How about a list of barter items when tshtf
 

If things really get bad it could take a while before gold and silver really become good barter items. I was thinking more about items that would be in demand more immediately. I'll start off with some of the basics,

-water
-food
-ammo/guns
-alcohol
-tobacco
-hand powered tools
-toilet paper
-soap
-batteries
-drugs? the illegal ones im sure would be in high demand
-antibiotics?
-gasoline

Please add to the list..

Re: How about a list of barter items when tshtf
 

The alcohol/tobacco thread is moving toward this topic. One thing to consider is how much to emphasize barter as opposed to self-sufficiency. That is, a shortage, even temporary, of razors or soap will make your life more expensive if all you're sitting on is alcohol, but won't hurt a bit if you have laid enough by to supply your own needs. Hand-powered tools is a good one.


I'll add:

Toothbrushes
Condoms
Tampons
Razors (for yourself: straight razors, hone, and strop)
Bicycle innertubes and components
Glossy pornography magazines, for when the Internet and DVD players die
More generally, any entertainment that doesn't require the grid: books
Pencils and a sharpener
Paper

Re: How about a list of barter items when tshtf
 

When the water stops running and the masses are taking "sponge baths", bundles of cheap white cotton washcloths will be in demand. I don't know how I could live without them on my extended camping trips when it's too cold to jump in a creek.

Re: How about a list of barter items when tshtf
 

beanie babies.

Re: How about a list of barter items when tshtf
 

Coffee? I know that it stores ok. Some of the sealed cans last 2 years or more. I bet those cans of cheese and butter wouldn't be bad either.

Re: How about a list of barter items when tshtf
 

Disposable baby diapers, tooth brushes, tampons/pads, and other healthcare stuff are also good barter items.

Re: How about a list of barter items when tshtf
 

Take guns and ammo off that list. Do not trade powerful weapons to desperate people. The 1lbs pepper spray units are the most formidable weapon I'd want to trade, maybe a baseball bat or the like.

Also remove drugs and alchohol from the list. Do not place yourself in a position between a junkie/alchoholic and his fix. They do crazy things. I've seen people crave cigarettes when deprived of them, but not violently so and I've never seen anyone driven mad by the desire for a cigarette. I have seen former smokers and dippers use some very disgusting and stale tobacco with much enthusiasm, though.

Add sweet sugary confections like Twinkies, Swiss Cake rolls, heck, pure refined sugar. Just about everybody in America is addicted to sugar, if you haven't been in a forced sugarfree environment(good gravy I have had a freak'n weird life!!!) you have no idea. People will get extremely bold and creative, though not violently so, to get a sugar fix. I've seen a small candybar trade for the equivalent of ten or more dollars. Imagine that, a fifty cent candybar for an ounce of silver... Poptarts are a good option, too. Anything very sugary that keeps a long time, which is most junkfood.

I will second what Drill is saying about being self sufficient and I'll raise it one, look past storing supplies and start thinking hard about how to grow at least some of your own food. Likewise have the capacity to manufacture many useful items from available resources. Settled areas will have a huge ammount of wood, metal and plastic available to the handy craftsman. If you live in a house with even a small yard you can grow most if not all your own food, it doesn't take too much space to get by you'll just have less variety. If you live in an apartment it is a little more tricky but you can still grow fish and keep quail or bantam hens for eggs. The banty hens are only a fraction the size of a standard hen and they lay small but tasty eggs on a regular basis, they do not make much noise. You can grow vegetables outside your front door, on your balcony or even inside by a window or with some lighting.

