Water Storage 101

Have you read THIS article? No! It’s pretty important and demonstrates the necessity for having a storage or water on hand. There are several ways to store water, but you MUST do it properly or the water will not be potable. Here are some things to keep in mind.

Needs: Ensure that you have AT LEAST one gallon of water per day (per person). This is a guide, you will need to determine if the needs of your family are greater. Where you live may also be a factor. For example, living in the desert with high temperatures may require more water – especially if activity is high. If you have small children, especially those that are bottle fed, they may require more water as well.

Keep in mind that you will also need water for washing, hygiene and other personal care necessities. I like to save my almost-empty laundry soap containers, fill them with tap water, label them as “WASH” and keep them tucked away as my storage. This is a cheap and easy way to prepare for the hygiene needs in emergency situations.

Containers: If you chose do bottle/store your own water ensure that you use containers that are BPA free. If you buy pre-bottled water – do not open them, ensure they are stored in a cool/dark place and rotate through them regularly. Containers that are PETE or PET are the best for storing water. You can know for sure by looking at the bottom of the bottle. Look for a triangle symbol with a 1 inside, it may also say PETE or PET under it, as such.

Avoid containers that are not PETE or PET. They are made of materials that can be toxic. If you see the same symbol with a 7, this most likely contains BPA so avoid it like the plague.

If you bottle your own ensure that you properly clean and sterilize the containers. You can use containers such as 55 gallon drums, 2 litter soda bottles or even recycle larger water bottles. DO NOT use milk jugs – they are not suitable for storing water.

After cleaning fill the container with tap water. You do not have to treat tap water with bleach if it is all ready processed, however if you have a well or bottling from a source that does not chemically treat the water, you MUST add, non-scented, chlorine bleach to the container to kill all microorganisms. You should use 1 teaspoon of bleach for 5 gallons of water to properly treat the water. If you’re filling 2 liter soda bottles a few drops should do the trick, there should be a slight smell of chlorine, add more if necessary one drop at a time. For a 55 gallon drum – use about 3 tablespoons. If you intend to use the water immediately, let the water stand for at least 30 minutes before use.

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Water is extremely important. All life on earth depends upon it. The human body is comprised of about 60% water and your body needs it to function properly. Having a supply on hand in case of emergencies is paramount. Keep some in your car, rotate through it of course, in case your car breaks down and leaves you stranded or forced to hoof it!  Don’t be in a situation where you don’t have water or can’t filter it. My next blog will be about how to treat water for drinking – say from a lake or stream.

Get Organized

Let’s face it – some people are super organized and some are not! That’s ok – it’s great to be different, celebrate it!

One thing that you should be organized in though, regardless of your level of proficiency, is your food storage and preparedness. How on earth do you expect to remember how many of each can of vegetable you have. How do you think you could possibly remember how much flour or rice or anything else you have stocked away. Lovingly smushed under beds, in closets or any other random place you may have utilized to keep your stock. I have these awesome little cubbies at the ceiling in four rooms of my house! Such a waste of space until I realized what a treasure trove it was!

There is no right or wrong way to organize and keep track of what you have. The only wrong thing to do is to NOT keep track of it all. Make a plan! Without a plan you are as ship adrift in stormy seas.

Some quick tips:

First, keep all like items together (as much as possible). This will ensure that you can take a quick glance and get a good idea of what you have.

Second, keep a record of what you have. It can be as detailed as you would like and you don’t even have to create them yourself. There are people who have all ready done the hard work for you, you just have to fill it in. A great example is Are We Crazy Or What, another blogger that offers her food storage binder for FREE when you sign up for her emails. (I’ve got it and it’s pretty extensive and worth it in my opinion)

Lastly, have an idea of how you will rotate through your storage. Let’s face it. Food doesn’t last forever and the best buy dates come quickly. Don’t waste good money by having to throw out food you didn’t rotate through. Get organized with these awesome rotation shelves or ones like them. I use these and LOVE them.

