Good Organization

[Patriot:Ex Machina]

As I rummaged through my "Man Cave" tonight, I came to the realization, that if something was to happen at that very moment, I wouldn't be able to find half of the stuff I needed due to it being so unorganized. The last week or so has been hectic (I'm in the process of preparing some rental property for a guy) and a lot of my more recent preps have been stored in my "Cave". Proper storage containers are a must, and labels with the dates you stored the product seems like a good idea as well. I also try to store my preps in containers that have carry handles of some kind so if i need to go mobile and get my family out of here, the preps will be moved easier. Obviously rice, beans and flour can be stored in Mylar lined buckets as referred in previous threads. Some of the canned goods go in rubbermaid containers with the locking tab tops. I would be careful not to stack too many of those since the lids on them can bow and get way. My wife actually came up with the idea of putting " prep camouflage" on the storage bins. Lets say someone ( a family member or coworker) who doesn't quite share your view of prepping comes over and happens to see a couple of totes that you haven't had a chance to squirrel away, and they wander over when you leave the room and see all the food stored in it. They will either think you are nuts, or they will make a mental note that "Hey, if something goes down, I know where to come for a meal". Maybe that's a bit paranoid but you never know. So my wife actually took a magic marker or felt pen and wrote things like " Old clothes" and "Yard sale stuff" on the side of the rubbermaids. That's not uncommon to see in someones storage room on garage or what have you. And there you have Prep Camo. 
Anyone else have a take on organization?

[DeltaEchoVictor]

I think it's a great idea to camo your prep stores.  I haven't done it because big orange buckets stacked up practically screams "come see what's in me", & it's actually something I didn't consider at the time I made the decision to use them. 

We're trying to get rid of some stuff we've had in our closets & when we make enough room I'll probably relocate the buckets from the storage shed to the inside closets.  Partly for ease of accessability & partly for security's sake. 

When I run across stuff on the nets that I think I can utilize I'll copy & paste it into a word file.  I have a file folder full of word files related to preparedness items. 

As far as physical organization of stores I could probably do better.  Labeling & using color coded containers for different things is a good idea.  My food buckets are orange with black gamma seal lids.  I'm thinking of getting red gamma seal lids for emergency type stores, first aid supplies etc., but to be honest at the moment I have stuff a bit scattered about as well.  Thanks for the push to organize.  +1 to you.

[sardog]

I have a good supply of goods but organization is one of my weak points. Seems no matter how hard I try I get things scattered about and spend more time looking for things than I should.

[GroundPounder]

It can be hard, but you need to learn to live by that golden rule that everything has a place and it should be in that place when you are not using it.  It's kind of like when your mother told you to pick up your toys when you are done playing with them.  How many times have you gone and got a tool, used it, then set it down somewhere and forgot about it until you needed it again?  I have done it plenty.

You need to learn to force yourself to put things back in their assigned place immediately after you are done using it.  It sounds easy but it really takes a lot of discipline to make those extra trips to do that.  I have been practicing that and am doing a lot better at keeping organized.  When I want something it will be in its assigned place.  I can assure you that the extra time you spend doing this will be less than the time you spend searching for things.  Plus the stress level will be lower.

Good luck.

[Beetle]

If it was time to bug out. I kinda figured I would do the "Red Dawn" thing, and run around frantically throwing things in the back of a pickup. I should probably get organized also.

[GroundPounder]

Consider placing a lot of your preps in something like Rubermaid totes.  They store well, stack well, are water repellent (not waterproof), can be quickly moved, help get your organized, can be loaded in a truck quickly, and provide some level of op-sec.

[Patriot:Ex Machina]

I have a lot of stuff at my house that is totally useless to me now,and it's taking up good storage space.
I think what I'm going to do is have a yard sale to make room for preps and the cash that is made from it will go to buying more preps. It's a win-win situation.

[Roknrandy]

I have a lot of stuff at my house that is totally useless to me now,and it's taking up good storage space.
I think what I'm going to do is have a yard sale to make room for preps and the cash that is made from it will go to buying more preps. It's a win-win situation.

Patriot has a great idea. Everyone should try and take a little time to do some cleaning and have a sale to move the unused stuff and organize what left. Take the cash and pay down some debt or by some food items that can be stored

[Lucretius]

I'm very forgetful about where I put stuff, which seems to be a part of my personality.

Luckily, I've now compensated that by being a "neat freak" that has assigned places for every important tool, etc.  I've talked to a lot of people with similar experiences - just by being fed up with always losing keys, cell phones, wallets, tools, etc. you can become the sort of person that never does that.
I also have a routine when I come home with charging cell phones and flashlights, so I'm never out of power when I need it (i.e. I don't wait until the battery's dead and start looking for a charger...).

I'm now trying to teach my family these good habits. Mostly I use a little strange terminology to drive the point home - I say that (for example) the hammer "lives" here, and the flashligt "lives" there. So far to little success though  . 

[archer]

I'm on a crusade to get rid of the old crap that has accumulated in the garage. Either it is sold on craigslist, or it goes on freecycle.

[kaiservontexas]

I am a organized fellow 90+% of the time. It is just my nature. I have storage bins and a safe to store things in, and they stay in those positions. I put my glasses down every night in the same spot, and never anywhere else. The only thing that seems to run away from me is my SureFire G2. I use it all over the house and typically put it in the same spot, but currently I am trying to find it. Then again I need to fold clothes, even the pile goes in the same place each time. I got behind due to class work. 

[Beetle]

I figured it's time to get organized.

Here is what I had to get organized...











So I figured it was time for some good shelves, went to the lumber yard...




Now I got the lumber, better give Daddy a call since he's the one with the cool tools and know how...



His homemade panel saw works awesome...



So we (Ok so I held the tape measure for my Dad) started building...





Meanwhile at home I got my slave (Oops I mean Daughter) to help with organizing and painting...





OK Dad's done(I mean WE are done) building the shelves, delivery time...



Time to start installing..





Our Security Department..



Our senior security officer..I FEEL SAFE.




Finished...Notice senior security officer(Maggie) on patrol..



My Survival Podcast listening station...Time fly's when listening to Jack..



Now onto the final phase ORGANIZING....











Only thing left is to finish painting the rest of the walls...

[Dan]

Nice job Bailey, so when can you come over and do my garage?

But seriously that looks great.

[archer]

Damn! That was at least a 3 beer job. Good job!

[GroundPounder]

Thats some good motivation for us needing to start a project like that!  Nice work.

[kaiservontexas]

Talk about motivation!