Stockpiling

A stockpile is a budget decision

Every family that starts prepping hits the same wall: the lists are endless and the money is not. A good stockpile is built in layers, cheapest and most likely-needed first, so that each dollar buys another day of independence.

The official starting point is modest. Ready.gov recommends one gallon of water per person per day for several days, a several-day supply of non-perishable food, a radio, flashlights, batteries, a first aid kit and a handful of tools (build a kit). That covers a storm. This section takes you from there to two weeks, then a month, then the deep pantry that carries a household through a collapse.

The layers

Water first

It is the cheapest prep and the one you die without fastest. We cover containers, how much a household really uses, and treatment for when the stored water runs out.

Food you already eat

A stockpile of food nobody likes gets thrown out. We favor buying extra of the canned and dry staples your kitchen uses now, first in, first out.

Medicine and hygiene

About half of Americans take a prescription medicine every day, by the same federal count. Refills, over-the-counter basics, soap, bleach and trash bags matter as much as food.

Power, light and fuel

Batteries in the sizes your gear uses, lantern fuel, propane and stabilized gasoline, stored safely and cycled through.

Cash and barter

Card readers and ATMs need power. Small bills are part of the stockpile, and our guide to how much cash to keep at home shows how to size the reserve for your household and where to hide it.

What we leave to others

Gardening, canning and raising food are long-term homestead skills. This section is about buying, storing and cycling supplies for a crisis, and about fitting them into a suburban house or a rural lot without a basement full of mystery buckets.

Once the stockpile exists, protect it: see home defense on keeping it out of sight.