How To Keep A Prepper Inventory
Preppers are champions at making lists; some of us even have lists of lists to ensure we keep all of our preps in order.
Stockpiling gear and supplies is an essential part of a prepper’s survival plan, but those vital goods (and skills) will only be beneficial if you know where they are, how to use them, if they haven’t gone bad, and you didn’t neglect to get enough of any one necessary item.
Keeping an inventory list has become a commonplace prepper activity, but keeping just one huge master list is not the best way to go about this potentially life or death type of record keeping.
Prepper inventory lists should be specific to a certain classification of items on separate lists so they are easier to manage.
The lists should also have a column where hashtags or some other method of quantity control can be used to quickly note when an item has been removed and used or additional items were added.
This method is particularly important on food, ammunition, and gun repair parts inventory lists.
I cannot recommend highly enough keeping both a copy of the inventory lists on a computer and at least one hard copy for each.
Keeping only a computerized inventory list would leave you without a recording of your preps if the device was destroyed or stopped working, and was not backed up to a cloud or external storage device like a jump drive.
Even if the computer or other electronic device is protected from EMP damage in a Faraday cage, there is no guarantee it will be protected enough to salvage your data.
Keeping just one hard copy of the prepper inventory lists is not a good idea either. The lists could be lost, or accidentally destroyed by a pet or child.
Think of keeping a computerized copy of your prepper inventory lists and at least copy of the same as vital backup. Remember the incredibly accurate prepper mantra: “One is none, and two is one.”
Store the hard copies of the prepper inventory lists in a sturdy binder with divider tabs to help keep the storage records organized for quick reference.
Ideally, you should keep each individualized prepper inventory list attached to a clipboard and hung in the area where the items on it are stored.
This will help keep the list up to date if someone pulls an item from the survival stockpiles because it is about to go out of date, needs to be used and is a one time use item, or is a multiple time use item that has been “checked” out, but will be marked as returned when it comes back.
Sometimes preppers can get so detailed with food inventory lists they can be complicated to record and keep track of on a regular basis. Instead of having a single list for each food type, noted down the food items in sections on the same list.
You can choose to divide long-term storage meals in one section, grocery store food in another, and separate home canned or otherwise preserved food into another section – or intermingly the different food sources and categorize each by the type of food, i.e. meat or protein, vegetables, soup, etc.
As long as you keep all of the food on a single inventory list and everyone in your family or survival tribe understands your record keeping process, the food preps inventory list should stay nice and organized.
Survival homesteaders also often attach a record of weekly or monthly milk and egg yield from barnyard producers to help the family estimate how much of both can be expected during a long-term disaster when leaving your bugin or bugout location is no longer an option.
Yes, some preppers practice portable homesteading so the things they are growing or raising can be taken with them.
Prepper Food Inventory Category Suggestions (print out several of the list below this table, and write each category on the dotted line at the top):
If you were to divide up all of your food preps by type and not source categories, using the example below will help keep your inventory list organized and easy for anyone in your family or survival tribe to understand and update quickly.
Prepper Food Inventory List Columns
There are four essential column headers a prepper’s food inventory list should contain: item name, package or container size, expiration date, and amount in the stockpile.
Some preppers also include a column heading of “amount needed” to help them factor needed survival food inventory items into their prepping budget.
Basic Prepper Food Inventory Chart
This sample prepper inventory list should include every food item, gravy or sauce mix packet, herbs and spices, and condiments you are stockpiling.
I left all of the spaces on this printable list so you could print as many as needed, and add specific items your family stockpiles that may not be on this list.
To keep the prepper food inventory list even more organized, items easier to find on a shelf, and to develop a solid rotation plan, you may consider adding a symbol ( an * for example) to note which items are home canned or dehydrated.
Keeping this list highly organized will ensure that your family will have an exact count of all the food on hand to help sustain you through either a short or long term disaster.
Download this inventory list here.
Water is such a vital part of life, yet many preppers neglect to create an inventory list to deal especially with basic survival needs.
On the water inventory list you should record not just the bottles of water you have put back, but the tools and supplies to purify water and manually garner water during an off grid situation.
Some of the items you should on a water prepper inventory list include: rainwater collection systems, Life Straws, purification tablets, filters, and empty jugs for water collection.
