Storage for Preparedness Supplies

A two week supply of drinking water for one person at three gallons a day amounts to 28 gallons. That takes some space. One way to do this is by putting it under your bed. You can buy bed risers that fit under the legs of your bed and give you more room to put water and other preparedness supplies under there. If you need even more room than the risers will allow, you can get cinderblocks and raise the bed higher. 


Hardware stores carry cinderblocks in the United States. I got a friend with a truck to take me to get them and bring them home. I have carried them home one at a time on a grocery cart, when the friend was not available. You have to find a way to do the important things in life, so you can have a life in the future.


Cinderblocks are hollow cement squares that come with two hollows in the middle or one. Measure how high your bed must be raised up to fit your preparedness supplies under it so they will slide in and out easily. Allow enough extra room so you will not have trouble getting to them in a hurry.


Take your measurements with you to the store when you shop for cinderblocks. You may need to take your own measuring device to the store to make sure the cinderblocks will raise your bed to the right height. You can use a piece of string with knots in it, if you don't have anything else handy.


Hardware stores usually have measuring devices, but finding a clerk who knows where they are can be difficult in some stores. If you don't have the time or patience to wait, bringing your own measuring device might be good.

 - copyright 2012 all rights reserved Y.Begley

If you have a box springs as well as a mattress, the extra height from your cinder blocks may make your bed uncomfortably high for you to get on and off of. If that is the case, you could buy an extra cinder block or two to use as a step.


I lived in an apartment building that required me to sign a rental contract that said I agreed not to have excessively heavy furniture in my apartment. I was worried that my cinder blocks and other items might qualify as too heavy. I asked my apartment manager before I got them. She said it was ok because the heavy items mentioned in my contract meant things like huge aquariums and water beds.


If you are in doubt you should probably ask before you get cinder blocks. If you are not allowed to use cinder blocks, there are alternatives. One of these is metal reinforced plastic milk crates. There are bookshelves without the metal that you can also purchase. The bookshelves are not nearly as strong, however. I used this method a long time ago. The worst drawback is that they can slide apart on you in the middle of the night. I did not have a real bed at the time, however. I put a door on top of the milk crates for my bed. If I did it now I would use wire, duct tape, and/or clamps to hold the plastic bookcases together more securely.


Plywood and boards will also work, but it will be better to use tools to assemble them by nailing or bolting, etc. to make them more stable. I believe a set of basic tools are good preparedness items to have. They also make daily living easier.


There are a lot of other ways to find or make storage in your home for your preparedness supplies. I intend to keep sharing some of these with you. Please use these as inspiration and maybe you will think of things that I have not mentioned. If so I would appreciate your sharing them in comments so that others may benefit as well.