[ActionJackson]

Recently I've been purchasing pens, mechanical pencils, activity books such as sudoku, and a 500 Piece puzzle. I also have a red panda plush toy sitting on my record player. What else would be good if there was no internet or electricity?

A few ideas:

Dart Board (Maybe a battery powered one with LED lights)
Reading Books (fiction, non-fiction, nature books with pictures)
Deck of cards (solitaire, etc.)
Photo album (family pictures, vacation pictures, pictures of pets, etc.)
Incense or maybe an essential oil mist machine.

 

[1175]

Cards. People used to play cards. Choose the right game (based on age of kids) and the whole family can participate. ♠ ♣ ♥ ♦
Or just a group of guys can get together to play poker (a.k.a. drink beer).🍻

Several decks of cards and Hoyle's Rules for Card Games book and you will never be bored.

 

[goose3]

We have a bunch of board games left from when the kids were young. I do have about 18 decks of cards. and some poker chips (yeah, I play a weekly game).

For those looking to lay in playing cards: if there's a casino with table games nearby, check and see if they sell used decks. They're usually in terrific shape, and at least the ones I've bought have a hole drilled through them to signify they can't be used for casino games any more. Last time I was there to buy them they were 50 cents per deck.

I've also bought them at Sam's Club. They used to be 12 decks for $15, now they go for for $21, which I think is high. You can get them on Amazon; some offers are a dozen for about a buck a deck.

 

[film495]

a way to play a favorite move or TV show, and a copy on a DVD

 

[Clifffalling]

a way to play a favorite move or TV show, and a copy on a DVD

Yeah good thought. A lot of older shows are on DVD and cheap. Just an example, the complete twilight zone for about 40$, complete Simon & Simon for 30$, Star Trek NG for $150, etc.
That's a LOT of entertainment for not much moolah . pick up at least three Blu Ray players.

 

[Aberro]

Wow, no one mentioned a good Guitar and lots of Good whiskey, those two together make living alone in a cave pretty dang doable 😀

Guitar strings are now in-expensive, so keep a few sets stashed under a rock. Used guitar strings also make great small game snares.

 

[freedomarms45]

take up a hobby.

aside from reading,
mine is reloading ammo, although i haven't been in a position to do so in years. i should be able to recommence with it when i retire.
once you're set up with the equipment, it saves a lot of money. and is useful at the same time.

maybe archery, which could also be useful.

 

[freedomarms45]

and i would love to learn to play the guitar, but arthritis (and maybe a complete lack of talent?) has and will continue to prevent that.

 

[goose3]

and i would love to learn to play the guitar, but arthritis (and maybe a complete lack of talent?) has and will continue to prevent that.

How about a harmonica?

 

[freedomarms45]

good suggestion.
tried that a long time ago. i can only blame that one on lack of talent. and i didn't really like harmonica anyway, although i gave it a good shot.

some years ago, i decided to whistle. not very good at first, kept at it, actually got very good at it. could do the andy griffith theme song as well as the guy that did it,
as well as the flute solo in "heard it in a love song" by the marshall tucker band . that one's a little more challenging. (you may have to be pretty old, and listen to
a lot of music to know that one).
but not really something i want to do. once i conquered it, i was no longer interested.

i really do love music, though. it calms me down. not as much as exercise does, but it does pretty well.
was a really good trumpet player back in high school, but it's not something you can do out on your deck and not disturb the neighbors. or even in your own house.

i would really like to be george strait, but i'm guessing i'm not alone in that.
guess i'll just have to listen to the music i have and sing along. playing along with the guitar would be really fun, though.

oh well.

 

[RickInMn]

I can't afford one, too expensive.

Rent

 

[freedomarms45]

now there's an option i hadn't thought of. good thinking.

 

[emh1701]

Information books -- how to fix things, make things, first aid, how to cook things, etc. Also take up a physical crafting skill of some sort so you can learn how to make trade items. They will need woodworkers, blacksmiths, gunsmiths, leatherworkers, candle and soap makers, people who can sew, etc. when the time comes. If nothing else, maybe you can sell the stuff you make online now to earn extra cash. The other thing if your relatives know you have a hobby that you can make physical things, you can start asking for supplies for Christmas and the like. Maybe give away a few small samples as gifts instead of spending lots of money at stores.

