Tag Archives: storage

Still reorganizing

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Still working on re-organizng,re-arranging, and re-evaluating the mountain of things I have in storage. Its a slow and laborious project but it needs to get done. Its also sort of a de facto way of inspecting pretty much everything I have.

Im kinda tired at the end of the workday, so Im not terribly likely to spend my weekday evenings doing this sort of thong, so that leaves just weekends. Thing is, weekends are when I have to do all the things I’ve been blowing off all week. So…weekends wind up being dang busy.

As I’m moving stuff around and re-arranging, I’m also finding things that are probably ready for retirement and replacement. For example, packets of batteries from ten years ago, bottled water from five years ago, things like that.

Its a pain in the ass, doing all of this, but I’m getting some satisfaction about my levels of preparedness in various departments. I’m also keeping an eye towards the quantities I have so I can determine what is and is not ready to be halved and shuttled when I finally get the Chink O’ Nowhere in my portfolio.

Hows that coming, by the way? Slow. I am learning very quickly that western Montana is expensive, and eastern Montana is, comparatively, quite cheap. There are places in eastern Montana where I can get 160 acres for the same amount of money 20 acres costs me here. Problem is, eastern Montana is pretty flat, featureless, and open. I’m looking for something with a bit more features than what is essentially a grassy parking lot. But…I’m in no tremendous hurry. I’d really like to get the ball rolling on this in this year, but the longer I wait the more money I have to put towards the purchase, which translates into more options. But…I also dont want to wait so long that when I finally get what I want I’m too old to enjoy it and play with it. So, like everything else in life, the trick is timing.

In the meanwhile, though, I’m still working on getting what I already have more organized and ready. But, boy, when it’s time to split all this up and move half to the Beta Site it’s gonna be quite the adventure.

Continuing with the re-organization

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So I’m still working on this months-long project of straightening things up and organizing better in the area where I store all my stuff.  One of the things I have is racks of wire shelving where I keep my stash of canned goods. Although there’s plenty of different manufacturers of various can organizers, I usually wind up going back to the Shelf Reliance Cansolidator organizers. They are rather expensive for what they are, but, I have to admit, theyre quite durable and their modularity allowing them to be used to make long runs of cans is pretty sweet. But…dang theyre expensive. Yes, I could make my own with some 1×4’s and plywood but the Shelf Reliance versions allow me to reconfigure them endlessly as my needs change.

In addition to having to pick up a couple more of the Shelf Reliance uits, I also need to pick up a few more of the plastic black-n-yellow storage bins. CostCo has been selling the 27 gallon ones, and I have a stack of them, but it turns out CostCo is also selling the smaller 12 gallon ones as well, and theyre handy for stuff that you don’t have huge quantities of or are too heavy to fill a 27 gallon tote with.

And, in a final surrender to turning into a middle-aged man, I bought…a label maker.

Also, I discovered that the folks at repackbox.com no longer sell the cardboard box packaging kit for the long-term #10 cans of food storage. So, I need to head over to the LDS cannery some weekend and pick up some of the 6-can cardboard boxes.

Its a long process, but a deeply overdue one, doing this bit of reorganizing but its quite necessary. At some point I’m going to get that stupid land purchase crossed off my list and I’ll need to transport half this stuff there. It’ll be nice to have it organized enough that its a simple matter to just grab all those plastic totes and ammo cans and go.

Gotta say, though, I’d rather spend my weekends out at the range or something but when society descends into (further) chaos I’ll probably be glad I traded weekends at the range for getting my supplies and gear sorted out.

 

The Great Reorganization of 2025

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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.

“Ammo cans”

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So, as I’m reorganizing things, I am discovering that there are a lot of small items that need to be corralled into one place in a somewhat protective manner. For example, my stash of Aladdin wicks, mantles, and burners. Or my stockpile MALICE clips. Things that are numerous enough to need to have their own dedicated container, but not so large or heavy that they need a steel ammo can dedicated to them.

So, for giggles, I hit Facebook marketplace and figured I’d look for some discount ammo cans. No joy. But…I did find some plastic ammo cans in two different sizes that would suit my needs. In for a penny, in for a pound….how many to buy? Well, stuff is always cheaper in bulk. I’ll take 300.

