acidlittle (Jan 24, 2012)

Alright, here is a thread where we can discuss the little things (or big) that people often neglect to prep!

This might sound strange, but if you have a wife/gf you will want to prep condoms or contraceptives. Yes, I said it. If the shit hits the fan, and you get your wife/gf pregnant. You will have a whole lot more to worry about. If you are a doctor or nurse, you have a good shot, but there are a lot of different things that can go wrong, and not to mention all the extra nutrition a woman needs during a common pregnancy.

Spare eyeglass/contacts lenses. Most people don't have 20/20 vision. And if you can't see you will be at a large disadvantage. So keep your old frames and lenses if you get a new prescription set of glasses, and maybe instead of buying a one year supply of contacts, get a two year supply. Yes your vision could change but chances are it won't change that dramatically to where your old prescription wouldn't at least help out.

Toilet paper!!!! I don't even need to explain this.

Pet food for the little ones. Try and make sure you have enough food for your pets! We love and cherish them as much as our friends, so we need to think of them as part of our preps.

Batteries. Batteries are used in a slew of smaller items that will help you survive, walkie talkies, flashlights, WATCHES people often forget to get extra watch batteries. Time is important to keep!

Hydrogen Peroxide has a ton of uses, so keep enough of it.
General medical supplies, tylenol (knock off is cheaper and just as effective) benadryl if you have allergies, pepto and the like.

Entertainment! A few decks of cards, maybe some board games. You will need to do things that are fun to keep the moral up! Also, it wouldn't be a bad idea if you find some old textbooks at second hand stores to pick them up, keeping the brain active and learning will also keep you sane. 

If you are stocking soaps and shampoo and deoderants, try and get the non-scented stuff, scent can travel and give away your positions if you are trying to evade confrontations or general hunting.

If you have infants, cloth diapers. You can wash them and reuse them, but if you are using disposable diapers, once you're out you will be improvising...

Spare parts for machinery, extra hoses, fuses stuff of that nature. Spare parts for firearms too would be good.

That's all I have for now, hopefully everybody will chime in with other easily over looked prep items!


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## TheoDore (Jan 3, 2012)

I agree with the TP, you can't get enough. 

Here are some others:

Writing tablets and pencils
Books
Hand air pump
extra spare tubes for bicycles
extra razors and shaving cream
toothpicks


hey good thread, this is really making me think!


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## survival (Sep 26, 2011)

Tobacco
Salt 
Baking powder
Wood perservative
Wicks for homemade candles
Extra lightbulbs
Fuses
Needles and thread

I guess another thread should be started "Lets play a game... what goes bad over time".


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## gitnready4it (Jan 27, 2012)

A couple of things that seem to get overlooked,

1. A library of survival and how to books.(in case of a grid down situation, ie no internet or cd rom).

2. Make sure your family has a plan for different scenarios. What if we are hit with a solar flare that shuts everything down. Vehicles,cell phones,etc. etc. Would your spouse or kids know what to do. Planning locations to meet,routes to take,who do I trust. Make sure they know the answer to these things or all your preparations might be for nothing!


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## survival (Sep 26, 2011)

I think you nailed that one Gitnready4it with the cell phones and planning there. Many folks don't have plans for the family if something happens. I'm going to work on this myself this weekend with my family. Thanks for the post and welcome!


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## acidlittle (Jan 24, 2012)

Spices! Add some spices to your prepping, god knows how long you can live off of rice and beans, but having some spices to add flavor or seasonings would be a great moral booster in my opinion.

Yeah solid tangible library of survival, farming, and MEDICAL books would be worth their weight in gold if EMP or Solar Flares occur!


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## acidlittle (Jan 24, 2012)

Just thought of something else, a COMPASS and MAPS. Everybody should take trips and try and navigate maps using compasses only.

You can get on google maps and get an aerial view of your area, print it out, laminate it and put it in your BOBs, cheap easy and very useful, It'll show roads, rivers, ponds, and if the area is populated if there are trees fields or neighbors!
I recommend everybody do this.


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## gitnready4it (Jan 27, 2012)

acidlittle said:


> Just thought of something else, a COMPASS and MAPS. Everybody should take trips and try and navigate maps using compasses only.
> 
> You can get on google maps and get an aerial view of your area, print it out, laminate it and put it in your BOBs, cheap easy and very useful, It'll show roads, rivers, ponds, and if the area is populated if there are trees fields or neighbors!
> I recommend everybody do this.


Excellent post! That is something most people wouldn't think about.


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## Leon (Jan 30, 2012)

building a still. You can make clean water with it or you can make liquor with it, both have many uses. Build an animal hutch, I built one to keep chickens or guinea pigs in. 





Build a refrigerator that runs off water and a dry summer day





Build a solar generator, here's how:





Build a wood stove out of an ammo can, this is how I set it up to heat the studio for a test run (in January!)





