Im still in the process of re-organizing my basement. I expect this process to take a couple months for the simple reason that I just don’t have a lot of time. I’m pretty tired at the end of the day, so it ain’t getting done on weekdays. Weekends are full of stuff I should have done during the week but didn’t do because I was too tired. As a result, I have a few hours each weekend to get things done and, my friend, there’s a lot to be done. Re-arranging shelving units, going through everything, checking for damage, checking for continued usability, upgrading what can be upgraded, tossing and replacing things that are outdated, etc, etc.
Some of the more interesting things I’ve come across so far: bottled water from 2002. Now, it stored just fine but I am curious about whether there’s a concern about ‘microplastics’ or other issues from sitting in a plastic bottle for the last two decades. So, that’s one example of interesting stuff I’m coming across.
I came across a storage bin in a corner that I had no idea what was in it. Opened it up and rather surprised myself. It was a stash of military winter shooting mitts, liners, and the like from 2004. I know its from 2004 because they were bundled into a vacuum seal bag along with a note describing what they were and when they were stored away. Out of about ten packages, only one had lost its vacuum. The others held up just fine. I went ahead and opened them up and they were just fine. Absolutely no reason to think they wouldn’t have been…they were protected from pretty much everything…damp, moths, etc..by virtue of their packaging.
Also came across a stash of Italian surplus military wool blankets and blanket pins. The blankets had been rolled up tight, slipped into vacuum bags and sealed up. Again, they were perfectly fine. Still had the naptha smell from the anti-moth preventative measures that the military had taken with them. Sent the blankets out to be washed and dried and they returned slightly fluffier and with a greatly reduced naptha smell. They’ll wind up going in the linen closet. I have better blankets and sleep systems for grimmer situations. I remember when I bought these blankets from Sportsmans Guide all those years ago. Nowadays, finding surplus wool anything is a lot more challenging. Its out there, but it’s not an easy find.
Also came across my stash of TA-312 field phones and spools of comm wire…just the thing for simple field communications when I eventually get Commander Zero’s Post-Apocalyptic Bunker O’ Love And Lingerie Proving Ground up and running.
All sortsa interesting stuff turning up. Some of it still has the price tags on it and it’s a sad thing to see .223 FMJ at fifteen cents per round compared to what it goes for today, which is usually three times that. I’ve no doubt I’ll find more interesting stuff.
It’s like a combination of Easter and your birthday. Had a friend get out of the army and he dumped his load bearing vest in a box without checking the pouches and pockets, grabbed a bunch of other random stuff, and sent it to me. One of the best gifts ever. Some really good items, some totally useless things, but everything was cool and fun.
While you have all of the toys and gadgets covered, it sounds like you may be neglecting your health. One should never be “too tired” to inventory and preserve the things that are important to them.
The only thing I see that would indicate that I was ‘neglecting [my] health’ is a lack of posting about my health. Unless you’ve some particular insight, real or imagined, that I’m not familiar with.
You have a desk job now, right? When I started getting tired after a long day of sitting, I started doing cardio, in addition to the weight lifting I was doing. After six weeks, I had energy in the evenings and 10 years later, when I did lots of cardio, I no longer felt tired unless I was dehydrated. Hope we have more decades of your wisdom shared to us.
Bingo! Any kind of brisk activity like walking will greatly improve your health. This, along with vitamin and mineral supplementation (our food is devoid of vital minerals) works for me. After 60+ trips around the Sun, my energy today is greater than when I was a teenager.
So…are you the guy with the license plate that has your handle here? If so, we used to be neighbors-I’m the guy who always out rucking. I can’t find your number (new phone) so text me if it’s you!
Back in California before it went Commie (1975, Vietnam war winding down) you could buy a brand new ammo can full of 840 rounds of 5.56, stripped in bandoleers with a loader in each one for 2 cents a round (you got the can and etc included) at any gun show. I still have several in my basement.
The good old days – two SKSs, and a wooden case of ammo for $99
What’s worse is soon we will most likely look back on now as the good old days!
Always
I applaud you in your endeavors to arrange/rearrange/organize your basement/supplies.
Who knows? I, myself, might (someday) become inspired to attempt to imitate your work.
Besides, if you (I) don’t know you (or, really, *I*) have any particular widget, well, I effectively do not have that widget.
Commander:
Are you getting ready for when you finally do get your little piece of heaven?
I imagine there will be loads you decide you don’t want to take with you..
