Five Overlooked Pantry Staples You Should Buy Now

When the SHTF in March, grocery store shelves were stripped bare.  

I walked into the store and got everything I went in to get in the brands that I usually buy.  I guess I don't shop like normal people, though.  We have some dietary restrictions and food choice preferences that change how we purchase food.  Specifically, we are gluten-free, which means when everyone else was looking for flour, I could not have cared less that that shelf was bare.

Unfortunately, for the most part, the items that were most popular are still pretty popular, and my grocery store, at least, still has huge bare spots.  They haven't fully recovered and those shelves haven't been fully stocked in months.

Predictions are that we are headed back into another similar, possibly worse, scenario.  The virus seems to be making another come-back.  Countries in Europe are already starting their second round of lockdowns, and with the increasing numbers in several states here in the US, we are, likely, not far behind them.  

In addition, this is an election year.  Over the past 20 years, I have seen election years grow more and more divisive between the far right and left wings of our political spectrum, but the last few years have seen an even wider chasm between the ultra conservatives and uber liberals.  

Compound that with the fact that the first lockdown caused a very real financial strain on individuals and the economy at large.  The restaurant industry is still trying to imagine ways to stay in business.  The farmers that supplied them food have had to become more creative and figure out ways to reconfigure their distribution to get direct-to-consumer sales.  In Maine, our economy is based on tourism, but we were still in lockdown for half the tourist season.  Most of the businesses that cater to tourists are struggling to stay afloat - if they haven't already buckled.  Federal and state grants and low-interest loans were helpful, but how much longer can we just count on tax dollars propping everything up?

So between the very palpable political tensions which are being exacerbated by the pandemic (we're becoming the star-belly Sneetches - only with masks or flags or hats) and the economic collapse that we are in the midst of, thanks in a large part to our response to the pandemic, things are getting really ugly out there.

At this point (and not to diminish the fight in Harlan Co.), but we're all singing Florence Reece's tune, Which Side Are You On?  The whole US has become those southeastern Kentucky coal fields, and it's only a matter of time before we truly pick up arms.  Harlan Co. was nicknamed Bloody Harlan.  It's not a place we should really be hoping to go, but it feels very much like that's where we're heading.

In the Prepper world, we are on high alert.

I mean, to be fair, Preppers are always a little more on edge than the average person, because we've accustomed ourselves to not being complacent.  Frankly, for me, it's been a good thing, because prepping = planning for the worst, and so when those "worstcase scenarios" (like a job loss or an extended power outage) kinds of things happen, we don't panic, because we're ready.

Preppers are always in a state of readiness, but this feels a little more tense than even our normal tenseness.  

Looking back on what happened in March and the very real possibility that next week things will be similar or worse, I've put together a list of things that most people won't consider adding to their preps, but that could make a world of difference.

1.  Cornmeal/grits/popcorn.

I am a history buff of sorts.  I am very interested in studying difficult times and how the folks living during those years handled things.  I really enjoy historical fiction and reenactments, because I like seeing how people lived before they had the modern amenities that we have today.  I get lots of ideas.

In the 1800s Ireland was under British rule, but they weren't really protected by the British government.  So, basically, there were millions of Irish people living on their ancestral land, but with no right to use that land to feed their families or to earn a living.  I mean, sure they were tenant farmers-ish, but almost none of the food that was grown (and there was quite a lot of it, actually) was theirs.  

What they could grow was potatoes, but as it happens, during that time period some crazy fungus drifted across the Atlantic and infected the entire potato crop, rendering it inedible.  The result is that millions of Irish people died a horrific death.

In 2019 13.7 million US households (not people) were considered "food insecure."  What that means is that those folks don't really know where their next meal is coming from.  That number has very likely increased - probably doubled - in 2020.  We could find ourselves in a "Potato Famine" kind of scenario where people are starving because they don't have access to food that they can eat or the money to purchase it.  

Here's the thing, though.  During that potato famine, the Irish received aid from the US in the form of "Indian corn."  Indian corn is a meal corn, not a sweet corn.  It's not boiled or grilled on the cob and slathered with butter.  It has to be processed to be digestible, and this usually entails soaking it in a lye solution.  Hundreds of thousands of native Americans survived for centuries on corn.  It is edible and nutritious, but because they lacked the understanding of how to make it so, the Irish suffered from eating the improperly processed grain.

