Aug192012
30 Comments
INSTANT SURVIVAL TIP: School Supplies for Survival
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PDFThis is a classic Instant Survival Tip from the archives.
It’s that time again. Kids and parents are hitting school supply stores and filling their carts with unblemished binders, unchewed pencils, and reams of notebook paper. Prices on school supplies will never be lower. Now is the time for you to think about which supplies might come in handy in your preparedness efforts. Keep an eye out for store and manufacturers coupons for even greater savings. These supplies, in particular, always come in handy.
- Binders are a great way to organize recipes using your food storage items, a SurvivalMom Binder, a Grab-n-Go Binder, school records, and much, much more.
- Sharpies and similar markers are extremely useful in 72 Hour Kits and stashed in the glove compartment of your car. If you ever need to make a quick “GET HELP!” sign, you’re ready.
- Spiral notebooks — select different colors for each topic in your preparedness research, i.e. Home Security Ideas, Practical Skills I Need to Learn, Emergency Evacuation Routes, etc. An added plus is that, unlike 3-ring binders, the pages in a spiral can never just fall out.
- Composition books can be purchased for a buck or so and come in handy when taking notes, making lists, and keeping inventories.
- Notebook dividers are essential in any binder and can be purchased for just a few cents right now.
- Zippered, 3-ring pencil cases for holding small supplies in your binders.
- Inexpensive, lightweight backpacks. Perfect for individual 72 Hour Kits and to keep in your vehicle in case you ever need to abandon it and need to carry supplies with you.
- Colored pencils, inexpensive coloring books, anything to keep kids entertained in a long car drive or evacuation. Keep these stored in your Vehicle 72 Hour Kit. I don’t recommend crayons because they make a melted mess in a hurry on hot days.
- Small pair of scissors. Keep a pair in your Vehicle Kit, a pair with your sewing or knitting supplies, a set in your desk, and anywhere else you find yourself thinking, “Now where did I put those scissors?”
After you’ve stocked up on your kids’ supplies, wander the aisles one more time, looking through the eyes of a SurvivalMom. The prices are right, so stock up!
© 2012, thesurvivalmom. All rights reserved.
(30) Readers Comments
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Advice for new Survival Moms from those who have been around a while
RE: TP storing enough toilet paper for a short term emergency makes s
Even if you aren't living in a car, you need to read these terrific survival tips!
Stopped by to get some information. Right now I'm planning to move t
Walking Onions Invaded My Bug-Out!
Just go out and grab a few whenever you need onions. It is that simple
FernWise
I get TONS of 3 ring binders (we use them in our homebased software business to track software changes for each client) and lots of lightly used backpacks at garage sales and thru' Freecycle.
Frondly, Fern
Dana
Remember, one of the most important safety tips for our kids is this:
"Drop your stuff and RUN!!!"
I learned this from a police officer. He said, "We need to teach and remind our kids that nothing they carry is worth more than their lives to parents." If you're hiking and your prescription $ 300 glasses fall off your nose, don't try to retrieve them, if it involves climbing into a ravine and down a hill. Mom and Dad will recover, trust me.
If some weird stranger is following them and they want to run, but their backpack is heavy (preventing them from running) ; RUN. And run fast. Parents will get over reimbursing the school for missing textbooks; they will NEVER get over losing a child. Drop the backpack and RUN!!!
Don't teach a child to never talk to a stranger. (Again, from a police officer.) The proper thing to teach a child is never to ACCOMPANY a stranger. Teach your kids to never go anyplace with someone they do not know. They will have to be brave enough to talk to a stranger (perhaps a cashier, a clerk, a greeter at a store) in order to ensure their safety and alert adults to their danger.
TheSurvivalMom
Dana,
I'm glad you found my blog! I am SO safety and security minded, just like you! That is a great tip that I hope every parent reads and teaches their children.
Lisa
TheSurvivalMom
Hi there Fern!
Freecycle is definitely a great resource, and if you don't get a response the first time around, wait a couple of weeks and ask again. Free is my favorite word!
Lisa
MrsJ
When my daughter was young, I taught her to never go anywhere with anyone who didn't know the 'code word'. The code word was actually 'I love you' in sign language. The instructions for this were on my cellphone under ICE (In Case of Emergency) so that emergency services could help her if anything happened to myself or my husband at the same time.
Great blog, BTW!
rightwingmom
We've also set up a "Safety Word" for our kids.
A safety expert once told me to teach your kids to find a MOTHER with children if they're lost and say, "I'm lost. Please help me find my parents." Women are less likely to be offenders and another mother will most likely protect your child as if they were her own.
Mom23Wolves
This is a great idea! I'm going to talk to my kids tonight.
After many cub scout events in the past year, I have noticed even dads don't work the same. As usually the only mom there, I seem to be constantly helping the little ones patch up cuts & scrapes, find their dads who have wandered off to do some studly thing with the newest leatherman, or just feed them because dad didn't notice they missed breakfast and they're starving.
Yeah, I suppose this will "toughen them up into real men" one day, while my boys will be wimps. But the point is, if a kid needs help, moms are truly more likely to provide it in a comforting way in a time of stress for the child. I just hadn't thought to specify this for lost kids.
Preparedness Pro
Great thoughts on taking advantage of back to school sales, Lisa! I have been thinking a lot about communicating in an emergency when we may very well not have access to our cell phones, landlines or the internet. Communicating the old fashioned way with paper and pencil may be what we need to revert to. Definitely worth utilizing these excellent sales. http://bit.ly/RROuf
LizLong
Math related gadgets like protractors, compasses, rulers, and really nice calculators definitely have a place, with your maps / navigational aids if nothing else.
