The can opener syndrome is when your so focused on larger things, that you forget about the smaller items.
An example of this happened a few months ago when my kids and I went to the camp for the night. Around 10pm or so we decided to go out and take a look at the fields.
Guess what, we forgot to grab our regular flashlights and bring them to the camp with us. This left us with the handcrank flashlights that I had stockpiled. Handcrank flashlights might be good for around the house, but their not good for lighting up a 10 acre field.
Over the past year or so I had been more focused on planting fruit trees, stockpiling ammo and first aid supplies,,,, other odds and ends that I had totally overlooked some simple and inexpensive LED lights for the Bug Out Location.
Carving and steak knives is another thing I had overlooked. A couple of months ago I found a knife set at an estate sale, so I bought the set and brought it to the camp. Now we have a set of carving knives, steak knives and a knife sharpener.
Solar showers is another thing that I need to get a few of and keep stored at my house and at the Bug Out Location. For privacy when taking a shower, I might need to get a couple of 6 foot X 8 foot tarps and some trotline string to hang the tarps up with. I already have the trotline string, its just the tarps and the solar showers I need to get. I was thinking of getting at least 4 showers per location – 4 for the Bug Out Location and 4 to keep at my house. The showers can come in handy on camping trips and not just emergencies.
Some of the small things that might get overlooked:
First aid supplies – bandages, pain killers, wound cleaners
- Soap
- Shampoo
- Can opener
- Spoons
- Knives
- Forks
- Plates
- Bowls
- Cookware – pots, pans, serving spoons
- Pens, pencils and writing paper
- Lightweight blankets – like fleece blankets
- Extra sheets for the beds
- Solar shower
- LED lights
- Toothpaste and toothbrushes
Even though my family keeps a good stockpile of supplies at the Bug Out Location, a lot of stuff we bring up there for the weekend and then bring home. Lets take hand tools for example. We keep a set of hand tools at the camp, but nothing compared to what I keep at my home. If I know I will be working on something at the camp, I will bring my home tool set.
Its the smallest of the small that is often overlooked, such as toothbrushes and toothpaste. A few months ago when my kids and I spent the night at the camp, I realized that we only had a couple o extra toothbrushes and almost no extra toothpaste.
Bar soap – we have 2 liquid soap dispensers at each sink and a couple of gallons of liquid soap, but almost no extra bar soap. Liquid soap is good for washing your hands or face, but bar soap is good when your taking a shower.
When I get a some solar showers for the bug out location, I will probably pick up a few extra bars of soap just to bring up to the camp.
Lets take something small, cheap and useful as an example – a hair comb. Not only do you use a comb to groom your hair, but in cases of hair lice, a good small comb can be used to help find the nits. Combs cost almost nothing, but they are great to have around.
To help organize the gear, I would like to get some shelves, and some clear storage boxes and put a lot of the stuff together. Items like combs do not expire, so I thought about storing a bunch of items together in clear plastic boxes. That way we can see what is inside the box without having to open it.
We keep the first aid supplies in a cabinet out of reach of children. Since the first aid supplies are out of sight, they also stay out of mind, out-of-sight-out-of-mind. I probably need to get some bandages, and some antibiotic ointment.