Don't think about floorspace, think about verticle space. Find a wall and build a rack. Have your birds, either the banty hens or the quails, in a cage with a wire bottom. Put a large bin under it that is full of dirt and earthworms. The worms will help break down the droppings, the dirt will help dry them out to keep odors down. You can harvest a certain number of worms to supplement what you feed the fish(catfish are tasty and hardy). Bugs like crickets and mealworms are easy to grow as fishfood as well and with the right setup can even be combined with the worms in the bin to produce insect/worm hybrids to unleash on your enemies. Wait, scratch that, they can live in the same container. Above the fish you can have several racks of vegetables which you can water with old fishtank water. It helps keep the fish's water clean and acts as fertilizer for the plants. A more sophisticated setup would involved hydroponic gardening that circulates water from the fishtank as part of the filtration process. Without too much trouble or expense you can set yourself up as some kind of messed up urban farmer from the future and gain some food independence. Or do like I did and buy a small farm outside the city. :ARMS1:

Re: How about a list of barter items when tshtf
 

,,,add to the list salt and pepper. A must have, with almost every meal.

Re: How about a list of barter items when tshtf
 

Been meaning to start a thread like this. As a newbie, I would get frustrated with prep lists that always started with "4,000 rounds of ammo per weapon" "2 years of freeze dried food or MRE's" . I'm broke, and would then feel like there's no way I can be prepared.

Then I started reading about different prep lists, made my own based my family size and on what I know I already have (for instance, I'm good on batteries and .22 ammo). SO this is MY list, I can pick up a little at Wal-Mart at a time and put it away. When I complete the list, I start over again with the same list (just upping the qty's). Start with being prepared for a week without any help from outside of your house (Blizzard, Hurricane, Loss of Power grid, etc.), then go from there. Hope this helps.

Small propane tanks � 3 trays
Led headlamps � 4 ea
Photon microlight - 4
Baby Wipes � 2 cases
Rubbing alcohol � 4 lg. bottles
Fire extinguisher � 4 ea
Duct tape � 6 rolls
Plastic sheeting � 4 packs
Lighters � 20-30 ea
Tooth paste � 6 tubes
Toothbrushes � 10 ea
Deodorant � 5 ea
Trash bags � 10 cases
Ziploc freezer bags
Toilet paper � all I can get
Soap � 24 bars
Cotton balls � 4 packs
Vaseline � 2 ea
Water Filters - 20
Hand-Can openers � 4 ea
hand egg beaters - 4 ea
whisks � 4 ea
Charcoal & Lighter fluid � 4 ea
Aluminum foil Reg. & Hvy. Duty � 5 ea
Gasoline containers � 5 ea
Matches "Strike Anywhere" � 6 packs
Writing paper
Ink pens
Tarps
twine
nails
rope
Laundry detergent (Liquid) � 4 bottles
Bleach (plain, NOT scented: 4 to 6% sodium hypochlorite) � 4
Sleeping bags & blankets/pillows/mats � 5 ea
Cotton neckerchiefs � 10 ea

Cooking oil � 10 gal.
Ramen noodles - 100
Pasta
Honey/Syrups/sugars
Rice - Beans -
Chocolate/Cocoa/Tang/Punch (water enhancers)
Tea � 2 cases
Chewing gum/candies � 2 cases

Re: How about a list of barter items when tshtf
 

Ooooohhh, good call. Didn't know that. Thanks!!

There are some things on my list you don't normally see, like Fire Extinguishers. But if you were ever in an emergency situation (hurricane, to SHTF) if your house catches fire, YOUR FAMILY will be the only ones to put it out. If you are not going to prepare to put it out, at least put a bag of marshmellows in your preps so you can toast them while you watch your house burn down. :banana:

Re: How about a list of barter items when tshtf
 

Absolutely right silverJeep, the most important factor to consider is the expediture of resources over time not just gross amounts...if anyone had even had seven days worth of stuff, the odds of survival in any emergency are much higher.

Re: How about a list of barter items when tshtf
 

I'm not sure how much D.O. you'd need overall. A pallet? Two pallets?

Charcoal you can make yourself. Historically you pile wood, cover with sand, and light. Modern recipe would be a 50gal drum, light until the smoke stops coming out, same as for making char. You could theoretically use this first burn as a source of heat as well, if you can route the smoke with a proper chimney, or the heat with a water coil.

