100 Frugal Friendly Items You Should Store For Survival
I’ve been thinking about putting a list together for you of 100 frugal friendly items you should store for survival. You may have a few of these, or some of you may have all of them. Hopefully, some of these items you can pick up at a dollar type store. It’s all about buying smart and with the least amount of money. Sometimes you can pick up some of these up on clearance tables on super sales days at your local grocery stores.
Either way, start gathering some of these items slowly and you can check them off as you go. My biggest fear is having the stores close at the last minute and be out of aspirin. I tend to get really bad headaches and the only thing that cuts the pain is good old aspirin. So you can probably picture, I have three bottles stored at all times. I own it.
I’m not a doomsday prepper, but I am an expert preparedness chick. In other words, I’m prepared for the unexpected. It’s a way of life for me, and I’m sure for many of you. I tip my hat to you for learning the skills as you go along.
By the way, when I pick up extra bottles of anything I always look at the expiration date. I’m not here to talk about the legitimacy of expiration dates. I only buy what I can use during that period of time. If it goes a little over that date I’m fine with it.
We know we need fuel, cooking pans and ways to cook food outside. These are simple items we can pick up throughout the year.
100 Items To Store For Survival
Water
1. Water is number one, my suggestion is four gallons of water per person per day
Food Items
2. Rice How to Cook Rice
3. Pasta (you can stretch any meal with a little extra macaroni)
4. Beans, canned or bags of dry beans
5. Snack Ramen noodles (these are filling, and you can add your own spices)
6. Canned vegetables, be sure and buy the ones your family will eat
7. Canned fruits, and be sure to choose your favorite ones so the family will eat them
8. Pancake mix, yes you can make them from scratch, but it’s nice to have some that you just add water. Don’t forget the syrup, but jam will do.
9. Biscuit Mixes, yes they are processed, but if we have an emergency I can just add water and bake
10. Cold Cereal, be sure and choose the ones you will eat
11. Instant milk
12. Peanut butter and jam (Peanut butter powder, thanks, Arthur)
13. Crackers, if you can’t make bread, you can eat crackers with peanut butter and jam or tuna with mayo on crackers
14. Kool-Aid mixes or Tang (just add water)
15. Salt and Pepper
16. Spaghetti Sauce
17. Chili
18. Canned meats (mayo and Miracle Whip)
19. Canned Soups (if you have instant milk and water, soup can be made in no time)
20. Mac and Cheese (what child doesn’t like this)
21. Flour (if you have the basics you can make bread, biscuits, pancakes, crackers, and tortillas)
22. Yeast (Saf Instant is my favorite)
23. Oil
23. Sugar or honey
24 Cinnamon, chili powder and your favorite spices
25. Oatmeal, who loves cooked oatmeal, raise your hand!
First Aid Supplies
26. Bandages or Band-aids
27. Neosporin
28. Aspirin
29. Fever reducer for children and adults and thermometers, thank you, Lisa
30. Cough syrup
31. Benadryl
32. Cotton balls/Q-Tips
33. Vaseline, you can use this for so many things
34. Bag Balm or Shea Butter
35. Essential Oils
36. Silver, drops or gel
37. Cough Lozenges
38. Vicks VapoRub
39. Epsom Salts Linda’s post on Uses of Epsom Salts
40. Apple Cider Vinegar Linda’s Apple Cider Vinegar Ideas
Survival Items
41. Phone chargers (preferably solar)
42. Flashlights (store batteries or buy solar)
43. Lanterns
44. Paracord, twine or rope
45. Knife(s)
46. Multi-task knife
47. N-95 masks (various sizes)
48. Matches (waterproof or regular)
49. Garbage bags
50. Baggies
51. Duct tape
Homestead-Garden Needs
52. Shovels (large and small)
53. Garden gloves
54. Soil amendments
55. Garden Seeds, be sure and buy only organic non-GMO ones
Paper Products
56. Toilet paper
57. Paper towels
58. Plastic silverware
59. Paper bowls
60. Paper cups
61. Napkins
Personal Hygiene Necessities
62. Tampons
63. Menstrual Pads
64. Shampoo
65. Conditioner
66. Razors/Scissors
67. Shaving cream
68. Toothbrushes
69. Brush/Combs
70. Disposable diapers (babies and adults)
71. Baby wipes
72. Hand sanitizer
73. Made up bags for unexpected roomies Bags with Hygiene Items
74. Bars of soap
75. Wash bucket
76. Clothesline
77. Clothespins
78. Clothespin Holder
79. Laundry Detergent (be sure and keep your laundry done and store at least a years worth of soap)
80. Buckets
81. Chapstick, if it has an SPF number it will protect your lips in the sun, hopefully
82. Rags, I like to keep clean rags in a drawer to use for emergencies of any kind
Cleaning Supplies
83. Clorox, if your sewer backs up, you will need bleach to kill the bacteria
84. 409 Spray
85. Febreze Spray
Miscellaneous
86. Linda’s Book Prepare Your Family For Survival
87. Medical Handbook Medical Handbook
88. Headlamps like they use in mines
89. Chocolate, dark or light works for me
90. Books that are in hard form if we lose power we may not be able to use e-books
91. Cards
92. Children’s books, if we are cooped up in a school or even our house, having some colored pencils and coloring books or tablets would keep the young ones distracted from most disasters
93. Bible
94. Ax
95. Chainsaw, that neighbor down the street with a chainsaw may be your new best friend
96. Emergency Colored Tape, I talked about this in another post, red means needs immediate help, yellow means delay/not immediate, green means they are ok to wait for assistance, black means death.
