This blog will either go one of two ways- it’ll be my most popular or least popular. But I feel the information is vital to share, especially for those who may not know where to start when it comes to prepping!

As everyone is well aware, the supply chain in 2021 has been completely disrupted, we had a toilet paper shortage in 2020, there weren’t any cans for canning last summer, and the list goes on and on. I think it’s a true reminder that we need to be as self sufficient and prepared as we can be as to not rely on others to keep our families healthy and fed. This isn’t meant to necessarily scare anyone but you can take what you need from this post and do with it what you want.

Short Term

Over the last year, I have kept a stockpile of food, baby formula, diapers, toilet paper, paper towels, and pet food on hand- enough for 3 months at a time. That way, if supply chains were disrupted, I wouldn’t be forced to be scrambling at the grocery store or fighting over paper items. I shared this list to social media a few weeks ago and it seemed to help a lot of people.

Keep in mind, these are foods we would be eating regardless, so I keep a note in my phone of when things expire and rotate them out during the year for when they are needing to be eaten. Most non-perishables last at least a year. When it comes to fruits and vegetables, you can definitely buy canned or frozen but for us, we simply would rely on our supplements if we couldn’t get access to fresh fruits and vegetables. We also hunt our own meat so we do not have to worry about buying meat, but a deep freezer is a great idea for every family.

My short term list for every family:

• Vegetable oil
• Honey, pure, not whipped
• Sugar
• Pasta
• Sauce
• Rice
• Beans, all types- dried
• Flour
• Milk (powdered, evaporated)
• Canned tuna, in oil lasts longer
• Canned chicken
• Canned fruits and vegetables
• Chicken stock / broth
• Canned soup
• Baking supplies- soda, powder, salt, spices
• Yeast
• Pet food
• Chewing gum, sweets, candy
• Peanut butter
• Popcorn
• Nuts, seeds
• Vinegar
• Tea and coffee
• Baby food / formula
• Protein Powder
• Potassium Iodide
• Greens
• Reds
• Multi Vitamin

Long Term

For more long term prep, think- end of the world, power grid goes off, civil war type event, I recommend reading “One Second After“. It’s extremely well written and the prepping and planning scenarios could be applied to any major event that could take us offline. Again, this isn’t meant to scare anyone. I hope we never have to be worried about these types of scenarios- but if we do, don’t come knocking on our door 🙂

The same list would apply above, however, it would take a large room to stock pile enough food for months on end. Again, we are fortunate to have the meat that we do and we just recently got chickens for this exact situation and to be more self sufficient. Eventually I would love a dairy cow and once I am done being pregnant, I will be starting a large garden as well. Take all of that out of the equation, here’s what I would recommend if you are building out your prep room or area of your home:

• Items (as listed above)
• 25 year prepped food (food that lasts 25 years)
• First aid kit
• Peroxide
• Bandages
• Sleeping bag
• Rechargeable batteries
• Solar charger
• Candles
• Fire starters
• Emergency blankets
• Camping oven
• Heirloom seeds
• Life straw
• Water purifying tablets 
• Weapons / ammo (you choose, I am not here to influence anyone on what weaponry to buy)
• Flashlights 
• Burn Kit
• Gas Masks
• Haz Mat Suits
• Haz Mat Suits (kids)
• Gloves
• Gas Masks (dog)
• Gas Masks (child)
• Boot Covers
• Water Purifier 
• Homeopath Kit (code SARAHBOWMAR for 10% off)

If you are interested in other options such as solar ovens, rain harvesting kits, etc, please view this link. I did not want to overwhelm everyone on here and shared only what we have at the moment!

Books

I know we all like to think (and hope) that we would never lose our cell phones but it is a real possibility. And it 100% would happen if an EMP was launched. For this reason, we have been stocking up on books that would help in a situation such as that. I also know of people making their own booklets with things they find online or Pinterest and printing and laminating them.

• Herbal Remedies and Natural Medicine
• Keeping a Family Cow
• Midwest Foraging
• Midwest Medicinal Plants
• Beginner’s Guide to Beekeeping
• Beekeeping: a Handbook on Honey, Hives, and Helping the Bees
• Edible and Medicinal Wild Plants of the Midwest
• 52 Prepper Projects
• The Complete Mushroom Hunter
• Bush Craft 101
• Trapping, Gathering, and Cooking in the Wild
• Survival Hacks
• Rice and Beans: The Cookbook
• The Disaster Ready Home
• Prepper’s Long Term Survival
• Survival Medicine and First Aid
• The Prepper’s Guide to Surviving The End of the World As We Know It
• 57 Scientifically Proven Survival Foods to Stockpile
• The Complete Homeopathy Handbook