I also recommend keeping a record of how much precipitation your area receives on a monthly or at least a seasonal basis. This type of survival inventory will help you determine how much rain or snow you could expect to receive to help supplement (or completely supply) your family’s needs.
It would also be a wise idea to “inventory” i.e. track how many gallons of water your non-traditional water sources are capable of holding or providing at least on a seasonal basis. Potential water sources to inventory include: bathtub, pond, swimming pool, creek, hot tub, ravine, or stream.
When relying on well water as your primary water source, you should stockpile and inventory the supplies you stockpile to manually draw water from it during a long-term disaster or even a shorter term region power outage.
The prepper water inventory list has some slots filled with suggested and necessary time to stockpile, a dash after similar or identical ones so you can add in specifics related to size or function.
Download this inventory list here.
Keeping an exact weapons inventory is as vital to your survival as knowing exactly how much food and water your have stockpiled.
When stockpiling weapons and ammunition and recording what you have amassed, do not neglect to account for each caliber of ammunition specifically, magazines, repair kits items, reloading supplies, cleaning kit items, replacement parts, etc.
This list includes some basic common entries for you to personalize after the dash, as well as blank spaces in the Item column to write in your own.
Download this inventory list here.
Stockpiling as many tools, especially manual hand tools, as possible should be an integral part of any survival plan.
Not only do you need to practice using those tools, the old-fashioned counterparts to the power tools you typically use, but know exactly how many you have and where they are stored, as well.
In addition to stockpiling copious amounts of tools you will need to make repairs yourself and for barter, do not forget to purchase screws, nails, washers, nuts, etc. in bulk in a multitude of sizes.
Anyone who has built something as simple as a deck or repaired a roof realizes how quickly a pound of screws disappears.
Use the space after the dash to note the sizes and – or types of hardware or tolls being stockpiled.
Download this inventory list here.
There are two types of livestock inventories a prepper should keep a record of all the animals, feed, and care supplies that are currently on hand, as well as a recording of the daily production and weekly health checks of the livestock.
Keep both types of lists together in the prepper inventory binder for quick and easy reference. BEFORE the day comes when you will have to rely on your livestock to provide all the milk, meat, and eggs you family puts on their plate, it is vital to know how much of each you can expect to garner.
The time to add a new laying hen to your flock or to purchase another nanny goat is not AFTER the SHTF.
On our survival homestead we keep a daily jot down list of the eggs and milk we receive in amounts along with a health checklist to do simple and rapid daily health checks on each animal we keep. A disease can spread quickly through a flock or herd, and wipe it out in a matter of days – or sooner.
Completing quick daily health checks and a more thorough weekly health check and logging that alongside the livestock inventory can help you catch a problem either before it starts or before it overtakes – and destroys a significant portion of your essential survival food source.
The prepper livestock inventory below includes some common meat, egg, and milk animals as well as the supplies necessary to keep them alive and healthy.
Again, you can personalize after the dash in the Item column as needed and use the blank space to input more of your survival homestead or bugin location specific livestock related preps.
Download this inventory list here.
When the SHTF and you are solely responsible for supplying every ounce of food your family eats, not knowing how well stocked your gardening supplies are could lead to starvation.
While gardening is largely an off grid activity, if you have a large survival homestead do not forget to factor in fuel and repairs for tractors or horse drawn agricultural equipment into your gardening preps.
Make sure to always mark the year on seeds you harvest and preserve yourself when storing them away in a container and on the gardening inventory list.
To keep the most detailed and organized prepper gardening inventory possible, use the space after the dash to note the variety of the seeds.
Download this inventory list here.
You may not have so many generators that you think you need an inventory list to keep track of them, but if you dig a bit deeper into the concept of generators and other survival lighting supplies, the list fills itself up pretty quickly.
Not only should you keep track of all the generators you own, but how often they are tested, repair parts – even if you keep them in a Faraday cages.
Testing a generator and similar non-traditional lighting and power supplies once a month and recording them on the inventory or a separate document that is attached to the inventory, should become part of the monthly survival plan.
A series of common off grid and emergency lighting options are noted on the list with a space after the dash to personalize the preparedness items in your stockpile – along with empty rows to add other items.
