Storing Water
Our apartment building shut off our water last night for repairs. Of course we didn’t realize this until Tim used the bathroom and needed to wash his hands. Luckily we just pulled out an apple juice container full of water and Tim could wash his hands.
We have been slowly building up a supply of water, food and basic necessities since moving into our apartment. We do this because our church has counseled us to be ready for emergencies, but I think it’s sound advice for any family. We currently have about 40 gallons or 8 days of drinking/cooking water for our whole family. One day we will have enough for two weeks, but our storage space is limited for now so we stored as much as we could.
Having water stored is handy when the water runs out but also for emergencies that might occur in your area. Bottled water is one of the most important items in any natural disaster but sometimes the trucks can’t get through for a few days. In addition, if there is a limited supply of water the cost may be very expensive. That is where having your own water comes in handy, so you don’t rely on others for your needs. In addition, you may be able to help your friends and neighbors who don’t have water.
We started out small by storing our water in used, clean juice or pop bottles. FEMA has a site here about how to properly store and rotate water, and here is another site with water storage guidelines. Because we don’t buy that much juice or pop and wanted to build our supply more quickly, we started purchasing packs of bottled water. Whenever I could find water for $3.00 for a package of 24 16.9 oz bottles I would stock up and buy a few. These packages are approximately 3 gallons, which makes them around $1.00/gallon.
I have found that I also need to keep on top of my water supply. I was sure we had 45 gallons of water, but when I took an inventory this morning, I only found 40. Which means another trip to the store when I see some bottled water sales.
We are glad that we made storing water a priority because part of being frugal and living off of one income means being prepared and self-sufficient. We know that if our water goes out, the water supply is contaminated or some other disaster occurs we have supplied our most basic needs and could sustain ourselves for over a week.
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