# Trading preps



## Jimmy24 (Apr 20, 2011)

So, as hard as it is to spend $$ on preps for yourself, has anyone tried to build a supply of items that might be barter items?

I have some, but limited. Some things I have built up...

TP
Soap (bar)
Alcohol (wood)
2 large plastic containers of used shoes. Mine and some I got from 2nd hand stores. Cheap.
Dawn Antibacterial
Qt and Gal ziplock bags (store brands)
Bottled water
Bleach

At this point I got maybe $100 invested. Everything is stuff that won't go bad and all separate from my on stock.

And the one thing about it, I can use them myself if needed.

Have you been able to think about this and do anything? Or any additional thoughts or things you might add? 

Jimmy


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## kejmack (May 17, 2011)

I'm keeping all my supplies for myself. I plan to use food to barter.


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## The_Blob (Dec 24, 2008)

you might want to swipe out that bleach for some Pool Shock because bottled bleach goes bad after a while... :dunno:

maybe some good water filters or filter pitchers as opposed to keeping full bottles stored...

if you take the tubes out of the TP more of it can be stored in the same amount of space...

make 'soap' out of laundry detergent flakes, there are quite a few recipes for this...

not to be gross, but _*condoms*_ (no spermicidal agents) make excellent emergency canteens...

sanitary napkins, gauze, bandages, antiseptic wipes, iodine...


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## JustCliff (May 21, 2011)

*Salt*. And lots of it. Great for preserving food. 
*Food Grade Hydrogen peroxide 35% * Love this stuff. MANY uses A gallon will go a very long way and it degrades slowly if kept cool.
*Everclear* (ethanol alcohol) Can be diluted to make drinkable by normal people. Is used in making medicines.

I agree with the bleach. I bought some last summer and it has already degraded. I also have the Pool Shock tabs.


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## Jimmy24 (Apr 20, 2011)

JustCliff said:


> *Salt*. And lots of it. Great for preserving food.
> *Food Grade Hydrogen peroxide 35% * Love this stuff. MANY uses A gallon will go a very long way and it degrades slowly if kept cool.
> *Everclear* (ethanol alcohol) Can be diluted to make drinkable by normal people. Is used in making medicines.
> 
> I agree with the bleach. I bought some last summer and it has already degraded. I also have the Pool Shock tabs.


Thanks for the bleach info.

Jimmy


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## *Andi (Nov 8, 2009)

I'm so far out in the boonies ... if someone would come knocking ... it would not be a good thing.


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## JayJay (Nov 23, 2010)

The_Blob said:


> you might want to swipe out that bleach for some Pool Shock because bottled bleach goes bad after a while... :dunno:
> 
> maybe some good water filters or filter pitchers as opposed to keeping full bottles stored...
> 
> ...


Hi--Blob...I've tried taking out the cardboard from several brands...it will not come out---glued in real good...any tricks?? Even paper towels..


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## IlliniWarrior (Nov 30, 2010)

*Removing TP Tubes*



JayJay said:


> Hi--Blob...I've tried taking out the cardboard from several brands...it will not come out---glued in real good...any tricks?? Even paper towels..


You need to slit the paper tube ....... a long blade extendable razor knife will do the job ...... fold the tube inwards and then twist ........

not sure how you can extract a tube from paper towels ........


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## Centraltn (Feb 21, 2011)

I have made up little fishing kits.. 30-50 ft of 10 lb test.. leader, 2 size hooks, a weight and a bobber (so they can feed themselves). I also have 1/2 lb and 1 lb pkgs of pintos, kidney or white beans and the same with white rice. I have 500 pkts of inst coffee, sugar, creamer and stirrer (about $30 at amazon). I have pkts of salt, pepper and sugar. Some oatmeal, both 2 cup pkgs and individual envelopes. Boullion cubes. Water sterilizing tabs. Hard clear plastic ltr bottles cleaned, sterilized, dried and closed up ready for them to use to haul water. Heavy string or chord. Pkgs of 12 .22 cal shot. I have some tube tents- maybe 5 or 10, 10 elcheapo rain ponchos, 10 space blankets, firestarters, small boxes of strike anywhere matches, duct tape, cable saws, mess kits, plastic knives, forks, spoons. Styrofoam cups. Tang mix, vit c enriched lemonade mix, 3 oz jars of instant coffee, cocoa mx, grape ade mx, instant no fat milk mix for those with children.I have 10 washrags, 10 hand towels and small hotel sized soaps.Feminine hygiene pads in packs of 5, combs, hairbrushes, rubber bands. I have about 10 pocket knives, bandages, 3 oz pkgs of cooking oil. I am about to make some fishing poles out of cane (it grows everywhere here, wild) no reels tho. If they wanna work, hunt or fish for us, I will trade other food items. Shoes is a great idea! I hadnt thought about that! Eventho I have some mess kits for some- I thought about buying a few extra aluminum pots or pans from Good Will to add to the collection for bartering.
Alot of this stuff I already had or I bought for a song. I just think about what I would need if I were roaming, looking for shelter and something to eat.


