If you’re interested in preparedness, flea markets and thrift stores can be goldmines. Every day, people clean out their garages or attics and give away things they don’t want, completely unaware that many of the items they donate are valuable to preppers.
These items end up in secondhand stores and can often be purchased for a fraction of what they would cost new. You just have to be patient and search.
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Below you’ll find a list of items you should look for, especially if you’re a prepper on a budget.
1. Boots
These are expensive brand new, but you can often find them for under 10 bucks a pair in thrift stores. They don’t have to be pretty, but you do want them to be water tight. Inspect the boots and look for tears in the sole. You can always buy shoelaces and waterproof spray. Having several pairs of boots stashed away ensures you’ll always have a dry pair to put on.
2. Winter Gear
This is always readily available at secondhand stores. Hats, coats and gloves are very affordable at these places and even cheaper in the summer months. Snowsuits are also an excellent find. Keeping several pairs of gloves for each member of the household and a couple of coats and hats will ensure you are ready for anything.
3. Cookware
Cookware like cast iron skillets is a boon if you can find them. It holds its value pretty well, but you can still save twenty bucks or more. Look for other cookware that can be used over a fire pit, too.
4. Candles
These can be found by the bag. There’s no need to get full, unused candles. It is a fairly simple project to melt the candles down and pour them into a jar with a wick for one large candle. You could also burn the half-used candles; light is light.
5. Manual Kitchen Tools
Things like can openers, meat grinders and even grain mills can be found as well. The meat and grain grinders can be very expensive when bought new, but you can find them for under fifty bucks at a thrift store or even cheaper in many cases. Sometimes these things are missing crucial pieces, and you may need to go online to find them, but it will still save you a small fortune.
6. Blankets
These are cheap and easy to find. Look for wool blankets which are very useful in the dead of winter when you don’t have power. You can never have too many blankets. They are versatile and you can impart some goodwill by giving away a blanket to someone who doesn’t have one. If you are dealing with a pandemic, you will want to burn any blankets that were used by the ill. A nice supply ensures you have enough to go around.
7. Camping Gear
Another thing that people often give away while having no idea how much some people will pay for them. Tents, spare stakes, camp stoves, and on and on. This is the stuff that makes a prepper squeal with glee.
8. Lanterns
These aren’t quite as easy to come by, but you can find them. Packs of mantles are often tossed onto a shelf because the thrift store people and the folks who donated them don’t know what they are. Oil or battery-powered lanterns are a definite must-have.
9. Tools
Hammers, screwdrivers and wrenches are also a necessity. As you know, these things tend to walk off so having extras is important. You will be doing a lot of hands-on work after a disaster and you need tools to get it done. Look for buckets of nails and screws as well.
10. Fishing Gear
This is super cheap at the secondhand stores. Rods, reels, tackle boxes and various tackle can be purchased in big lots for under a buck or two. How many times have you gone fishing and come back with every hook, piece of bait and line? You can never have too much.
11. Hunting Gear
Hunting gear like camouflage clothing and such is another thing that gets kicked to the thrift stores when somebody decides they don’t want to it anymore. Oftentimes, the hunter discarding the items barely used the gear. And because it is in such high supply, you can get it super cheap in the off months.
12. Buckets and Barrels
These can often be found sitting in backyard areas or outside the thrift stores. These items are for sale (and usually very cheap), but they don’t fit inside. Any vessel that will hold or carry water that you can add to your stash is a good thing.
13. Food Preservation Supplies
Canning jars, dehydrators and food sealers are a must. Don’t pay new prices when you can buy them used and in good working condition. It doesn’t matter if the items are in a box or not, as long as they work.
14. Backpacks
These are cheap and plentiful in flea markets. You can put together several go bags with inexpensive packs. You may even be able to find a nice hiking pack. It’s all about being in the right place at the right time.
15. Flashlights
These are also easy to find at thrift stores. If you can buy several for a dollar, you are golden. You can also find some of the larger, industrial flashlights if you are lucky.
16. Radios
Radios are fairly cheap at thrift stores as well. Having a couple small, portable radios on hand is going to be a must. If there’s a disaster, you’ll need to listen to the radio to get news about what is happening around you.
17. Board Games, Cards, and Books
These will keep you entertained when there is no power. You can find tons of them at flea markets, and they’re very cheap. Buy plenty to make sure you always have something new and exciting to offer the kids.
18. Gardening Supplies
Shovels, rakes and manual tillers are a lucky find. You will absolutely need shovels for a variety of tasks, including digging latrines. Have several in case one breaks. If you find tools that are not in the best shape, a little duct tape or a new handle can make them good as new.
19. Towels or Rags
These can be bought by the bag in most cases. Towels can be used to clean up, or you can roll them up and put them under a door to block an air draft or seal a room if needed. Towels can be used to make slings, or even a stretcher. They can be used as bandages as well. A stockpile of towels and rags is worth having. If you can get them for a couple bucks, jump at the chance.
20. Wood Cutting Equipment
Chainsaws and axes are a good find. You may need to do a little work on the chainsaw, but if you can make it run, you are in good shape. Ax handles are often tossed on a shelf without anybody realizing what they are.
21. Yards of Fabric
These are often donated to thrift stores after grandmothers pass away or mothers give up sewing. Fabric can be used to make clothes, make curtains for a new shelter, or repair current clothing items. It doesn’t have to be pretty, it just needs to be functional.
