Just add water

All this talk about food storage, and most people forget the most important aspect of their food storage, and that is their WATER STORAGE!!!

Whether its pipes freezing over in a blizzard, an earthquake rupturing pipes, storms or other disasters contaminating public water supply, or for my fellow desert dwellers, a severe drought, no matter what climate you live in, there is always a threat to the water supply we tend to take for granted. 

What would you do if you went to the tap and nothing came out? How would you wash your hands? How would you wash your dishes? What would you drink? How would you reconstitute your yummy THRIVE food?

The average human being can only last about 3 days without drinking water. Many disasters last much longer than that. Don't be caught without the most important item of your food storage - and that's your water.

FEMA suggests storing at least 1 gallon of water, per person, per day. That's for drinking, cooking, minimal washing, etc. So for a family of 4, a large 55 gallon blue water barrel (such as the one pictured below) would provide 2 weeks worth of water. If you go the large barrel route, you can store it in your yard or garage. The special blue material prevents sun exposure from causing algae growth and the food grade plastic won't break down over time and leak chemicals into the water.

Once filled, these large barrels can weigh about 480 pounds, so make sure you fill them where you plan to store them, and make sure you have a way to access the water, which means a wrench to open the bung hole, and a siphon to get the water up and out of the barrel.

If you're catching rain water or filling water from a non-treated source, you'll want to get a water treatment solution to make sure the water you're storing is drinkable.

A whole water storage kit containing a 55 gallon barrel, bung wrench, syphon and water treatment solution is on sale right now for $98.90.  If you're interested, shoot me an e-mail at: ThriveWithHemsath@gmail.com.

If you'd rather store smaller containers of water, Shelf Reliance also sells a 30 gallon blue barrel, and a 5 gallon food-grade water storage barrel. If you plan on storing the plastic water bottles (like Arrowhead or Dasani)  make sure you store them inside away from sun exposure, put them in a place with minimal risk for water damage in case a bottle breaks somehow, and keep track of all the nooks and crannies in the house you've stored them so you can rotate through them every 6-12 months to prevent the plastic containers from breaking down and leaking chemicals into the water.

So make sure your family has the most important part of your storage and get some water stocked up at home. And be safe with fireworks tonight! Happy Fourth of July!