Prepping When You’re Poor, Part 3

Photographer: Oleksandr Moroz/Hemera via Getty Images

While the previous two installments of Prepping When You’re Poor strictly concerned finances, this post will cover prepping in small homes. Prepping takes space, & many who are financially-restricted also are space-restricted. When I first began prepping, I lived in a small studio apartment, making preparedness an frustrating but interesting endeavor. This post covers small strategies I used while living in my studio apartment & some tips from this useful post.

The first step will be decluttering your home; you will have to make more space in order to store prepped goods. “But I have nothing to declutter since I live in a small space!” Trust me, more than likely you do. It is important to decide which things should be kept & which things need to be pitched. In order to have more space, make more space. Even with a small home, it is amazing how much stuff can be wedged into every small space & corner. I typically declutter at least every couple of years; unless it is a prepped good, if something has not been used in the past year, it is donated or thrown away.

After decluttering, small nooks & crannies of open space will magically appear. Use the neglected deep crevices & corners of cabinets; this could be used for prepped goods that need to remain out of sight (no one will look for bullets in the corner of the pots & pans cabinet).  Closet space corners are also commonly neglected & could be used for goods that needs to remain hidden. No one seems to use the cabinets located on top of the fridge or the stove since they are hard to reach, yet it could be used for goods that need to remain hidden.

Another smart purchase is a set of bed risers, which can be used to increase storage space under beds. Large blankets can be used to hide the goods underneath the beds. Goods can also be stored under tables, & large tablecloths can be used to hide the sight of goods. I have seen an example in which someone stored extra food in two 5-gallon buckets, placed a large piece of wood on top of the two buckets, draped a tablecloth over it & used this makeshift table in the entrance to their home. This made prepped storage hidden, & it made use of limited space.

I also hear of prepping extremes in which people use the cheap hollow doors in their homes as storage by drilling a small space at the top of the door & dropping stored goods into these openings. While this might make it complicated to retrieve the goods, it might work of you are desperate for storage of items that no one will see.

However, with limited space, other goods will have to be hid in plain site. Placing candles or oil lamps in every room or in several corners of a studio apartment could be an option. While it will appear as decor to others, it will be your source of light during a power outage. Thanks to the current “rustic look” trend, storing mason jars of herbs or food on open shelves will not look odd or suspicious.

Image from http://smallnotebook.org/2009/01/02/small-space-solutions-kitchen-pantry/

Vacuum-packed bag storage is also great for extra blankets, quilts, sheets, and clothing storage. Many vacuum packing systems can be used for this, but here is one example. Using a hose attachment of your vacuum, most air can be eliminated from the bag, flattening the goods inside & increasing storage.

While there are other ways to prep with limited space, these are the ways in which I personally increased storage in my small studio apartment and ways in which I have seen other preppers store goods. Are there unique ways in which you store your prepped goods with limited space? Let us know in the comments below!