And thats how I wound up with an IBC tote cage full of plastic ‘ammo cans’. They had ‘half height’ ones in addition to the .30-cal-size cans. So, I figured I’d split it 50-50 and wound up with 150 of each. Are they as durable as a steel ammo can? Of course not..theyre plastic. But, theyre waterproof and perfect for organizing the things on shelves in my basement…batteries, first aid supplies, waterproof notepads and pens, water filters, etc.

Got into them cheap enough that I’ll give a bunch away to the local LMI for their own storage needs. Even then, I’m probably going to have way more of these than I actually need but it’ll be nice to be able to get some things nice and neatly packed away for that upcoming Rainy Day.

Link

Tote

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You guys are familiar with these ubiquitous yellow-n-black 27-gallon totes, right? In my opinion, they aren’t the best totes from a survivalist standpoint but sometimes the not-best becomes the most ubiquitous and by virtue of that ubiquity it becomes the de facto ‘standard’. A good example of this would be the old VHS vs. Betamax war in the home video market back in the day…Betamax was a superior format, but VHS was cheap and it was everywhere…and it drove the better product into the dustbin of history.

So, I have a bunch of these totes for storing things I want to protect from..well..everything. What I did not know, but that I should have guessed, is that there is a surprising thrid-party market for accessories for these things. Case in point, I was up at Lowes picking up some things and saw these:

A set of internal dividers for those yellow-black totes. I suppose you could whip up something similar using an Xacto knife and some heavy duty cardboard. But..I’ll take the easy way when I can. Assembling them and fitting them in the totes gives you this:

Handy for some needs. But as I mentioned, there’s a bunch of third-party support out there for these things.Another notable accessory, which is currently available at Costco (or, at least, my local CostCo)…a wire shelving rack.

What is it I don’t like about these totes. Really, three big complaints: a) a more tactical color would be nice, although  other companies do make versions of this in OD, though. 2) the tote tapers from the bottom to the top…the footprint of the bottom of the tote is smaller than the footprint of the top of the tote..like a funnel. This means stacking things uniformy is pretty much impossible. I understand why this situation exists – if the tote were straightwalled it wouldnt drop out of the mould as easily as a taperd design. But…still annoying. III) The lids for these are designed to facilitate stacking these totes, and thats a good thing, but the tradeoff is that lid will collect any liquid or debris that accumulates on top. Also, they really cant take too much weight on them. A couple of totes full of Christams lights and decorations? No sweat. Canned goods? Gonna be an issue.

But, as I said, the ubiquity of these totes, and their price point ($6.99@ at CostCo today) makes them the most common tote in this size that youre gonna find virtually everywhere. And, since these things are all over the place, with the large numbers out there the aftermarket sweeps in to bring us the aforementioned accessories.

Usually these totes are about $10 at most places, and my CostCo, as of late, haas them at $6.99. For that kind of money, theyre a nice way to keep stuff off the floor, outta the wet, free from dust, and just generally keep what limited space you have looking orderly.

Building the wall

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I finally received all the parts for putting together the gunwall I ordered up from Gallowtech.I spent most of today putting it together and getting it set up the way I wanted.

Normally, I’d share pictures but, unfortunately, this is a PerSec issue so I can’t really show the pictures. However, I can say that it does a very nice job of helping me get the gunclutter problem under control.

It actually looks not too much different than this. Just….more of it.

It wasn’t cheap, but it really does make a difference in terms of getting most of the stray boomtoys rounded up and secured. It’s definitely one of those things that will not convey if I ever sell this place….that sucker is going with me to the new place.

The modularity is what really make it worth the money, for me. As my acquisitions change or evolve, I can adjust my storage system to match. That’s pretty much the reason I didn’t just sit down with a buncha lumber, some deck screws, a chop saw, and make my own.

And, honestly, it looks pretty cool too.

