Food Storage and Window Film

Hi!

I am an avid reader of your blog and have read your book
(congratulations BTW) more than a couple of times. I am fairly new to
prepping but have made some great strides in the past year to catch up
before this whole country (USA) crumbles beneath our feet. I was lucky
enough to purchase a large amount of ammo, weapons, etc before they
became too scarce earlier this year. Of course, I am a proud owner of
a Glock 19 w/ night sights (among other firearms) thanks to your
advice and I love it! I have been working on storing enough food &
water for a years supply which will be to my benefit even if the S
does not HTF because of the declining dollar and inflation. I have
metals and cash tucked away and have recently removed most of my money
from the banks which I believe are soon going to be an unsafe place to
store funds. We (my fiancee and I) still have a long way to go to be
adequately prepared but, thanks to you, we are well along our way. Our
next task is putting up iron on the doors and installing shatter
resistant and tinted film on all of the windows of her place, to
protect what we have prepared. Since we live in Arizona, the window
tint will help us to avoid extra cooling costs. Also, we are close to
Phoenix, so we have seen what it is like to live in a third world
country by traveling to certain neighborhoods here. I have done
extensive traveling as well and even was fortunate enough to travel to
Chile, Argentina, and Uruguay for three weeks a couple of years ago. I
must admit, I was looking into buying a small finca in the area of San
Rafael. Anyhow, I would like to share with you my idea for storing dry
goods so they keep for as long as possible.... I am an outdoor
backpacking and rafting guide, so I don't make a lot of money and was
looking for an alternative to the expensive containers sold online and
in prepping stores. I decided to purchase a few "Homer" buckets from
Home Depot. They are the orange 5 gal buckets that they sell in every
store. In addition, I purchased lids to seal the buckets, but I
realized that without a gasket inside the lip of the lid, I really was
not achieving the air lock that I needed. So I looked around the store
to see what I could rig up. I made my way to the plumbing aisle and
found the pipe insulation that they use to keep copper pipes from
freezing. It is a spongey material that comes in 3-4 foot sections and
you just slide it over the pipe. I cut thin strips down the length of
the insulation so that I had a bunch of long, thin pieces. Then I
tucked them inside the lip of the buckets with my scissors and
overlapped it just a bit at the ends. It worked like a charm. Soon I
went out and bought more buckets and was able to fill and stack them
in our pantry thereby saving space and accomplishing what I was
looking to do. What's more, I only spent 10 dollars for each 3 buckets
I used, saving a lot of money in the process! I know there are a lot
of other preppers out there that may find this information useful so I
thought I would pass it along to you to see if you would post it.
Also, I was wondering if you have any tips on installing the shatter
resistant window film vs. having it done by a service. Is it easy??
How well does it work for large windows? What if you have to use more
than one piece per window and have to have a seam in the middle? Will
that defeat the effectiveness of the resistance? Thanks again for all
of the time you have spent relating your vast knowledge both in your
blog and in your book! I hope it is finally paying off for you! I have
your book on my Christmas giving list for the rest of my family and a
few friends as well! Keep up the good work!

A "Ferfal" Fan!!!
Jono

Hi Jono,
Sounds like you’re well prepared and have a very cool job. :-)
Did you check if those are food grade plastic?

HDPE (High Density Polyethylene) is usually food grade (unless used before for storing chemicals and such) but better to check to be sure. Best way to be 100% sure is to call the manufacturer.
Also, the trick for long term storage is to remove the oxygen. For that you’ll need sealed Mylar bags and 2 or 3 oxygen absorbers (depending on volume). The bucket mostly provides physical protection to the Mylar bag.
You can sometimes get food grade buckets for free at donut and pastry shops, or fast food places. Try icecream buckets too.
The containers are used for everything from sugar frosting to pickles among other things. Just ask around and I’m sure you’ll find plenty.

Also, I was wondering if you have any tips on installing the shatter
resistant window film vs. having it done by a service. Is it easy??
How well does it work for large windows? What if you have to use more
than one piece per window and have to have a seam in the middle? Will
that defeat the effectiveness of the resistance?

I did it a couple times on car windows.

1)Buy thick, quality material (mostly because of the glue quality) The cheap stuff will unglue on the corners.
2)The glass must be perfectly clean. Even a small particle of sand leaves a bubble 10x bigger. I used alcohol and waited until it dried.
3)Be very neat and tidy.
4)Its not rocket science but people that have experience will do a better job. Maybe try with your car, but I’d get help for the house if I can afford it. Otherwise, just buy quality film and be as tidy as you can.
The sheets are rather large, depends on what kind of windows you have. You need a single sheet for best integrity, avoid seams.

FerFAL