When I first started getting into prepping, one of the first things I purchased was several large IBC totes that I used for emergency water storage. In my suburban home I was unable to find a place to store this water except for outside in my backyard. While everyone in my neighborhood had a six foot privacy fence, everyone somehow seemed to know what everyone had, and my two black 250 gallon totes complete with metal cages for stacking and anti-freezing fittings was the topic of several discussions as curious neighbors casually brought it up while I was doing yard work our front.
Like many with a new found hobby, I was excited to talk about my water and thought it a good opportunity to discuss with them the importance and benefits of being prepared and boast a little as what a good deal I got when purchasing them.
I had also purchased a good chunk of food storage and and camping gear that I had in the house and was not shy discussing my investments. My neighbors are good people, and I honestly couldn’t have been more fortunate. And they seemed genuinely interested and even shared stories about canning and hunting but I quickly realized that every neighbor I talked to didn’t have any kind of food storage, or preparedness items for themselves save a few candles and extra flashlights. One of them had a generator but not the foggiest idea how to connect it to his house.
As the conversation began to wind down almost all of them responded with: “Well I’ll be coming to your house if anything ever happens!” followed up with a chuckle and a good-natured smile. I know that they were just looking for a polite segue into topic of conversation, and I of course laughed with them and jested that they should watch out for the landmines I had in my yard and that was why it was always in less than perfect condition. Their comment to me has stung. Every neighbor that I spoke with the sting got worse until I started telling people that I was experimenting with a new compost method and avoided speaking at all about emergency preparedness.
I knew at that point that I had made a mistake talking about the details of my preps with people who weren’t in the same frame of mind as myself. Even then I knew that I would want to seep the specific details of my preps to myself even if I was talking to a fellow prepper and I would be sure not to ask.
Prepping in a way is very personal. In the off chance that something were to happen, I knew in the back of my mind that several people near me knew that I had a lot of resources and if someone got hungry enough, I could count on them making good on their comment of coming to my house. That would be a confrontation I would prefer to not have.
The truth is that I would probably not be strong enough to turn anyone away. I have always been a helper. I see someone in need and I can’t help but want to do what I can for them. If something were to happen it probably wouldn’t be long before I had the whole neighborhood at my house and what should have fed our family for a good long time would only have benefited everyone for a couple of days. But even if I had the wherewithal to be able to turn people away, information that I had food and water would be out there and it would only be a matter of time before my home would be overrun. What started out as a friendly conversation in my yard would inevitably turn into a violent confrontation.
You don’t have to be a military strategist to realize that the best defense is to severely limit that kind of information to as small a number of people as possible. Civility is only an illusion that we all buy into because none of us are hungry or desperate enough to pull off that veil… yet.
My small prepper group is like a second family to me and even they don’t know the specifics of what I have or where I keep it. We prep together but we all have different plans should the balloon go up so we are not a retreat group. We often take advantage of pooling our money to get better discounts for certain purchases but we don’t share the specifics of our private purchases. Not that we don’t trust each other, but rather it frees us from the responsibility of having to keep that information secret.
Be mindful about who you share your information with. Since I adopted this personal policy I haven’t heard those dreaded words again.
They had only recently gotten into prepping and were feeling very afraid that they would not have enough preps in time for what ever catastrophe this country was hurling towards.
3. Get out of Dodge
4. Traffic jams and getting stranded
The need to keep your preps out of sight of nosy neighbors and other individuals is not only a good idea but it could mean the difference between life and death in the event that some sort of catastrophe should happen.
Repurpose a backyard bench or outdoor planter and utilize the space inside to keep sealed containers of water. These can be purchased or built to suit your needs. Not only stylish improving the look of your yard, but capable of storing hundreds of gallons of water protected from the elements and the sun.
These bladders are large and come in several shapes and sizes. The most attractive feature of the bladders is that they can be easily set up in a crawlspace, under a deck, or in the attic. Because of their low height, they can make great use otherwise useless space.
Cisterns, buried water tanks or Hydroblox can be installed underground in your front or back yard and out of sight. Another benefit of an underground system is the implementation of permeable pavement. Create an inlet to your underground water storage directly underneath a rain spout but topped with permeable concrete pavers. No pipes or tanks can be seen. Water just hits he ground and disappears into your secret storage tanks.
Even if you don’t have access to the space under your stairs, it may be possible to remove a riser and reveal lots of square footage otherwise unused. If you do have an under-stair cubby or closet already built, then install a water storage device inside and drywall over the opening. If you have the resources you could even go so far as to permanently plumb in the storage device so that you would not need to enter the secret space disrupting your camouflage.
Did your home have a fireplace in the past but not anymore? There is a good chance they just bricked up the opening to the old fireplace and dry walled over top. You might have a huge empty cavity in your wall that you could store a large amount of water in. You could even use a fireplace that you just aren’t using. Just to be sure that you clean out any ash and protect your water container. If water mixes with ash it can become caustic and corrode your container over a long period of time.
Worth mentioning even if it is obvious. Utilizing water canisters, bladders or even cleaned out 2 liter bottles, you can usually find space under a bed, in the back of cabinets, the space between your cabinets and floor, inside coffee tables or even just the bottom of a closet. While it is convenient to have it all in one place, if space is tight then consider breaking up your reserves utilizing several different solutions to get you to the number of gallons you need to be prepared.
In Nepal after a 7.6 magnitude earthquake, the country was devastated and people’s
If you make your own laundry detergent like our family does, you may find that washing soda is becoming more difficult to find at your local grocery store.
Heat your oven to 400° F (200° C) and put a thin layer of baking soda in the bottom of a cookie sheet, or pie tin, or other oven save container. Bake for about an hour being sure to stir the powder every 15 minutes or so.
In my previous post I talked about how toilet paper is one of those preps that is often overlooked. In this post I wanted to expand on that idea just a little bit because I talked about hygiene being important in a survival or post crunch event.
difference between surviving or being part of the mass die-off that will sweep through the country and claim upwards of 90% of the US population as estimated by congressional committees.
nesting bugs or animals and it is suggested you keep it off the ground to help keep out moisture. Some will say that the container doesn’t need to be air tight, but I would recommend that it is. Also include moisture and oxygen absorbers. Personally I would suggest that you avoid using a trashcan as a storage device. They are typically flimsy and difficult to secure so that you can be sure to keep out moisture and bugs. 5 gallon buckets would work if they have the proper sealing lid but they are small and will limit the amount of supplies can store. If 5 gallon buckets is what you have and they are abundant, then go for it. What I would prefer to use are 55 gallon blue barrels with a large enough screw on bung or lid that allows for easy access but that you could seal with Teflon tape or a waterproof caulk. I would also consider using a steel drum with a locking lid, as they can be very inexpensive compared to other containers in that size range. Just make sure that the previous contents of any barrel or drum was food grade and that the container has been completely cleaned and dried. We aren’t going to just store toilet paper in these containers.
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