Not every survivalist ‘needs’ this many guns. Tappan’s “Survival Guns” is considered by many to be a bit over-the-top in terms of guns he recommend that the savvy survivalist own. I don’t recall the exact number, but once you got past defensive pistols, working pistols, pocket pistols, hunting pistols, etc, Tappan was advocating something like 15 handguns. Contrast this with the fact that most people will not own fifteen different handguns over an entire lifetime. Heck, we all know that one old guy who owns something like two or three handguns and he’s had them ever since he got out of the Army after Korea. My ownership numbers definitely trend towards the far side of that bell curve.

My way of thinking has always been to assume that what I have now is all I’ll ever be able to have, therefore I need to have enough to last me against all the possible futures that could occur in the next 25 years. So…a little gun heavy. Guns seldom go down in value, so even if no legislative changes occur to preclude future purchase, I’m still ahead of the game by beating inflation..

But, overall, I like the Gallowtech product. It seems well made, is modular, looks good, and has enough accessories and ways to arrange them that I think it should fit my needs for now. But, most importantly, I am very glad to have all these dang guns out from underfoot.

Ammo can…not ammo can’t

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Remember this post? That was where I picked up these:

Well that was about three years ago and, dang it, I need more…fortunately this guy still has a few hundred left and I picked up another 25:

Do a Facebook Marketplace search for AMMO CANS in Missoula and you should find ’em.

What am I using them for? Well, over the last few years I’ve been stocking up on magazines. I’ve got sealed cardboard cases here of Magpul P-mags and those cardboard boxes dont last forever, don’t stack well, and are subject to damage. I transfer the mags to the ammo cans, stencil a number on the side, slap a hangtag on them, update the spreadsheet, and set ’em down for the Deep Sleep.

Given that it’s an election year, I’ll probably pick up another case of Pmags and some AK mags. And…they need a nice place to spend the next decade, so there we go.

Oh…and I got in on a group purchase with some local LMI to the tune of 30,000 rounds of CCI 9mm ball ammo. Came out to $0.22 ea, shipping included, so I’ll tuck my share of that away in one of these also.

Cleanup Pt. I of probably too many

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When I moved into my current house, back in the 90’s, I finally had some space to step up my preparedness game. Originally, one room in my basement was dedicated to my preparedness stuff. It has, sadly, over time morphed into my entire basement. And, in fact, it has started migrating into some other rooms as well.

So, whats a survivalist supposed to do? Well, time to cleanup and, possibly, throw out a few things. There are some bins that I havent looked inside in over ten years. And there’s some long term food that is dang near close to the end of that term. So…it’s time to clean up the stuff that ‘seemed like a good idea at the time’ and replace it with ‘best that I can afford’ now that my life has finally hit a more grownup phase.

For example, the 20-year-old MRE entrees sitting in boxes on the shelf. Meatloaf With Gravy and some Chili Mac. These were purchased from Major Surplus back in, probably, the late 90’s or the early 2000’s. What this means is that they are at least 20 years old. Sure, MRE’s have a lngthy shelf life, and I know there’s plenty of guys on YouTube eating MRE’s from the Civil War, but why would I continue to store 20-year-old MRE’s when I can easily afford newer and better product. Especially when each additional year I keep those MRE’s I am getting less and less viability than I would with newer production?

Now, having said that, did I try them? Sorta. I tossed both pouches into a pan of hot water and let them heat all the way through. The Chili Mac smelled okay, looked okay, and the texture was…okay. The meatloaf smelled a tad odd but, hey, it’s an MRE…its not gonna smell like it’s supposed to. The texture was rather spongy and the taste was rather bland. A single bite from each one was enough to tell me that there was no really legitimate reason to not replace these with current production items.

But, as this cleanout continues, I’m coming across things that are fifteen, twenty, twenty five years old. A good opportunity to see how time and storage affects things. It’s also an opportunity to observe the evolution of products…for example, I have a couple of old MagLites that still use the Krypton bulbs and eat D-cell batteries like Pac Man. Compare with the newer LED lights that give ten times the battery life and twice the light.

There’s also a good bit of milsurp in there from when I couldnt afford Kifaru but I could afford Kosovo. There’s some Eastern Bloc stuff down there, for sure.

