As a country with plentiful food and electricity primarily generated from renewable sources, our main difficulties in coming months will be logistical rather than a shortage of basic calories or electricity – we live at the ends of the earth far from where most products are made and most of our transport and freight is still fossil-fuel based.

Therefore our current preparations should focus on things that are imported and/or made from oil (plastic). It is tempting to go out and buy a large sack of flour, oats or pasta but most of those things will continue to be available as we grow quite a bit of them locally so there is no urgent need to stock up on them now.

Get a bicycle or two or do maintenance on the ones you have. This is the single biggest thing you can do. Ideally, ensure you can carry a full load of shopping on your bicycle - panniers or backpack.

Essential medications

• Painkillers
• Bandaids
• Any prescription meds (ask for repeats early)
• Specialty foods like gluten-free or vegan items
• Any niche medicine

Imported food

• Soy sauce or any other imported sauce that you commonly use
• Spices, including pepper
• Coffee / tea
• Pet food
• Sugar
• Imported canned food like pineapple
• Canned fish
• Niche oils like sesame oil
• Snacks and “fun” food like chocolate
• Mung beans (very cheap, for now!)

Other household things

• Cleaning supplies
• Laundry detergent
• Soap / shampoo
• Shoes (if current ones are getting old)
• Batteries (rechargeable, preferably)
• Glad wrap
• Warm clothing – if you need a new jacket, get it now not in 2 months
• Bin bags

For doing repairs

• Puncture repair kit for bikes
• Glue
• Duct tape
• Spare lightbulbs, fuses

This is obviously not a complete list - it is intended to get you thinking along the right lines. Focus on imported items that will be very inconvenient when unavailable. There is no need to prepare for total social breakdown, just for everything to get inconvenient, of less variety and sometimes-available.

Other misc concerns

Have a small amount of cash to pay for things at farmer’s markets or if the power is out (which stops eftpos and ATMs from working).

If your house uses natural gas for cooking, you’re going to need a secondary cooking method, like an electric hotplate. Using gas for heating? Find an alternative or at the very least have a backup bottle.

NOT urgent:

• Fresh vegetables
• Most grains
• Meat
• Milk (except powdered or long-life)
• Solar panels – electricity should be mostly ok in New Zealand.
• Excess petrol / diesel (storing it is a fire risk & just delays the inevitable). But fill your car tank and keep it full.