 

[Jojo]

Wow, no one mentioned a good Guitar and lots of Good whiskey, those two together make living alone in a cave pretty dang doable 😀

Guitar strings are now in-expensive, so keep a few sets stashed under a rock. Used guitar strings also make great small game snares.

I mentioned guitars back in post #5. I can plunk. Given the time and motivation, I think I could sound not-terrible. I have 2 acoustics, an electric and bass, 2 med size amps, and a filing drawer full of strings, even for things I don't own.
I also have a drawer full of harmonicas, several flutes and a few drums. Again, not my forte, but I want options.
I play keys and sing, I just keep those around in hopes of finding the rest of the band post SHTF.

 

[BigGreasyMethaneBlaster]

If I was going to store Morale Boosting items, it would be a Schwinn Stingray Bicycle with a sheet of plywood and some bricks to build a ramp and a ditch to jump, a set of Lawn Darts, and a long sheet of Visqueen with dishwashing liquid and a garden hose to wet it down. A football to play Tackle with no protective gear in the vacant lot. But that was when I was a kid back in the 60's and early 70's. I'm too old for that **** now. It would probably kill me.
Now it's just some Moleskine Journals, a Bible and lots of Books. My Drums, if they're not too loud for the situation.

 

[Clifffalling]

If I was going to store Morale Boosting items, it would be a Schwinn Stingray Bicycle with a sheet of plywood and some bricks to build a ramp and a ditch to jump, a set of Lawn Darts, and a long sheet of Visqueen with dishwashing liquid and a garden hose to wet it down. A football to play Tackle with no protective gear in the vacant lot. But that was when I was a kid back in the early 70's. I'm too old for that **** now. It would probably kill me.
Now it's just some Moleskine Journals, a Bible and lots of Books. My Drums, if they're not too loud for the situation.

Yard darts. Banning them is when it all started. Down hill from there.

 

[HuntFishCamp]

mind-altering substances

 

[freedomarms45]

i discovered in my 30's that the ground is a LOT harder than it was when i was younger.

 

[Arik Pointer]

mind-altering substances

Allow me to rephrase the question. Besides COFFEE, what else would be good without internet or electricity?

 

[Jerry D Young]

A journal. (or several, in case the disaster runs long) Great to simply record the day's thoughts. It can be a great stress reliever, and is for many people. It is also good to keep a running account of the disaster in progress, your actions pertaining to it, and the daily outlook for everything. Might even turn it into a book about the event when things get back to normal. Or even a movie. (if it is the kind of situation that does allow humanity to go back to normal).

In a like manner, a set of notebooks with plenty of pencils, to take notes in one and start whatever kind of story you like to read. If you can keep an inexpensive laptop with plenty of thumb drives, or even a tablet with an OTG dongle to connect thumb drives and a Bluetooth keyboard and mouse set you can do it electronically.

Something I am amazed I did not think of earlier is a karaoke machine and plenty of song disks. Assuming you can keep the power on, or have a way to keep a few 12v batteries charged and an inverter large enough to power the karaoke machine and one or two low-power-draw flat-screen monitors. Some systems will accept thumb drives with karaoke songs.

Alternative, one of the large screen phones no longer in use, or a tablet, can have karaoke software downloaded, and all the karaoke songs you want, free. Even more if you pay for some of the newest stuff. Microphones are much better than just your voice, as the karaoke machines have the ability to add the effects that professional singers use to get the most out of their voice. Even some of the computer software can do that. And with Bluetooth microphones you are good to go. I use Trikaraoke software on my computer and have several thousand karaoke songs I downloaded from online for free, without violating any copyrights. (I will not bootleg, since I am an author myself, and sure would not want people downloading my books without paying for them or getting my permission.)

Those with instruments that do not want to sing can play along. If you get one of the karaoke machines that has instrument inputs then you can really have what amounts to a real band, with the best singers doing their thing even if they do not know the words of a song from memory.

Sigh. I miss karaoke. I have not been in several years.

Anyway, just my opinion.