I’d love to be a “fly on the wall” for that garage sale!
Ceejay
Just the opposite, man. Half this stuff will stay here at my primary residence and the other half goes to the new place. Then, if I ever sell the main place and move to the other one full-time, I’ll move the remainder half there as well. Unfortunately, as much as I love the idea of living on 40 acres, leaving my property once a month for mail and supplies, and spending my time playing around on my property, I still need to work and that means living where theres opportunities.
So once a month for mail and supplies, and four more to look at guns.
I know I have some stashed items that are no longer usable for me in my present state. I remember three pairs of Swedish HEAVY wool pants purchased from Surivival Inc. or SurvivalGuide back in early 90’s. Size 38 waist. I no longer fit them (although starvation and a major fitness regime would fix that). But I know others who would so I take some comfort in that. Pity though – that heavy wool was fantastic when the outside air was extremely uncomfortable.
I always thought it was formaldehyde that gave the odor to surplus wool goods. Whatever it is, you definitely want to wash them at the laundromat. I put mine through 3 wash cycles in the jumbo washer, using Woolite on the last one. FWIW, Woolite is the only cleaner I know of that will remove diesel fuel odor from a boat’s bilge.
I’ve got some time off work, before the next project, so I’m doing the same thing right now. That and organize so that the “spare” bedroom that’s been used for storage for the last few years can be used as a bedroom for the grandson when he’s out for a sleep-over. That was something I didn’t have in the planning – but the wife did. LOL
Up here we’re paying a buck a round for 223 bulk packs. But it is fun when you’ve stockpiled enough to keep you going. Last spring when guys were going gopher hunting they were paying $60/a brick. (500 rounds). I pulled out a brick of 22’s that still had a price tag of $21.99 on them.
I’m still shooting bricks of 22lr that was priced at $4.96 per 500 rounds when I backed the truck up 20 years ago. My ammo and PMs have done much better than the stock markets without any downside risk.
Yeah, always check your pouches before you toss your gear back in the d-bag. I pulled stuff out to finally clean it and found half a block of P4…doh. The ranger gods smiled on me because the customs agent was a former 2nd Battalion guy that went up point Du Hoc, so he just chatted then waved me on thru without opening any of my bags. This was back in the early 80s when I was a young snuffy. (P4 is the Danish version of C4.)
Good on ya for doing the reorganizing thing!
You may be already doing it and didnt mention it, but when i vacuum seal I always add an appropriately sized desiccant pack just because. I even do it on a cosmoline’d firearm- moisture is your sworn enemy.
Another thought; i dont store water but have enough in current rotation in panty for a short haul. My serious long term water plan is to store several means to purify water.
RE: “…bottled water from 2002. ”
Has anyone done a study, or compiled data, on long term storage of water in various types of containers, especially plastic? And how is the container, of any type, affected by whatever might be in the water? I’m thinking chlorine or floride in tap water, minerals in spring water, etc.
I’d guess stainless steel would be OK, but there are different varieties of plastic depending on how the container is used. I’ve got a “reasonable number” of standard plastic 5-gallon water cooler jugs, bought factory filled, and I try to not let them go past 3 years. As they get emptied they get refilled with tap water filtered through Zero Water filters and re-capped, and I restart the 3-year clock. Zero Water filters, just like Berkey filters, will remove everything but (some?) chemicals.
I’ve contacted the bottled water company who supplies my jugs and all I get is “we comply with all applicable water purity standards.”
I’m thinking some enviro-nerd somewhere must have done some lab testing on water and container particle shedding in the various plastic containers.
love me them Italian wool blankets! I bought maybe ten or fifteen of them from Sportsmans Guide long ago when they were about $10 and currently sleep under one. They were called officer’s blankets and if you can find one now, they are in the $100-150 range. Delicate wash with Woolite and hang in the sun to dry makes them like brand new and helps with the smell.
Ebay, $189!
https://www.ebay.com/itm/235834800638?var=0&mkevt=1&mkcid=1&mkrid=711-53200-19255-0&campid=5338590836&toolid=10044&customid=4d501c1c8606186df01f7bb366ab36ae&gclid=4d501c1c8606186df01f7bb366ab36ae
Yup, thats the one. Got three of ’em sitting here and I dont think I paid more than $12 for each one.
I bought some of those from Bill Pier (Survivial Inc) 40 years ago… think I paid around $5 each. They are used frequently and still look new.
It’s a shame that the project was abandoned.