101 items - must have

1.Coffee 2.Sugar 3.Salt 4.Pepper 5.Hard candy 6.Paperback Bibles 7.Kitchen Matches 8.Needles and sewing items 9.Nylon cord 10.Duct tape 11.Cigarettes 12.Pencils, paper, note pads 13.Toilet paper 14.Tooth paste 15.Soap 16.Rubbing alcohol 17.Peroxide 18.Aspirin 19.Baking soda 20.tooth brushes 21.Reading glasses 22.Liquor 23.Socks 24.Tarps 25.Tools for gardening 26.Condoms 27.Wooden matches 28.Skills 29.Hand Tools 30.Boyscout Manual 31.22.LR ammunition 32.12-gauge shot shells 33.Water Filters 34.Firewood 35.Coleman Fuel 36.Knives 37.Manual Can Openers 38.Vegetable Oil (for cooking) 39.Lighter Fluid 40.Charcoal 41.Diapers 42.Washboard 43.Vitamins 44.Tampons 45.Thermal Underwear 46.Aluminum Foil 47.Garbage Bags 48.Paper Towels 49.Garden Seeds (Non-Hybrid) 50.Clothes Pins 51.Fishing Line 52.Fish Hooks 53.First Aid Kits 54.Batteries 55.Spices 56.Solar Calculators 57.Belts 58.Flashlights 59.Lightsticks 60.Garbage Cans 61.Toothbrushes 62.Toothpaste 63.Nail Clippers 64.Mosquito Repellent 65.Duct Tape 66.Rope 67.Candles 68.Sewing Supplies 69.Non Scented Bleach 70.Canning Jars and Lids 71.Knives 72.Sharpening Stones 73.Bicycle Tire Tubes 74.Bicycle Chains 75.Air Pump (don't trade the pump trade the air) 78.Board Games 79.Playing Cards 80.Mousetraps 81.Baby Wipes 82.Razors 83.Tang 84.Gloves 85.Underwear 86.Glue 89.Broad Brim Hats 90.Files 91.Pad-Locks 92.Laundry Detergent 93.Kerosene 94.Tea 95.Axes 96.Slingshots 97.Binoculars 98.Disposable Lighters 99.Magnesium fire starters 100.Plastic sheeting 101.Over The Counter Medications

(Get one of these too - $150 on ebay)

I particularly like these too (only $11 on ebay)

My friend in Pensacola asked me the other day how to determine how long we could survive off pantry storage (prepping for peak oil, financial collapse, nuclear war, etc). I wanted to discuss that in this post since it's more than appropriate. The best way that I have found is to add up the calories of everything in your food storage (can food, dry goods, etc). A typical man trying to survive in a hostile environment or living off grid will need about 3000k calories/day, a women 2500 - these are averages and everyone is different; therefore, take whatever your total is and divide by this number and that's how many days you have preparations for. I highly recommend 2 years worth, and no I am not a mormon, but in this sense they have it right. Now take the total calories and divide by 2000 calories, as if you had to ration and go into survival mode - trying to make it last. You will be losing weight but it is survivalable. That's your survival time on what you have; although you won't be as robust or as strong as you need to be, as in dealing with hostilities, building shelters, or just plain running away from danger, but it let's you know how much you have stored.

Personally, my favorite type of food to store, and high calories are a plus, is ramen noodles. Easy to make in a pinch, loaded with calories, and who can complain about the price? SAM's has giant boxes for $8. I also store macoroni, giant 50lb bags of rice (you must freeze these to kill the bugs first before storage), and can goods. Keep this in mind that most prep food is loaded with salt, and Ramen noodles are no small exception as you get a whole's days worth of sodium and then some, so this will have to be dealt with by plenty of water unless you remain physically rigorous (water will still be very important).