by Ani, Survival Blog:

Editor’s Note: Coincidentally, I received two very similar articles from readers in two states, in the same month. But because they have different perspectives, I’ve decided to post both of them. (The other one was posted yesterday.)

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With a lot of attention being paid in the past few weeks to the spread of the novel coronavirus in China and the potential but still unknown ramifications for both the health and economy of other countries. preparedness has been getting some attention. While many of us who have been avidly following the news on this virus are experienced preppers, there are many who are new to it. Some may have already done some prepping but are still lacking in supplies for many reasons(divorce, illness, job loss, relocation, etc). Some may be thinking that perhaps they should try to stock up on some stuff “just in case” they were to experience a “lockdown” as in China due to the pandemic spread of this virus or perhaps economic distress due to the disruption of the global economy. The possibility of experiencing a run on supplies as happens before hurricanes and other natural disasters can’t be underestimated. Although things appear to be pretty calm at present in the US(other than sporadic runs on face masks) one never knows what will happen. It could only take a local outbreak in an area such as NYC to raise the panic level here.

Reading some prepping web sites and articles could make a person give up in despair. So many people are just getting by without much in the way of income beyond meeting their basic needs. Some are on fixed incomes such as Social Security or Disability payments. They look at the web sites advertising freeze-dried #10 cans of meals, emergency generators and all sorts of prepper “gear” and they feel it is hopeless. What I’d like to do here is to point out all of the affordable stuff you can buy locally that will help with your prepping that is available to anyone who can come up with an extra $10 or $20 to spend on products that they will eventually use, whether during a disaster scenario, an extended economic downturn or just day to day living.

Now many of you may be regular shoppers at dollar stores but not everyone is, nor are they aware of how useful what they sell can be to prepping “on the cheap”. I’ve been looking at dollar stores and other discount retail operations with this in mind. I’d like to share some of what I recently found in a local Dollar Tree store as well as a few other discount retail stores. These stores are now pretty ubiquitous in the US. The one thing about Dollar Tree is that pretty much everything in the store is $1. A few things cost less but I’ve never seen anything priced higher. Stores such as Dollar General tend to have a greater number of higher priced items. An advantage of shopping at a Dollar Tree is that you can go in there with a $20 bill and be assured of leaving with 20 items (although if your state charges tax on non-food items that will bring you a little over the $20 mark, depending on what your buy). This is a good way of sticking to a budget, not blowing more than you can afford and slowly but surely adding to your “stockpile”. Plus, it’s going to be a good feeling to come home with your bag of supplies and see regular progress being made in increasing the security of you and your family.

FOOD ITEMS

Let’s get started. On a few recent trips to my local Dollar Tree store I found the following items which could be very helpful for prepping, both for BOB/GOOD supplies and for home storage/ use. Not all of these are items I would personally use but some definitely are(and have been acquired!). Everyone’s tastes and dietary needs vary as does the makeup of your household . All of these cost $1 each other than a couple of items(mostly canned meats) that are priced lower:

• pasta


• rice


• cold cereal


• UHT shelf stable milk in quarts, evaporated milk


• hot chocolate mix


• instant coffee


• peanut butter


• canned vegetables


• canned fruit and pudding in shelf stable single serve packs


• beans(canned and dried)


• salt and spices


• dried fruit


• freeze-dried fruit


• nuts and seeds


• trail mix/snack type packs


• Craisins


• candy and chocolate


• cookie and cake mix


• flour


• sugar


• canned soup


• Ramen


• canned/foil pack fish(tuna, salmon, sardines, mackerel)


• pasta sauce


• kid type dried “fruit” snacks


• honey


• dried potatoes


• mac n cheese


• canned meats


• coffee creamer


• juice


• chips and other snacks


• canned pasta meals(ravioli etc)