When the back to school CLEARANCE started last year, I bought all the paper book covers at our local target had when they got to 75% off. The colored ones will make GREAT wrapping paper for smaller presents, and the brown paper are good for craft projects. I actually gave 100 (yes, really) to the school art teacher because they were so cheap, and spare classroom supplies for the kids classroom teacher (not 100 of them, though). My cart was full! But I felt really good knowing I was helping a teacher – and since my kids are little, getting the good will of school teachers and administrators isn't a bad thing either!
LizLong
Don't forget pencil sharpeners to go with the pencils (colored and regular)!
peterpiper
Everyone please remember to check Dollar General, Family Dollar, and especially Dollar Tree (everything's $1 or less) as you put together school supplies. Most of the school supplies only last one year, so they should be as economical as possible.
TheSurvivalMom
Thanks for the reminder! Those dollar stores have saved many a family's budget!
Ron G
I enjoyed your article. I think it is a wonderful idea to stock up on school supplies that can be used to prep.
LizLong
Last year, I got wheeled backpacks on clearance and turned them into car emergency bags for my nieces. We also have regular backpacks with some of our regular BOB supplies. There are also loss-leader items at Walmart, Target and other big stores that you just can't get that cheap any other time. Crayons, colored and regular pencils, pens, and other basic supplies.
PatTheCat
Yes, but when you load up a cart at Dollar Tree with school supplies, can you give a quick look over your shoulder in the check-out line that the poor bloke behind you doesn't have ice cream he's trying to get home after work as a treat for the kids 11 miles away in 90+ degree temps… Thanks! (Happened to me just this last Wednesday.)
PerpetualLearner
you might also add an abacus (early calculator) it's easy to learn and very accurate.
SurvivalFoodList
Good tips on making the most of super-cheap back to school items. I've purchased many 25-cent boxes of crayons and cheap printer paper and art pads, and have them ina small bin with our survival prep items. If we were home-bound after a natural disaster, fresh art supplies would keep the kids happily busy for hours at a stretch.
Wendy
A great alternative to crayons are colored pencils. We keep them in both our cars, along with a couple penny pencil sharpeners and spiral notebooks. They have been a lifesaver a time or two.
PatTheCat
Yes, but one can Eat crayons, in a pinch. (Not much in the way of actual nutrition, but they are a non-toxic way to keep the stomach from "eating itself", as my mother used to say.) I read about this in a story — Reader's Digest, I think — about 40-45 years ago, about a disastrous car-trip across the desert, and car breaking down, etc. — never forgot it. One person's 'melted waxy mess' is another person's sustenance… Just sayin'
GFFoodStorage
Great ideas!!!!! We do a lot of this. But I never thought to keep these items for a sign.
Katie http://www.glutenfreefoodstorage.net
mat
alternate use for pencil sharpeners and magnifying glasses; easy firestarting material from a couple sticks, it makes paper-like shreds out of the wood, which burns readily
H. (eyes wide open)
hey, great idea, thanks for sharing!
D T
Don't forget to stock on homeschool supplies like extra paper and pencils. If stuff shuts down (for whatever reason), you can still educate even if it means winging it.
You could also tutor/school other children as a barter if you needed, so extra supplies for that would also be good.
Rob
Some great stuff here. Thanks!
Greg
I get the idea of telling you kids to go to a Mom with children. However, I do believe Dad’s with kids should be discounted. I have never failed to help a child. I activly seek out a parent when I see a small unattended child, whether they are saying they are lost or not. I am not bashful about yelling out that I have a lost child with me. I am over 50 and have ceased being embarassed about drawing attention to myself and being wrong about them being lost. i have told more than a few children they need to get closer to their Mom so she won’t be worried.
Maybe kids are less scared of me because I have 2 young children (6 and 7) and look grandfatherly (gray hair and have been asked if I am the grandfather of my children on more than a few occaisions).
Not every man is a predator, most of us are not.
Alicia
We are waiting on everything to go no clearance and then we will be getting these things and some back up back packs for 72 hour kits or B.O.B.’s They wont be as nice as some of the more expensive ones but we figure they will do the job in a pinch. Especially for our kids to carry.
Michelle
Crayons are a cheap source of wax for homemade candles. Drug stores usually have the best sales and any brand will do. It’s also a great way to use up the old, dry, and broken crayons.
Brandy Richmond
I use tons and tons of 3 ring binders! I keep everything I find interesting in one. Recipes for one, DIY projects in another, prepping lists, skills to learn lists etc.
Great idea about keeping the sharpies! I hadn’t thought of that. Love your site by the way.
alisa
I use back to school sales to purchase items for Operation Christmas Child. I also buy extras of items on the beginning of school supply list so when it is used up or broken by February we don’t have to pay full price.
Magpie57
I like to shop my local thrift stores for office supplies. I can buy a gently used large, three-ring binder for anywhere from 69 cents to $1.99. The same binder new is priced at $8.00 or higher at one of those strip mall office supply stores. I just wipe down my thrift shop binder with an antibacterial wet wipe and it’s ready for use. I find bags of slightly used or totally new pencils, ink pens and high lighter markers at thrift shops too along with totally unused note pads, memo pads, and bundles of stationary tablets and blank greeting cards. Who cares if the pencils have a Spiderman or Hello Kitty grafic or if the ink pens bear the name of someone’s business? I like to think I’m recycling as well as being thrifty.