It's a pity.  

Being a southern girl, I very much love corn - in all of its incarnations.  I even love grits.  My favorite breakfast is a bowl with one scrambled egg and grits, both swimming in butter.  I like grits with just salt and butter, but some people prefer it sweetened with a bit of sugar or syrup.  I like grits better than oatmeal, because grits are gooey, like, oatmeal.

Earlier this year, when other cereal grains and flours were flying off the shelves at the grocery store, I still found cornmeal, grits, and popcorn.  Those three items can be a whole days worth of delicious meals and snacks.   

Cornmeal is amazingly versatile.  It can be made into pancakes, bread, (my favorite) hush puppies, polenta, or just served boiled as a mash with salt and butter, or sweetened with some maple syrup.  

I appreciated cornmeal before, but since going gluten-free, having such a versatile alternative to flour is wonderful.  

2.  Roasted or raw nuts, seeds, and peanuts.

My daughter adopted a big parrot named Spike two years ago.  I love the late fall at the grocery store, because that's when they start stocking the in-the-shell bags of mixed nuts.  I stock up on them when I find them, because they're good treats for the bird.

For those who do not have allergies to tree nuts or peanuts, I can't stress enough how valuable these could be.  Properly stored and in the shell, they can last years.  And we all know what a great source of nutrition (especially protein and "good" fat) they are.  

The pandemic saw runs on most fresh meats available at the store, but even worse, as the emergency wore on into the summer (growing season), and people who normally tend those animals got sick, we saw processing plants and factory farms closing down.  I'm not sad that factory farming took a huge hit, but at the same time, those people who depend on grocery store meat that is raised at those farms will find it more difficult to get cheap cuts, like hamburger and chicken legs.  Nuts could be an alternative.

I do recommend stocking up on the nuts rather than the nut butters.  First, there's the whole long storage issue mentioned above.  In the shell, nuts last a lot longer than nut butters.  Second, nut butters can be more expensive than the whole nut and with a blender or food processor, one can make one's own butters.  Third, the whole nuts can be used in lots of ways other than just as a spread.  Here's a list of ten ways to enjoy nuts.  There's a little more versatility with whole nuts.  

3.  Olive Oil.

I buy the largest container of olive oil that I can afford, at least once a month.  We use olive oil for all of our cooking.  It can be used in place of butter on bread and with some vinegar and spices on salads as a dressing.  It can be used to make mayonnaise, it's a great moisturizer for one's skin, and it can be used as a preservative.   

Olive oil is one of the "good fats," and while most Americans probably don't need more fat in their diets, the fact is that if we're looking at food shortages, getting the best nutrition possible out of the fewest food items should definitely be a priority.

4.  Cured meats.

There was this funny meme going around Facebook not long ago.  It was a screenshot of a tweet from a twenty-something woman who said she wanted to make a "Shark Cootchie" board.  

She, of course, meant "charcuterie," and I actually found it even more funny, because the word, chatcuterie doesn't mean, "a platter with meats and cheeses."  It actually refers to the process of curing meat, like guanciale, pepperoni, and salami.  

The practice of making these shared platters has certainly increased the appeal of some of these cured meats, but I think there's still a bit of trepidation about stocking up on them, even in the prepper world, because they feel like snack foods, or something to put on pizza.  The thing is that they can be a whole lot more.  This page gives 17 different ways to use salami.

Curing meats is a time-honored way of preserving meat for long storage that doesn't require refrigeration.  In fact, many cured meats are shelf stable until the packaging is opened, which makes them great back-packing food and a favorite among hikers.  

So, while everyone else is trying to claim that last package of fresh chicken wings or fighting it out in the canned meat aisle, smart preppers are quietly filling their carts with links of salami, pepperoni, and summer sausage. 

5.  Canned pie filling.

When I went to the grocery store on that day before Maine went into lockdown, I was shocked by the bare shelves where canned goods, sauces, and pasta would normally have been.  I don't buy a lot of canned foods, in general.  We're more likely to buy it fresh, and then, I can it myself.  

Sometimes, though, having a few commercially canned foods as a back-up isn't a bad thing.  A couple of years ago, I had this very unexpected craving for cherry pie.  I went to the store, and there in the baking section, I found this whole shelf of pie filling options.  Yes, they are full of sugar, but this particular brand is also marked with the 'non-GMO' symbol, and so, HUZZAH!  I bought a couple of cans of cherry pie filling, which I ate straight from the can, with a spoon, because I can't have pie crust anyway.  