Download this inventory list here.
Not every one of the preps you stockpile are tangible goods. Stockpiling skills and knowledge should also be a significant part of your survival plan. The more you know how to do, the better your chances of surviving a long-term disaster.
The survival skills aspect of your prepping plan should also intensely focus on cross-training all members of your family or mutual assistance group.
No matter what their age, everyone has something to contribute, and no matter how skilled a group or family member is, there is always something new they can learn or hone.
The survival skills prepping inventory list below allows you to keep track of each skill every person in your family or survival tribe currently possesses, their skill level on a scale of 1 to 10, as well as who the person is currently cross-training to learn the skill.
Blank spaces were left to add specific survival skills your family possesses or wants to learn.
The survival skills prepping inventory list may be the most updated record in your prepper inventory binder.
Download this inventory list here.
If you do not live at your bugout location full time, keeping an inventory of all the natural resources, gear, and supplies stored there could greatly enhance your chances of survival.
This inventory list not only will help you ensure that everything you need is accounted for and waiting on your to arrive, but can also serve as a checklist when considering what type of location to purchase for a prepper retreat or a stockpile shopping list when first setting up your bugout location.
Blank spaces were left at the end of this inventory list for you to add items that are specific to your prepper retreat or bugout individual needs.
Download this inventory list here.
Medical preps are as crucial to you survival plan as any other item on this list.
This list includes a copious amount of major and common medical prepping needs as well as blank spaces at the end to include items specifically to suit your family’s individual needs.
Download this inventory list here.
Being able to contact your loved ones both as the SHTF event is unfolding and after is key to not only locating everyone in your family or survival group, but keeping them all safe during the long-term disaster.
A prepper’s communication’s preps should involve both high tech and low tech off grid options. Do no expect the power grid to remain functional long-term no matter what type of disaster disrupts society.
Download this inventory list here.
Keeping track of the fuel types and generators you have stockpiled at your survival homestead, bugin location, or bugout location will help you keep track of not only monthly generator tests to ensure everything is in working order but also encourage you to maintain a routine fuel stabilizer regimen – allowing you to rotate out fuel before it goes bad.
Fuel stabilizers are specific to the type of fuel they are designed to treat, record the type next to the fuel stabilizer line item in the first column.
Blank spaces were left in the Item column for you to add individualized fuel and generator preps to suit your needs, to this prepper inventory list.
Always store your fuel in the recommended colored can types and write in permanent marker any variations from standard use (2 in 1 fuel, for example) on the fuel container.
Download this inventory list here.
While the basic essentials of survival are the focal point of your pres and these inventory lists, keeping some semblance of normalcy (especially if you have children or grandchildren) can go a long way to reducing stress, anxiety, and fatigue during a long-term disaster.
Keeping track of the morale boosters in your survival stockpiles will help you ensure that there is something for everyone in the family or tribe to do to reduce stress and to fill any downtime hours during a long-term disaster.
Download this inventory list here.
Stockpiling items to barter either during a SHTF long-term disaster or in the months to years that follow as society rebuilds itself will give you a valued currency to trade for both goods and services.
Do not expect the dollar bill or even the change in your pocket to retain their value after a doomsday event.
However, you don’t really want to gid into your main stockpile for items to barter. Keep a few aside for this purpose only ot ensure your stockpile will last as long as you estimate it will – no surprises!
Download this inventory list here.
Download this inventory list here.
Keep your bugout bag fully stocked and make sure everything in it is still safe to eat and in working order. What you carry in your bugout bag must be able to sustain your for at least 72 hours and be feasible to pack for a great distance.
Download this inventory list here.
Use these inventory lists to help organize the emergency items you carry on a regular basis. Where you work and where you live will likely greatly impact the type of things you can lawfully make a part of your EDC preps.
Keeping a constantly updated prepper inventory list for each specific area of your survival plan will help you not only make sure none of your money was wasted on the items purchased, but also help you find any holes in your stockpiles.
Make no doubt about it, fellow preppers, it will take hours over the course of possibly many weekends to complete an inventory of your big prepper stockpiles, but the manual labor and time spent sorting through all of your supplies is a small price to pay for the lives doing so could save during a long-term disaster.
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