Category: Storage Spaces

Letter Re: Interim Retreat Caches

Jim: In How to Survive the End of the World as We Know It, you missed mentioning one of the great uses of “bypassed areas” — that of an en route cache.  There is no question but that it would be plain stupid for any family to wait to leave the big cities and urban areas until the very last moment when TSHTF, urban riots have broken out, and the freeways have become one big parking lot full of shooting and looting.  But many families will want to hang on in the cities as long as possible because of employment, family …


Letter Re: Salt Storage Advice

Sir, How would you recommend that I store the many salt blocks I have been stocking up on  (cattle type – various kinds of salt and mineral blocks)?   I was out in the shop today and did a brief walk through and noticed a bunch of moisture (water/liquid) developing around the blocks. Some of them are noticeably deteriorating. A few are on card board, others are stacked on back of a parked trailer. Am I setting myself up for disaster? Will these salt blocks eventually corrode the metals nearby? Where is the best place to store them?    I have a …


Your Earthquake Audit, by M.B.S.

We are survivalists who live on a hobby farm within The American Redoubt. In the 23 years we have lived in this region I have yet to feel the ground shake beneath my feet. That’s welcome news speaking as a former Californian who has been through two “big ones”. Yet, for whatever reason (the Holy Spirit, possibly) I began thinking about earthquakes two months ago. Because of this mind set, when three earthquakes, southeast of us, occurred in Utah around the 13th of February and the next day a magnitude 6.0 quake hit off the coast of Oregon. That got …


Picking the Imperfect Retreat Location, and Making the Best of It, by Michael C.

I think I’m the the position of many out in the real world. I’m strapped for cash. Feeling the time crunch that I must do something soon or be caught up with the unprepared masses and get overrun. I’m also feeling the responsibility for my immediate and extended family whether they are preparing or not. It’s a huge burden to bear when you have been raised to be the “man” of any situation that might affect you and your family. That being said, I’m also a logical, common sense person. I approach things like this: 1. Look at the situation …


Letter Re: Some Comments on Safe Room Design

Mr. Rawles, I read with interest the blog today and then clicked over to the link suggested by Brittany K.: Deconstructing a Safe Room (infographic)” I appreciate all the information your site gives. I wish the writers of the Allstate Blog had consulted your site and listed it in their sources. One glaring item in their graphic is that the door opens outward. If debris falls in front of the door a person may not be able to open it. [As has been mentioned several times in SurvivalBlog, inward-opening shelter doors are the norm,] Another point worthy of mention: In their …


Two Letters Re: CONEX Shipping Containers as Faraday Enclosures?

Mr. Rawles, I was running a detail earlier today when I noticed that we were loading items into an all-steel QUADCON. As we were, I remembered the letter from the other da, asking about the possibility of using a CONEX as a Faraday cage. The dimensions aren’t as big as the 40′ CONEX are, but four of them put together equal the space of a 20′ MILVAN container. The downside to this container is the two openings, one on each end. However, a good solid weld on one side could do the trick. The RF gaskets that you mentioned could …


Creating Hiding Places Without Handyman Skills, by Tamara W.

Creating hiding places for items can be a challenge without handyman skills, a large budget and the need to hide stores in sight. Fortunately, there are some options that are easy to implement without a lot of cost without looking odd to anyone passing through your home. Many Uses for Chest Freezers Chest freezers have the benefits of being common, heavy, cheap to get used and not a big deal to own. How does this help when you want to store things or hide them? Chest freezers are commonly locked to keep young children from climbing in and becoming trapped. …


Letter Re: CONEX Shipping Containers as Faraday Enclosures?