Delicious!

Then, I thought, I would try the peach, which led to picking up a couple of cans of blueberry, and even though I make my own canned applesauce, I decided to try their apple pie filling, too.  

It's definitely not an every day food.  

But when all of the other canned food items were flying off the shelf, I still found pie filling, which is interesting.  

Of course, there are more gems in that pie filling section than just the sugary options.  There are also cans of pumpkin, that can be made into pies, breads, and SOUP!  

So, when everyone else was stripping the aisles of every canned fruit, vegetable, meat, sauce, and soup, I moseyed on over to the baking aisles, walked past the empty flour section, grabbed a couple of packages of cornmeal and added several cans of pie filling to my cart.  

Dinner at my house may not be traditional, but it's filling and tasty.  And when everyone else is fighting for the same stuff, I'm standing in the corner laughing and licking the blueberry pie filling off the spoon.

 

BONUS Suggestion:

A couple of years ago I read the book, Lucifer's Hammer.  The story opens with scientists seeing an asteroid heading toward the Earth.  They won't just say it's going to hit.  Instead they hem and haw about it.  Some people are certain it will, and they begin prepping.  Some hold off for several days, and then, by the time they are ready to believe that IT is actually going to happen, what they find at the grocery store looks a lot worse than March 12, 2020 here in Maine.  To say pickings were slim is an understatement, as this character discovers.

I was impressed with what he chose.  He picked up some expensive cuts of beef, like roasts, and salt and pepper.  He took it home and made jerky.  Wowsa!  What an idea!

But it got me thinking - not about making jerky, but about seasonings, and since then, I have always been very careful to have a fully stocked seasonings cabinet.  I always have salt and pepper (I prefer very coarse ground pepper, and usually buy peppercorns, which I grind myself).  We also use a lot of garlic and onion.  Cumin, chili powder, cayenne, and paprika are favorites.  Cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves are always in my spice cabinet.  And I have a lot of both dried and fresh herbs from my garden.  I never buy spice mixes (like taco seasoning).  I just always make sure I have the ingredients on hand to make my own.  

Food is necessary, but it should also be something that we enjoy.  

When the SHTF, I didn't have any trouble finding spices and seasonings, which was great - for me!  But if I am giving advice to preppers, I say, stop in the spice aisle.  Learning to use whole seasonings will add a layer of something wonderful to your diet.  You'll thank me.  

I was very lucky that I've been doing this a while now, and so we never needed to stock up.  I just needed to keep my pantry stocks level throughout the whole mess.  I still haven't stocked up, per se, but I might add a couple of cans of pie filling to my cart every other shopping trip, and I might have a few vacuum sealed jars of popcorn in the pantry.

Braided Rug

 I made these a while back.  

Honestly, it couldn't have been easier.  The hardest part was cutting the tee-shirts into strips, and once I enlisted the help of Deus Ex Machina for cutting, the rest was easy.  

We have two, round, tee-shirt rugs in the bathroom.  They are washable and so far have been incredibly durable.  

I love DIY :).

Things I Learned about Prepping from Working in a Theater

I have been working as a manager at a local community theater for almost three years, and before that, my family and I volunteered at that same theater for over half a decade.  The Theater was and is as much a part of our lives as our homestead.

One day, I realized that the two activities were actually a lot more similar than one might think.  In fact, working at the Theater has, in a lot of ways, made me a better prepper.  

Here's how:

1. It is not hoarding if you're going to use it someday.
   
   There's a joke in Theater that The Phantom of the Opera couldn't possibly be real, because any director/theater manager worth his salt would find that hidden cavern and use it for prop storage.
   
   At the Theater where I work, we have a huge prop room with floor to ceiling shelves, and it's so packed with everything from fake flowers and baskets to old books and teapots that there's just a three-foot wide path from one door to the other.  That's just what's at the Theater.  We also have a separate storage space for additional props and set pieces.   Our costume storage is three times the size of our prop storage, and we try to keep everything from custom-made vests worn by the monkeys in The Wizard of Oz production we did to the donated mink "scarves" complete with faces.
   