I don't know. I feel your list is filled with modern things that are of lesser utility. To my mind, what you really need are shovels, pruners, Planet Jr cultivators (greatest invention ever, get the antique variety) grafting root and stock, seeds, chicken wire, 6-mil clear sheets, PVC tube, tarps, buckets and tubs, lime, matches, house or portable wood stove, applicable books, and so on.

I can live without TP, people did that for the 400,000 years up til recently (apologies to the strict Creationists in house), but I think I'd be a mite worse off if I couldn't get seed and a blue tarp. Or maybe you can use the D.O. while sitting hungry in a cold house with a leaky roof.

Not to denegrate your preparations or their utility as trade goods, but everyone you know will be in the same situation. They will need life-sustaining consumables like propane first, and friendly pleasantries later. As you have limited money, it's sensible to invest in the most life-sustaining basics first.

Here's an idea: If you were loading a Canastota Wagon to "head West, young man" what would you bring along? Once you had a sod house, what would you order next from the Railroad and Wells Fargo, and work from there.

TS

Re: How about a list of barter items when tshtf
 

Charcoal and lighter fluid is cheap (right now) and good to barter. I wouldn't even use it. Not to mention, spend a huge amount of time MAKING it like you suggest.


Yes, modern things. We live in a modern world. I use modern things. The rest of the world uses modern things. If we're knocked back to a post modern world, some of the things of greatest value will be practical modern things. What kind of bartering do you think you will be able to do with a 23 year old when you have a bag of seeds and a bucket?

Anyone can live without TP, some still do. If you can't see the value of TP to barter with women alone, you have no grasp on the barter system (or women). Tarps were on my list. Won't be cold with my wood supply and propane supply. Again, didn't include WHAT I HAVE, won't be hungry either.

Where i live, the wood supply would last for years. I think you underestimate what people would value. I understand it may not appeal to you, but you have to look around at other people. People will want to hold onto what they're uesd to for as long as they can. Do you think a week into a catastrophe the average guy will be looking for seeds????

Or maybe duct tape, or a can opener, or a lighter, or trash bags? I think the latter.

Hey to each his own. It's obvious you would feel more comfortable with a piece of flint and steel to start your fire. I would rather get a case of lighters to last a few years.

One of the things that stuck out in my mind when reading about the SHTF in Argentina is that the author said you can't expect to load up on bullets and beans and barricade yourself on your property. You HAVE to interact with people. That is life. You have to prepare for youself, and prepare to barter. One mindset will not work.

If you think we're gonna get knocked back to colonial times, (for more than a short period) you're kidding yourself. Even if the US totally collapsed, got nuked, etc. Eventually (and probably quickly) another country would come in and take over and trucks would start rolling again. Even if we became a 3rd world country... even in a 3rd world country you can get TP, and a bag of chips.

Re: How about a list of barter items when tshtf
 

Colloidal silver is a wonderful barter item. I have 4 packs of refill rod's which will make hundred's of gallons. In fact I barter with it now and have for years.:rose:

Re: How about a list of barter items when tshtf
 

I've already mentioned a lot of this on the "alky & tabaccy" thread, but it's a useful exercize, so...

I'd load up on luxury items sure to have value on the frontier, like bolts of fine cloth, perfumes and cosmetics, new sheet music, clocks and watches and other small complex mechanisms, impossible to find luxuries like tins of caviar, chocolates, and fine wine/liquor. I'd sell it to the wealthy and, especially, the gentility, who were/are class and image conscious, and pay someone else to build me a fine wooden house in town!!! :clap2: The gentility will buy riduculous items as long as they are rare, valuable, or in fashion, in order to distinguish themselves from the rabble. And the common folk will buy whatever they can afford in order to appear more well-off or "genteel" than they really are. Once the basic essentials of life are established people will once again scrabble for status and positions of power/influence/respect. After all, what good is life if there isn't someone to look down upon? :y:

Re: How about a list of barter items when tshtf
 

TRVTH.

