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
Thanks, – Jen G.
Mr. Rawles:
I found the article by L.N. in Texas quite interesting and would like to add my two cents. I live in a small house with my wife and two kids, so storage for longer-term preparations can be a challenge. However, I have found two spaces to be of great value that most homeowners may overlook. For one, my house sits on top of a stem wall foundation that has a small crawlspace underneath. This crawlspace was only available from an outside hatch, and therefore was less than desirable as a TEOTWAWKI storage due to its visibility and location. Gaining access to it from the inside of my house was as easy as installing a simple trapdoor for the cost of two hinges and some time with a Skilsaw. I simply pulled back the carpet in my closet and located the nails that indicated where the studs ran. I pulled the nails from two adjacent joists along a two foot strip. Then I set my Skilsaw blade to the approximate depth of my subfloor and cut out a square. Making a trapdoor was as simple as cutting the removed piece of subfloor down slightly more so it didn’t catch, screwing down some hinges on the backside, then placing the carpet back over it. Obviously, make sure before doing any of this to make sure the trap door leads to an open area, not a pipe or electrical line. Below this trapdoor I have about 3-to-4 feet of vertical storage space. I made a pallet to one side on which I store about six months of freeze-dried food and several gallons of water in 5 gallon jugs.
Nobody has seen me haul the stuff in, nor will they see me hauling it out when the time comes. I have used none of my living space and the air below the house is considerably cooler and drier than my usual storage spaces, such as shed or garage. The second spot to consider is the intake registers for your HVAC system. Most HVAC systems blow out the cool or hot air out of floor registers, then take the air back to the heater/cooler through registers near the ceiling. The air running through there, as a result, is room temperature. While I wouldn’t recommend storing anything heavy, bulky, or edible up there, removing a vent cover exposes a nice bit of unused space for storage of cash and guns when I leave for the weekend. – Andy in Arizona
James,
One challenge I have encountered in my survival preparations is the lack of concealed storage space in my 800 square foot house. I recently purchased a king size mattress, being on a tight budget (spending most of my disposable cash on survival preps) I couldn’t afford a king size bed [frame and box springs]. In order to fill both needs of more storage space and a place to put my new mattress I decided to use 5 gallon buckets and 3/4in plywood to construct a simple platform for my mattress. I purchased two sheets of plywood at the lumber yard, and thirty of food grade 5 gallon buckets with lids.
I had them cut both sheets of plywood to 38×80 inches (one half of the size of a king size bed). I placed the buckets 6 across and 5 wide where I wanted my bed. In order to remember where they are, I drew a diagram and labeled each bucket with the contents. I used sheets from my old smaller mattress as skirts to cover the buckets. With the mattress, plywood, and buckets the bed is taller than normal but my wife and are both tall and I feel it is justified in the amount of storage that is gained. The size and number of buckets can be adapted to any size bed. Good luck to all in your preparations and I hope my experience will help with your storage needs. Sincerely, – Northeast BoomTruck
Mr. Rawles,
I completely agree with L.N. about survival prep in small spaces. I increased the storage space under my bed by raising it [and additional] six inches off the floor. I used commercial available bed risers that cost under $20.00 for a set of four. A riser is placed under each of the four bed posts. Just search on “bed riser” or visit local home store. – Larry D.