You don’t have to be perfect at food storage to start. You don’t have to have the perfect home either. You can have a storage in small places you just have to be creative and think outside the box! This month I’ve focused on food and quite frankly it’s the easiest place and arguably the most important place to start.

Hard times come to us all. We can either let them drag us through the mud leaving us fighting for air or we can have a life raft. I prefer the life raft. You can do food storage. It’s easy – you just have to start!

Get Started–5 Easy Steps

The human body won’t last long without food – a few weeks without any nutritional supplements. Today I’d like to help you get started with your food supply. If you saw my last POST, you recognized that in an emergency, such as severe weather, the stores won’t have a whole lot of food left on the shelves and certainly not enough to support all of the people in your area, especially if you live in a highly populated area like I do! So what’s the answer?

FOOD STORAGE!!!

Beginning to store food can be absolutely daunting. I know, I too thought “Where do I even start?” This was once the biggest thing keeping me from having food storage. I didn’t realize that sometimes you just have to learn as you go!

Here’s my list of 5 things to consider when starting out. These seemed adequate and encompasses a lot of information for beginners. Besides, too much too soon is overwhelming and makes people not start, and that is not what we want!

1 - DO NOT GO INTO DEBT. There are a lot of companies out there that sell products for storage. They aren’t bad, and you SHOULD invest in some of their products. You don’t need to jump feet first and buy a whole year’s supply at once. It’s not logical or financially responsible! Unless you’re rich, but most of us aren’t! Simply start by grabbing an extra can or two of veggies, package of pasta, or extra condiment for storage the next time you’re at the store. It’s that simple to get started.

2 - MAKE IT A PRIORITY BY SETTING A BUDGET. My husband and I allocate a specific set of funds each month to stock our food supply. It can be as much or as little as you can afford. Stock up on the things that we LIKE to eat. No one ever said that you have to eat boring food! In a time of crisis, you’ll be happy that you have your normal foods to eat! All hail comfort food!!! TRUST ME!!!

3 - DECIDE HOW MUCH IS APPROPRIATE FOR YOUR FAMILY. This is something I can’t tell you, you must figure it out. Just know that you should have enough for each member of your family to eat at least two (hopefully three) meals per day. That amount can vary from family to family!

4 - HAVE A PLAN. Build your short term food storage first. These are the items that you eat on a regular basis. THEN work on your long term storage or items that can be stored for longer periods of time. This is what the “experts” say. There is wisdom in this, and most people have success with this method! You’ll most likely need your short term items long before those long term ones!

I, on the other hand, like to have a balanced approach. I like to store my favorite items for short term and mix in a few long term items. When I order my shipments through Thrive, I try to double order items. For example, this month I got 2 cans of green beans; one of which I will place with my short term items and the other is my long term. Since most Thrive products have a 25 year shelf life due to being freeze dried, I’m confident that if I need them in a few years - they’ll be fine! This works for me – but if following the above counsel works for you – do it!!!

5 – GET YOUR BASICS (flour, sugar, rice etc.) and KNOW HOW TO COOK WITH THEM!!! Flour is no good to you if you can’t make it into bread, or anything else you need flour for!!! Don’t let the basics give you a false sense of security. So you have 100 pounds of hard wheat, do you know how to make it into something that you can eat? All the preps in the world don’t matter if you don’t know what you’re doing! So get into the kitchen and start cooking with basics!!!

It’s as simple as that - 5 easy steps to get you started!!! If you are a list person and need someone to tell you exactly what to get (no problem with that at all) check out this on PINTEREST. I have NOT followed this list, but it looks to be thorough, and will help you get started. I suggest doing MORE than this, if able, BUT this is a good start! So don’t be afraid - just get started! I challenge you to purchase $10 worth of food this week for your home storage and get started!!! Don’t let a crisis be your motivation like I did!!!