For further evidence of this, watch a few minutes of television commercials or HGTV. We are chimps competing for status.

Re: How about a list of barter items when tshtf
 

Salt - for preserving and cooking.

I have 100 lbs in storage - and had a truckload dumped on my property a few years back in a trench on the side of one hill - it is there in the ground if I need it and now that the deer found it, is good lick too. Makes bow season too easy.

Re: How about a list of barter items when tshtf
 

[QUOTE]
That's where i got a lot of items on my list.:proud: Just modified it a bit for my situation.

Re: How about a list of barter items when tshtf
 

55 gal plastic barrel soy sauce.
yum yum onna tummy :tongue:
(I can eat stuff I ordinarily wouldn't given enough
soy sauce to pour on it.)
__________________________________________
__________________________________________

We have only a couple of gallons of soy sauce now,
but at the first sign of real trouble ahm buying more,
a lot more.

There's a half dozen 12 oz pump dispensers
of Purell scattered around here, ... three in use .
First sign of real trouble and I'll buy a bunch more.

I have posted before in ANOTHER thread:
3M #8511/N-95 "respirator" masks. I already have
many 10pc boxes of these as I use them every day
in my workshop. Bird flu is not a serious threat now,
but it could become one in a heartbeat.

Does anyone have "civil defense"style gas masks?
We don't. We do have AO Safety respirators with
various types of extra cartridges. We use these
occasionally anyway. We also have extra swim
goggles. My wife uses these for swimming.
If not the best, the combination would still be
significant protection against bio-chemical hazards.

I don't buy stuff I don't use at least occasionally
anyway.................

dtnwn

Re: How about a list of barter items when tshtf
 

A case or two each of

10/30

forty weight (tranny)

brake fluid

ATF
______________________________

Think ahl get me a case of
two stroke scooter oil.

Re: How about a list of barter items when tshtf
 

One thing on that list that I never thought of that would
be a great barter item: DOG FOOD!!

That really is a good idea!
I don't own a Dog now but have in the past and I know that most people
consider them part of the family and would even be tempted to give their
starving dog some of their own food in a desparate situation because they love them so much.
A 25# bag of dog food would be worth a lot to someone in that situation.

Re: How about a list of barter items when tshtf
 

In that situation some people would probably start eating dog food themselves. YUM!! Just add hot water and it tastes like stew............

:rofl: :rofl:

Re: How about a list of barter items when tshtf
 

WTSHTF there won't be any need for dog food. People will be eating dogs and dogs will be eating human corpses.
Your money would be much better invested in rice and beans and guns and ammo.

Re: How about a list of barter items when tshtf
 

I was talking about when TSHTF, I think you are talking about
when the "Whole Sewer System HTF" which usually comes
after WHSHTF :cheerful: :cheerful:

It definitely does take up storage room and not a real long shelf life,
points well taken.

Re: How about a list of barter items when tshtf
 

It's not "a buy item" but I think of it, as a nesesity. I'm talking here about the net shutting down or being severly restricted [like in Iran now]. And so, make all copies of documents and even food recepies now, while everything works. When the lights go out, it will be to late to do anything, only thoughts of I should have done this or that, popping, into your think box.

Re: How about a list of barter items when tshtf
 

Your best post ever hoarder!:coolbeer:

Re: How about a list of barter items when tshtf
 

People will just give dogs whatever left over stuff they have. I think a good way to go is to just take the time one day and every time you use an item think to yourself "If didn't have this would it be a pain?", and if you say yes and its something you replace often, then that a good item to use.

Re: How about a list of barter items when tshtf
 

Re: How about a list of barter items when tshtf
 

Yes, condoms. Good call.

