30 Favorite Preparedness & Survival Gift Ideas (+ WIN $150 to Buy Them)

Let me help you out! Are you tired of lame gifts each year, or do you struggle with what to give?

I just celebrated turning 30 last weekend so I know all about lame gifts, but I guess something is better than nothing so I’ll stop complaining

Anyways, I’ve got you covered. I’ve rounded up 30 of my very favorite preparedness & survival items that I’ve collected over the last 30 years! All you need to do now is just email this list to your mother-in-law, or tape it to your husbands computer and you’re set – well almost!

P.S. Make sure to enter to Win the $150 Amazon Gift Card so you can go shopping –  just in case you don’t get what you want!!!

Food Storage Made Easy Binder 

This is the very first binder I bought when I decided to start taking food storage seriously! They’ve since made it even better and have turned it into a 3 PART FOOD STORAGE PROGRAM containing – Babysteps Checklists, Food Storage Made Easy Encyclopedia, and a Recipe Appendix. 50% OFF until 12/1

Sensible Food Storage: Storing the Foods You Love to Eat

Wendy DeWitt’s video changed the way I viewed food storage entirely! She doesn’t waste time with excuses, but shows you EXACTLY how to be prepared! After watching her presentation, I was finally able to create a plan for my family and stick to it.

A Common Sense Guide to Preparing for Emergencies

This book is just what it says it is! It outlines each step of emergency preparedness covering everything from cooking in a crisis, to home security and protection, to emergency water disinfection. Read my full review here.

At Home Canning for Beginners

*Use Code for $5 off: LEARN2CAN*
I was scared for my life when I canned for the first time – but it doesn’t need to be that way. Kendra walks you step-by-step through the canning process so you’ll be confident and ready for whenever you take on that big scary canner ;)

Food Storage for Self-Sufficiency

This book covers pretty much everything you need to know about food storage! It goes into detail about food storage options, planning methods, using your food storage (before it goes to waste), water storage, canning & preserving, and so much more! Read my full Review here.

LifeStraw Personal Water Filter

I recently bought one of these for each of our Emergency Bags. You can only carry so much water when you’re on the go and these make it possible to drink water from other sources. It removes 99.9% of waterborne bacteria & parasites, and filters up to 1000 liters.

*If you have more $$$ to spend, check out the Katadyn Pocket Filter – it can filter up to 13,000 gallons!

JerryCan by LIFESAVER Systems

This is actually on my wish list. All my friends (at least the prepared ones), have been purchasing these. It can hold up to 5 gallons so you can take the water with you, and the best part is it can filter up to 20,000 liters (which is enough water to sustain a family of 4 for nearly a year)!

Big Berkey Water Filter

The Berkey system is ideal for everyday use, especially where electricity, water pressure or treated water may not be available. The Big Berky can purify 3.5 gallons per hour and hold up to 2.25 gallons. You can also exchange the filters so it will last a lifetime.

WaterBricks – Stackable Water Container

These are a great option for small spaces! It holds 3.5 gallons which is small enough to carry, place in the refrigerator, or even put under the bed.  You can also stack and interlock them up to 4 feet high, making them versatile too!

260 Gallon SureWater Tank 

If you have room & money for something like this – get it! It’s the cheapest one I could find that held a LOT of water, was simple to use, opaque, and took up the same amount of space that my 55 gallon tank did (but holds 5 times more water)!

I went ahead and purchased a Drinksafe Hose to reduce the bacteria when filling the tank. Also, if you use a Water Treatment Kit it eliminates the need to rotate the water for 5+ years – definitely beats changing it out every 6 months!

*There is also the 525 Gallon SureWater Tank for the extra thirsty & prepared

Vacuum Sealing System

This is great for long-term storage of meats and fish in the freezer, but my favorite way to use it is to vacuum-seal items with higher sugar and fat content (chocolate chips, nuts, chips, etc.). You’ll need to make sure you have either the Wide-Mouth Jar Sealer or Regular-Mouth Jar Sealer to fit your jars.

Buckets & Mylar Bags

One of the cheapest ways to preserve your dry goods long-term is to put them into buckets! What you need is a bucket, mylar bag to fit inside, oxygen absorber, and if you’re really fancy a hand-held sealer (love mine & so does everyone else)!

Water Bath Canner

A Water Bath Canner is a great way to preserve all your fresh fruits and vegetables at home.  My family gets really excited when I use it to make jam or can peaches. Here are some essential canning tools you’ll need & these JarBoxes help keep your jars from breaking.

All American 921 Pressure Canner

If you ever plan on preserving chicken, beef, or other meats (which I highly recommend) you’ll need a pressure canner! This one even fits on my Camp Chef Stove if I want to cook outside, or if if I’m ever without electricity!

