Simple Ways to Organize Your Survival Stash

As far as I can tell, there's only one downside to collecting a wide variety of survival gear. And that's dealing with the challenge of where to keep it.

Don't get me wrong – the more you have, the better. But when you start accumulating survival products, they have a tendency to become scattered around your home. And when it's time to find a particular item, you don't want to spend a half-hour searching for it.

Today I'd like to talk about some ways to organize your survival stash. Regardless of what it includes.

And that means everything from survival food and water to flashlights and batteries, clothes and medical supplies, and baby and pet items.

Avoid the enemies of survival food

Most survival items you'll obtain don't require special storage treatment. But food and water are obvious exceptions.

You want to keep both away from heat, light, moisture, oxygen, and pests. You've heard me call them the enemies of food and water, and that's exactly what they are.

Those enemies can deplete food of nutrients and minerals, and facilitate bacterial growth. And, of course, pests such as rodents and insects can gobble up everything you store if your containers are not secure.

Depending on the shelf life of your food, time can also be an enemy. Keep items that will expire first in the front portion of your supplies so you can easily access them before they go bad and then replace them.

A place for everything, and everything in its place

Once you've protected your food and water supplies, turn your attention to organizing them. That way you'll know right where to go in your basement or other storage areas for exactly what you need at the time. 

You also want to organize the stuff you can't eat. Keep batteries together in one place, as well as flashlights. You probably want to have a flashlight in several different rooms in your home, not to mention your car, but also have one central location for them near your other supplies.

Same with your survival seeds, emergency radios, solar cookers, solar lanterns, power cells, water filters, camp stoves, and generators.

Also have a dedicated space for extra clothes, boots, gloves, hats, and anything else you'd want to wear if the heat goes out or you have to bug out.

Are you using vertical space?

One of the best ways to store a variety of survival items is using vertical space. When you look around most basements, a vast majority of items are no more than a few feet off the ground. If that. Everything above that area that's not in use is wasted – but very available – space.

Vertical shelving will enable you to store plenty of food items with long shelf lives. Keep heavier items on the bottom shelves and lighter items up higher.

Some of your stash may not fit on shelves, but you still want to get items off the ground to conserve space. You can do this by installing hooks on the walls and rails on the ceiling.

While a basement is ideal for food and water due to its consistently cool temperatures, your garage might be preferable for non-food items that don't require much in the way of temperature control.

Devote one closet to your stash

In addition to your basement and garage, a closet could be a great place to store some of your survival items.

Depending on how many closets you have in your home, perhaps you could devote the largest one to your survival stash.

Of course, even a closet can get cluttered before long, so formulate a plan for how you're going to organize it. Then obtain enough bins and other containers to keep items separate by category. And be sure to label your containers so you don't have to guess what is in each.

That way, when you need a freeze-dried food bag or a water purification item, you'll know exactly where to look. Same with your energy sources, light sources, first-aid kit, mess kits, and general items.

Check out these done-for-you bundles

It's very seldom that just one item can fulfill all your survival needs. That's why 4Patriots offers survival sets and bundles to take care of a variety of needs. These are "done-for-you" offers that start as low as $64.95.

I'll just quickly mention a couple of them. Our Survival Starter Bundle includes a Patriot Power Cell to charge your electronic devices including your phone, a HaloXT tactical flashlight to light your way and so much more, and a 72-Hour Survival Food Kit to feed you for three days in an emergency anytime over the next 25 years. All for only $79. 

Another is our Family Survival Essentials Bundle, priced at $399. With this bundle you get a 4-Week Survival Food Kit, 4 Patriot Power Cells that charge in the sun, and 4 Patriot Pure Personal Water Filters.

There are plenty more choices, so I hope you'll check out the selection here.