100 Items that will disappear first in a SHTF Situation (Revised and Updated)

I’m sure at this point everyone has seen this list, it has circulated all over the internet for years now. I don’t agree with the original list, so I am updating the list based on information from actual events such as the collapse of USSR, Greece financial meltdown and Iraq, along with other events and situations I could can locate information about online. I condensed the list down to only 70 items and categorized them to give you a better overview.

Food & Supplies

1. Chickens, Cows (diary and beefers) and all other forms of livestock will be hoarded, stolen, traded and sold for insane prices. After a month or so you will not be able to purchase any.
2. Deer and wild game will be shot and wiped from existence quickly.
3. Water (Bottled, Gallon and 5 Gallon)
4. Water Filters/Purifiers including bleach will be impossible to find after a week or so. People will be selling spring water and public springs will have lines hours long.
5. Salt – this is a vital nutrient and will be used to preserve meat. Don’t be surprised to see this used as currency, it has been used as such in the past and in a SHTF situation it will be used that way again.
6. Cast iron cookware – long lasting and can be used over an open fire.
7. Rice, Beans, Wheat, Flour and Yeast. All these basic ingredients will be purchased in mass and quickly hoarded. Expect these to be purchased faster than canned goods.
8. Cooking Oils
9. Charcoal – city folk will hoard this immediately as they will see it as the only way to cook their food.
10. Everything Gardening (Seeds, books & videos, supplies and tools)
11. Canned Foods of all types. People will just shove them into their carts without even looking at the labels. These will also be used as currency as in a few months everyone will be tired of consuming canned goods but they have value so they will barter with these.
12. Canning supplies (Jars/lids/wax) – Most stores carry very little if any canning supplies so one person can easily clean out the entire store’s inventory.
13. Jerky and other long lasting meats
14. Teas, Coffee, Gatoraide and Koolaides
15. Milk – Powdered & Condensed

Medicine & Health

1. Hygiene supplies: Shampoo, Toothbrush/paste, Tampons, Mouthwash/floss, nail clippers, etc
2. Vitamins and Supplements – Some foods like bananas will be hard to come by so pills will be the only source of many needed nutrients.
3. Tylenol, Advil, cough syrup etc …
4. Wine/Liquors (for bribes, medicinal, etc…)
5. First aid kits
6. Gas masks
7. Medical guides, books and magazines – Knowledge is power
8. Toilet Paper, Kleenex, Paper Towels
9. Infant/Toddler Supplies (formula, cloth diapers, wash cloths)

Outdoors Gear

1. Survival Magazines, Books and Guides – Knowledge is power and Americans lack the basic skills needed to grow food and survive
2. Fishing supplies/tools – Need meat? Everyone will be wiping out the fish in all public rivers, lakes etc …
3. Bug and Rodent killers, repellents and treatments.
4. Tarps/stakes/twine/nails/rope/spikes
5. Lumber (all types)
6. Wagons & carts (for transport to and from)
7. Bow saws, axes and hatchets, Wedges (also, honing oil)
8. Gasoline Containers (Plastic & Metal)
9. Clothes pins/line/hangers (A MUST)
10. Body Armor
11. Insulated ice chests (good for keeping items from freezing in Wintertime.)
12. Potting mix
13. Flashlights/LIGHTSTICKS & torches, “No. 76 Dietz” Lanterns
14. Gloves: Work/warming/gardening, etc…
15. Work boots, belts, Levis & durable shirts
16. Cold weather clothing and weather clothing

Household Goods

1. Candles (Long burning)
2. Backpacks, Duffel Bags
3. Large garbage cans – Can be used for trash, storage, water collection, hauling goods etc … and garbage bags (so many uses for them)
4. Bleach (plain, NOT scented: 4 to 6% sodium hypochlorite)
5. Knives & Sharpening tools: files, stones, steel
6. Sleeping Bags, Blankets, Pillows, Mats and Inflatable Mattresses
7. Animal Control Products (Mousetraps, Bug repellents etc …)
8. Cleaning materials both personal and for the home
9. Plastic Wrap and Home Insulation Kits
10. Glue, nails, nuts, bolts, screws, etc …
11. Portable Toilets
12. Weapons – Guns, Ammunition, Pepper Spray, Knives, Clubs, Bats, Tasers & Slingshots.
13. Washboards, Mop Bucket w/wringer (for Laundry)
14. Aluminum Foil Reg. & Heavy Duty (Great Cooking and Barter Item)
15. Writing paper, pads, pencils and solar calculators
16. Brooms
17. Air Filtration Units (Room based and portable;Blue Air is the best)

Misc Goods

1. Bibles – When I was in boot camp no one wanted a Bible when they offered them to us numerous times while in processing. After a week of being in the barracks suddenly everyone was coming up to me asking to borrow mine or read over my shoulder. People like to bash Christians but when the goings get tough, my experiences show that they always turn to God for answer, help and support.
2. Duct Tape and Electrical Tape
3. Bicycles…Tires/tubes/pumps/chains, etc most efficient method of transportation. If you think about it, standard bikes will become extremely valuable.
4. Hand pumps & siphons – Gas, water, etc …
5. Cigarettes – People will always need stress release and if you haven’t noticed even the poorest people on all types of government assistance always can find money to buy cigarettes. This will continue to ring true in a SHTF situation.
6. Generators (Solar, Gas, Diesel, Propane, Kerosene) – Buy solar now cause nothing will be available when they are needed. People will kill over generators so be warned.
7. Seasoned Firewood – Wood takes about 6 – 12 months to become dried, for home uses. There are ways to speed up the process but it will still take time. People will begin cutting down all trees they can access in order to provide warmth and fire for cooking.
8. Lamps, Candles, Flash Lights, Matches etc …
9. Batteries (all sizes…buy furthest-out for Expiration Dates) rechargeable batteries are ideal. Don’t forget car batteries.
10. Big Dogs (and plenty of dog food) – Valuable as looters and robbers will be plentiful. Dogs can see and hear what we can’t. The more vicious the better.
11. Country Land – Good farming land will be nearly impossible to find as the cities and suburbs empty. You will also need to defend your property from large groups of people demanding that you share and make your land a community garden and all that communist bullshit …
12. Gold and Silver – This will be the new currency when things begin to settle
13. Motorcycles – There is a reason they are so popular in 3rd world nations, they are cheap, easy to maintain and gas goes a long way.

And finally something to think about:

When the shit hits the fan, where will you live? Where will your parents live? Where will your adult children live? When the USSR collapsed, 3 generations all moved into the same home, why? Your immediate family is the most trusted people in your life, they would give their lives for you and you for them (hopefully). People living in the USSR during the collapse where a custom to hardship, they were secretly self sufficient as if they didn’t produce their own food they would starve to death. While in comparison the last election shows that most Americans feel they are entitled to everything. Americans are no longer producers, we are a service based economy. If the economy were to collapse, most Americans wouldn’t even know how to grow an ear of corn much less achieving self sufficientness.  We pay someone for almost everything, thus depriving us of important essential skills that will be needed in a SHTF situation so it is important to hoard knowledge and begin becoming as self sufficient as possible.

By Prepper Admin 

Prepper Admin is the founder of homesteadingandprepping.com I regulate things around here like the government. Except I don’t want to take all your money and give it to drug addicts sitting on their asses playing X-box all day. I am a former US Marine and single father. Read ‘Atlas Shrugged’, now in the nonfiction section