   In Theater, we never know what we will use, because we don't have a crystal ball telling us what shows we might do in five years, or even next fall, which is why we keep everything we can find a place for, and why we are shy about turning down donations.  Sometimes what someone else might discard can be incredibly useful for us.   
   
   The same is true of prepping. We never know what we might need, which is why we preppers often get mislabeled hoarders, but here's the thing.  I have (probably too many) boxes of old clothes.  I save t-shirts and jeans that are too stained or ripped, or sometimes if they were from a personal, very specific event (like a t-shirt from a dance show my daughters performed in).  I also keep things, like, elastic from panties and boxer shorts.   Every now and then, I will go through my stash and clean things out, but I almost always regret it.
   
   Recently, two things happened.  We ended up in a pandemic that resulted in a statewide mandate to wear a mask in public places.  I work very hard to avoid disposable products in my home.  For instance, we don't use paper towels or napkins.  Instead we have a bunch of cloth napkins, for when we use them, and I have old towels and t-shirts cut into rags to replace paper towels.  So, using a disposable face mask was also not happening.  Not to mention that at the beginning of the Pandemic, we couldn't even buy disposable masks.
   
   We also couldn't buy elastic, which means if I hadn't been a hoarder of strange things, like old underwear, I wouldn't have been able to make masks.  Deus Ex Machina wears his masks with the elastic that says, "Victoria's Secret", and he gets a few chuckles and sideways glances from his co-workers.
   
   The second thing was that in the middle of the lockdown period, my daughter had a birthday, and I decided to make her a quilt for her birthday using old shirts from her dance days.  I had enough shirts that I was able to make a large couch throw.  I even had enough material hoarded … er, stored … to give the quilt a back and some batting in between the two layers.
   
   Sometimes, trying to find something in my house can be frustrating, because I have so much stuff, but those times when I need what I've saved, I am incredibly thankful.

2. Skills can really make the difference.
   
   In Theater we often have to customize things.  For example, we did a show and was having trouble finding a costume that was the right size for the actress.  We needed a costume for her that was from the late 1800s, and we were doing a "Steampunk" inspired version of the show set during that time period.   Having someone on staff who could actually sew was invaluable.  Our costumer/seamstress made a custom dress for this actress in less than a day.
   
   For that same show, we also needed aprons – not just any apron, but a very specific design, because it theater, it is all about making things LOOK a certain way.  So, it's not enough to just put an apron on the actress.  It has to fit the overall theme and style of the story.
   
   But it also has to fit.  So, we made three aprons, all custom fit to the actresses who wore them.  A custom dress from the Victorian Era can run over $300 and the aprons that we made would have been over $30 each, if we had purchased them, and then, they might not have fit properly.
   
   Sets are also custom made for the shows.  Finding a piano that is ornate enough to sit in Mr. Laurence's parlor in Little Women, but that can also be moved off and on the stage by just one or two people would be impossible.  Having someone custom make a piano (not one that actually works, but that's another topic) is what we do here.  Fake furniture can't look fake, and having a talented set designer who is also a finish carpenter is incredibly valuable.
   
   But it's not just the stuff that happens before the curtain goes up.  There are often little mishaps during the run of the show that need attention – like a zipper breaking during a costume change or a button popping off.  Those things do happen, and having someone back stage who can fix them on the fly is incredibly useful.  Maybe it doesn't save the show, but it certainly makes it less worrisome for the people on the stage to know that their zipper is fixed.
   
   Skill building – especially those basic skills that allow us to customize – is essential in prepping.  Above I mention making masks.  Because I can sew, I can repair and make clothes.  I can make quilts.  I can make feminine hygiene products and diapers that are as good as (comfort-wise and absorbency-wise) as the high-tech disposables.
   
   The hallmark of a successful prepper is someone who can be self-sufficient.  Having carpentry skills, sewing skills, cooking skills, and other DIY skills means not having to pay someone to do little projects, and that, alone, is incredibly valuable. 

3.  Most people won't look too close, if what they see at a glance looks real enough

There's this common understanding in Theater that if a thing looks good from ten feet away, then it will be fine.  For instance, stage make-up close up can be startling, but from the audience, it can actually make the actor look better.  It's all about the façade.

