You all have a pretty good idea of what you have and what you’ll need when SHTF, but I put together this handy dandy list of the “little things” that you might not have thought about – and you’ll surely need:

Do you have communication devices? Long-range, mid-range, something besides smoke signals? Don’t forget to keep them charged and have extra batteries on hand.

Pets? Surely you have food and water planned for them, and food can, of course, be set on the ground. But you DO need a water dish, unless you plan to hand-water your dog. Or cat. Or guinea pig. Good luck with that.

Plenty of canned good, yes? Do you have a can opener? Sure, you can use a knife, but a can opener is safer and doesn’t take up much space. You don’t need an injury to compound your chances of survival.

So you watch Survivor Man or whoever and think you can start a fire without matches? Huh. Again, good luck. It takes a long time and a lot of that “luck.” Don’t forget matches – waterproof are best.

Generator? You need fuel to run it. All of your survival and homesteading books on an E-reader?  You’ll need to charge it. Planning on using your smart phone for directions and maps – not to mention communication? Ditto.

Lots of little things add up and can make the difference between life and death, or least some comfort or a whole of misery.