Barternomics

Certain items are going to become very valuable when the shit hits the fan. These commodities will be hugely valuable not just to us as individuals but as barter items. Getting the right/uniform amount of a commodity such as salt, on a routine basis will be difficult…enter Altoids tins. These nice little tins would be an ideal size for filling with barter items that have a high value in a post collapse world.

We have all seen the survival kit in an Altoids tin, though personally I prefer a metal pencil case, it holds more and doesn’t look out of place in the bottom of my handbag or in a briefcase for those that have to do the daily office grind.

Just as we organize our preps, and lay aside stuff to barter, it may be prudent to have a little organization for the smaller items. Altoids tins, or something similar would work perfectly well for this purpose. They are small, and light which would make transporting a variety of them easy, and taking up so little space means you can have a large amount of them ready to go as payment without having to sort through your barter boxes to find the required items.

Suggested contents:

• Everyday carry mini emergency kit
• Sewing notions
• Matches/disposable lighters
• Small hard candy
• Fishing line and hooks
• Char cloth
• Powdered milk (wrapped in foil)
• Cigarettes/tobacco (wrapped in foil)+ disposable lighter
• Firestarter kit
• Beads
• Salt (wrapped in tinfoil)
• Herbs/spices (wrapped in tinfoil)
• Seeds

Anything small can be packed in these tins so that your mini kits are ready for when you need them.

Obviously there are going to be times when an Altoids tin is just not going to be enough, so scale up. Plastic milk/juice containers make ideal storage for larger amounts of barter products. Cut through the container on three sides level with the top of the handle, the attached side where the handle is will act as a hinge. After washing and drying, fill them with whatever you choose and seal around the open sides with duct tape. Write the contents on the container, and you’re done.

I prefer the milk containers because they are moisture proof, lightweight and the handles make them easy to move around. Biscuit tins and cardboard boxes are more liable to moisture damage, especially if you store them in the garage or shed.

Pre-packing them means that you know exactly what you have, and if payment needs to be made on your property the payee will be spending less time at your door having a good look around while you sort yourself out.

Suggested contents:

• Personal care package (him)
• Personal care package (her)
• Personal care package (generic)
• Childs activity pack
• Basic first aid supplies
• Condiments
• Chocolate and candy
• Mixed lots: herbs/spices/bouillon cubes/salt/pepper for example. Maybe pasta and dried veggies or dried fruit and nuts.
• Coffee (wrapped in tinfoil)

As with the Altoids tins, the possibilities are almost endless.

The fiat money system our lives are based on is destined to fail, history tells us this. Since the Romans introduced the denarius, fiat systems around the world have been devalued out of existence. There is no reason to think that sterling or the dollar will be any different.

Take care

Liz