For a long time, I resisted the urge to write a simple shopping list of “things you can just buy right now to become more prepared”, as I felt there was more to being prepared than just ordering a kit online and calling it a day. After some soul searching, and being asked by the Metro to put together a quick “cheat sheet” of items I’d recommend people own to make them more prepared, I realised that I was being silly, and should just put the list together on the website so people who don’t have time to devote their lives to becoming omni-skilled jacks-of-all-trades could just quickly find what they were looking for, no muss, no fuss.
So, here it is. Thanks to Josh Milton at the Metro Newspaper for inspiring it!
In your home, I’d recommend you have:
- At least three day’s worth of food (that doesn’t need to be refrigerated): three days’ worth is a very achievable goal and will be enough to see you through the likeliest disruptions – but I’d recommend using this amount as a base to collect more, and work your way up from three days to a week, three weeks, then a few months. You can achieve this by stocking extras of the shelf-stable food you buy in your normal shopping, but you can also just buy a long-life food supply from a company like ReadyWise who specialise in this exact thing.
- The same for bottled water.
- A fire extinguisher – ABC powder is a good all-rounder.
- A copy of “Just In Case” by Kathy Harrison: this book is an irreplaceable primer on preparing for disruption and disaster, and has a refreshingly domestic approach. If you only buy one reference text for how to prep, make it that one.
- All of your important documents and information (passport, birth certificate, marriage certificate, etc) gathered together in a safe, easily-accessible place, where you can find them in a hurry.
- A waterproof document bag like this one: to put those important documents in should you need to leave the house in poor weather.
- A fire safe, or, if that is too awkward or unaffordable, a fireproof document box: your important documents and backup hard drive should live here, making sure they’re safe from a house fire.
- A hard drive big enough to store backups of your important digital information, sentimental photos and backups of your phone and important files and documents (like your novel draft), and a folder of photos of any items you’ve insured. Home insurance is much easier to claim if you have pictures of the items you’re claiming for!
- A small water filter like the Sawyer Mini – these are smaller than your palm and weigh almost nothing, but they’re able to filter hundreds of thousands of litres of water, so it’s a great idea to have one in a drawer. Water is one of the most vital resources for life, so best to err on the side of caution when it comes to our ability to filter and purify it.
- Battery lanterns or candles – lanterns are safer as they don’t involve fire, but make sure they have enough battery to see you through a power outage.
- A good first aid kit – ideally with manuals for first aid to help you remember what you’re doing in a crisis. Better yet, take a free first aid course in your area!
You may want to keep a few items by your bed, too:
- A torch: in case of a blackout, you’ll want to have lighting conveniently next to your bed.
- Your phone: I don’t need to tell people to keep their phones by their bed – most of us do that anyway. Emergency alerts will be delivered to your phone, and you’ll be able to gather information using it or contact family members, friends, and neighbours, so it’s a very important item for the crucial first few minutes of a disruption.
It is illegal to own an item for the purposes of self-defence in the UK, so while other preppers may advocate keeping a weapon by your bed, I will not do that here.
You may wish to keep your sporting equipment in your bedroom – like your baseball bats, baseball gloves, and baseballs – in case you should need to play any short-notice late-night baseball with a visitor.
You will also want to be ready to leave your home at short notice – Make sure to have a “Go Bag”
You will also be more prepared for disruption and disaster if you have a “go bag” (sometimes called a “bugout bag” by preppers and people who are trying to sound like secret agents) which contains everything you’d need to leave home at a few minutes’ notice and journey for a few days to a safe location.
I’d love to expand on this here, but entire books could be written on the subject – and have been – so I’ll stick to a very broad-strokes overview. The contents of this bag will be very personal to you and your situation, but should broadly include:
- The bag itself: a tough backpack with good weight distribution (think a waist belt and two shoulder straps)
- Appropriate clothing for the worst weather conditions you’re likely to face on your journey
- A good pair of walking shoes (you may be planning to drive or use other transportation to escape a disaster zone but it’s sensible to be prepared in case you need to walk)
- Any medications which you rely on, in their original packaging and with a paper copy of the prescription (to avoid any possible legal mix-ups)
- Space for that document bag and hard drive we mentioned above
- A means of orienting yourself – a compass and map are the classic choices
- Long-life, calorie-dense food, to keep you going on the journey
- A large water bottle – a single-walled, wide-mouthed metal canteen is a common choice because it can be used to boil water over a fire
- A water filter like the Sawyer Mini mentioned above
- Some sort of shelter – usually a small tent, though outdoorsy types may prefer a tarp or bivvy instead
- An emergency space blanket – these can be a lifesaver in the cold
- A means of making fire – normal disposable lighters are extremely reliable and very cheap, so don’t jump straight to flint-and-steel or other survivalist products – remember the humble and noble corner-shop disposable lighter
- A good first aid kit (and the knowledge to use it)
- A solid, dependable camping knife like a Morakniv – be aware that you may not be able to legally carry this item in some situations, and you may wish to avoid it if your bugout plan involves going through a train station or port, or anywhere where possession of a dangerous item like a camping knife may cause you more problems than it solves.
I’ve missed countless things off this list for the sake of brevity, and no doubt hundreds of people are preparing to message me at this very moment, to point out something or other that I didn’t include here – but preparedness is an incredible subject that I’d recommend you read into more deeply and get more involved in than I’m able to communicate over one short shopping list – this really is just the diving board to get you started. Good luck out there!