97. Tents or tarps (thanks, Lisa)
98. Extra Socks/Shoes
99. Coats, hats, gloves in case of inclement weather
100. Blankets/Sleeping Bags
I believe the more we see items we need to store for survival the more we will get started adding the items we need now not next year. Thanks for being prepared for the unexpected. May God bless you for your efforts to be prepared before you need to be.
Copyright Pictures:
First Aid Graph: AdobeStock_7185473 by StockPhotosArt
Linda, another excellent list! I’ve learned to grab my shopping list when I see you’ve posted another of yours. And today, your list helped me to remember to add quite a few items that I’m actually out of, then forget to buy. Yep, go to my ‘stock’ then forget to replace, like duct tape, matches, batteries. One thing on your list (lamp oil) is something I’ve Got to replace soon. My lamps are half full mostly but the oil looks dark? Bet it would smoke up my house! Maybe I will just use all my old oil to help burn my big pile outside. Any idea on how long oil works good once put in a lamp?
Hi Wendy, You are so cute!! I love hearing you get ideas to continue your preps! As far as the lamp oil, I would contact the manufacturer of the oil lamps and or the lamp oil company. You do not want smoke in your house for sure! Keep up the good work! Linda
Lol, my oil lamps are Very Old. Some were my mother’s before I was born (I’m 58). I’ve bought others at estate sales/thrift stores over the yrs. The first one that became mine, my mom gave me to bring to college ‘just in case’. Roomie thought that was funny, til lights went out in our dorm! I have at least 2 per room, and 1 for each bathroom (3). I think I have 20 or more oil lamps. I also bought extra wicks for them at fleet farm. But, that dirty oil has got to go!
Hi Wendy, I guess we can use the old statement of “when in doubt, toss it out! Be safe! Linda
May I suggest a product made by several manufactures, called Powdered Peanut Butter. Brands vary in the amount of oil that’s been removed. I have used 3 different brands and all tastes great. I believe because most of the oil has been removed, its shelf life should be far better than regular peanut from the market.
Hi Arthur, great comment! I totally spaced the powdered peanut butter, thank you for the reminder! I looked up Honeyville Grain and their peanut butter powder can store 5-10 years. It would take up less space!!! Great tip! I’m adding it to the list! Thank you!! Linda
How about tarps….they come in handy for many things. Lighters in case the matches wouldn’t work and they’re easier to carry in a pocket too. I keep three large bags of seedling starter potting soil and containers to grow them in because so many of us do not have that great of soil to start these in and we would want them to have a good start so they can be put into the garden when they’re suppose to be so we can harvest our veggies on time! Also, I keep three new thermometers set aside, one regular and two battery operated. I have bought those cheap, clear plastic ponchos with the hood on them and as cheap as they are I bought several in case someone else would need one to stay dry. They aren’t very durable, but they would come in handy for a short time. Of course you could always use a large plastic bag in a pinch for that too. God bless you in all that you do. You give good solid information and I have always enjoyed your website. Besides, you have a good sense of humor! You give help for those who are trying to be prepared for what may be expected or not. It’s all good and I appreciate all that you do for those who are trying to help their families and communities. Thanks Linda.
Hi Lisa, great comment with awesome ideas! I’m adding some of them to the post right now! Thank you!! Linda
Hi Linda,
Got almost all 100 of your idea’s, missing just a few.
