For those of us who live in apartments or condos we know the value of space. One of the biggest obstacles for us is – where to put our food and water storage?
Decluttering is key – if it is important to you will make the room! If done correctly your visitors will not even see your food prep supplies, in a small place there is a place for everything, and everything has a place.
One gallon of water per day per person with 2 weeks of food is a great start, but if you have to work up to that it’s fine – just begin somewhere. Start were you are, use what you have, do what you can.
Most of us apartment dwellers are not lucky enough to have a spare room, a garage or a basement to use as storage, so we need to work with what we do have.
Some of us might have a locker in a locker room, but if it is like my building, the temperature is not regulated. In the Winter for air flow, a window is left open – so keep your locker for other things – seasonal clothes, vacuum etc – not emergency food or water.
Try to keep your food storage in a cool, dark dry space. Extreme heat makes the shelf life shorter and extreme cold can freeze canned food – that will most likely break the seal. Also, in the cold jars can also shatter. Thankfully dry goods will not be directly affected by the cold.
Make a main list of where things are since in a small space you most likely do not have the luxury of storing everything together. Yes, having some water and food storage available for you and your family will take some organization but it will be worth it.
Long term storage items can be less accessible but be sure you are rotating through your short term items. Label all things with marker on the top with dates so you can cycle through.
You may hear people refer to “FIFO” storage plan – which means first in, first out – Old cans on the front, new in the back always keep this in mind.
Here are some hiding ideas to not clutter up your small space:
Under the bed
Under the bed is a great idea since most of us have one with unused storage space under it. With the use of under the bed containers caching, supplies under the bed is a breeze. Some even come with rollers to make life even easier, click here to see an example. I like to mark them with arrows (see picture) so you know which cans are the oldest – pull from this direction.
With some beds, if you simply use bed risers you can get those extra few inches to fit organizers underneath.
Use your furniture to help hide items
Ask yourself.
Do you have extra space behind your couch? Can you store larger items there, like #10 cans or water?
Can you move a piece of furniture into a corner and use the space created for holding preps?
I store my water jugs inside my headboard. It was an awesome feature of this bed’s design when I purchased it and I knew exactly what it would be used for.
Extra Dresser drawer
Come on, you can’t tell me you don’t have that one drawer that is filled with stuff you haven’t used since you moved in. Take some time and clean it out and use the newly reclaimed space for some food/water storage or other emergency items.
Nightstands
Create a nightstand or small table with bins or boxes. Then simply cover it with a decorative cover to make it look like it belongs there. Again, we are not trying to add more “junk” but more “assets”.
Behind doors
A behind the door shoe hanger is a great place to keep longer items and taller cans. Be sure you are not over loading this – use lighter items here.
Click here to see an even better one then mine since it has see through pockets which will make identifying what is there much easier.
Suitcases
if you are like me right now, trips for any amount of time are few and far between – why not use that packing space to store some of your prepping supplies?
Closets
Use all the space in your closets – that empty space above that is too high to see up there is the perfect spot for long term storage items to live. If you use bins be sure to label them well and don’t forget to include expiration dates, if any.
If you sort out your closet would there be room for a small set of shelves? If so make sure you use sturdy shelves, you don’t want them to give out due to weight. There are many different types of organizers out there to help you with your can food shelf storage. Be sure you are labeling them and following the FIFO rule.
Under stairs
Sometimes there is extra room under the stairs to store items, if you can’t get to this area easily use it for long term stuff only.
Watch for this which will give you extra storage options. Even under your pet stairs like these. Smart storage ideas can be found anywhere.
Storage ottoman
I have this storage ottoman next to my front door. They come in different sizes and colors. Perfect to sit on when putting on your shoes and for holding mites and scarfs.
But, it is surprising how much room it has for emergency supplies under that accessory pile.
Extra kitchen cupboard or shelf.
Again, make sure you are using all your space.
Do you have a tall cabinet under your sink which can hold an extra shelf inside?
What is happening on top of your fridge? Can you store something more important there besides a box of Kleenex and a plant?
Do you have any unused space on the top of your kitchen cabinets?
Think out the box, things don’t have to look crowed. Keep it hide or simple and neat if it needs to be out in the open.
Between appliances
If possible it is great to have other non drinking water stored for washing and toilet flushing. I keep this between my fridge and stove and you can not even see it when you enter into my small kitchen.
I hope this has even you some ideas and something to work towards. If you have some other storage hacks to contribute please comment below and share them.
Make room for emergency food and water storage. Declutter, organize and start preparing now, you’ll be glad you did when an emergency hits.