Yes just in case something happens.

 

Nope.

For the same reasons you don't store canned food (or any food) in warm moist environments.

 

Start by keeping it a secret. From everyone.

One way to hide your food is to have it not look like food. I have barrels of bin run wheat, corn, soy, oats and buckets of rye and hulled wild rice.

The situation would have to be pretty bad before the average person would see those as food.

A hidden room or compartment in a house could be used. Inside furniture, Between studs in interior walls, Above the basement ceiling or, in the attic, Fill a closet and drywall over the door, Under the floor, Build a false wall at the back of a closet, there are many places to hide stuff in a home that would require taring down the home to find it all. The way it is usually found is if people want easy access to it or get sloppy not closing things up.

If you choose to bury the food make sure you do your research to do it in a way it wont let moisture in.

I am a huge fan of splitting up your stores. If something happens to your home and all your stores are in your home you loose them. If some of you stores are in your home, some in the camper, some in your brothers barn and some in your vehicle if you loose your home you have stores to fall back on.

 

I have a small ranch house. I have limited space to store things. I am having a hard time finding places to hide food from my wife. She is a PROBLEM. She doesn't support prepping and I know "she is snooping when I am out. She probably found much of the food I have stashed. SHTF and food was scarce she would give out food to anyone knocking on the door. Probably to the point we didn't have food for ourselves. SHE IS THEN OUT.......... Yes...., I could throw her out if she continued after I told her to STOP! We cannot feed the neighborhood. They all have enough money to stock for their families.

My help ends at the door when SHTF and people didn't help themselves. I do have a list of neighbors I will help. One is elderly and I will take care of her.

I know I am a bad man.... TFB

 

Below ground a cooler or 55 gallon barrel works like a root cellar when packed in straw (shown on YouTube).
IMO, it's best to use several locations, but you'll need to check on your supplies periodically given experation dates.

 

Mine all got taken out and put in someone else's storage after I had a pipe break. :rofl: Really a preppers worst nightmare.

I had to hide some propane canisters from the insurance adjuster. I was sure they were not allowed in my house, so I found a plastic storage tote and put it in plain sight in the backyard, filled it with the little canisters, and then put random crap on top. He never even looked.

 

+1

totes and boxes. layer foods on bottom and clothes books etc over. keep in closet, spare room, etc.
if it gets to the point your neighbors are spying on you, any poking around the yard will bring on the jackals so try to avoid that.

take a chance and prowl around telling them you're looking for food also.

 

At least a months worth if your not hard prepping.

 

Another way to keep your food hidden is to blend in.

If the neighbors are out in the yard picking at ant hills for food you should be seen doing the same thing.

If they are walking a mile to collect stagnate water you should too.

If they are going door to door, you should too.

If all your neighbors are desperate for food/water and you appear to be doing fine they will know you have something they don't and may try to take it from you.

 

I am not able to put "my preps in other places". I have a hard enough time trying to hide my preps for my "non-prepping wife".

If you can do it, do it! There is "no time like the present". It is like closing the barn door after the horse got out.

You need med OTC or prescription get them now. I have and am doing that. I am almost done. OTC will be finished tomorrow.

Stay well everyone, BASS

 

Always remember that your food must be kept in climate controlled conditions.

35F to 75F are the extreme ends. 50F is your target.

Burying food is highly problematic on several fronts.

 

Here we are in earthquake country. We have 26 homer buckets full of food. Mrs Wire comes form the tropics and they can not store food there. Here she has an over flowing pantry. The bottom shelf has 3 5olb bags of rice on it. She will never be without.

 

I created a safe room not even my brother who knows my home could find it.
What is your investment worth more than your life or the of your family?
If some one breaks into your home while you are gone what can they find?
There are lots of example s of false walls and stairways used for hiding things it's being creative and purposeful in your preparedness.
If what you store for food in buckets even canned food , you can move it more efficiently in an emergency should it be necessary to bug out. IN some cases handling a hand truck(dolly) might be better than carrying it by hand. If i had the money I would invest in the square buckets , they store better. another thing you can do to add to their function and put a vacuum on them using a piece of tape and your vacuum cleaner .