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## lojo216 (May 18, 2011)

I have oil lamps and cast iron cookware I have put aside in a "Barter Box" I also buy lamp wick in 6ft rolls so I cut that into 6" lenghts that I also added to the box.

Lori


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## Centraltn (Feb 21, 2011)

Lojo, may I ask where you are getting 6' rolls of lamp wick?


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## SurvivalNut (Nov 13, 2008)

In a short term scenario, I don't mind helping my neighbors; I plan to and go overboard doing so.

But in a long term scenario, I plan to only trade with Preppers, or "prepared like-minded folk". They will be on their own 2 feet too and understand limitations. *If the neighbors just think you're a PAW Wally World, then when you run out, they WILL tip your boat. They will NOT stop coming back for more. *

Any one else feel this way or am I scum?

My barter preps are mostly

*SKILLS*
Blacksmithing
Sewing
Leather/Harness Repair
Electrical repair
Optical
Water Purification
Food Preservation
Cooking
Etc

*REPRODUCIBLE ITEMS*
Seeds
Natural Medicines
Poultry products
Etc

*REPLACEABLE ITEMS*
Salvage kit
Rechargeable Batteries


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## gypsysue (Mar 27, 2010)

SurvivalNut said:


> . *If the neighbors just think you're a PAW Wally World, then when you run out, they WILL tip your boat. They will NOT stop coming back for more. *
> 
> Any one else feel this way or am I scum?


I agree whole-heartedly, and no, you're not scum for feeling that way.

One of the biggest problems I foresee with helping people outside one's circle of family and friends is that very mentality of expecting continued hand-outs, or as you aptly put it, thinking you're a PAW WallyWorld.

If you even let that get started, it'll be difficult or impossible to cut it off without risk to you and yours.

Yet having said that, we do plan on bartering/trading with people in the area in the event of a long-term SHTF, and certainly would do all we could for others in a short-term one.


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## ajsmith (Feb 1, 2010)

SurvivalNut, your not scum, probably smarter than most. 

I don't have any barter items yet. The first items on my to get list for barter are salt, and a few pints of Jim Beam or Jack Daniels. After reading this thread I need to make a bigger list


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## lojo216 (May 18, 2011)

I bought my lamp wick on ebay. Very reasonable too. Just search "oil lamp wick"

Like others here, I plan on helping/trading with like minded folk.I know a select few that we already swap and share with. I do not intend to be used and/or taken advantage by those who do nothing to help themselves. With my neighbors it didn't take me long after the 1 cup of sugar borrowed turned into a 5lb bag to know they would bleed us dry in a very short time.

Lori


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## Jimmy24 (Apr 20, 2011)

lojo216 said:


> I have oil lamps and cast iron cookware I have put aside in a "Barter Box" I also buy lamp wick in 6ft rolls so I cut that into 6" lenghts that I also added to the box.
> 
> Lori


Where do you get the lamp wick in rolls?? That's great. I would like to aquire some of that.

Jimmy


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## Jimmy24 (Apr 20, 2011)

SurvivalNut said:


> In a short term scenario, I don't mind helping my neighbors; I plan to and go overboard doing so.
> 
> But in a long term scenario, I plan to only trade with Preppers, or "prepared like-minded folk". They will be on their own 2 feet too and understand limitations. *If the neighbors just think you're a PAW Wally World, then when you run out, they WILL tip your boat. They will NOT stop coming back for more. *
> 
> ...


Oh I agree completely. Remember my premise was barter. You got something I need, hey maybe we can cut a deal on something. But you got nothing of value to trade, hit the road....

Jimmy


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## lojo216 (May 18, 2011)

On ebay right now 9ft of oil lamp wick is $8.99-Buy it now. Unless you are planning on making your own candles, stay away from the Pierce&adkins. Also at a small hardware store around here they sell lamp wick from a large roll. I can buy as much or as little as I want for 79 cents a foot. Someone told me I could use plain white shoelaces with the plastic tips cut off but I haven't tried that.