As for the dog food, well, if you have dogs (or cats), store food for them!! Just don't plan to keep them fat and lazy. As things get worse, from no garbage collection/sewers backed up all the way to dead bodies littering the landscape, rats and critters will become a huge problem. People always talk about the big dogs, but a Jack Russell or a Rat Terrier are very enthusiastic at the sight of critters; it is what they were bred for, after all. Cats? Enough said.

Pets? No, useful team members.

Re: How about a list of barter items when tshtf
 

There you go, more good thoughts.

PS a rubber is a good thing in a bug out bag, makes a good field expedient water carrier.

Re: How about a list of barter items when tshtf
 

I could never eat/drink anything out of a condom, I will have to settle for water balloons I guess. Anyway water should be carried in the belly first and after your stomach is full then you worry about filling a container. Water rationing doesn't prolong your health it only curbs your thirst a little and there are other methods for handling that such as a peppercorn or a pebble in the mouth. On that note dew can be gather most places in the early morning so it's good to have an absorbant cloth. Not a maxipad though, because that would be sick and wrong. :eek:

Oh yeah, as far as a pocket survival kit or similar goes, a heavy duty contractor garbage bag can be fit into a very small space and will provide protection from wind, rain and help hold in your body heat. It can also hold water or can be used to make a solar still or a number of other useful items. It can even come in handy as an E&E tool as per the tattoos thread, a man curled up inside a garbage bag in amongst a bunch more garbage bags can be easily overlooked by pursuers. It's also useful when you're remodeling your new home and want to hide in plain sight so you can jump up and scare your wife because you're a twisted prankster. When I've been occasioned to use the garbage bag emergency shelter I didn't lay down in it but more like kind of squatted. Contrary to what everybody told you as a kid you probably won't suffocate in the bag as long as you leave it a little open on the bottom, co2 falls and oxygen rises.

Big dogs are good for biting badguys, but even a very small dog is good at alarming as long as you are good at shooting. A big dog can be as expensive in terms of food as a human or even a couple humans. Small dogs are cheap to feed and some can forage enough mice and bugs to earn their own living.

I've seen warzones where dogs carry off parts of dead people to go eat. I've got this image burned in my mind of a dog silohuetted in the failing light with a human hand in its mouth, pretty creepy and surreal. I've also lived in ghettos where new moms put their babies in grocery bags and toss them in the bushes, dumpster or over somebody's privacy fence/wall. Man and animals know no limits to depravity in desperate times.

Re: How about a list of barter items when tshtf
 

Say that after you've been waterless for two days. There's a reason it's called survival.

Re: How about a list of barter items when tshtf
 

A solar panel and blocking diode .... charges any old car battery for radio equipment, lights and laptop.

Petrol will be the first thing to disappear.

Currency moves commodities, that's the weak link .... currency.

Re: How about a list of barter items when tshtf
 

try www.harborfreight.com They currently have a 45W amorphous solar panel with charge controller and (2) 5w 12V fluorescent bulbs for $200. I just bought one of these and am in the middle of testing it out. I plan to use this with (2) 6V golf cart batteries wired in series to provide 200 AH of 12V storage. Add a power inverter, and I'm all set to run small 120VAC appliances in case of extended power outage.

Re: How about a list of barter items when tshtf
 

45 watt is a good starter. Takes a 20 watter to keep a laptop on line.

I've got three 25 watters for emergencies. That and a 150 watt wind machine.

I also have a 700 watt wind machine but its not portable, takes a big tower.


.

Re: How about a list of barter items when tshtf
 

Assuming youre going to stay put when the martial law is declared those are all good things to have. As for me, a good survival knife and a .44 magnum with a backpack full of silver and gold bullion. I will head to the wilderness the moment it happens. Staying in the cities may not be the best thing.

Re: How about a list of barter items when tshtf
 

I didn't see it on the list but I would add sewing kits.

These cheap, made in china, kits only cost a few bucks and usually contain needles, thread, safety pins, a few buttons, and a pair of
godawful scissors.

Sewing kits have a good shelf life and take up very little room. As a product of modern mass production technology they are silly-easy to make. In a post modern SHTF scenario there are few blacksmiths that can craft something as inoculus as a simple sewing needle.