22. Sewing Supplies
Needles, thread, spare buttons and even zippers are a great find. You can use the gear for fishing, making baskets, suturing wounds and repairing clothing. The more needles and thread you can collect, the better off you will be.
23. Medical Equipment
Crutches, a wheelchair, walkers and so on are nice to have stashed away if you have the room. Imagine trying to get around with a sprained ankle without the luxury of crutches. These are often found at the hospice thrift stores for very little money.
24. Knives
These are taken for granted today. In a post-apocalyptic world, you’ll need a lot of them. If they break, get too dull, or get lost, you’ll be in trouble. Having lots of backups ensures you can cut meat, defend yourself, and hunt if needed. Look for sharpening stones as well.
25. Rain Gear
Boots, ponchos and slickers will keep you dry on the days you have to be outside. Buy these whenever you see them if the price is right. They do tend to get torn if you are walking through heavy trees or past fences.
These are just some of the things you want to look for when hitting flea markets and thrift stores. When you are browsing the shelves, keep an open mind and think about how you can make an item work for you. You are not going to find all of these things at every store on every visit. You have to be diligent and visit often and prepare to do some digging.
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David says
May 6, 2019 at 3:01 amI just bought a large canvas family tent (poles , pegs, ropes) for $10, new price $1000 plus . You can “waterproof” these older internal frame tents by putting a large “silver tarp” over the whole tent as a “fly”.
The frame holds the tarp off the canvas so it never gets wet, and it keeps it cool by reflecting the sun…or warm by adding an extra layer It is worthwhile to have small poles to support the outer edge of the tarp, this creates extra space for storage or sitting outside. You need good big pegs and ropes to hold this if there is any wind. Living in a wet tent is misery…. Serious backup shelter is a good prep, especially in earthquake country.
Danielle says
August 18, 2016 at 9:21 pmYou should also try to find a crank radio in stead of one that requires batterys that would be a very good thing to have also have books because you might have kids that want to read insted of play games also having a good first aid kit is a nother thing
Rich says
April 13, 2016 at 11:59 amAnd with the flashlights if they don’t work you can take out the reflector and start your fires!
Doug says
January 12, 2019 at 12:41 pmYeah! Right! I’ll bet you are one of those arm chair survivalist that hasn’t even tried it.
Personally, I use a magnifying glass.
Sedition says
March 21, 2016 at 10:48 pmGood call on the candles, but you forgot one component…candle holders. If you have a stash of the standard “stick” candles, they can come in very handy.
I found several that fit my needs…some that hold multiple candles when you need more light, some single candle holders with handles that can be used to move from room to room.
As a side note, if I leave candles stationary, I place the holder in a shallow dish filled with water…something like a pie plate. It safely catches the spent wax to be collected and reused for
home made mason jar candles that can burn for 10 hours or more.
Outdoors Guy says
March 19, 2018 at 5:50 pmCandle holders?? Try some of these 2 liter bottles of soda *empty* or most any shallow tin can such as processed tuna or chicken is packed in for retail sale. Cut the bottle off at a reasonable height, glue or nail the bottle cap to a piece of scrap 1X8 or 2X6 that may have been cut from a board which was a bit too long. Glue it upside down so the upper end of the cut off bottle itself will screw on the cap and act as a “holder” to drip wax down into the cap and neck and then insert the candle into the cap. The bottle portion is cut so as to be deep enough to act as a “reservoir to catch the melted wax as the candle burns down. You can unscrew the bottle from the top, dip it in some hot water to soften the outside of the collected wax until the whole wax chunk will drop out of the bottle to be reprocessed for something else. The tuna cans can be glued/nailed directly to a chunk of board in a like manner. The alternative, if you cannot locate a 2 liter bottle (yeah, like THAT’S gonna happen!!) or a shallow can is to drive appropriate nails directly into short pieces of wood and file the sharp end down or drive them part way into a board like is normally done and snip or use a hack saw to cut off the head of the nail. Heat the nail enough to allow it to melt itself into the bottom of a candle and you have a light for your highway!!
BTW, I have been prepping with ideas like these since way before “prepping” was such an “in” thing. I like to think that I have been doing my “share” to reprocess tossed out “stuff” into something useful. Use your noggin contents to arrive at more ideas than you could imagine and you will be amazed how much you thought you didn’t know that you DO know!! It’s called using common sense, a trait that the electronic age has evicted from a young dreamer’s mind!!
Linda S. says
March 21, 2016 at 3:07 pmJudy is right about the jars; .29 to .39 each is the most I’ll pay & I try to go on “senior day” for an extra discount. Be careful about candles as well. You don’t want to buy candles with lead in the wicks & a lot of the old ones have it. Also, you don’t want to combine different scents; you can get severe headaches, especially from artificial scents.
Judy says
March 21, 2016 at 10:17 amA word to the wise on buying used canning jars. Know the ‘new’ prices of jars. Divide that by the number in the new case. When you see used jars, the price should be well below that per jar cost for new. Remember, the new jar includes a new lid and new ring. You can reverse figure this cost as well. Say you find jars at $.75 each. 12 x $.75 = $9.00. Now add cost of a box of 1 dz new lids and rings. $9.00 + $3.99 = $12.99 ! Even at $.50 each the price is equal or pushing new prices. I think that is too much for used jars that you have no idea how they have been handled. Around here, used jars tend to cost more than new ones. I usually find new ones for about $10.00 and under. Once in a great while I find used ones at a reasonable price.