FWIW= I store some extra wicks in the bottom of my lamps. I use long tweezers to fish it out when needed and the bonus is the wick is already soaked.

Lori


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## Caribou (Aug 18, 2012)

I don't buy stuff for barter per se but I do buy in quantities that will allow me to barter many items. I choose not to waste storage space or cash on something I can't use when there are so many things on my wish list. When I retired I kept my inventory so not only do I have skills but parts to barter. Items that I might put in a garage sale are set aside for later use or barter.


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## Wellrounded (Sep 25, 2011)

SurvivalNut said:


> In a short term scenario, I don't mind helping my neighbors; I plan to and go overboard doing so.
> 
> But in a long term scenario, I plan to only trade with Preppers, or "prepared like-minded folk". They will be on their own 2 feet too and understand limitations. *If the neighbors just think you're a PAW Wally World, then when you run out, they WILL tip your boat. They will NOT stop coming back for more. *
> 
> ...


We think the same way, barter what we can replace easily. For us it'll include teaching others do to for themselves so they leave us alone, as well as repairs and manufacturing (if they supply the materials).


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## Dakine (Sep 4, 2012)

silver dimes. I'm hoping to be in a better position as I get more self sustaining projects going, so ideally, I'll be selling and bartering extra eggs and veggies, and taking in silver dimes, or whatever it is that random person has to sell or trade.

coffee. I dont drink it myself, so I figure it will be worth a lot to people who need their daily cup o' joe.

telephone books for TP. I dont about where you're at, but here the local grocery stores have them in racks for free near the entrances. Just grab one each trip, they pile up fast.

extra toothbrush/toothpaste packs. one of the local stores here runs these crazy sales, and sometimes they'll have the combo pack of a regular no frills brush and a tube of colgate for $1 

canned foods. especially the ones I've bought that are older. although any food is better than no food, so it's entirely possible I would keep all of them because it would only take one ruined crop to move me from prepared to very worried in SHTF. Need enough preserves and reserves to be able to withstand a prolonged delay between rains refilling the water barrels, a swarm of locusts (everything we manage today by killing it with pesticides and modern technology will be running ripshit wild in the PAW)

maybe for exactly the reason cited above, dried and stored packs of seeds from previous crops. maybe not so much in my immediate area right now, but other places where people are able to have decent sized gardens to support themselves they'd be just as susceptible to bugs, drought, flooding... anything that might kill my crop is just as likely to kill theirs too, and they may not have seeds stored. I imagine hooking a brother up would go a long way in helping someone out. Especially if I knew the guy I'd probably just kick that one down without asking for anything in return. It would be good to know someone else might now have my back too.

and yet again, for exactly the reason cited above, skills. Not books but actually trying and learning and doing! Knowing how to plant and grow a garden. take the produce and then dry and store the seeds so they're ready to be used for the next season. Same would apply to medical skills, engineering and mechanical skills, anyone able to produce a useful tangible product made from leather, wood, fiber of some kind.


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## machinist (Jul 4, 2012)

Herbs I grow, spices I have to buy, tea, and instant coffee. Plants grown from my own herb garden. Cocoa and chocolate bars. All these store very well. Just seal it up and keep it all cool, dry, and dark. Buy in quantity to save money, then repackage in smaller amounts as somone mentioned. 

Way back when, tea and spices were quite expensive due to importing via sailing ships from halfway around the world. That bodes well for retaining or increasing value in a PAW.

Also can do blacksmithing, machining, and have stored steel and other metals for repair work. 

How about home use chemicals? We buy it in bottles now, already mixed for use, but simple stuff like borax, salt, bleach granules, baking soda/washing soda (baking soda = sodium bicarbonate can be turned into washing soda = sodium carbonate by heating in the oven for a while to drive off the chemically bound water). 

Grease, motor oil, other lubricants, solvents, and paint of various kinds. All of that (except latex paints) will store well in the barn loft or shed. Not affected by freezing, etc., but protect metal containers from rusting.


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## RoadRash (Sep 29, 2010)

I try n pick up as many spare tools as I can, axes hatchets, saws etc.... to me will be good bartering items 
Seeds will be a good bartering item ....
Alcohol and drugs precribed and illegal there will always be those looking for their fix ...... Scary 
And any way to charge batteries solar lights etc will go along way


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