I believe I'm prepped to handle everyday events (events I can foresee) during a grid-down situation, be it for a short term or long. In addition to my medical kit, which I covered a lot, the following are additional items for a grid-down situation:

03 Boxes of latex-free gloves (two boxes are open)
01 Box of latex gloves
02 116-count boxes of Alka-Seltzer (I know this is overkill, but Alka-Seltzer can be a life-saver)
13 Rolls of 2" CoFlex
10 ten-count 4" x 4" gauze sponges
07 Curad Wound Care Kits
06 first aid kits (this is in addition to my above-mentioned medical kit)
02 six-count Kleenex Go Packs
01 ten-count extra socks
01 extra pack of undergarments from Sam's Club (I'm not revealing any more details)
02 forty-pack sandwich crackers
03 eight-pack sandwich crackers
03 extra pairs of sunglasses
01 open box of hand sanitizing wipes (estimating fifty left)
34 boxes of Kleenex
31 5" x 9" trauma pads
01 open fifty-count box of biohazard bags (probably forty-eight bags left)
12 40" x 40" x 56" triangular bandages
01 open box 3" x 4" non-adherent pads
02 eye pads
01 100-count box fingertip bandages
04 After Bite
05 1" x 10 yards cloth tape
01 100-count knuckle bandages
01 eighty-count .75" x 3" plastic bandages
05 digital thermometers
03 3" elastic bandages
01 4" elastic bandage
01 DripDrop ORS
01 cold compress
09 #11 sterile disposable scalpels
01 open box 100-count 3" x 3" gauze pads
01 3" elastic bandage
04 emergency blankets
02 penlights
03 SWAT tourniquets
09 3" gauze rolls
03 1/8 ounce Burn Jel
02 Dyna-Stopper
02 4" x 4" burn dressing
02 4" x 16" burn dressing
04 packs of eye pads
02 irrigation syringes
04 six-count antiseptic towelettes
01 bandage scissors
01 2" x 6" burn dressing
06 cotton-tipped applicators
02 eye shields
01 2" elastic bandage
02 1" cloth tape
01 Dentemp
01 open twenty-five count box 4" x 4" sponges
02 13 ounce jars petroleum jelly
01 4 ounces cough suppressant
02 twenty-five count cough drops
02 200-count boxes alcohol prep pads
03 liquid generic Tylenol (I'm unable to swallow pills because of my throat)
06 thirty-six count chewable aspirin (twenty-seven doses total)
04 generic lip balm
01 100 count 1" x 3" bandaids
01 1.25 ounce Ben's 30% DEET
01 3.4 ounces Natrapel
02 pill crushers
01 4 ounces hand sanitizer (I'm having trouble getting more hand sanitizer)
04 8 ounces hand sanitizer
03 three-pack Carmex
05 pill splitters
02 300-count bottles 5000 mcg Vitamin B12 (this will last me 600 days)

Clearly, I'm not covering food and water (except for sandwich crackers). I have more sterile strips than I can count. There may be some things that I have but did not think to include.

To the point of this thread, while I believe I'm prepped for emergencies I foresee in a grid down (long term and short), everyday situations. It is the unforeseen events that have me wondering if I have everything that I can get. Based on my list, your experiences, and so forth, can you think of emergencies that I can't think of? Is there a go-to product that helps you in about every situation?

Edit: I forgot to mention two pairs of prescription glasses, a cleaning cloth, and an extra eyeglass case.

Jeanette Isabelle

Lights come in handy in emeergeencies. You didn't mention those, although I bet you have some. Good to have at lest one reliable headlamp. basic tools - hammer, shovel, maybe an axe?

You are in hurricane country, although thankfully well inland. What about tarps? You are likely to get massive rainfall. Can you cope with that?

PPE items - gloves, helmet, stout boots (steel toes?), face masks (useful for much more than covid).

How will you cook? some sort of camp stove and fuel should be handy, along with the all essential coffee.....

I like solar panels for recharging at least phones, headlamps, and other small items.

In a way it comes down to basics - food and potable water. You don't need the exotic MRE, lifeboat rations, and all that. Basic canned goods will go down quite well.

What are your preps for diarrhea, constipation, and all those things that accompany changes in diet and daily routines?

I'm reasonably well prepared but if the grid was down for a long time in my corner of Montana things would get nippy! It's 12 degrees today and will much colder come Dec/Jan/Feb. I don't really have a good system of heating my place for long. There are some propane heaters on the market but I don't know that they're safe to run indoors for long periods. This wouldn't be a survival issue immediately as I have plenty of appropriate winter gear (boots, mukluks, coats, semi-arctic sleeping bags, etc) but obviously keeping the water from freezing would be an issue.

Right now I have plenty of food for a couple of months. Probably around a month of Datrex, a couple months of Mountain House, canned and fair stock of dried beans, etc.

While I don't expect it to be an issue I'd be remiss if I didn't mention that I am adequately stocked with firearms and ammo. There hasn't been a round of 9mm or 5.56 on the shelves for a couple months, and in my last trip to the LGS virtually every round for every caliber was gone! That would be much more disconcerting to me if I hadn't had the foresight to keep "a bit of ammo" on hand. Really it's not even so much "prepping" as just keeping stuff around I use. I've got two or three thousand rounds of 9mm and probably 500 rounds of 12 ga, mostly 00 Buckshot and slugs. The one area I kind of wish I had stacked deeper is 5.56; there I have maybe 700 round. That's enough to equip four US Army soldiers with the standard combat load but not enough to go out and plink recreationally with any frequency. But it should be enough for anything short of a Red Dawn situation.

I have six MAG-LITE flashlights, a headlamp in my medical kit, and tools (Philips screwdriver, ratchet, socket, and four wrenches). We also have tools in the garage.


We have tarps and duct tape.


I have gloves and masks.


Mom has a sun oven, which she uses to reduce the amount of heat generated in the kitchen during the summer months.


We have three solar panels.


This is why I created this thread. I knew someone would ask questions I have not thought of.

Jeanette Isabelle

You need to add a hernia repair kit, if you're lugging all that stuff around everyday.


We appreciate that.


That should cover things for the foreseeable future.


You can never have too many spares.

All my joking aside ... on the serious side though - since this is for a "grid down" situation (i.e., "no power") - don't you want to add some type of portable power? A few batteries? A solar charger maybe?

Though I belong to a gun club, I don't own a firearm because of my anxiety. I would end up doing more harm than good.

On the other hand, people may want to get out of harm's way when they see a loaded gun shaking that much.

Jeanette Isabelle

I have batteries for my flashlights, and I mentioned the three solar panels.

Jeanette Isabelle

As for constipation, I don't know if I should get milk of magnesia (the direction I'm leaning) or Imodium A-D Liquid.

As for diarrhea, my first line would be electrolyte drinks, which we have. It may not be a bad idea to add a bottle of Pepto-Bismol to the list.

Jeanette Isabelle

I only say this half-jokingly; for constipation you could keep a bag of candy made with maltodextrin! About for pieces of Russel Stover candy will have you running for the bathroom!

True. However, as you can see from my list, a person can have too many eye pads, sterile strips, digital thermometers, and After Bite.

Everything else looks about right.

Jeanette Isabelle