Prepping hacks?

PNWPrepper · Mar 13, 2020

So my wife is at work and I thought I would go through and make sure our BOBs are good to go, guns cleaned, supplies stocked and all that fun stuff. I am not planning on bugging out as that seems like it might be difficult due to the possibility of quarantine. But I have that option available. I am planning on Bugging in however and am stocking up on water. I came up with a great idea. I have a bunch of 2 or 3 gallon cat litter buckets from pet i that I am going to clean and sanitize and use to hold water. I thought it was a good idea and free since I already have the supplies. What are some other "hacks" you guys might have to help everyone out?

cigars · Mar 13, 2020

If funds are tight, nothing wrong with your plan. However, there are plenty of water storage options available. You can get anything from gallon sized plastic cubes to 55 gallon drums to bladders that will fit under a bed or crawl space. While you're thinking about water, consider getting a Big Berkey system. You could pour pond water thru it and it will come out clean. They aren't cheap but you can make your own with some filters off ebay and a couple of five gallon buckets from home depot.

DB is Here · Mar 13, 2020

Drinking water out of an empty cat liter jug? Why not just drink your bath water?

Forgive me, I couldn't help myself...carry on.

PNWPrepper · Mar 13, 2020

DB is Here said:
Drinking water out of an empty cat liter jug? Why not just drink your bath water?

Forgive me, I couldn't help myself...carry on.

Don't think of it as a cat litter jug. Think of it as a tactical improv bucket with a decent locking lid and a metal carry handle

CountryGent · Mar 13, 2020

Gallon jugs of water are 80¢ a pop at Wally World. The big blue 55-gallon water drums are less than $70 a pop. Packs of the Waterbricks aren't wildly more so.

Just some alternatives than the cat little jug idea. Cheers.

PNWPrepper · Mar 13, 2020

CountryGent said:
Gallon jugs of water are 80¢ a pop at Wally World. The big blue 55-gallon water drums are less than $70 a pop. Packs of the Waterbricks aren't wildly more so.

Just some alternatives than the cat little jug idea. Cheers.

I know, but we have had some family emergencies the last two weeks and I missed a good amount of work. Pair that with I am a roofer so we went through what little money we finally managed to save up/ credit card this summer during the winter when I was working 20 hours a week. That was after we used what little money we had to pay for our child to be born which cost a nice $5k. So I'm doing whatever is the cheapest option lol

Member 34319 · Mar 13, 2020

Do you fear utilities are going to fail because of the virus?

Have a garbage container? Water heater? Tub? Those can hold a lot of water, one already comes filled. I've got three garbage containers. All are 95 gallon.

Decent sized pond walking distance from my house too. Have a wheelbarrow or wagon?

CountryGent · Mar 13, 2020

PNWPrepper said:
That was after we used what little money we had to pay for our child to be born which cost a nice $5k. So I'm doing whatever is the cheapest option lol

Congratulations on the new wee-one. Children are such a blessing. (And, oh yah, I know; they ain't cheap.) Godspeed.

PNWPrepper · Mar 13, 2020

Reno said:
Do you fear utilities are going to fail because of the virus?

Have a garbage container? Water heater? Tub? Those can hold a lot of water, one already comes filled. I've got three garbage containers. All are 95 gallon.

Decent sized pond walking distance from my house too. Have a wheelbarrow or wagon?

That's the thing, I don't know, which is another reason I don't want to panic buy a bunch of gallons of water when that money could have been spent better else where. I'd rather have a small amount of water stored instead of scrambling to find clean drinking water. I also have a life straw should I run out and need to filter water. I want to get a Sawyer hand pump though

Member 34319 · Mar 13, 2020

PNWPrepper said:
That's the thing, I don't know, which is another reason I don't want to panic buy a bunch of gallons of water when that money could have been spent better else where. I'd rather have a small amount of water stored instead of scrambling to find clean drinking water. I also have a life straw should I run out and need to filter water. I want to get a Sawyer hand pump though

Get some medical tubing to gravity feed the life straw or sawyer. Pumping sucks.

PNWPrepper · Mar 13, 2020

Update on tactical cat litter water buckets. Lids lock, however, they are not water tight. Highly recommend storing in an upright position on a level surface.

cigars · Mar 13, 2020

Reno said:
Do you fear utilities are going to fail because of the virus?

I do actually. I have been having strange feelings that this CV shinola will be followed by something big such as the grid going down. Hopefully I'm wrong and it's just gas.

cigars · Mar 13, 2020

PNWPrepper said:
Update on tactical cat litter water buckets. Lids lock, however, they are not water tight. Highly recommend storing in an upright position on a level surface.

My friend, you do whatever you have to do. That's why it's it's called survival.

Member 34319 · Mar 13, 2020

cigars said:
I do actually. I have been having strange feelings that this CV shinola will be followed by something big such as the grid going down. Hopefully I'm wrong and it's just gas.

Nah, most public systems are fairly automated. That and they have procedures in place with backups to backups to ensure something like this doesn't shut down the masses.

Massive earthquake, different story.

Water is still flowing in China and even in Italy.

cigars · Mar 13, 2020

A good place to check for various supplies is the Materials and Free sections of craigslist. All kinds of things turn up there and you never know what will find you.

cigars · Mar 13, 2020

Reno said:
Nah, most public systems are fairly automated. That and they have procedures in place with backups to backups to ensure something like this doesn't shut down the masses.

Massive earthquake, different story.

Water is still flowing in China and even in Italy.

I don't disagree but while we are descending several notches as a society, bad actors in foreign nations could see this as an opportunity to hack into our poorly guarded infrastructure. Though much has been done in recent years to harden the grid, there could already be trojans lying in wait.

cigars · Mar 13, 2020

Reno said:
Nah, most public systems are fairly automated. That and they have procedures in place with backups to backups to ensure something like this doesn't shut down the masses.

Massive earthquake, different story.

Water is still flowing in China and even in Italy.

You don't want to drink that water flowing thru China. Apparently, Italy has wine flowing from their taps, which really doesn't sound like such a bad thing.

ZigZagZeke · Mar 13, 2020

Right now there is ZERO reason for there to be any kind of shortages. Without the idiots hoarding various items and the scalpers trying to make a fast buck buying up everything you wouldn't notice much difference. There are a few legitimate shortages, like masks and gloves, but in my situation I don't need those to survive. I'm already bugged in. My closest neighbor is 150 yards, and the nearest pavement is 1/4 mile. My biggest worry would be the roving bands of starving soccer moms and their hollow eyed children foraging for food if this keeps up long enough.

Hueco · Mar 13, 2020

Reno said:
Nah, most public systems are fairly automated. That and they have procedures in place with backups to backups to ensure something like this doesn't shut down the masses.

Massive earthquake, different story.

Water is still flowing in China and even in Italy.

More than water even. Jesus made a short appearance.