I started to call this item something about camouflage, because that's what it's about.  It's about showing one thing, when that thing is actually something else.  In Theater, we have real working doors on our sets that go nowhere.  Well, they go behind the set, and the room into which the character disappears is implied.  A lot of stuff is implied in Theater, but that's okay, because the audience is willing to fill in the blanks and make whatever isn't there, appear.

In prepping, sometimes we have things that look like one thing, but are actually something else.  Hollowed out books for storing valuables.  Pretty flowers that are actually food.  Bean bags filled with dried beans that are actually edible.  Storing supplies right where they can be seen, but in such a way that it's over looked, is a fantastic prepper technique.

4. What's happening behind the scenes is as important as what's being shown.

In Theater the folks on the stage are only a piece of the show. There are about a million things happening in the background that the audience never sees.  When Roger Debris runs off stage after accepting the fact that he's going to have to perform the lead in the play-within-a-play in the musical The Producers, the actor (not the character) has less than 5 minutes to become the next character.  As an audience member, what you will never see is that person who is standing in the wings, holding a wig, a mustache, and a bottle of water, and while the actor is chugging the cold water, that person is tucking pants in boots and fixing wigs.  That person is a "dresser", and for really fast changes, they are an essential piece of the success of the show.  There often isn't enough time for a full costume change without someone to help zip zippers and remember hats, gloves, and scarves, but when the music starts, the actor, fully changed, needs to be on the stage to sing those opening notes.  It's all about timing and stealth.  We can't let the audience know that we're back there holding the wig.  The actor just needs to magically appear on the stage with the wig on.  It's magic. 

There's a kind of magic in prepping, too.  It's not the "show the world this" and "hide this from the world" kind of magic that happens in Theater, but it is the kind of magic that happens when everyone is working toward the same goal and we all know that we can depend on each other.  In Theater, the actors need the stage crew to keep things running smoothly.  The crew assists with costume changes and set changes, keeps track of props, makes sure there is water or other needs met, and keeps the chaos that is backstage in the middle of a play from erupting. 

Every day preps – ordering the seeds, weeding the garden, canning the harvest, darning a sock, tending the flock of chickens, setting up the rain barrels in the spring and emptying them before it gets cold enough for them to freeze.  It's those little things, those unsexy tasks that someone has to do, and for which there is no spotlight and applause, but it has to be done, and when it is all working in sync, when the backstage crew is doing its job, no one, sometimes not even the actors, know they are there.  And that's the magic.

5. Stay calm.

Live Theater isn't like film.  There are no second takes if mistakes are made or mishaps occur.  What happens on the stage, happens.  Live theater is kind of like life, in that respect.  We can practice our lines until saying them sounds like we're talking to an old friend rather than reciting words someone else wrote.  We can sing the songs until the lyrics become our daily soundtrack.  We can sew beautiful costumes and have sets that are so realistic, we want to move into that living room.   And then, it's opening night, and there are people clapping and laughing (we hope), and something happens.  A shoe breaks.  A zipper gets stuck.  A china cup gets dropped and smashes on the stage. Someone forgets the words to the song or the next line.  Things happen.  The key is to stay calm and just do the next thing.

In the decade that I have been involved in the Theater, I have never seen anything so bad happen on the stage that it ruined the show.  One time, in the middle of the show, the actor's guitar string broke.  He and the other actors on the stage stayed calm.  They ad-libbed while he tried to fix the string, but as soon as he got that one fixed, another one broke.  Finally, he says to the pianist (who was also the music director, and so obviously knew the score), "Hey, man, how would you like to accompany me on this next song?"  It worked!  The audience was none the wiser, and the show went on.    

That is absolutely the best ever advice for Preppers, but also just for life.  Things happen, and even after we've made as many solid and sound plans as we can, things happen, and we just have to take a deep breath and get to the next thing.   Improvise, be flexible, but most of all, stay calm. 

 

 

It's funny how much being a prepper has made my work in the Theater so much easier.  Or maybe working in the Theater has made me a better prepper.  Either way, it was fun to realize that these two, seemingly contradictory activities that dominate my life, are actually complimentary.

 

How has your job complemented your prepper lifestyle?

 

 

The Future We Were Promised?

I have been doing some freelancing for a non-profit.  The job is to make a one to three minute video each week using a prompt, and the goal is to flood the Internet with something other than poison politics.

