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for damage, checking for continued usability, upgrading what can be upgraded, tossing and replacing things that are outdated, etc, etc.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.