Captain Rawles,  As most of your readers would say, we thank you for your ministry.  My question is weather a 40′ Continental Express (CONEX) shipping containers would work as a huge Faraday cage, and thus we would be able to store most of our sensitive electronics, such as communications gear, battery chargers, e cetera.   Thank you again, – R.L.S. JWR Replies: There are a few problems with that concept: 1.) The vast majority of CONEXes have wooden floors. Wood is fairly transparent to radio frequency (RF) waves, including electromagnetic pulse (EMP). A metal Faraday enclosure needs to be an integral box. …


Letter Re: The Versatile Closet Door Shoe Rack

Jim: I just wanted to drop an alternate product use suggestion. In my gun closet I have a mesh over-the-door shoe organizer that mount to the doors by hooks. When I swing the door open to get to the gun safe I have loaded magazines in easy to grab and recognizable rows in the shoe holder. I also keep other small parts like extra scopes, bipods, and other detachable items in the compartments.  It is four pockets across and six down, for 24 total pockets. Each pocket will easily hold two loaded AK magazines or three AR magazines.  This gives …


Four Letters Re: Survival Preparation in Small Spaces

Mr. Rawles: I really enjoyed L.N.’s small spaces article and her suggestion to get a mason jar vacuum sealer is right on the money.  Another suggestion your readers may want to consider is a non-power way to vacuum seal.  The Actron CP7830 Hand Vacuum Pump can also be used to create the vacuum using the FoodSaver Wide-Mouth Jar Sealer.  Total purchase for both items is less than half of the powered food sealers.  When the grid goes down, you will still be able to seal your jars and get a arm workout at the same time Thanks, – Jen G. …


Survival Preparation in Small Spaces: How to Grow and Store in the Space You Have, by L.N. in Texas

I live in the country and so I am used to gardening, canning, saving and preparing.  However, when I talk to many people who live in the city and live either with minimal land and perhaps apartments, they do not seem prepared or not as prepared as they could be.  When I ask if they store or grow any food, they just sort of look at me.  When I tell them they should either grow some food or store food not only in case of natural disaster, but even due to inflation and rising prices, the looks become bewildered.  They’ll …


Letter Re: Ammunition Storage and Do-It-Yourself Desiccants

Hi Jim.   Dry wall is made of Gypsum, which is composed of Calcium Sulfate Dihydrate, with the chemical formula CaSO4·2H2O. It is found naturally and also made Synthetically by Flue Gas Desulfurization at some coal-fired electric power plants. Synthetic Gypsum can be used interchangeably with Natural Gypsum in some applications. There was a problem with drywall from China which contains too much Sulfur probably from the flue gas desulfurization process. When Water is absorbed by the bad drywall, Hydrogen Sulfide is formed which induces corrosion in some metals. I would not trust using drywall as a desiccant for ammo storage. Just think …


Letter Re: Ammunition Storage and Do-It-Yourself Desiccants

Mr. Rawles: Most herbal supply web sites (San Francisco Herb Company, for one)  offer heat-sealable tea filter paper bags (large size, empty ‘tea bags’ that are used for making tea bags, bath salts bags etc). You seal them with a regular clothes iron. These are perfect for making the silica packets for putting in with stored ammo. – Paulette


Two Letters Re: Ammunition Storage and Do-It-Yourself Desiccants

Hi Jim,   I wanted to share with others of how I make my own desiccant packs. Go to a craft store like Michaels and in the flower department you can buy a box of silica gel that is used for drying flowers. I then get a box of family sized tea bags (these are twice the size of regular tea bags but any size will work) Use needle nose pliers to remove the staple that holds on the little piece of cardboard used to squeeze the bags, empty out the tea and use a spoon to now fill the …


Three Letters Re: #10 Cans for Ammunition Storage

Hi Jim,   For some time now, I’ve been using spare food-grade oxygen absorbers with my long-term ammo storage in regular ammo cans. I keep a regular supply of O2 absorbers in a Mason Jar that I re-vacuum each time with the now famous Alvin Vacuum sealer / Tilia Mason Jar Adaptor.   Being able to stack ammo cans is also good. Seeing the sides of the cans squeeze towards the center (and hard to re-open): Priceless. This is one of the reasons why 5.45x39mm Russian is my favorite MBR round: The surplus Soviet ammo is already delivered that way! …