There was a time I was a poor, struggling, underemployed, wildly irresponsible kid who had no money-smarts. As a result, I’d buy whatever was cheapest that met whatever need I felt was being presented. It wasn’t that I didn’t appreciate items of better quality, rather, it was that I was unable to afford items of better quality. Fortunately, that has changed. Before anyone jumps into the comments and starts telling me how some surplus stuff is just as good or better than some modern commercial stuff…yes, you are correct. Some stuff is just awesome. But a lot is simply adequate, heavy, bulky, and difficult to find accessories for.

Ideally, I’m doing this cleanup to free up some space and get rid of some things that, really, have been supplanted by better gear. Save it for backup or for remote locations? Probably not…whatever supplanted is probably in storage here in enough quantity that even the backups would be a better quality.

It would be nice to get this done over the course of a week, but unfortunately ny life has hit the point where it seems like I never have spare time to do the things I want to do. But, on the other hand, it’s that evolution into a time-constrained life that has allowed me the resources to replace twenty year old gear.

Case musings

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Someone asked me how I store all those magazines.

Answer: The same way I store anything that I feel is important, worth protecting, and might be in storage for a long time: in a hard, airtight, watertight, crushproof container.

For 99% of the things I put in the Deep Sleep, the container of choice is either a genuine GI ammo can of some kind, or a Pelican (or similar brand/quality) case.

Good, quality, name-brand, effective, just-what-the-doctor-ordered cases are not cheap. Only you know how much risk you’re willing to take to save a few dollars. Will the plastic ammo can from Harbor Freight store gear just as well as a GI ammo can? Maybe. If it’s just going to sit on the shelf in your basement for the next twenty years then all it has to do is sit there, quietly waiting in the dark for that one day when life changes in an exciting new way. And that is when the extra bucks you paid makes a difference. When you grab the can off the shelf, swing it around as you run up the stairs with it, it bounces off the doorway as you grab your backpack with your other hand. You run out the door and it’s five inches of snow and freezing rain as you literally toss the ammo can in the back of the truck into a pile of slushy snow and ice. Then its a two hour drive over bumpy roads until you get to your safe place. Then you drag your gear out of the truck, some of it falls and hits the ground, some bounces off other gear, and some just gets none-too-gently shoved into a corner of the room. Now, your headset radios, battery chargers, cables, batteries, and other gear were in those cans… which would you rather have used to store those items – the $7.50 harbor Freight made-in-China plastic “GI” ammo cans or the $65 Pelican case?

Everything I put away for the future is put away because I have concerns about those things being unavailable in the future. Maybe they are unavailable due to price..or legislative action…or simple supply/demand variations…the reason doesn’t really matter; all that matters is that this particular item is now unavailable and whatever ones I have are the only ones I’m gonna have. So…I don’t mind spending the extra money for what I feel is a heightened level of protection.

Of course, not everything requires a super-high level of protection. A Glock magazine can get dropped, bounced off the concrete, get wet/snowy/dusty/dirty and survive just fine thank you very much. Not the same story for a radio. Or your medical gear. Or your other critical-and-somewhat-fragile gear.

Only you know what is and is not important enough to you to warrant the expense of high-end protection. It’s very subjective. Personally, my opinion is that anything worth putting away for the uncertain future is worth protecting as much as possible so it’s there when I need.

You’re going to have to do some math in your head. If the Made-in-China case affords you 75% the protection of the Pelican or Hardigg case is that 25% difference in protection worth the difference in price? Does the 80/20 rule apply here? As a friend of mine said when I complained about the cost of a motorcycle helmet, “Whats your head worth?”

It seems ridiculous to spend as much on a protective case as you did on the item that you are protecting, but, again, whats it worth to you to have exactly what you need, when you need it, in perfect working condition?

As I said, I’m a bit of an evil ‘yuppie survivalist’ so I spend the dollars for the Hardigg, the Pelican, the SKB cases. Or, if they’ll do the job, the virtually new genuine GI ammo cans. It’s just not worth it to me to go through the pain and labor of buying a piece of expensive top quality gear, house it in a POS knockoff plastic ammo can, and then have the lovely surprise of having that item absolutely not work when I need it most. At that moment the last thing I’m thinking is “Man, sure glad I saved thirty bucks by buying that cheap just-as-good-as-Pelican case.”