Why I Cache & Why You Should Too

Cache: A collection of items stored in a hidden or inaccessible place.

An important but very crossed over topic in the SHTF community is that our favorite motto of "one is none and two is one" is almost never considered in a food and gear storage sense. Sure, most of us have some marginal amounts of food and preps in GHB/BOBs and maybe a bit more in our cars. But the majority of items are centrally located at home or BOL. This means if that place is compromised (by others or even by a mistake you or your family make like a house fire) that you've lost most or all of your preparations. This can be avoided simply by setting caches.

IDEA #1 - Create a PVC Pipe Cache. You might make BOB refill caches for every X miles on the way to your BOL. Ideas for filling your cache include food, water, first aid, spare clothes, water filters, fire starters, can opener, flashlight, toilet paper, pocket stove/fuel, etc that might come in handy if robbed/etc. These also work well dropped into say wells and tied to a floatation device you "fish out", or buried all around your property. Some people even create fake pipe work in their utility room or store them in camp sites they frequent so the next time they need to bring less stuff. Here's a youtube video showing the contents of one persons cache and here is another showing how to make them.


IDEA #2 5 GALLON BUCKETS!! My favorite video is here omg go and understand why this is my favorite idea!!! Make a bucket - can hold water/food/etc. I will say heaviest items on bottom, Personally, for rust reasons I'd mylar everything. For instance bottom of bucket is a layer of canned goods all put in a 5 gallon mylar and sealed. Next is some water and mylar bags of rice/beans/dry milk, then some broth cubes, gear in foodsaver or mylar bags (writing contents on bag). On top is a mylar bag with a change of socks, underwear, undershirt. Another bucket buried in the same location might hold a first aid kit, a cook set, a tarp, etc. I would know my BOB wouldn't actually need a cook set to start out, so I could use that space some other way, etc. 
These buckets are also great for obfuscation whilst gardening. It's so easy to dig down an extra 2 ft in the corner of a plot and put 2 or 4 buckets in, cover with earth, and continue growing those vegetables or spices right on top. Until you need the items (could be all dry goods like mylar bags of rice or oats or beans or 20 smaller quart bags with a different dry item in every bag, could hold 77 cans of tuna (in mylar, to protect from rust), could hold like 20 cans beef stew (in mylar), could even hold 40 rolls toilet paper (in mylar to protect from moisture). You could put several these caches around your garden, under your deck, behind the bushes in front of your house, at your moms house, all the way at the back fence of your property, a playground, every 20 miles on the way to your BOL, etc, etc... In fact, you should. 

Why should someone rob you and get a yrs worth of food? Why should a shtf accidental fire mean all your preps are gone? Caches are excellent. My goal is a month of food and only my most needed items in my home, the rest cached in "one month batches" all over my homestead. Plus, caches of canned goods and dry goods keep them at that lovely ground temp usually reserved for cellars, guaranteeing the longest possible shelf life.

Cache Idea #3: 55 Gallon Drums. You can find these used and might be able to get one for $25. Make sure it held food items before. Anyway, get as many as you want. Heavy on bottom to light on top, canned foods, mylar foods, spare clothing in waterproof packaging, etc etc.. But one 55 gallon drum could be 2 months of resources or more. NOTE: these suckers a fking heavy so watch THIS VIDEO and learn a way I enjoy!

Think about caching. It's your life..