Hello my friend and welcome back! Have you ever walked into a room and then couldn’t remember why? Lord knows I have and I am sure you probably have as well. Now imagine you have a healthy supply of preps and are looking for more. You find something nice and wonder “Do I already have one of these?” This is why you need to have a Prepper’s Inventory, so you don’t buy too many of something while believing you don’t have any. It’s the subject of today’s post, so grab a cup of coffee my friend and have a seat while we visit.
Back when I first started prepping, I didn’t worry about having an inventory, because I simply didn’t have that much. The years have gone by and now if it wasn’t for my Prepper Inventory, I would honestly have no idea what I have. Time just gets away from you, so memories fade. Whether you’re just starting out as a Prepper, or you have been prepping for a while like me, you need a Preppers Inventory.
So, what exactly is a Prepper’s Inventory? It’s a lot like any other inventory; it records what you have, what you paid for it, how much of it you have, and the expiration date on it if applicable.
The only difference is if like me, you add training and knowledge to yours. Why would I do that you may ask? Because it takes more than just material items to survive, it takes knowledge as well. Because learning a particular subject like CPR, is a perishable skill and needs to be redone from time to time.
Just like shooting is a perishable skill, so are many other’s as well. A good Prepper Inventory should also include a list of training you have taken, and when you need to refresh it, like every year or two depending on what it is. You wouldn’t keep rotten food in your preps would you?
Why? Because you know you need to depend on the food you have stored to be able to survive and you can’t do that if it is spoiled. The same is true with training. If you take training or learn something new, that you are sure you will need when it all hits the fan, why would it make sense to let it fade away from your memory and not be able to remember it when you need it.
A good Preppers Inventory contains several columns and can cover a wide range of preps and training. Of course all of this is of no use if you don’t us it and check it regularly. YOU HAVE TO USE IT or it’s useless. Take the time to record everything you have in it as well as where it is if you have your preps spread out like I do. It would be very bad to have purchased preps and not be able to remember where you put them.
While there are many excel spread sheets on the internet, you can create your own with Excel or a piece of graph paper. Simply create a page with the following headers.
- Count
- Item Description
- Purchase Date
- Cost each
- Expiration date.
- Location
- NOTE:
As you can see, it’s nothing fancy, but being able to place you hand on your preps and knowing their still good to go is a wonderful thing. No more guessing or trying to remember if you have that or not, it’s right there for you.
Well, I hope you will make your own inventory and put it to good use. Just remember, keep the list in a place where you will see it regularly and remember to check it. Foods which are expired or close to it should probably be use up quickly so as to prevent food poisoning. The thought of having food poisoning in the middle of a SHTF situation is unbearable. Don’t let it happen to you.
Well that’s it for today and I hope you have enjoyed today’s post. Until next time, stay safe, stay strong, and stay prepared. God Bless America!
-Sarge-
Because of our remote location, we only shop twice a year. We use two lists. Shortly before our semi-annual shopping trip, we will take a full inventory of foods we have in stock using our inventory lists we developed. We will compare current inventory to a stock level we want to maintain and then buy accordingly. We also have a shopping list always pinned to the wall. As soon as we know we need any item, regardless of what it is, it immediately is added to the shopping list. Nothing is left to memory. It’s a long time (6 months) before the next shopping trip.
I am a little confused by this. Why is shooting a perishable skill and training at what?
Shooting is a perishable skill because if you don’t shoot regularly, your accuracy diminishes, and the same with learning things, if you don’t practice what you learn, you will tend to forget some of the finer points. Hope this helps Yooper. 🙂