Barter and trade goods

Before

• Cash and small coins still work until they do not. Keep some. The gear list’s cash notes are the short version.
• Trade goods are things people use up: soap, salt, cooking oil, batteries, matches, seeds, coffee, and a skill you can repeat. A broken heirloom is a poor trade.
• Store those goods as part of the household, not as a shop window. OPSEC still applies. Do not post what you have.
• Agree in the household what you will not trade away: the medicine you need, the planting seed, and the water you have not replaced.
• A fair trade is one both sides can walk away from. Write it down if it is more than a favor.

During

• Trade with people you can find again. Start small.
• Stolen goods are not a plan. Neither is a weapons market. If a deal is a crime, do not make it.
• If someone pressures you at your door, you can say no and close it. A crowd asking to see your stores is a reason to use the stay-or-leave lines, not a reason to negotiate on the porch.

After

• Replace what you traded if you still can.
• Note which goods were actually wanted so the next stash matches real needs.

Checklist

• ☐Some cash in small bills
• ☐Soap, salt, oil, batteries, and seeds set aside
• ☐A list of what the household will not trade
• ☐No public inventory
• ☐Trades only with people you can find again

Sources

Official pages only. Open them for the full instructions.

• Ready.gov: Build a kit
• Florida Division of Emergency Management: Plan and prepare
• St. Johns County Emergency Management