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Priceless Bartering Chips For Your Survival: Part 3
Last week I gave you the second part of my list (# 6-9) of items that will be priceless as bartering chips after a crisis. This week I will finish out the list with the remaining 7 items and why they will be helpful. Just a quick rundown of the first 5 items
- Cigarettes
- Alcohol
- Antibiotics and medicines
- Sanitation and First aid supplies
- Bullets
- MRE’s.
- Coins
- Laundry Detergent
- Water bottles
If you missed the previous newsletter that contains why these items are important or you just want a refresher please Click Here for numbers 1-5 and Click Here for numbers 6-9
10. Fire Starters
You can usually pick up a box of matches for free from a bar or any place that sells tobacco. Most of the time matchbooks get tossed in the trash or forgotten in a coat pocket. But for someone needing to build a fire to keep their family warm, a pack of matches or a lighter could be a priceless godsend. Be sure these are stored safely, and if they are not waterproof make them so by storing in a watertight container or covering them in paraffin wax.
These matches will keep for a very long time, they typical match will last around 3 years if kept dry but good quality matches that are stored in an airtight container can last up to 10 years or more. Lighters such as disposable BIC lighters and Zippos will be huge in the barter community.
They will be a sought-after item simply because of how easy they are to use and the scarcity they will instantly have. How many people do you think know how to actually start a fire with a bow drill, or a hand drill? Starting a friction fire is not an easy task. I can do it but I am by no means a master at it.
Even the best primitive skills expert can have trouble stoking a fire. So it is for this reason that any lighters, matches, will be heavily sought after. Just make sure that you properly store them for the maximum amount of shelf life.
11. Sugar
My great-grandmother used to tell stories from WWII. She would tell me how you couldn't just walk into a store and buy as much sugar or butter or meat as you did not want, nor could you fill up your car with gasoline whenever you liked. All these things were rationed, and you were only allowed your rationed portion, even if you could afford more. The government introduced rationing because certain things were in short supply during the war, and rationing was the best attempt they had to ensure that everyone got their fair share.
Sugar was something he often mentioned. Imagine how easily you could win over a mother with a family of children that all have a sweet tooth with the simple promise of a bag of sugar in exchange for something you are short on.
12. Toilet paper
This one is rather self-explanatory, isn’t it? Sure, there are substitutes for Angel Soft, but who wants to use leaves and corncobs like they did back in the “good ole days” when paper feels so much better. This is one barter item where creature comfort trumps practicality. People will be clamoring for anything that comforts them after a crisis, but unlike with cigarettes and alcohol, the urge to have soft T.P. doesn’t go away.
13. Water Filters/Purifiers
Water purification drops and filters could mean the difference in offering family members treated water or potentially harmful, bacteria-infested water. Considering the fact that you can die in just a few hours without fresh water, and the fact that drinking contaminated water can cause an agonizing bout with some very nasty parasites, what wouldn’t you be willing to trade for that?
14. Bleach
May be used to disinfecting water or keep living quarters and soiled clothing sanitized. This would be a major barter item especially after any type of pandemic crisis. As far as water purification, 1 gallon of bleach can create up to 50,000 gallons of disinfected drinking water. This amount is entirely dependent on how contaminated the water is to start with and only works for biological contaminants (heavy metals and chemical runoff is not removed) Like I said above in the bottled water section, Clean water is NOT a luxury.
15. Batteries
Can be used to power up flashlights, radios, and other electronic devices. You need battery power for just about anything mobile. While these will be used to power flashlights and other essentials, batteries will be coveted heavily for the ability to entertain us.
A mother can ration out the family Gameboy for chores completed by the children or the family can gather around the radio in the evening and get the comfort of music or keep in touch with world news. Either way when electricity is not option batteries are the only way. I have heard differing opinions on this, but I was always told to keep batteries in the freezer to increase their longevity. However, you choose to store them, be sure that you use FIFO on batteries as well, you don’t want to rely on half dead batteries when you need them the most.
16. Candles
Emergency candles would be a great barter item for those in need of providing some light to their living quarters without electricity. If you get the long burning emergency candles they can be used to keep a fire going or start a new one if you run out of matches. Also with a little know how you can learn to make your own candles, which increase your skill set and in turn would increase your value in a post SHTF community.
Can you think of other items you would add to your barter store?
Click Part 1 and Part 2 to read more about this series.
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Scott
November 1, 2012 at 5:12 PM
A good lending library with huge up front deposits. Practical skills, medical, farming, tanning, canning and basic construction books come to mind. Non-hybrid seeds would be worth so much after a major infrastructure breakdown; they would hold incalculable value to practically anyone.
For myself, I have numerous copies of some critical books and would lend these out after huge deposits and for a high fee as well. (also having lots of paper, pens and pencils for sale or trade would complement the library business) Just a few of my own thoughts on this topic.