Re: How about a list of barter items when tshtf
 

that reminds me, when I travel I always save my soaps and shampoos etc. Sometimes esp in Europa you get sewing kits too. I have a huge bag of this crap which I use sometimes and certainly would be willing to barter for small needs.

Re: How about a list of barter items when tshtf
 

First thing, and I've said this before is about PM's. IN A TRUE SHTF OR TEOWAWKI, having most of your 'worth' in PM's is a mistake. Cause you are assuming that you can spend it. You won't be able to. With out a LARGE GROUP of body guards. If you don't have your preps NOW you best start. You should basically only stock food you eat now. That way you can just recycle things through your pantry. YOU DO HAVE A PANTRY, DON'T YOU? And a properly stocked armory?

FOR THE LIST OF FOOD, I SHOULD NOTE THAT THIS LIST WAS PUT TOGETHER FOR STRICTLY SURVIVING AN EARTHQUAKE FOR ONE WEEK WHILE WE LEFT THE AREA ONLY - NOT FOR A LONG TERM SHTF...

---

Disaster Food List
Note : This should be 7 days worth for 2 adults

All dry mixes should be add water only
Individual portions are best

1. Water - 35 gal. (1 gal.day/person[pet] + 7 spare)
2. Pancake Mix - large
3. Powdered Milk - large
4. Jiffy Mix - large (if mixes with water only)
5. Oatmeal - large mixed selection
6. Dry Cereal - Kix & Shredded Wheat
7. Crackers - Saltines & Ritz
8. Salt & Pepper
9. Mixed Spices - in one dispenser
10. Garlic or garlic salt
11. Maple syrup - medium
12. Sugar - small
13. Flour - small
14. Tang - large
15. Juice - 12 small boxes (4 3-packs)
16. Soda - 1 case mixed or cola
17. Wine - 1 5 liter box (white or red chablis)
18. Chili - 3 large cans
19. Stew - 3 large cans
20. Spam - 4 cans
21. Ravioli - 4 cans (small meat ravioli)
22. Veinna Sausages - 4 small cans
23. Beanie Weanies - 6 small cans
24. Tuna 3 small cans - 2 pkgs
25. Green Beans - 4 small cans
26. Corn - 4 small cans
27. Salsa - medium container
28. Peanut Butter - 1 large or 2 small plastic jars
29. Jelly - 1 large or 2 small jars
30. Chips - Fritos or Tortillia - 1 large or 2 medium
31. Oreo cookies - 1 large or 2 medium
32. Crisco - 1 medium can
33. Aluminum foil - 1 large box
34. Wax paper - 1 small box
35. Plastic wrap - 1 small box
36. Dishwashing soap - 1 small bottle
37. Hand soap - 2 medium bars (two in first aid)
38. Plastic scrubber - 1 medium
39. Matches - 1 large box (strike anywhere)
40. Paper towels - 2 large rolls (one in first aid)
41. Toilet paper - 6 pack (4 pack in first aid)
42. Dry pasta's (Spagetti, Fettucini, Etc.)
43. Parmesan Cheese - 1 large
44. Spagetti Sauce - 2 or 3 large cans


Pet Food - 2 5lb. or 1 10 lb. bag
Pet Snacks - 1 large or 2 small boxes

---

Re: How about a list of barter items when tshtf
 

A couple of folks mentioned sewing kits. I'd also like to add sewing patterns. At some point you will have to make new clothing.

Re: How about a list of barter items when tshtf
 

probably non-hyrid seed packets stored well are a good item too-- very much in demand in a depression or collapse situation, and not very expensive per unit to aquire

http://www.heirloomseeds.com/

http://www.arkinstitute.com/

Re: How about a list of barter items when tshtf
 

Masonic Plot said:
If that is the extent of your bugout preps, maybe you should change your name to Burial Plot.


:haha: