When it comes to prepping, most of us feel confident in our stockpiles of food, water, and gear.
After all, preparing for the unexpected is the cornerstone of readiness.
But even the most experienced preppers can overlook critical details that could make all the difference when a crisis strikes.
From simple tools to overlooked survival strategies, these gaps can leave you vulnerable when you least expect it.
In this article, we’ll uncover the most common things preppers forget, why these items and strategies are essential, and how you can ensure your preparedness plan is rock-solid.
Whether you’re new to prepping or a seasoned pro, this guide will help you avoid the mistakes that could cost you in a real emergency.
Let’s dive in and make sure your plan is as foolproof as it can be!
30 Things Most Preppers Forget
1. Birth Certificates and Important Documents
In the midst of an emergency, it’s easy to prioritize tangible essentials, but overlooking critical documentation can be a costly mistake.
Birth certificates, passports, insurance policies, and financial records might not seem urgent in the chaos of a crisis, but they are your lifeline to rebuilding in the aftermath.
These documents prove your identity, ownership, and entitlements, aiding in the recovery process and securing vital resources.
Ensuring they’re safeguarded within your emergency binder or stored securely in a waterproof container should be a top priority.
Don’t let these papers become the missing link in your emergency preparedness plan; their value is immeasurable.
2. Spare Glasses
In the challenging terrain of a survival situation, clear vision is not a luxury but a necessity.
Your ability to navigate, hunt, and identify hazards can be the difference between safety and peril.
For those dependent on corrective eye wear, spare eyeglasses or contact lenses are an often underestimated, yet vital component of your emergency kit.
3. Hand Sanitizer
When confronted with adversity, maintaining good health becomes an even more crucial objective.
Whether you’re navigating the aftermath of a natural disaster, surviving in a remote wilderness, or enduring a long-term emergency situation, staying healthy is paramount to your overall resilience.
In such circumstances, one often underestimated but indispensable item is hand sanitizer.
While access to clean water may be scarce, hand sanitizer steps in as a practical solution for preventing the spread of diseases.
It acts as a potent barrier against harmful pathogens that can lead to infections or illnesses.
4. Dental Floss
Dental floss, often overlooked in emergency preparedness, is a deceptively versatile item with uses that extend far beyond its oral hygiene role.
In challenging scenarios, its adaptability shines, making it an invaluable inclusion in your survival kit.
Apart from keeping your teeth clean, dental floss can double as a strong, lightweight cord for various tasks, such as emergency repairs on clothing or gear.
In a pinch, it serves as an improvised sewing thread, helping mend torn garments or equipment.
Additionally, its durability makes it suitable for crafting snares, aiding in hunting and foraging for sustenance in the wild.
5. Credit Cards
In an emergency, cash might lose its value, but credit cards can be a useful alternative payment method.
Of course, if the financial system falls apart, even credit cards will be worthless.
However, you never can predict what will happen, so keeping one or two in your bug-out bag is a smart move.
6. Body Heat Sources
Cold weather can pose a significant challenge.
Hand and body warmers, as well as compact blankets, can help retain body heat and prevent hypothermia.
One of the best options here is a mylar blanket.
Not only are the excellent at keeping you warm, but they are small and compact, making them easy to pack.
7. Board Games
Survival is paramount, but don’t overlook mental well-being.
In prolonged confinement or emergencies, maintaining morale and mental health is vital.
Board games offer a valuable distraction, fostering camaraderie and levity, relieving stress, and preserving a sense of normalcy during extended periods of adversity.
8. Pencil Sharpener
A pencil sharpener, often underestimated, becomes a practical asset for upkeep in survival scenarios.
It keeps essential tools like knives and fire-starters in optimal condition, ensuring they remain effective when needed.
9. Zip Ties
Zip ties, often underrated, offer a plethora of practical applications in survival situations.
They prove invaluable for securing impromptu shelters, organizing equipment, and even fashioning rudimentary traps for survival or signaling in times of need.
10. Paper Plates and Paper Towels
In a survival situation, you’ll want to conserve your precious water supply.
Disposable plates and towels can help reduce the need for water for washing dishes.
Of course the downside here is more stuff to carry.
11. Solar Panels and Rechargeable Batteries
While batteries are indispensable, their finite lifespan necessitates sustainable alternatives.
Solar panels paired with rechargeable batteries offer a renewable energy source, ensuring a long-lasting power supply, making them a smart choice for prolonged emergencies.
12. Portable Toilets and Personal Hygiene
Personal hygiene plays a pivotal role in sustaining well-being.
Often underestimated, portable toilets, wet wipes, and feminine hygiene products are critical additions to your emergency kit.
These items contribute to comfort and health, addressing a fundamental yet frequently disregarded aspect of preparedness in crisis situations.
13. Spare Parts
Spare parts, often neglected but immensely valuable, serve as the unsung heroes of emergency preparedness.
Whether for your generator or other vital equipment, they can be a lifeline, ensuring the functionality of critical systems when long-term survival hinges on dependable gear.
14. Hand Crank and Hand Pumps
Hand cranks and hand pumps are often overlooked by preppers, yet they can be lifesavers in a grid-down scenario.
A simple hand crank can keep essential devices like radios and flashlights powered without the need for batteries, while a hand pump can ensure access to water from wells or stored supplies when electricity is unavailable.
These low-tech tools are durable, reliable, and require no fuel or fancy technology—just a bit of elbow grease.
Adding them to your prep kit can provide peace of mind and ensure you’re never caught off guard when the power goes out.
15. Water Purification Tablets
Water storage is a cornerstone of emergency preparedness, but overlooking water purification can be perilous.
While stockpiling clean water is essential, it’s equally crucial to have the means to treat and purify questionable water sources.
Water purification tablets (or even bleach) are a compact, portable, and reliable solution, effectively safeguarding against waterborne pathogens, making them a lifesaving addition to your survival arsenal in times of scarcity.
16. Aluminum Foil
The versatility of aluminum foil makes it a hidden gem in the prepper’s toolkit.
Beyond its culinary role, it’s invaluable for signaling distress, crafting makeshift insulation, or sealing food, making it a multi-purpose asset for various survival scenarios.
17. Fire Starters
Diversify your fire-starting arsenal. Relying solely on matches and lighters may prove inadequate.
Equip yourself with versatile options such as flint and steel, waterproof matches, and fire starters.
Varied tools ensure your ability to ignite fires even in adverse conditions, enhancing your survival readiness.
18. Water Filters and Water Containers
In preparing for emergencies, durable water containers are essential, built to withstand extended use.
Equally vital are water filters, capable of turning the murkiest water into a potable resource, ensuring a renewable and clean water supply, a pivotal component of your survival strategy.
19. Lamp Oil
In power outages, reliable light sources are essential for both safety and morale.
Lamp oil and oil lamps offer a steady and long-lasting source of illumination, ensuring visibility and a comforting atmosphere during the darkest hours of adversity.
20. Water Storage
While stockpiling ample water is a wise move, contemplating how to efficiently transport it over extended distances is equally imperative.
Collapsible water containers and robust jerry cans emerge as pragmatic solutions.
These containers, designed for durability and portability, simplify the arduous task of moving water in an emergency.
Their versatility extends to more than just transport; they can also serve as makeshift showers or hydration sources.
So, while an abundance of water reserves is comforting, ensuring the means to distribute it effectively is a strategic step in safeguarding hydration during challenging times.
21. Food Items
Diversify your food sources beyond canned and freeze-dried options.
In long-term survival scenarios, cultivating your own food is a sustainable strategy.
Gardening, even in challenging conditions, can provide fresh, nutritious sustenance and enhance self-sufficiency, ensuring a reliable supply of food over time.
22. Bug-Out Bag for Family Members
In the rush to prepare, individualized bug-out bags for every family member should not be overlooked.
Tailoring these kits to suit each member’s specific needs and capabilities ensures that everyone is adequately equipped and self-reliant in an emergency, promoting overall family resilience.
Making sure to take water source and food storage into consideration as well as medical supplies!
23. Electronic Devices
Electronic devices are a staple of modern life, but in an emergency, their usefulness hinges on your ability to keep them powered.
While smartphones, tablets, and GPS units can provide vital information and communication, they’re only as reliable as the energy sources backing them up.
Solar chargers, power banks, and hand-crank generators are essential additions to any prepper’s kit to ensure these devices remain operational when the grid goes down.
However, it’s also crucial to balance dependency on electronics with analog alternatives like maps, compasses, and radios for situations where technology fails.
24. Garbage Bags
Don’t underestimate the versatility of garbage bags or any plastic bags for that matter.
Beyond waste disposal, they can serve as impromptu rain ponchos, shielding you from the elements.
In emergencies, they can be fashioned into makeshift shelters, highlighting their multi-functional value in challenging situations.
Plastic sheeting can also be a good thing to add to your survival plan.
25. Water Supply for Pets
Pets are integral members of the family, and their needs in an emergency should not be overlooked.
Pet bug-out bags should include provisions such as water and food, ensuring their well-being during crises, reinforcing the ethos that they’re cherished members of the family deserving of care and protection.
26. Nuclear Fallout Protection
For comprehensive nuclear fallout preparedness, remember to include iodine tablets in your kit.
These tablets help protect the thyroid from radiation exposure.
Additionally, a Geiger counter can monitor radiation levels, providing essential data for safe decision-making in potentially hazardous environments.
27. Shelf Life Considerations
Be mindful of shelf life when stockpiling supplies.
Regularly inspect and rotate items with expiration dates.
Maintaining a well-maintained and up-to-date emergency kit ensures that when the need arises, your provisions remain effective and reliable for the duration of any crisis or emergency.
28. Survival Kits in Multiple Locations
One survival kit in your home is a great start, but relying on a single location can be a critical mistake.
Emergencies are unpredictable, and you may not always have access to your primary kit when disaster strikes.
That’s why having survival kits in multiple locations—such as your car, workplace, and even a trusted friend’s house—is a smart move.
Each kit should be tailored to the specific environment and include essentials like food, water, first aid, and basic tools.
By spreading your resources, you ensure that no matter where you are, you’re prepared to handle the unexpected.
29. Good Health and Health Problems
Maintaining good health is not solely about stockpiling supplies; it also involves taking care of your body.
Regular exercise and a balanced diet contribute to overall well-being, enhancing your physical resilience in challenging times.
Moreover, it’s essential to anticipate and prepare for health issues unique to survival situations.
From first aid supplies to knowledge of herbal remedies, addressing these potential health concerns ensures you’re not only physically fit but also equipped to tackle any medical challenges that may arise in the unpredictable landscape of emergencies.
30. The “Next Best Thing”
In the world of preparedness, adaptability is a key principle.
While it’s ideal to have the best, most advanced gear and supplies, real emergencies can often force you to make do with what’s on hand.
Preppers must cultivate resourcefulness and the ability to improvise.
Whether it’s fashioning tools from found materials, repurposing items in innovative ways, or applying survival skills to unfamiliar situations, the capacity to adapt and make the most of available resources is a valuable trait.
Being prepared means not just having the right tools but also having the knowledge and creativity to utilize them effectively in ever-changing circumstances.
While preparing for the worst, it’s essential to remember these often overlooked items to ensure your emergency preparedness plan is comprehensive and robust.
In the end, it’s the little things that can make a big difference in a survival situation.
Stay safe, stay prepared, and hope for the best while ready for the worst.
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