Sarah Steadman
March 28, 2013 at 7:23 AM
Dont forget archaic methods for fiber extractiin (think linen from flax, rope from hemp), wild food identification for the local area or at least a guide to what is poisonous, manuals for small engines, and carborators, guides for sewing, cobbling, pottery and hand worked carpentey….
krys
December 14, 2012 at 1:22 AM
Batteries are a good idea but what I’d recommend is the new rechargeable batteries that are usually green in color. I’ve used some of them and recharged them over 30+ times without any really apparent degradation. Of course, you have to have a battery charger to help with it but I’m thinking that a small generator or perhaps an alternative energy/solar device can help with that. I’ve seen smaller portable solar panels that are specifically made for cellphones, mp3’s and other portable electronic devices. I hope you find this useful!
Sarah Steadman
March 28, 2013 at 7:29 AM
dont forget that vehicles all have alternators and batteries and already run off 12volt, most of the portables you spoke of can be charged in a car (till battery dies) even if engine wont run……12 volt chargers with car lighter adapters would be good to have on hand and are routinely thrown away when people change phones…..you can hit up flea markets, used electronics stores or just hang onto the ones you dont use anymore….never know when someone will need the size connector you have 10 of
Ronk1313
September 17, 2016 at 5:14 PM
Survival Life has solar powered battery chargers cheap.
janey
January 4, 2013 at 9:55 AM
Fire starters??? My husband changes his own oil in our cars. He buys oil in the 5 quart jugs. He saves the old oil in the same jugs, and uses the old oil to start fires. We have a campfire pit in our back yard, and use it quite often. He built a tri-pod with a chain to hold my cast iron kettle for cooking beans.
Sarah Steadman
March 28, 2013 at 7:41 AM
Yup…dont forget dryer lint is an excellent fire starting medium, light weight, portable, amd comea in preformed sheets lol……
If you have access to cedar wood with bark intact, you can soak the wood until the bark peels away easily (usually two days of rain on a wood pile you forgot to cover will accomplish this the lazy way) the bark should be sof and flexible ad the inner bark will peel away in paper thin strips….seperate strips and braid or rope together while still wet and pliable. Should dry w/in 8 to 10the hours, makes great fire starters, and uf you plavce them strategically in uour hear they can help keep creepy crawlies out without smelling like a walking chemical plant.
Also cotton balls soaked in petroleum jelly, dead lighters (they still have magnesium that can make sparks when the are flicked)
Fuel oil, gasoline, motor oil, brake and caburator cleaner, wd40, hairspray, perfume, cooking oil, and rubbing alcohol (not to mention higher proof liquors) are all good accelerents and are usually already around the house.
MIKE
January 21, 2013 at 8:38 PM
HI;) HEY GREAT INFO VERY USE FULL I THINK ALTERNATIVE FUELS,LIKE LP,KEROSENE SMALL CAMPING LP BOTTLES,LAMP OIL ECT WOULD BE VERY USE FULL FOR MANY THINGS!ALSO BLANKETS ECT FOR COMFORT&WARMTH PAPER FILTERS&ANY THING ELSE USED TO FILTER WITH FOR WATER ECT COFFEE&SUCH TEA!POP SWEETNERS FLOUR SALT AND SEASONINGS,CHARCOAL OR SIMILAR FUEL&HEAT&COOKING!CHARCOAL STARTER,WOOD FOR HEAT&COOKING!JUST A FEW THINGS COME TO MIND RIGHT NOW! TAKE CARE ALL,GREAT BEING HERE WITH ALL OF YOU! MIKE;)
Sarah Steadman
March 27, 2013 at 11:34 PM
Dont forget small manufactured goods and ncessities….
buttons, needles, thread, yarn, socks, shoes, underwear, fabric, clothing in generall, bedding
*buttons are cheap and can be scavenged from itherwise unwearable clothing, clothes that are worn will have to be repaired, people will need to stay warm, socks shoes and underwear are always in short demand in rough times…..
pencils and pens, writing paper,
* remember…..no power, no cpus…..
rope and string,
Everything from tying shoes to hanging a deer
baking soda and baking powder, salt and pepper, silverware andknives, coffee, powdered creamer….
*baking soda and powder will be hard to find but helpful when cooking, salt can be used for everthing from cooking to wound care to gardening, pepper doesent grow in the US, people dont like to eat with their hands in general, knives are handy for all devices sorts of things, who’s day doesnt go better with coffee?
All these can be easily and cheaply found everywhere from garage sales to retailers.
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left coast chuck
October 1, 2016 at 9:41 AM
Matches last much longer than 10 years. I have some paper matches that were incorrectly printed for a wedding over 30 years ago in 1980. They have been stored in a drawer in the kitchen ever since they were printed. With over 300 books of those puppies, I have more than a lifetime supply of matches for myself. They are still going strong. If I were living in a southern state with high summer humidity, I would store them in a ball jar and keep the lid closed as much as possible and put a desiccant package or two in the jar.
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