Prepping can quickly and easily become a way of life, but it requires a lot of thought and a lot of space. It can also be expensive. If you rent self storage you can add space and save money while creating a secure avenue for supplies in the event of an emergency whether you are in Denver, Colorado, Cincinnati, Ohio, or anywhere else.
In this economy many people are lacking two things that would allow them to better prep; money and space. From the probability of solar flares to the questions of coming economic collapse and chaos, being prepared is the only way to be.
Secure & Accessible
Preppers understand the importance of putting together a good plan and every good plan includes a bug-out scenario. Unfortunately not every prepper has a specific location outside of their home for stockpiling in order to diversify their bug-out options. For those who keep everything at home, if you have no way to get your preps to another location much of your prepping may be for naught if or when you need to boogie out of Dodge.
So what can we do to gain needed square footage without having to move to a bigger place? Get a storage unit!
They’re Everywhere
Storage units can be found in nearly every city or town across the country, even most small towns have them. When planning your bug-out decide where would be the best place to secure yourself (and your family) when things go south. Be sure it’s somewhere you will be able to get to, there are no telling what obstacles will be in your way.
Renting a storage facility in a town near your bug-out location allows for a few things. You get to learn the lay of the land you will have to travel; you will also have a place for all of your supplies that’s secure (keeping your preps safe is important).
You Can Afford It
It doesn’t cost much to rent storage units. Equally important, you can get them in many sizes and in multiples if needed. You can often find coupons on-line or in your local papers that make great first time customer deals.
Depending on the deal and availability, you may want to get two that are back to back with an adjoining door between them. This is great for a couple of reasons; you can open both ends and allow for airflow when loading and unloading or taking inventory and you can have enough room to be organized so that when a situation arises you can easily get in to find what you need.
On Being Stealth
In general it makes sense to help educate other people by showing them what you’re doing, but there could be danger in that. People will come unglued in a short matter of time after a life changing catastrophe, especially once desperation brought on by hunger and thirst comes in. You do not want to be your “good” neighbor’s target.
It’s best to keep your activities to yourself and closest family. You can cherry pick who else should be in the know. Having a strong network of trustworthy fellow preppers is not a bad thing, you just need to choose wisely.
I’ve heard this idea tossed around several times in different places, but the same questions keep coming back.
Some facilities have electronic controlled entry, would they be accessible in an emergency?
If travel is restricted in an emergency, how would you get to your stuff?
Would it be worth the risk exposing yourself or your family to travel to get your stuff?
How would you know what location would be best for your stash of stuff?
Most storage units do not provide good climate control for food storage, so how would that work?
These are all things that I’ve considered when I’ve thought about storage units for stashing necessities. Having it close at hand gives me more confidence, even if it means spending money to make a space to accommodate it.
John –
Yeah – really have to evaluate what the unit is being used for. I do not have one – but have thought of getting a small one just for “security” purposes of not having all my eggs in one basket.
There is a storage facility literally two miles from my place. It is fenced in but there is no 24-hour guard. Considered stashing some supplies there to not only alleviate some room at my house but to also know that if something happened to my house – I have supplies there as well.
Not for everyone – but maybe for some.
Thanks – Rourke
Rourke-
Yes, I can see where there could be some possibilities, but I’m still always thinking that it’s there and I’m here.
Perhaps a better approach would be to use it to store things you have around home that you don’t use much, and make more room for Prepper supplies at home. That would make better sense to me.
Storage units might be “better than nothing”. Even so, IMHO, when IHTF, The Powers (who also read these blogs) will go in and take over storage units, like everything else. You don’t own it (not that it would matter to them), so, short of paying for the “privilege” to use someone else’s property and facilities, you have no “rights” at all regarding the facilities or even contents, when IHTF. You do have a contract, and, for now, it has SOME meaning; it will have no meaning at all in that scenario.
I have considered a storage unit several times. I have 3 within 1 mile of my house.
I’m actually less immediately-concerned about a widespread martial law situation, where my stuff will be confiscated by the gumm’int, than a local ‘grid-down’ emergency (like last Spring – I was only down for 12 hours, my boss was down 6 days, his GF was down 14 days. A friend in KY had no power for 32 days a year or 2 ago, after a blizzard.) and electronic cypherlock access to the facility.
If I had to disable/break someone’s hydraulic lift gate, or take boltcutters to a fence to get to my own stuff, I an still at least technically legally-guilty of breaking and entering and destruction of private property, even if I’m willing to pay for the damage, later. This could get me arrested or shot, if “Deputy Phyfe” happened to be driving by while I was doing it.
Just something to think about.
Good thoughts Wyzyrd.
Rourke
+ 1
Used to need storage units for carpentry supplies etc. Finally got wise & figured everything in it could be replaced cheaper than what it had cost me the years of paying rent. Also had a storm knock out the power & had no access to unit for nearly a week. Since have taken the $$$$ and had a nice 16×24 metal storage building built on our property…and it’s ours. It’s also on skids so we could, if we should decide, have it moved to another location with a “mule” truck and never have to unload the contents if we didn’t want to.
+ 1
I’ve considered getting a storage unit but decided that I’m better off just using my own shed. I’m still tempted, because there’s a nice facility about halfway between home and our grid-down bugout location, but the cost is prohibitive right now. I’m going on the assumption that if we leave home it’ll be for a very long time and that if we get back home there won’t be much of it left. It would be nice to have extra supplies stored somewhere else, but I do have concerns about the lack of climate control. This facility is nice in that there are no fences or obvious security, but there’s also the risk that vandals will break in just because they can.
Greetings, SingleMom!
I concur with your thoughts on the matter – storage units DO have their place, but, as a safety issue, would things you truly need be “safe”? Probably not. What the vandals don’t steal, the gubment will; it’s not like they don’t read our posts.