I’m frequently asked about a prepper supply list, and what people should keep on hand in their emergency food storage. Every single person should have at least a 30 day food supply no matter where they live or what they believe. I believe in being prepared, but not being overwhelmed. You never know when a natural disaster, or worse, could cause you to be bunkered down inside of your home for weeks at a time. Also, the first rule of prepper life is to not tell everyone and your brother what you have. So really, I could have way less than what I’m telling you, or way more. You’ll never know!
In this blog I’m going to keep it extremely simple and straight forward. I’ll break down this prepper supply list and emergency food storage list by different needs (for example, food, household, medicine, livestock). Under each category will be a different list of individual items you should consider keeping on hand at all times. Keep in mind, this is just a baseline. You can add more, or not do them all.
If you are reading this and just getting started (or are in the middle of an emergency or crisis) I have added links to certain products you can find online if you cannot find them in your local stores.
Emergency Supply List for Your Homestead
Here are quite a few lists broken down by category, such as food storage, first aid, infant and child supplies, and livestock supplies. Use these lists as a base point. From there, you’ll naturally start adding in the things that you know you’ll need on your homestead and in your own home. In regard to food storage, make sure you’re also storing food that you and your family actually eat. There’s nothing worse than having to eat beans for thirty days straight!
You’ll also need a few items for food storage, including mylar bags and BPA free storage buckets. But honestly, even just having a 3-month supply on hand (instead of long term food storage) is better than nothing!
Emergency Food Storage Supplies
Don’t forget, buy food that you actually enjoy alongside the other foods that you’re keeping for storage!
- rice
- dried beans
- canned goods (either home canned or store bought)
- salt
- sugar
- dried milk
- baking soda
- baking powder
- yeast
- sourdough starter (dehydrated or active) — you’ll need this as a natural bread leavening agent if you run out of yeast
- flour
- wheat berries (for grinding; berries also last longer than ground flour, but you’ll need a grain mill or vitamix with the grain container)
- oats
- water (I recommend purchasing a Berkey Water Filter System as well as bottled)
- other non-perishable food items that you enjoy, but also ones that last a few years
- packaged snacks with long expiration dates (such as granola bars, chips, etc.)
- pre-packaged food storage buckets
Emergency Medical Supplies
- over the counter fever and pain reducer (like acetaminophen or aspirin)
- natural herbal remedies like elderberry syrup, cough syrup, and fever reducing teas (find more herbs and remedies here)
- blood stopping herbs, such as yarrow, in case you get a deep wound
- a 3-month supply of any prescriptions you take
- band aids
- suture kit
- gauze
- tourniquet
- ice packs (the kind you break for instant ice)
- heating pad or instant heat pads
- hand sanitizer
- nebulizer and saline (this helps if any respiratory illness occurs or is present)
- zinc
- vitamin c
- regular daily vitamins (in an extreme situation with zero food, your body can survive off of daily vitamins for quite some time)
Emergency Household Supplies
- toiletries and paper products (toilet paper, paper towels, paper plates and cups, etc.)
- extra soap
- disinfecting wipes
- disinfecting spray, bleach, and/or white vinegar
- heat source (wood stove is best, but you can purchase a kerosene heater or space heater if necessary)
- cleaning supplies
- trash bags
- extra blankets
- clean snow clothing (especially if you have to leave without a vehicle)
Emergency Infant and Child Supplies
- baby wipes
- diapers (keeping cloth diapers on hand is a good idea)
- children’s fever and pain reducer (or the natural alternative)
- nebulizer with pediatric mask (see above for link)
- formula (even if you’re nursing)
- bottles
- nasal aspirator
- saline nose spray
- natural cold and cough syrup
Other Emergency Supplies
- extra gasoline, kerosene, and/or diesel
- generator
- window unit A/C (if you lose power in the summer, this can come in handy)
- extension cords for generators
- canner and canning jars
- seeds
- camp stove with extra propane
- fire starters
- foldable cooking grill (for wood fire)
- hand well pump (make sure you get the proper depth)
- a go bag (in case you need to leave in a hurry, you should also keep one of these in every vehicle in case you get stuck somewhere)
If you don’t want to purchase a hand well pump, you can make your own well pulley system with PVC pipe, which is what we keep on hand for emergency situations. Learn how to make your own here.
Livestock Emergency Supplies
- 3 month supply of feed
- extra hay and straw
- an alternative water source should yours become compromised or rendered unavailable (like a stream, well pull, etc).
- extra solar energizers for electric fences
- livestock medical supplies
- adequate shelter in place BEFORE a natural disaster occurs
Ultimately, you want to make sure you keep all of your food and items with expiration dates on a rotation. This will only take you a couple of extra minutes each grocery store run, or whenever you use an item from your prepper pantry or stock. You’ll want to make sure you have a short term food storage system (that will last 1-4 months), and a long term food storage system (that will last 1+ years). You can rotate your dried beans and rice as well. You never want to be searching for more rice, beans, and other dry foods after you’ve gone through your stock. You also never want your stock to go bad. Don’t waste your food, use it up! For everything that you use, replace it the following week and rotate your stock.
I hope that you find this helpful and empowering in these uncertain times, whether it’s due to society, government, or just freak incidents of nature! You can be prepared and get through anything with some of these basic things on hand at ALL times.
GET A PRINTABLE VERSION OF THIS ENTIRE LIST HERE:
Other Posts You May Enjoy:
- Andrographis for the Common Cold and Viruses
- The Best Antiviral Herbs and Viral Ailment Support Herbs
- Medicinal Uses of Yarrow—the Homestead Herb
- How to Dehydrate Sourdough Starter
- Easy Sourdough Starter and Bread Recipe
Hi Amy! Clarification about the well pump- clicking on the link it looks like an electric pump with a motor. Is there another option longer term if the power goes out & generator no longer works? Our wells here in CO are 375+ feet deep. Thanks so much!
Try this one! You may be able to get extra piping for it. — https://amzn.to/3pOoTyy
Hello Amy,
I wanted to drop a little note to say a BIG Thank You… for the herbalist course!!!
After taking the course I Immediately put to use what I have learned and, I want to share my experience so far.
For a couple of I had been taking Motrin 800 and when I didn’t have the prescription for it I was taking Advil over the counter up to six tablets a day at once to help with the pain throughout my body, this of course had an impact on my stomach lining and created a whole new set of issues. I made a decision to take action to try to heal my body without the use of synthetic drugs, and took what I’ve learned from the herbalist course, I stopped taking pills for pain management and instead started making teas. I felt confident enough to take calendulas, chamomile,yarrow, star anise and off I went, it didn’t take long to notice the difference it was mind blowing!!!
I want to report that I’m going on a month of having my eat first thing in the morning and before bed and I have not had any need to take any kind of pills for pain at ALLLLLLL!
I can’t express how liberating this is for me,
thank you again for your Generosity.
I wish you the very best and may God continue to enlighten you so that you can continue putting out these mini courses.
Hello. Just wondering why you have included formula on the list even if someone is fully breastfeeding? I have nursed three kids and they have never needed one ounce of formula. Thanks!
Stressful situations can cause a mother’s milk supply to drop, as can lack of nutrition or a change in diet should you not be able to eat as well as before during times of crisis.
I know this is a year later, but if I am reading it now, maybe other people are, too. I always keep formula in my emergency stash. What would your husband do if you were incapacitated or, sorry to say it, but died? If you have a baby, formula should be in the stash. Even if you have dairy animals, in a crisis they might not produce milk, or might have to be butchered for meat. At least your infant will have something to eat.
Can you provide the link to the nebulizer. It keeps giving me an error message.