Bosch Mixer with Attachments

Whatever you do, don’t get a KitchenAid (unless all you care about is looks You want the stronger motor that the Bosch offers so it can handle more than one batch of cookies. The Bosch will not only mix a quadruple batch of bread dough at one time, but it can also convert into a meat grinder, a sausage stuffer, and so much more!

Laundry – Manual Hand Washing Machine

I got one of these for my birthday – Yes! You heard that right! I’m a dork It’s something I’ve been wanting in case the power goes out. It’s can also come in handy if you venture to do any laundry on your camping, fishing, or hunting expeditions.

Toilet Seat Cover on 5 Gallon Bucket

Now this I really never want to use, but it would definitely come in handy if you ever needed a back-up toilet. You can use the bucket the toilet seat goes on to store some extra hygiene supplies too – toilet paper, trash bags, poo-wipes, hand sanitizer, menstrual cup, etc.

Hand Operated Grain Meal (Wheat Grinder)

If you have wheat stored, then you better have one of these stored too. Ok, you don’t have to, but it will be a life-saver if the power ever goes out. You’ll still be able grind your wheat and eat something besides wheat berries

Hand Crank for Bosch Mixers

I can’t knead dough to save my life, so for me this was a MUST! The hand crank allows me to easily finish kneading my dough even if there is a power failure. A lot of appliances offer powerless options, so look into the ones that you use on a regular basis and consider getting a back-up.

Generator & Pri-G Fuel Extender

And when all else fails, plug it in to a generator Generators can be a lifesaver, but they’re also usually expensive, noisy, and not a long-term solution – so plan accordingly. If you do have one make sure to have extra fuel that is treated it with a fuel stabilizer so it can last indefinitely and keep your generator running smoothly.

The Rocket Stove

My favorite powerless cooking method by far! The rocket stove can cook an entire meal using only a handful of twigs! You can make it for practically free using only a few cans, or buy one of the cool designs that are already made.

Wonder Oven

This is like a crock-pot, but without the cord. It can keep Hot things Hot, or Cold things Cold. To cook with it you bring your food to a boil then snuggle the pot into the center. Your food will continue cooking until it’s done! There are patterns to make one, or you can cheat like me and just buy one!

Sun Oven

All you need to be able to cook in the Sun Oven is – yep – the SUN! It doesn’t matter what the weather is outside as long as the sun is shining. On cloudy days you’ll have to find another alternative, but otherwise this should do it’s job!

HERC – Powered  by Tealight Candles

This is one of the few alternative cooking methods you can use indoors. All you need is 10-20 tealight candles depending on the size oven you have. The design is absolutely ingenious – you’ll be amazed at everything you can cook with it!

Volcano Collapsible Cook Stove

The Volcano wins the most versatile award! You can grill, stack-up to 5 Dutch ovens, bake bread, cook with your Wok, or even roast marshmallows with it! Not only that, but it can cook with either propane, charcoal, or wood. Pretty amazing – I don’t think there is anything it can’t do!

Nearly all these stores are going to have some amazing Black Friday Sales going on – so be sure to check them out when they go live!

Emergency Essentials

Emergency Essentials has practically everything you need to be prepared – from food storage to survival and everything in between!

LDS Home Storage Centers

The Home Storage Centers have a lot of the basics for getting started with food storage for great prices. They’ve updated their policies, but still offer most of the food in #10 cans.

Thrive Life

Thrive has quality freeze-dried foods that can last 30 years and sometimes longer. They also have the very popular food rotation systems (this one is my favorite) that works wonders in keeping everything organized!

Zaycon Foods

Zaycon offers quality Chicken, Beef, Seafood and much more in BULK at LOW prices. Read more about what I do with the meat HERE.

Amazon

And for everything else, there’s Amazon! You can find almost anything on Amazon and often times for the best price!

I can’t tell you about all my favorite things without doing a giveaway! That’s no fun!!! I wish I could give you everything on this list, but my husband might get mad

I’m giving away $150 Amazon gift card to ONE lucky person who does the following 3 things:

1- Subscribe to the blog if you haven’t already! – (You have to show some commitment before I give you my $$$

2- Leave a comment with your Favorite Item from each of the categories above!
*HINT: there should be 6 total*

• Books & Resources
• Water Filters & Storage
• Preserving Food Storage
• When the Power is Out Items
• Alternative Cooking Methods
• Food Storage & Survival Stores

3- PIN the Image Below (or share on social media)…

Giveaway Details:

• Must do all 3 things listed above – believe me I’ll check & I would hate to have to pick a new winner!
• Giveaway Ends at 10pm CST on Tuesday, December 2nd.
• A winner will be chosen at random using random.org.
• The winner will have 24 hours to respond back before a new winner is chosen.
• This giveaway is in no way sponsored by Amazon – they just have everything I want

GOOD LUCK & Have a Very Happy Thanksgiving!

P.S. I’m Getting ready to send out Christmas cards! If you want one of my crazy family (where someone is ALWAYS pouting) make sure to send me your mailing address.