Take advantage of end of the summer clearance sales to build your stockpile of emergency items on the cheap! Between grocery stores, big box stores, DIY stores and outdoor stores, you can grab great deals on really needful things to help your family during an emergency.
While summer isn’t even halfway over for us, in retail land, the end of the summer season is approaching. Retailers must begin clearing out the overstock of summer supplies they’ve purchased to begin making way for fall. What better way to do this than have a big clearance sale? Check out what is clearanced out in Winter and at halloween.
Take advantage of the summer clearance sales happening all around you to stock up on those items you and your family can use to be better PREPared. Whether your goal is self-reliance or emergency PREParedness, summer sales have what you need! Be sure to check out general merchandise box stores like Target & Walmart, DIY stores like Lowes/Home Depot, outdoor shops like Gander Mountain & Cabelas, pharmacies like CVS & Walgreens (seriously…you’d be surprised), and grocery stores like Kroger & Aldi.
CAMPING/HIKING
Tents – light tents, small group tents, tent pads, and more
Sleeping bags & gear
Lanterns/Lighting – you’ll find flashlights, lanterns, emergency lights and more
Campfire cooking & building
Backpacks & Water Bladders
Miscellaneous items – think of walking into any camping supply store and looking at all the extras – hiking equipment, coolers, camp showers and toilets, heaters, and more.
• Read More: Preparedness Items Available in Back to School Sales
CLOTHING
Hiking Gear – don’t rely only on t-shirts, shorts and flip flops to get you through an emergency. Take advantage of the great technology built into hiking gear. Cool fabrics, quick drying fabrics, and lots of pockets! As the season winds down, retailers are looking at next year’s fashions, and clearancing out old lines and overstocks
General clothing – this is a good time to take advantage to build your stores of the next size up for your ever-growing kids, and put extras aside in case you need it for an emergency (or want to donate for relief efforts).
Hats & glasses – great time to stock up on these! Not only are they good for everyday, but tucked into a bug out or 72 hour bag, extras for your camping gear, and some in your emergency box of your car.
LAWN & GARDEN
Seeds – while most of the seeds you find on sale at clearance time are hybrid or GMO seeds, for an emergency, a seed is a seed is a seed. I prefer to use heritage varieties that are non GMO, but I do realize that even hybrid seeds can produce food for my family.
Equipment – overstocks that didn’t sell, seasonal items they may not carry year-round, children’s tools, artsy tools, seasonal pots, plants
Fruit Trees – while the best time to plan trees is in the fall, people tend to plant fruit trees in the spring, which means nurseries don’t want as much stock later in the year. Take advantage of clear-out sales!
Solar lighting – catch a big sale on solar lighting for the yard. These can be used for emergency lighting in your house! We keep a big bucket in the backyard full, plus regular ones used around the yard for lighting. They can be brought in to use to save them more consumable battery, candles and lanterns. Save those for the bigger needs.
Furniture – not only look out for great deals on chairs and camp chairs which are really helpful for times when everyone begins to congregate outdoors during power outages, and that you just need more of for camping, but umbrellas are great to have covering windows and patios to help keep heat off during hot times, especially in the event of losing your air conditioning.
• READ MORE: Take Advantage of Post-Winter Clearance Sales to Stock Up
SPORTS/OUTDOORS
Biking equipment – not only is bike good for general transportation, but bike helmets are great for helping those of you in earthquake, tornado and hurricane areas to protect yourself and your children from head injuries.
Fishing equipment – depending on where you are, there may not be a lot to choose from since most stores carry the same stock year ’round, but you might hit it big on smaller equipement.
HOME
Fans – look for small personal fans and battery operated fans to help keep you cool during power outages.
Dishes/utensils – this can be a time to stock up on plasticware that is light weight, portable, and useful for practicing emergencies in the backyard on the weekends with Dad!
Coolers – not only big coolers for camping, but smaller personal sized coolers that can help keep cold things cold when you’re without power.
Water carriers – you might find these with camping gear, and you might find them in housewares, but bottles and bladders are times that move through seasonally. Stock up!
• READ MORE: Use Sales Cycles to Be Better Prepared
FOOD
Produce – since summer is all the rage in produce locally, you’ll often find big sales trying to move product. Take advantage and can it, dehydrate it or freeze it for your food storage!
Meats – Â Preserve it through canning, dehydrating, freezing, etc. This is a year round good find but especially in the summer as more is purchased to meet the demand of grillers.
Seasonal items – your store may carry more canning equipment and freeze dried foods during the summer. Once their season is up, they want to get rid of that product. Stock up on canning equipment, canning supplies, freeze dried goods.
First Aid/Medical
End of summer marketing gives way to back to school, so you might find great deals on items that are going out. (also, year-round, check your dollar store for great buys in the first aid section).
First Aid kits – between summer and back to school, stores stock up for extra activity, and you may find the premade kits, either at camping stores or general merchandise stores, up for sale when the busy season is over.
Sunblock – We’ve all heard how sunblocks don’t last, but this is still a good time to stock up to keep some handy.
Sun relief – lotions and sprays that help bring relief to sunburned skin will be included in the end-of-year clearances.
Auto Kits
With move people traveling in the summer, auto supply stores tend to purchase more seasonally for things like jumper cables, emergency kits, etc. Keep an eye out on what might be clearanced later in the summer.
 Your thoughts: What other things have you seen showing up on the clearance aisle of  your local stores for summer clearance that can be used for PREParedness?
Use Sales Cycles to become better PREPared!
 
 
 
- Use Sales Cycles to Be Better Prepared
- After Winter Sales
- End of Summer Sales
- Back to School Sales
- After Halloween Sales
Tom is a Marketing & Communications graduate interested in nature, gardening, agriculture, and traveling. For the last decade, Tom has turned his hobbies into a full-time job, creating useful resources and guides for all our readers. If he is not working on his next article, you will find Tom spending quality time with family or taking care of his own back garden.
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