A couple of weeks ago, the prompt I chose asked me to respond to the question:  Where is the future we were promised?  The question has to do with the Jetson-style future many of us grew up believing we would inherit, and the intent of the prompt seemed to be asking us to lament the fact that we don't have flying cars and robot maids.  Where is that amazing high tech future we were promised?  It implied.

Me, being me, I put a twist on it.  I actually explored the notion that we ARE living in the future we were promised.

I mean, compared to MY youth, the youth today have things pretty high tech.  Little computers in their pockets, for one.  I didn't have all of the knowledge of the world available to me with the swipe of a screen small enough to fit into my hand.  I couldn't connect in real-time with my friend, Donna, when I moved to Kentucky and she still lived in Alabama, or my friend, Gregor, when he moved back to Germany.  I couldn't place an order at 8:00AM on Monday morning, get a confirmation of that order by 8:10AM on Monday morning, and be opening the package and enjoying my stuff by Wednesday.  Back in those days, we were conditioned to expect a four to six week wait for anything we ordered.  

We didn't have voice activated computers that could tell us the weather or play our favorite song, or even help us figure out the artist and title of a song of which we could only remember a snippet of a line. 

We couldn't watch movies on demand.

Our cars didn't talk to us, and if we needed "route guidance", it meant we either stopped and asked directions, or we learned how to read a map.

In my opinion, we are living in a pretty high-tech future, even if we don't have flying cars.

We do have self-driving cars, though - like Johnny Cab from Total Recall.  

And we have talking houses - like in Blade Runner.  

As for the real future we're living versus the one movies and books told us we'd get, in my opinion, we're also living out the warnings we failed to heed.  

We have dying oceans, over population, a huge wealth divide (the rich keep getting richer), and genetically engineered foods, like in Soylent Green.  

We have resource scarcity resulting in "water wars" like in Mad Max.

And, like Stephen King's The Stand, we have our own pandemic that has ushered in TEOTWAWKI (the end of the world as we know it).  I mean, the world as I knew it this time last year did not include shortages of toilet paper, pasta, and tomato sauce; stay-at-home orders; a shuttering of Broadway and most live theater across the world; and government mandated face masks.

I guess the real question is, which future do we think we were promised, and how is that vastly different than what we are living?

As I say in my video, I think we are living the future we were promised, and the more we lean on technology to make our lives better, the more dystopian our future will become.  

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This is an ad-free blog.  I have looked at different ways to monetize this blog, because (obviously) as a writer, I would prefer to get paid for my craft, but I dislike advertising, as I feel it is invasive, and frankly, I gave up my television, because I was tired of feeling like there was something wrong with my life because I lacked A, B, or C product.  I also dislike thinking of my readers as the "product" rather than the "customer" in the way that Facebook users are the product for the paid advertisers.  It changes how we relate to one another.

As such, I have decided against paid links, pop-up ads, and services like Ad Sense.   

That said, if you like what you see, please feel free to donate.  

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Any products mentioned on my blog are things I actually use and find useful.  They are not paid advertisements.  If I'm mentioning it, it's because I want you, my reader, to know about it. 

Prepping at the Party Store

My youngest daughter developed a passion for special effects make-up.  Make-up artistry is not a skillset that I have ever thought to cultivate.  In fact, I barely wear street make-up, I never paint my fingernails, and the first time I ever colored my hair was during the COVID lockdown (and that was because my daughter needed to practice and the only people she had access to who had uncolored hair were me and Deus Ex Machina).

As a homeschooler, I like to encourage my daughters' passions - even if (maybe especially if) they don't align with my own, and what that means is, when she asks if we can go to the Party Store, because she needs a bald cap, I don't say no.  Besides, she has a job and she's spending her own money.  All I'm doing is providing transportation.

Well, that's not entirely true.  When she asked if I could take her there, I immediately thought of the one thing that I know I can always find at the Party Store, and that's really useful - especially during power outages.  

Chem Lights!

From a prepper standpoint, these lights are pretty cool.  The first time I used these during a power outage, I was surprised by how much light they actually put out.  It was plenty of light for brushing my teeth.  

I found the display of chem lights, grabbed a few packages, and continued to wander around the store while she stocked up on her FX make-up.

As I wandered around, I noticed that there were actually quite a few things that are useful for preppers.  I was surprised, and then, I thought, "Of course there are!"  

Because Prepping doesn't have to be about specialized equipment.  It really is about seeing the usefulness in every day items. 

