I have been involved in preparedness my entire life. I don’t mean just a long time, I mean literally my whole life. I grew up with a food storage room. I don’t mean just a pantry, but a room devoted to food storage. I didn’t know anyone lived differently until I was old enough to play at a friend’s house. I remember one of the only non-members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in my neighborhood (I think there were about 4 families that were not members). Tony was from one of those families and we were friends. We built a lot of forts together and I rode faster than I have ever ridden in any vehicle in his brother’s hot rods they built. So when I went to Tony’s house for the first time I wondered where the food storage was? And the glass grapes (this is a reference to an old Relief Society craft that seems to be universal from the 60’s I think) Anyway, I am used to yellow Walton Feed wheat bags being stored under every bed in the house. So the Prepper craze and even Y2K was not a big deal for me. Neither is this Corona virus problem. So one of the biggest pet peeves that I have is not knowing what, or where something is. I want to be sure we have what we need, not just a guess. So I inventory (and date) everything! From my food to my ammo. I like to know where it is and how much I have. I also want to know how old it is. So we work hard to keep inventory of all that we have.
Take an inventory! Actually, make multiple inventories. Make one for food, for water, for lights, for off-grid cooking gear, for bug-out bags, for seeds, and every other prep you have. It’s important to know what you have so you know what you need and what you don’t need. This will save you money and sanity.
Homes with a lot of preparation tend to get messy and dusty. Take time to clean and organize what you have. This helps you with taking an inventory and knowing the location of things.
You need living space, however you can also get creative and store things in unusual areas. Many people have made furniture that has storage space inside. You can store things under beds and in attics. Always be aware of the temperature; food especially will not last long in extreme temperatures (or extreme temperature swings).
If you want to store preparation items you might have to make some hard decisions. You may have to part with something that won’t do you any good in an emergency situation. It’s probably not doing you any good now, anyway. If you haven’t used it in 6 months then consider getting rid of it or donating it.
Get A System–There are a lot of organization systems out there. I like labeling things and storing things in transparent container so that I can see what’s inside the box. Consider storing like items together. Whatever system you decide to use, whether it’s color coding or inventory sheets, make sure you stick to it and continue to work it.
Create a map to the location of your different preparation items. This will come in handy when you really need things and are too distracted to remember or too busy to rummage.
Create your own kits for specific things. Create your own first aid kit, or your own car kit, or your own power outage kit. You can gather all the supplies you need or have needed in the past and make them into a kit. This will allow you to grab what you need quickly.
Rotate–This is especially true with food. You should have a rotation system and stick to it. However, it’s a good idea with all consumables. Paper products get old after a few years, medical supplies expire, vitamins expire, batteries lose their charge. You get the idea. Rotation is a good idea for all preparation items.
Eat what you store. This is a big one that I know a lot of people are guilty of. Don’t store what you don’t eat, or what you don’t like. If you don’t like it or don’t eat it then it probably won’t be part of your rotation, so you run the risk of it going bad or expiring. Plus, it’s taking up valuable real estate in your home. Often you hear someone say “I’d eat it if I was hungry enough!” This not always the truth. Often if someone really does not like something, they will go without any food at all.
It’s great when things go on sale and it’s certainly a good idea to stock up when they do, except if you really don’t need the item. So keep a list of things that you need so you don’t buy things that you don’t need.
An organization system is only as good as it being used. If you don’t put things back in their place then your system of organization will not be usable and you’ll wind up with a big mess.
Figure out what works for you but it’s so much easier to have a system in place when you start than to try and implement inventory control on a large number of items. If you started your preparedness a while ago then take small bites to get it organized. Eventually it will all be organized and documented making it easier to rotate and find what you need.
During this Corona virus thing we decided to inventory our pandemic kits and review our procedures if we need to isolate someone. We hadn’t done it in a while. Put yourself on a schedule to review what you have for preparedness items. Note if you need training on how to use the item or what may be missing or need replacing.
An inventory of what you have can show you holes in your preparedness plans. It makes it easier to review what you have and can help you with rotation and restocking what has been used. A running total is gold.
Semper Paratus
Check 6
Burn
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