I have to tell you my story from this week. You don’t have to be prepared just for an emergency. A
lady I work with had breast cancer, she is back to work. She still has to wear packing and needs the supplies. The first time she was looking in our first aid kit at work I told her to forget it we had nothing.
I went out to my truck and got what she needed…..ALMOST. I had everything but the medical tape. The
first thought in my head was Linda would be disappointed. I came home and put it on my list. So
Emergency’s come in all forms.
Hi June, oh my gosh you are amazing!! You know I love hearing stories!! I had to giggle when I read your statement, “forget we have nothing in the first aid kit at work” (I paraphrased). I LOVE the fact that you had a first aid kit in YOUR car that had ALMOST all the supplies she needed! You are my hero!! Good job!! I remember being at a church party up in the mountains once and someone got stung by a bee. People ran to my table where I was eating and asked if I had Benydryl. I did not. Trust me NOW I never go anywhere without Benydryl in my car first aid kit and my purse! It only takes one time June, we learn! Great comment! Hugs! Linda
June K: bless your heart for sharing your med kit with your friend. And as a BC survivor, your story is a good reminder that ’emergency situations’ can also happen on a smaller daily basis. Sort of reminds me of my mother’s purse which our family always called our emergency kit, lol. A thought did come to mind remembering my oncology times: unlike other clinics and hospital entryways, oncology offices offer Really Great facemasks for their patients AND family/friends of anyone they may know going thru chemo. These aren’t the little tissue thin masks offered for people with a cold,cough, etc, in order to lessen germs going around. I don’t know their ‘rating’, but they are far better than anything I can buy at a pharmacy or at a lumber company (for dust). My oncology office offers these for free (3 at a time to walk-in folks). Don’t know if other places offer these. I needed to wear one anytime I went into a huge germ-fest, ie, Walmarts, grocery stores…and it used to be hilarious when I’d wear one: mother’s with little ones would steer clear of me, as I think they thought I was contagious! (Even heard one mother whisper to her kids that I must have something bad, and she didn’t want them to catch it.) Lmao, as this thinking kept germ carriers away from me! Pretty funny but as I walk past my oncology office to refill my heart meds, I stop, say hi, grab a couple masks. I now have over 30! Yep, free prepper supplies. I also got something way totally cool from when I did chemo: I got a full kit for ‘hazardous wastes’: a head cover with built-in mask, a plastic body suit, long-sleeved gloves that go under the body suit sleeves, foot wear things that also go on before the body suit, clean-up towels for wastes, a special garbage bag. This kit is in a little box, half the size of a shoebox. What a great prepper thing! Um, haven’t found any website that sells these to general public but I might ask my oncology clinic if there’s a way to buy more? Think this gear would work good for clean-up after a flood? Ok, I may need to clarify why I got this kit provided. I did chemo for 6 mos (scheduled for 7 but refused the last treatment). My 3 types chemo was given by tubes put into my port, for which I had a pump (in a bag around my waist), that administered the chemo 24 hrs/day for 5 days, monthly. 2 types chemo was in a bag that also went around my waist, about the size of a large wine boxed bag, third was just a baby bottle. Sorry this got long but anytime I mention getting this cool prepper supply kit, people scoff. Yea, most people don’t get one but as I lived with liquid chemo bag and bottle, I had to be taught what to do if one got a leak, lol. And, yes, these are kits that are used by oncology nurses in case of a leak in their supplies. Lol, I’d already been a prepper for yrs, so I just thought it was cool I got one for free, courtesy Blue Cross.
OH, Wendy, I loved hearing how you procured some good prepper gear!I’m sorry to hear you had to go through chemo, wow!! Now I want to know what kind of masks those are! I have N-95 but I want to find some N-100 masks. I did get some full face ones because I took some training at our local health department and they said I may want to get some. I ordered them the next day off of Amazon. Thanks for sharing your story!!! Hugs! Linda
Hi Linda,
The items that you mentioned, do you pack them away for a rainy day or keep them in your everyday supplies?
I think I made an oops recently and hope you can tell me if it is okay. I purchased some powdered milk and not thinking put it in the freezer, like I do my beans, pasta and rice. It’s probably been in there about two or three weeks. Have I ruined it? Thanks for all your words of wisdom and encouragement. Marcia
Hi Marcia, I keep all supplies for everyday use with the exception of several #10 cans of freeze-dried food. I will still open a can every once in a while when needed. Your powdered milk should be fine. I store mine in the freezer and the amount I use often in the refrigerator. Thank you for your kind words, it’s people like you who keep me going. I thank you from the bottom of my heart. Linda