Month 7: H2O



Shopping List:
     *5 Water bottles with Filters included (Purifies 200 gallons).  $70  OR 135 gallons.
               This is 79 gallons of water for cooking AND 56 gallons of water for 4 people (1 gallon per person per day for 2 weeks)
     *6 25lb bags Wheat.  Red, White, Hard, Soft, doesn't matter.  $36  OR 11 #10 cans  OR 233 cups.

Total:  $106

H20
Lets talk about water. They say... whoever “they” are... that you can live 2-8 weeks without food, but only 3-4 days without water.  Above, the 5 water bottles will purify PLENTY of water for a year for your family.  I included the amounts above for what you would need for cooking.  It is up to you to decided if you want to buy filters, water bottles, liter container, 50 gallon containers ect.  I recommend having a variety.

Now that being said... why have a year supply of food storage but not a year supply of water?


1. That is A LOT of water to store. If you have a swimming pool, it might be enough for cooking for the year; but drinking, washing, bathing? Who knows... not me.


2. There are many places and ways you can get water in an emergency. 


3. Food is harder to come buy, and costs more then water in most cases of emergency


I truthfully can not recommend how much water YOU and your family should store. EVERYONE'S situation is different. I can tell you some of the recommendations I have learned from others.


Ready recommends storing one gallon of water per day per person. That does not include cooking washing, or other uses. I think this is probably the LEAST amount you should store.


Prepared LDS Family  talks a lot about water storage as well and recommends storing 14 gallons per person a day for 2 weeks... the same thing as one gallon per person per day.


From reading a variety of resources, personally, MY family chooses to store 14 gal of water per person. That means 7 gal per person to drink, and 7 gallons for other uses such as cooking, bathing, brushing teeth ect. This adds up to 56 gallons of water minimum that my family is storing. 


We chose to make a shelf, using 2 fifty gallon water containers, spaced about 4 feet apart. Top it with some wood to make a shelf in our laundry room, and store as many containers of water bottles possible, for our water storage.  


We live in Nebraska now. It is VERY easy for us to take extra time to get water easily, go to one of the multiple lakes, or catch water from the rain we get once a week. When living in Arizona, it would be much more difficult to get extra water as needed. It doesn't rain as much, the nearest lake is 30 min drive, and water from dew in the morning is very limited and evaporates FAST.  Although, usually on your block someone has a swimming pool.  


Since we can easily access water through other means, we are not worried with having to store as much water as we would living in Arizona. BUT, we do have MANY different water filters, including hand pump ones, and water bottles with filters in them for us to filter, and clean enough water for our family to use in a year for cooking and drinking.


Figure out what storage space you can use for water, your budget, your living environment and decided what is best for YOUR FAMILY.


Click this link for 5 myths about storing water. 


PREVIOUS POSTS IN THIS CHALLENGE:

Food Storage Challenge Introduction
Month #1:  What are #10 cans?
Month #1.5: Storing Bulk Items
Month #2:  Breakfast Recipes
Month #3:  Money Saving Tips
Month #4:  Storage Part 1
Month #4.5:  How to Rotate Food you Don't Like
Month #5: Storage Part 2
Month #6:  Dinner Recipes


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