OTHER USEFUL ITEMS

This is only a short list of how many food items potentially useful to prepping I’ve noticed there recently. None cost more than $1 and some, such as the canned meats, cost less. Besides food there are many other potentially useful items to be found at a store like Dollar Tree that only cost $1(plus tax if applicable). Recently seen items in this category include:

• candles(unscented tea candles, votive and large glass jar candles)


• LED flashlights


• LED bulbs


• carabiners(for attaching gear; wouldn’t trust these for climbing use)


• Super Glue


• cleaners:laundry and dish detergent, bleach, kitchen/bath sprays etc


• freezer and storage bags, sandwich bags


• plastic wrap and aluminum foil


• plastic storage containers(food grade)


• paper goods(toilet paper, tissues, paper towels, plates, napkins, cups etc)


• garbage bags


• sponges, scrubbies and other cleaning implements


• clothespins


• nylon rope


• small wooden sticks(2 sizes) to label seed starting flats and garden rows(in craft section)


• knit gloves(one-size fits all)


• baby supplies


• hand/foot warmers


• instant(chemical) light-sticks


• bungee cords


• dog and cat supplies


• lots of glass containers to use to safely burn candles in

HEALTH AND HYGIENE ITEMS

There were many useful health and safety/personal hygiene items to be found, as well:

• hand wipes(antibacterial)


• bandaids


• toothpaste


• travel toothpaste/brush packs


• paper first aid tape


• gauze pads and rolls


• ankle/wrist wraps


• antibiotic ointment


• feminine hygiene items


• generic “Pedialyte”


• shampoo and conditioner


• hand sanitizer


• liquid and bar soap


• ibuprofen, aspirin and other OTC meds


• disposable gloves


• surgical style masks


• empty travel size plastic containers(fill with soap or hand sanitizer from large bottles)

There were also plenty of items such as coloring books, crayons, markers, toys, craft items, puzzle books, puzzles, decks of playing cards etc to keep kids busy. Should the event you are prepping for include loss of electricity, having lots of activities for kids to engage in, especially if cooped up indoors, is a sanity must! Lots of stationary type supplies such as pens, paper, tape, glue, Sharpies and other markers were to be found, as well.

QUALITY MATTERS

There were some items there that I personally wouldn’t trust the quality of such as batteries, tools, duct and other hardware tape, cell phone accessories and garden seeds. Cheap tools in my opinion are just pretty well worthless. I don’t trust cheap non-brand name batteries and suspect they will have limited life. Cheap duct tape has never been useful to me. Garden seeds tend in my experience to be worth what you pay for them. I wouldn’t want to bet my life or that of others on junk seeds; pay a little more and stick to reputable well-known brands.

Besides the dollar store there are also some other discount stores where good deals(although mostly more than $1) are to be found. The trick here I think is to keep in mind a dollar limit and be able to resist the higher priced items of which there are many. If you have to, go armed with only the cash you want to spend so you can’t run up the credit card balance. Some recent notable “finds” of this nature at a couple of discount stores include:

• “Season” brand sardines, kippers, herring etc ($1 each)


• Plastic seed starting flats for $1.25 each


• packs of 25 heavy-duty metal “staples”, 3-6” to anchor row cover, tarps etc($3-$4 depending on size)


• Olive oil (Extra Virgin)


• bags of walnuts


• LED work-lights for seed starting(more expensive but a good deal and very useful)


• spices


• containers of Himalayan/sea salt


• 40% off Burpee garden seeds

You can also find really good deals at your local grocery store, especially if you keep track of prices so you recognize a great buying opportunity when you see one. Sales events such as “10 for $10” can be a great way to get useful great quality canned goods at dollar store prices. I’ve seen a lot of canned fish, beans, tomatoes, soups, pasta etc go for these prices. Sometimes one finds something even better like an 88 cent deal. A recent sale were jars of Teddie peanut butter(the all natural no sugar or oils added type) for $2 each. Sadly, I only bought one. That was a great deal and I wish I’d stocked up. So track your prices and be ready to act when those great deals come along.

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