Rethink your bugout bag at least twice. This is what I carry plus a few things since then





Oil lamps





Those are some of my biggest ones.


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## gitnready4it (Jan 27, 2012)

Hand sanitizer (germ x) is commonly overlooked and has more than one use. Obviously it is good for hand sanitation but it is also good for starting fires. It is a gel and the #1 ingredient is alcohol. It will burn for quite a while and only burns the vapors.


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## Wine Chick (Dec 30, 2011)

This might sound gross, but.... My family has a terrible time with flies this year for some reason. They are very clean people, just for some reason there are tons of flies. They have those little things that hang on the ceilings to catch them. The first thing I thought when I saw those was to stock up on them and I thought what a great way to catch small insects. This preparing has got me thinking along the lines of stuff like that. I actually like it!


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## KentuckySurvivor (Feb 5, 2012)

An actual plan - Many of the preppers I know have some stuff stocked but no knowledge of how to make it last or how to put their preps into practice.

Water - I would say this is the most under prepped item. It is important to be educated about proper hydration, hygene, and how much water per person it will take to achieve. Not to leave out the fact that most people don't take into account the water they will use to cook with.

Education - Alternative medication, edible plants and animals, common poisons. I would say education is what most preppers lack.


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## acidlittle (Jan 24, 2012)

If you are a wine drinker, save your Wine bottles and corks, you can always use those for Molotov cocktails or other things!


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## The Tourist (Jun 9, 2016)

Wow, you guys sound like you're going for a trip on the RMS Titanic.

I have seven singles for getting gas quickly, I have floor mats for idiots, and I have a stiletto for the brain-dead trade that do not know they're idiots.

My F-150 is not used for the tourist trade or a taxi for out-of-towners. My truck, "Bruce," is a little more than 20 years old, the engine hasn't had so much as one wrench on it, and I can make the black paint shine with just water and wax.

Go down to Metro Ford in Madison if you have the time. Bruce is up on the 'rack' getting loving care. As for you millennials, there are three pedals for trucks that have big-block engines. If you see one of them, do this.

1). The first pedal makes the truck "go." You have to wait for the light to change, as the colored lights are not for amusement, they actually move traffic smoothly.

2). The second pedal is the brake. Since you are probably a clueless teenager, press the pedal when your mom starts to scream.

3) Now, that third pedal might be different in your neighborhood. If I fear a multi-car pile-up I press that third pedal. I can coast, and that expensive V-8 engine I starved for is not connected to anything but my ego. I might crumple a fender, but never that sweet motor.

Oh, and by the way, that chrome bar over my bumper does have a use. If you look closely you'll see different colored swatches amid that chrome. I keep "trophies..."


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## Maine-Marine (Mar 7, 2014)

Extra Chili
Toilet paper
Chili with Jalapenos
Toilet paper
dried prunes
Toilet paper


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## RedSky (Sep 5, 2021)

acidlittle said:


> Alright, here is a thread where we can discuss the little things (or big) that people often neglect to prep!
> 
> This might sound strange, but if you have a wife/gf you will want to prep condoms or contraceptives. Yes, I said it. If the shit hits the fan, and you get your wife/gf pregnant. You will have a whole lot more to worry about. If you are a doctor or nurse, you have a good shot, but there are a lot of different things that can go wrong, and not to mention all the extra nutrition a woman needs during a common pregnancy.
> 
> ...


COVID quarantine: I was sent home and told to stay there for three months. 10 months later my wife and I welcomed our third child after 14 years .... : ) It's all good.


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## Kauboy (May 12, 2014)

This thread is 9 years old...


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## CRCaseyboy (11 mo ago)

I don't know if this was mentioned but, when something catastrophic happens such as a flood, or massive earthquake, the surrounding terrain will change radically. Sometimes becoming so unrecognizable, you might not know exactly where a particular place is later. If you haven't designated a place to meet after the event happens, make that part of your plan. No one knows where we will be when something big happens. One person can be at the grocery store, another at school. And another at work somewhere else. Have a place that won't be easily changed after something big happens as a place where you will meet later. Make it at a specific time and then wait. Keep coming back daily at your designated time. People get separated, and then they put notes up all over the place looking for loved ones and friends. Make it easy on everyone after the event later. Pick a place and a time.


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## Back Pack Hack (Sep 15, 2016)

You need to pick _more _than one rally point. This way, if RP1 is no longer viable, RP2 is the go-to place.


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## Kokoro (11 mo ago)

One thing I haven't really seen is a small "camping" shovel.


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## Kauboy (May 12, 2014)

Kauboy said:


> This thread is 9 years old...


This thread is now 10 years old...


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## Back Pack Hack (Sep 15, 2016)




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