Friday, February 3, 2012

Cheap Storage For Disaster Preparedness

Finding extra storage for preparedness supplies can be a challenge, especially if you live in an apartment. There are people who spend all their work time thinking of and designing extra storage. Some of their storage can be expensive, but there are still lots of ways to make your own. It doesn't hurt to look at the way professional storage people make extra storage and learn from them.


An often neglected area that can provide a lot of storage is closets. That is above the top closet pole on closets that go all the way to the ceiling. Even if there are shelves above the top closet pole, there is usually extra space up there that you can make use of for your preparedness supplies. Plant or cup hooks suspended from the closet ceiling can allow you to suspend a lot of disaster supplies up there. 


You can use bags or baskets to hang supplies from your closet ceiling hooks. They are not good places to put things that you will need in a hurry unless you are tall enough to reach up and take them down fast. This is not a good place for go bags, for example. It is fine for shelter in place preparedness items, however.


Built in drawers such as for kitchens often have space underneath them that will allow you to store some preparedness items and still allow clearance for opening and shutting the drawers. Some drawers also have space behind them.


If you can afford to buy storage, hassocks, ottomans, or footstools are made that open up to storage inside them. Instead of a coffee table, you can purchase a footlocker or chest with storage for your preparedness supplies.


Bookshelves are great for storing preparedness food. They allow you to use them like a pantry and are easy to rotate your food and keep track of what you have or still need.


Instead of a headboard for your bed you can use a bookcase or a set of them for a headboard and footboard. You can then use the bookcases for storing preparedness supplies.


If you are using cleaned out plastic soda pop bottles to store water for your preparedness, they will fit under a lot of couches. You may have to lay the soda pop bottles full of water on their sides to fit them under your couch. If you need to do this, make sure to tighten the caps extra so they do not leak. A slipcover for your couch that goes to the floor will hide your preparedness supplies there. 


It is a good idea to put labels on your water bottles so that you will know when to empty and replace them. Every six months is a common suggestion by experts. I water my plants with the water I have stored for preparedness. You could rotate it into your daily drinking and cooking water to keep it fresh also.


Most of the ideas for storage in this post apply to water, but you could use them for other supplies as well. You and your family are the ones who need to decide what will work best for you.


There are endless ways to find extra storage for your disaster preparedness supplies. I will keep sharing some of them with you in my posts. I hope that you will take care of your safety and that of your loved ones by being prepared for disasters.

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