So, I started taking pictures of things that I saw that I knew were incredibly useful "prepper" items.  Here's my list of 9 prepper items I found at the Party Store.

1. Bandanas

Every hiker, survivalist, and prepper knows that bandanas are incredibly useful.  They can be used for all sorts of things, from pressure bandages to water filters.  Today, with the pandemic raging, bandanas are a popular face covering. 

The Party Store has lots of options for bandanas, and what I found particularly aesthetically pleasing was that the bandanas were sorted by color with other fun things that were all the same color.  I'm particularly fond of purple.  

2. Socks.

I love socks.  As a soldier, I learned the value of dry socks, because dry feet are healthy feet.  Later in life, when I moved to New England and quickly figured out that wearing sweaters and socks was cheaper than paying for heating oil, I learned the true value of a good pair of socks.  The best advice for keeping warm in cold weather is to start small - with one's own body.  Layering clothes is the oft given advice in survival circles.  When I'm cold, instead of turning up the heat, I put on socks.  It's amazing what a difference it makes. 

I don't know why I was surprised to find socks at the Party Store.  I'm sure one can find cheaper socks, but if the Party Store is the only option, they have socks, and socks are good.  

3.  Tee Shirts

Right under the socks I found tee-shirts.  Like a bandana, a nice, cotton tee-shirt has dozens of uses - including the fact that it can be worn as, well, a shirt.  In a survival situation, clean, dry clothes can help prevent hypothermia and provide cover from the sun, and *clean* clothes can help prevent body lice.  Body lice are parasites that feed on humans, but they LIVE in clothes.  Changing clothes, frequently, can prevent lice.  Just FYI.  

4.  Hats!

I love hats!  I can't wear hats, because I don't look good in hats, but I still love them, and I dream of someday being a little old lady in a big purple straw hat tending my garden or putting laundry on the line.   I never really appreciated the value of hats, especially for providing shade, until I was in the military.  For keeping the sun off one's head and out of one's eyes, there's not much better than a hat with a wide brim.  

As a prepper, hats are great for sun shade.  They can also be good as a collection basket when foraging.   

5.  Lip balm.

I apologize for the terrible pictures.

Lip  balm is great for its intended purpose - to provide a protective layer on one's lips.  It's good for helping to prevent/sooth lips chapped by the cold or sun.  

6.  Magnifying glasses.

Magnifying glasses can be used as a fire starter.  They can also be used in first aid.  Ever get a stubborn splinter?  That magnifying glass can be very helpful when trying to get it out.  

In addition, for those of us with "old" eyes, a magnifying glass could be very useful if something happens to our glasses.  

6.  A whistle.

For those of you who haven't seen Titanic, spoiler alert!

In the film, Rose is lying on a piece of a door in the frigid north Atlantic waters.  She is suffering from hypothermia and likely to pass out and die at any moment, when she hears rescuers slowly moving through the debris of the shipwreck looking for survivors.  She tries to call out, but she can not speak.  Then, she sees a whistle around the neck of a floating corpse.  That whistle saves her life.  

Survival manuals recommend a whistle in one's gear for that reason.  We can't always count on the ability to call out if we're in danger, but blowing a whistle - we can do that.  

7.  Hand Sanitizer

Hand sanitizer may not be a usual offering at the Party Store, but it was there (along with face masks, which I am not including in this list).   While I don't, under normal circumstances, like using hand sanitizer, in a survival scenario, it can be useful.  Keeping clean without soap and water can be difficult.  Hand sanitizer is also made mostly of alcohol.  It could be used as an accelerant for fire starting. 

8.  Carving tools.

Pumpkin carving tools are likely seasonal, and for survival purposes, there are probably better cutting tool options, but if one only has the Party Store as a resource, this cutting tool could be useful.  

9.  Lights.

For the same reason that I like to stock-up on chem lights, I also look for lights, like these.  They are safer to use than candles, but provide enough light for basic tasks.  In a powered down scenario, I would love to have these lights under my kitchen cabinets or running down my hallway.  

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One of the most useful attributes of preppers is our ability to look at every day items and see their value in extraordinary circumstances.  As I walked around the Party Store, I found a lot of great prepper supplies.  There are definitely other things I missed or didn't include, because they were no brainers (like all of the napkins, plastic spoons, and paper plates).  

What prepper items have you found in unusual places?