Water Storage: A Light Came On

I don't know how many times I have said this, but I am a cheap bastard. I have been shopping around over the past few months for good water storage ideas for inside and around the home. Sure, for a few days I could corral every empty plastic container and the bathtub, but for longer than a weekend this is simply impractical. What I have been looking for are inexpensive water storage containers of at least five gallons. The cheapest I have found around town are six gallon water jugs in the automotive section at Kmart, for about seven bucks each. In the camping areas of local stores five to seven gallon containers are about twelve to fifteen bucks each. Buy ten of these and my reaction is: Ouch! Plus, most of these containers are not stackable and ten of them would take up significant floor space.

Then the light came on. I have been buying five gallon food grade buckets to store rice, beans, flour, etc. from US Plastic. With a lid these have cost me about five bucks each, delivered to my door by UPS. I had been buying the solid bucket lids, but lids with a threaded opening (or pour spout, as they are listed) are only a few cents more. And the lids have rubber gaskets. These buckets are food grade, will hold five gallons of water, have a carry handle, and are stackable. I promptly ordered more buckets and the "pour spout" lids. Now I can store water and I have the means to transport more from off site.

I actually got the idea from the St. Paul Mercantile website, where I had ordered the Doulton ceramic water filters. I did not order the complete unit, only the filters. St. Paul Mercantile sells a kit consisting of two filters and a spigot to make a complete water filter system from two food grade plastic buckets. After I received the filters it occurred to me that I could also use these buckets for water storage.

St. Paul Mercantile has a very interesting site with a lot of items useful for survival in hard times and/or off-grid.