It looks like humanity is losing trust day by day, with fears of others around the world, and even our next-door neighbors, growing.
Experts have moved the Doomsday Clock closer to midnight, and doomsday preppers can feel relief knowing they aren’t overreacting.
Some preppers might be spending lavishly for judgment day. Realistically, you can prepare for the apocalypse by setting aside some basic supplies.
You need to gather supplies to support you and your family: weapons, medical supplies, clothing, food, water, and alternative heat sources.
Yet, these items are not only good for your survival; they can also be used to help others survive while paying for your own protection.
Through a barter system (”trading supplies or goods with another person, either as a form of payment or aid or as a trade for other items”), you can ensure the protection of others while keeping your family prepared.
- Analyze the Past and Present of Barter: Currently, Venezuelans are bartering personal hygiene items like feminine hygiene items, medicines, diapers, and toilet paper. The government is only able to provide rice and pasta instead of meat. Thus, people there are deprived of essential nutrients. In that situation, meat protein is a high value to barter and you can stockpile them in a freeze-dried state.
- Unleash Creativity: Now you don’t have money to barter, that’s why you need to be creative. Stockpile items that are recyclable. For instance, candles will be a very valuable item as you can remelt them to make new ones to barter again with something better. Another smart move will be to store can openers because everyone will be having canned food but not everyone would have openers. Also, it’s easy to find and store military can openers and it would hardly take any space.
- Sensible Stockpiling: You don’t need to get carried away with the process. Meaning you don’t have to store everything. For example, even if you don’t smoke or drink, you can stockpile these items because there are many people who’ll be interested in bartering these items. However, if you don’t have kids then it doesn’t make sense to stock diapers because hardly anyone would come up to you and ask for diapers for barter.
When it comes to bartering, what are some of the most sought-after items of others? Here is a list of our most recommended items:
Medications
- Antibiotics: Almost any person will clamor for antibiotics in the event of the apocalypse, as it helps to fight against bacterial infection.
- Bandage: Bandages are appreciated in the apocalypse to protect wounds from infection while also providing pressure to help alleviate bleeding.
- Painkillers: Painkillers like ibuprofen or acetaminophen can provide necessary relief from headaches, fevers, physical pain, and more.
- Vitamins: With little eatable food, people will have poor nutritional health. Vitamins will keep one’s health at a moderate level, keeping the body running as it should.
- Basic Medication: If you have medications that others require or have become used to taking, from Prozac to insulin, Vicodin to Lipitor. It can be expected like money. People who either physically or mentally require these medications would likely be willing to trade whatever they can to get their hands on them.
Weapons and Tools
- Wood, Nails & Screws: These items are important for anyone requiring shelter and protection. In a pinch, some screws and nails can be helpful to repair their home, while lumber will always be appreciated.
- Guns: Are you really in need of a big favor? Following Doomsday, physical protection is one of the foremost items a person will seek out.
- Ammunition: If you’ve already offered someone a gun, obviously, you’ll need to provide them with the ammo. If you know they are out of ammo, a case of bullets will get the attention when you need it.
- Knives & Saws: Whether used for woodworking, hunting, cooking, or protection, a knife and saw will go a long way. Because these items can be used for various purposes, they are required by anyone trying to make it following Doomsday.
- Flashlights, Matches, Lighters & Candles: Whether for protection or lighting, these items will help people move through the night in the event when electrical systems give out. Furthermore, they can be used to create fires if no flint is around.
Important Skills
- Sewing: It is one of the easiest and most crucial skills to acquire for doomsday prepping. Sewing helps you to keep your clothes and fabric items in good condition. Further, you can use available materials to stitch them to make tents or short-term shelters. Sewing can also help stitch wounds after applying the antiseptic solution, it may sound complicated, but is the best choice to do. Moreover, sewing items take very less space and are one of the items that last for years.
- Gardening: Getting the right nutrition for your body helps to keep it fit and immune to minor health problems. That’s why you should have good gardening knowledge, from seeds to soil selection for suitable crops. You need to acquire the seeds while doomsday prepping and store them in a cool dry place to increase their shelf lives. Besides, you can’t opt for pesticides or fertilizers to aid your crops as the shipment of nitrates and phosphates will be ceased. However, you can go for organic manure as it may be available in the form of cow dung and will significantly boost the crops’ growth and nutritional value.
- Food Preservation: With some basic knowledge of food preservation, you can increase the shelf life of the food along with its taste. Canning is the best food preserving technique that is still used in rural regions to increase the shelf life of food items. While refrigeration won’t be an option, you’ll have to stick to traditional techniques like smoking, drying, and curing meat to make your protein source last long. Although canning food items is cheap but requires learning the core skills. You cannot compromise hygiene, that’s why you’ll need clean water and fuel to operate on the food.
Miscellaneous Supplies
- Precious Metals: On Doomsday, the USD is expected to crash. That’s why you’ll need other forms of currency to protect yourself. The most notable historical choices are precious metals, including gold coins, silver bars, and more. These items are sure to make for fair trade, as people are unlikely to forget the value of gold and silver items. Copper items can also go pretty far, as they can be melted down for mechanical uses.
- Liquor or Coffee: This might seem strange, as these are not required for survival, but people will still latch on to favored items. Liquor, beer, wine, spirits, and coffee can help soothe someone’s soul, making them relax and think better.
- Tobacco: Similar to liquor or coffee, tobacco isn’t required for survival, but people who are either addicted to it or who once were would be hard-pressed to say no to the offer of a cigarette.
- Canned Food: If someone has run out of food or is running short, they are in trouble. Providing food will be a way to gain the concentration of someone whose help you need.
- Water Purification Devices: Clean water will be hard to come by if the doomsday event is environmental. By offering someone a water purification device, you are providing an item that will keep them hydrated for some time.
- Clothing, Blankets & Shoes: Shelter, warmth, and comfort: Clothes and wearable gear are necessary to protect oneself from the outside elements. Offering someone a set of clothes, blankets, and shoes will be nothing short of a godsend, as you’re providing them a means of keeping comfortable even in the worst environments.
