Apartment Prepping

Just did a web search on "prepping" in an apartment and a lot of good stuff came up. Now I'm excited to go read. A friend of mine tells me to hide/store things in plain site. I think investing in storage furniture could be a good idea. I also found an interesting meetup group for alternative living - a couple people built their own secret vacation cabin somewhere on vancouver island. Not that I advocate that kind of under-the-radar approach but one of the things I'm working on is figuring out a bugout plan and something like that could be helpful.

Hi CanCricket!

Welcome to IPN!! Just curious as to the reasons why you were advised of not using storage lockers. Could you explain? At first glance, that seems to be a missed opportunity, especially if you already pay for that storage.

Hey, helicopilot. I've heard that it's not a good idea because it's located in the basement of my building, whereas my apartment is up on the 4th floor. I think it's a question of not being able to access items easily or quickly, if needed. I may need to store some things down there, though, as I really don't have a lot of room; maybe things that are not as immediately necessary and would be easy to retrieve.

averna, I actually found a really good blog, which I'm not sure if you've seen. http://apartmentprepper.com/ Lots of really good info, although some of the links don't always work.

Urban prepper out of Seattle on YouTube as well. Put non-prepping stuff in the basement. Seriously debate making a bug out plan. Not being able to control your neighbour's grid-down Fire habits in a bid to stay warm might see your stores go poof real fast.

Make friends up-island:)

CanCriket,

I'm not sure if this is much of an advice, maybe more an opinion.

Prepping is important, but so is having a normal life. Your goal of having a year of supplies on hand is commendable, but the thought of having an apartment stocked full of Boyardee in every nook and crannies may make you uncomfortable... Let alone your guests visiting. Use your storage locker; it's in the same building and a short distance away. What kind of no-notice calamity could cause you to have to hunker down in your apartment and not be able to come out for a year? Other than a pandemic, I can't think of anything. In which case, you can always get out in the middle of the night, wearing rubber gloves and a full mask (likely excessive, but at least you can easily store those in your bathroom's under sink cabinet without too much issue) and retrieve what you may need for a week or a month; no contact with anyone, no contact with any contaminated surface.

For anything else (EMP, economic collapse, whatever) you should at least have a day or 2 notice to retrieve your stash and then make a very comforting coffee table out of canned peas. You could even again operate at night for OPSEC purposes... Don't want the neighbours all know you've got stuff!

Beyond this, I would even actually encourage you to have some of your resources off-site. You never know if your primary residence may be compromised. It would be a pity if you've worked so hard amassing a considerable stash just to lose it all at once because your neighbour Sally's cat knocked over the candle she used to see at night (post grid collapse, you know) and set your entire building on fire with no firefighters to come put it out... Keeping a few things at a friend (a rubbermaid bin with a few things to get you back on your feet) could be invaluable.

If your storage locker is the typical open sided "cages" in the parking garage, you may want to get yourself some privacy by putting your stashes in cardboard boxes or plastic bins. Nothing screams prepper more than 5 gallons pails with colour-coded Gamma lids neatly arranged on a shelf! (if you MUST use pails and lids, then try to find cardboard boxes big enough to put the buckets in).

Again, all opinions... I have no experiences in apartment prepping, but even in my single family house and detached out buildings, I try to spread stuff around. That way, if the house burns down (tornado, whatever), I may still have some stuff stashed elsewhere.

Both of you have some really good advice. Thanks! I've decided to dedicate 3 closets in my apartment to prepping, which is easily done and won't inundate my home with stuff. Once it's full, I'll see how long this amount of stuff will likely last me, then make plans from there. As of today, I have 1 whole week's worth of food and water. Based on that, I think I can comfortably house 3 months worth of food & water.

I have to admit, it is a worry that I could be surrounded by stupid people who could ruin my bug-in plan. I think I'm just relying on everyone else leaving.

I think my biggest concern would be water. I'm in the middle of an urban area with no fresh water supply nearby. I'm surrounded by undrinkable ocean water.

Is rain catchment an option?

Hello all.

I'm brand new to prepping and looking for some advice. I'm in BC, in a largish urban area, where space is at a premium and I don't have much! Anyone here prepping in an apartment? I'm looking to get about a year's worth of food and water together, along with other sundry items needed to survive, but I think I'll be lucky to get 6 month's worth together due to a lack of space. Any advice? I can't magic space out of thin air, unfortunately, and I've been advised that all supplies should be within my apartment, i.e. no use of storage locker, which is 4 floors below me.

Thanks!

Do you have a balcony?

I don't have a balcony, unfortunately; there's no outdoor space for me. I have a fairly wide window ledge, so a small amount of rain catchment would be possible, but not a not. There is a rooftop area which offers the possibility for gardening and water catchment, however, being a common space, it's not a secure area just for me.

And I think I grossly overestimated how much I would be able to store here. I think a 3 month supply in-apartment is going to be the limit, unless I get very creative with my storage options!

They say we are 9 meals away from anarchy. Planning to bug in for 1 year in an apartment in a large city might not be the best decision. There are many emergency scenarios and for some bugging out might be the better option. Fort Mcmurray fires and High River floods come first to mind as an example.

Prom, your observations are probably correct. I however think that a prepared person in an apartment beats not doing anything at all. This may be the beginning of a preparing journey for the OP. I don't believe that unless you live on a 20 acre plus property 500 miles north of nowhere, that any prepping is futile.

I don't have a balcony, unfortunately; there's no outdoor space for me. I have a fairly wide window ledge, so a small amount of rain catchment would be possible, but not a not. There is a rooftop area which offers the possibility for gardening and water catchment, however, being a common space, it's not a secure area just for me.

And I think I grossly overestimated how much I would be able to store here. I think a 3 month supply in-apartment is going to be the limit, unless I get very creative with my storage options!

3 months is a start. The worse thing that could happen right now would be for you for you to get discouraged and give up! Remember your storage locker option.

Mentioning the garden possibility, have you considered starting now? Asking the landlord/management if you could have a garden. Make it a project with your neighbors.

Prom, your observations are probably correct. I however think that a prepared person in an apartment beats not doing anything at all. This may be the beginning of a preparing journey for the OP. I don't believe that unless you live on a 20 acre plus property 500 miles north of nowhere, that any prepping is futile.

Yes, you're correct. Sorry that my post sounded like prepping in an apartment is not a good idea. I didn't mean that. You have to work with what you have and start somewhere. I just think that prepping to live in an apartment through a long emergency or prepping only for bugging in in an apartment without considering bugging out plans for some emergencies is not a good idea.

btw, this has been discussed before on the forum:

http://internationalpreppersnetwork.net/viewtopic.php?f=16&t=5393