 

There are a lot of 'wasted space' places to store food

Your bed is a good place to start (under it)

 

There are a lot of 'wasted space' places to store food

As long as you don't have a family problem with prepping there is a lot that can be done.

Lots of wasted space in and under furniture.

Most main bedroom hallway walls aren't filled with pipes or wires. Perfect for shallow flush cabinets that are a normal can size or gallon mylar bag deep. Your house hallway becomes one long shallow larder.

Most kitchen have a drop soffit of mostly a foot down to the top of your installed kitchen cabinets that can be renovated to add a lot of out of reach kitchen storage space.

If your duct work is in your attic then you can install a plywood structure up there, line with heavy foam board, and run a flex duct from one of the duct junctions. Everything is available at the home center for DIY. A climate controlled cubby that no one will see walking around the house.

Bedroom closet organizers have insanely fancy and efficient now.

Children of the same sex can live in one bedroom. Entire families slept in one bed a bit more than a century ago in America. Children today can easily feel entitled to "personal space" these days. It's one thing to give them metaphorical space, but they aren't making mortgage payments, so the physical space is all yours, not theirs.

Those of you with real basements, try to keep your laughter to a minimum. This is a real issue for some.


But if you have prepping resister or defector living in your home, you don't have a space problem.

 

I have a resistant mother who doesn’t want to hear about any of that foolishness. She has the classic ostrich head in the sand mentality. I worry about her donating food to neighbors or kids that come around hungry. Because I know no matter what she donates it will never b enough. If you feed them, they will come back for more until it’s gone. Then I’ll be starving and begging right along with them

 

Dam. I really wish I could just burry several caches in the wooded areas around my house. I know the area well. I know I could survive if I could garantee food. It would b nearly impossible to keep a lot of food at my house. I don’t like the idea of having to hunker down and defend my stash against every other starving desperate person.

 

If you are young then there isn't much you can do except grow in a profession skill so you can move when you are an adult.

Forget trying to live in the boonies. In days of old frontier living the ones who lived off the land used pack animals to survive for long lengths of time. Living off just the land is just a myth.

True survival is making a piece of land and a dwelling all yours.

 

I took a drive around my area, few mile radious, last night. I live in suburbs rural side of Town. As I explored long forgotten roads around my area, I was surprised how the area has changed. There are many distribution centers like Lowe’s and such within walking distance. I was considering the possibility of using some of these areas as caches. Most likely short term hiding places to store food if I had to move it. Temporarily.
There are abandoned vehicles , storage containers, even buildings. If these areas and businesses became abandoned, they would offer protection from the elements and wildlife. I’ve even considered using trash dumpsters, as long as trash pickup has ceased. Just trying to think outside the box.

 

I took a drive around my area, few mile radius, last night. I live in suburbs rural side of Town. As I explored long forgotten roads around my area, I was surprised how the area has changed. There are many distribution centers like Lowe’s and such within walking distance. I was considering the possibility of using some of these areas as caches. Most likely short term hiding places to store food if I had to move it. Temporarily.
There are abandoned vehicles , storage containers, even buildings. If these areas and businesses became abandoned, they would offer protection from the elements and wildlife. I’ve even considered using trash dumpsters, as long as trash pickup has ceased. Just trying to think outside the box.

I'd worry how many of those hidie holes would be occupied by tramps homeless etc.
I'm sure some types might hit the road and head south to warmer weather. and of course local rapscallions.

 

Both of my pantries are full. I have some stored in boxes between the dining room and kitchen. I should move some light items to my bedroom upstairs and into the garage. But that gets hot in 2 months. Trying not to stow much in the basement. I don't have neighbors that stop in. I tell my kids to keep it hush. I don't blab it around at work.

 

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