10 Hard Copy Items Preppers Should Have On Hand

Hard copies are an essential part of preparedness and often forgotten. Because of our instant access to all information ever in life thanks to the internet being at our very fingertips at all times; we forget ‘what if we didn’t have such instant access to that information’?

Even when it’s been a short blackout, I find myself wanting to look certain things up.

Well, when I find myself looking up almost anything on the web, I see if it’s valuable enough to print for later usage.

I have books, as well, but there’s a lot of things that I just can’t or haven’t found in books. Do it all; get books and print everything!

Printing and having hard copies of almost anything is essential for almost any emergency or disaster.

Here are 10 hard copies to have on hand for emergencies:

Photos – everything is digital, we no longer have cameras in which we need to go get developed at the store. Get those photos printed! I have been using Shutterfly, but you can also use Walmart, Costco or really anywhere that will print photos. I get about 150 of them printed each month for about $15. And oh boy, I’m barely scratching the surface. Haha. But it’s definitely worth it!

Recipes – If you look online for any recipe, try it out, if you like it, print it! I have a ton of cookbooks, but I love printed recipes because some of those recipes aren’t in my cookbooks, or hey, maybe they’re better. Print it all!

Instructions – Any type of DIY instructions that you find, whether you’ve tried it yet or not, print it! If I think of something I want to try, then I head to the internet to search for it, I’ll print out the instructions. This way, I have it NO MATTER when I need it. Again, I have lots of DIY books, but sometimes I can’t find exactly what I’m looking for.

Homeschool sheets – Since we homeschool our kids, I am always thinking of fun homeschooling activities and sheets, instructions, science experiments, etc. So when I search for them, I’ll print out a bunch at a time. I also buy homeschool workbooks.

Maps/directions – I buy paper maps but sometimes I may also want to print a map or directions to somewhere specific or what-not. Do it all! I get free paper maps from here.

Phone numbers and addresses – Keep hard copies of all important phone numbers and addresses, even local emergency services. I remember as a kid always seeing the poison hotline on the fridge, as well as other important numbers and addresses. We also used to have address books, nobody seems to have those anymore. So get it all in hard copies!

Measurements and conversions – This has been something that I’ve looked up more times than I can count. If I need to convert CM to F or cups to gallons or whatever else, I have to look it up. Well no more! Print out that info and have it handy.

Checklists – Any and all checklists should be printed for future reference. Place it into a binder for easy access. Take a look at my FREE checklists!

Emergency disaster plan – Once you create your emergency disaster plan, keep it as a hard copy so it’s easily accessible for everyone. Keep it on the fridge or a binder or wherever is handy for most people to refer to when needed. Check out how to make an emergency disaster plan!

Inventory – I write out my inventory online, then I print it. This way I can easily search for things online, but I also have a hard copy. I print a new copy whenever I remove or add things. It is very helpful. I use Prepper Nerd for my inventory tracking system.

Now all you gotta worry about is the expense of ink and paper. Hah! If you can print some things from your workplace (with permission) or local library, those are options, too.

Get the books, print things out, have ALL the hard copies of everything!

If you look it up online, you’ll probably want it for later, too.

Have fun!