What’s the Most Overlooked Prep in Your Supplies?

[MeadowWhisperer]

Seems like everyone stocks beans, bullets, and bandages, but there’s always something that slips through the cracks. For me, I realized I’d completely neglected extra prescription glasses until last month. A small thing, but if they break I’m almost blind in the woods. What’s the prep you all are most likely to forget or put off? Hoping to patch some holes in my own setup based on your experiences.

 

[ChamomileCraze]

It’s easy to forget about something as basic as soap. Most folks stock up on food and first aid, but having a stash of plain old soap—bar or liquid—can be a lifesaver for health in the long run. I always tuck a few homemade herbal bars into my kit, but confess I used to overlook things like extra hair ties or scissors. Anyone else have a “little thing” that ended up being more important than expected?

 

[EchoTangoFox]

Funny enough, I always seem to forget spare batteries for my handheld radios. You’d think an amateur radio nut wouldn’t miss that, but there it is—I check my pack and there’s not a single AA or 18650 to be found. Easy to focus on the radios, not the power! Ever had one of those “facepalm” moments where your main gear is fine but the accessories are missing?

 

[TeaTimeTalisman]

One thing that sneaks up on me is can openers. I keep a good stock of canned food, but for a while I only had one opener in the whole house—realized how risky that was if it broke or got lost. Now I stash an extra cheap one in my emergency kit just in case. Anyone else ever get caught out with something so basic?

 

[MeadowWhisperer]

Never thought about spare shoelaces until one snapped during garden work—ended up improvising with twine. Curious, has anyone else run into annoyingly small problems like that?

 

[BlueMarigold]

Totally relate to forgetting the “little” stuff—mine’s always sunscreen. Gets overlooked in the scramble for food and gear, but gardening or bugging out without it can get miserable real fast. Had a nasty burn once just pulling weeds during a long outage. What’s everyone using for sun protection if you run out? I’m tempted to try making my own but haven’t gotten around to it yet.

 

[PrepperLinda65]

Funny enough, I always seem to forget spare batteries for my handheld radios. You’d think an amateur radio nut wouldn’t miss that, but there it is—I check my pack and there’s not a single AA or 18650 to be found.

That’s a classic, EchoTangoFox. Batteries are right up there with matches—you only notice you’re low when you need them most! I try to rotate mine every six months (alarm clocks remind me), but it’s easy to let it slip, especially for those little specialty sizes like 18650s. One thing I started doing is tucking a couple of extra battery packs in my radio pouch with a bit of masking tape around them marked with the date. Makes it less tempting for grandkids to “borrow” them for their toys, too.

It’s funny, but I used to forget about charging cords for my radios as well. We prep for the high-tech scenario and forget the simplest things—no batteries or cables and it’s all just fancy paperweight! Do you prefer rechargeables or just stick with disposables in your pack? I’m always torn: disposables last longer in storage, but rechargeables feel less wasteful.