Checklist For Hard Times

January 29th, 2009 by Terence Gillespie

"The more we sweat in peace the less we bleed in war."

– Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit

As we approach what many say will be the "Greatest Depression" I was inspired to combine lists into items needed in hard times. What follows is a list of lists covering areas that sustain the average family.

Most US families have no such checklist. Good times, as far as we can remember, don’t inspire planning for hard times. We’ve been immune from such worries for 65 years since the end of World War II. The average historical memory is probably only 20-30 years.

That lack of historical perspective is a handicap against what is currently happening to the US economy. And, the US is exporting their worst problems to the rest of the world. Ironically, ‘other’ countries are facing hard times now, before the US.

My interest in optimizing all things leads me to prepare for good times and bad. I’m a natural optimist and believe that our Creator gave us the ability to overcome all obstacles. Checklists like this are proof of that ability. It was wise, not pessimistic, of the Biblical Joseph to store seven years of grain before the famine.

To optimize one must first be thorough. When it comes to preparing for hard times that means making a thorough checklist. You may not have to purchase, store or do every item on the checklist. However, there are many benefits to making one.

If your family could check off all the items on this list as ether done, not applicable or have access to then you’ll be doing far better than average even in good times.

Benefits of The Checklist

Just making your own version of this checklist leaves you mindful of the many tools and things that sustain us. It will point out weaknesses not yet addressed in your normal "good times" life.

Another benefit is realizing you don’t need to own everything on the list. Simple access to many items is fine, and sometimes better, than ownership. That’s where friends and community come into play: We trade and share to make life easier and become smarter. Being smarter with what we have leads to needing less to begin with.

Still, essentials like food, water, shelter and clothing are probably best owned. And there are numerous benefits to listing and buying them, in advance:

You need them, anyway, so nothing goes to waste.
Buy them now, while they’re available (Below black market prices).
Buy them before inflation raises their price (And your boss doesn’t raise your wages).
Get bulk discounts.
Take less trips to the store.
The cost of not having essentials is always too expensive.
Thinking through essentials tends to optimize your approach to them. And, optimal usually means getting more with less.
Becoming more aware of your true needs gets your mind spinning on creative ways to fulfill them, in good times and in bad.

You might say this is a good list for good times. And it’s a great list for hard times.

Gold, Guns & Butter in Reverse

Gold comes last, not first.

"Before you buy gold, buy what you’ll need the gold for."

We still have division of labor. That makes everything needed in hard times available for purchase now. If we get to a time when gold is needed to survive many essentials won’t be available at any price. Distribution channels for things that are available will be crippled. That will make their price rise even in gold terms.

Also, it may be time to learn what our ancestors knew: Gold is for kings and Silver is for people. Imagine what it would be like to buy groceries in Zimbabwe with an ounce of gold in your pocket. Just getting change would be dangerous or impossible.

The Checklist

The only complete checklist is your checklist. Thinking through your own changes is a large part of the value of the list.

Getting to the end of the list can be elusive. A checklist is made in two dimensions and implemented in three: As soon as you start acting on an item it tends to split into multiple actions and expand the list. Another reason is that replenishing and maintaining items is an ongoing set of procedures: Becoming mindful of them is the only ‘check-off’ possible.

Making this list forced me to recognize my limitations. As much as I value self-reliance being the sole provider of every item would be hard, if not impossible. For any truly hard times I’d want my family and friends around, at least. Any kind of optimal living, however, would need to go beyond that. That’s why I recommend adding one of the most urgent and crucial items onto your list in the ‘personal’ section:

"Find people you can trust".

Click on a category to go to a list for that area. Cut/paste the whole list into a word processor and use it to make your own.

Health & Medical
Water
Food
Food Preparation
Hygiene/Sanitation
House
Tools
Security
Firefighting
Business & Finance
Barter
Personal
Clothing
Books
Tactical
Communications
Transportation

Medical & Health
Hydrogen peroxide
Alcohol for sterilization
Vitamins / minerals / herbs
Bandages
Hot water bottles
Ice packs
Sterile pads
Slings/splints (Or raw material to make them)
Tweezers
Hemostats
Sutures and needles
Clamps
Stethoscopes
Blood-pressure cuffs
Thermometers
Scalpels and blades
syringes and needles (Disposable and non)
Wound cleaning syringes
Iodine
Immodium
Anti-histamine
Aloe

Betadine
“bag balm” (an antiseptic lotion)
Dental floss
Baking soda, instead of toothpaste
Personal medications
Augmentin / general antibiotics
Get dental work up to date
Painkillers, aspirin
Iodine
Anti-fungal spray
DIY dentistry kits (oil of cloves, temporary filling kit, extraction tools)
Burn treatment supplies
Minor surgery kit (inexpensive pakistani stainless steel instruments)
Physician’s desk Reference (PDR)
SAS Survival Guide
Gray’s Anatomy

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