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When it comes to emergency preparedness, not all things are created equal. Prepping in an apartment takes a bit more consideration and planning because right away you’re dealing with space challenges.
Stick with me though, because in this post I’ll be addressing some of the most common concerns with preparedness in small spaces, how to prioritize, supplies that are multi-purpose, and a few miscellaneous tips to help you feel successful.
And even if apartment preparedness isn’t your concern, a lot of this applies to those who might simply be lacking in storage space.
Let’s start with the obvious – SPACE. In general, apartments have less square footage all around. That translates to fewer (& smaller) closets, less cabinet space, etc. This is a valid issue and the more people you have living in a smaller space, the less extra space you have.
Another concern is that you’re in close proximity to more people. This relates to your emergency preparedness in a few ways:
All of that being said, it’s not impossible to build food and essentials storage or stash emergency supplies.
Look for opportunities to create more storage space. You’re not trying to create something out of nothing here. It’s simply stretching yourself to think outside the box and see your space in different ways.
Here are some ideas to get your creative juices flowing:
Honestly, this is something everyone needs to do. There are so many areas under the preparedness umbrella. No one has it all covered. But, prepping in an apartment forces you to dial it in even more.
All of these should factor into your decision
Everyone needs food and water. Period. But, these are also items that take up a lot of space. So, let’s walk through a few ways to work around that constraint.
There are a lot of options when it comes to water filtration and storage. You can read about different long-term water storage options in this post. WAter storage is only half the equation though; don’t forget to decide on a plan for water filtration.
Not all of the options listed in the posts above are going to be feasible in an apartment. Here are a few options that would work well in smaller spaces:
One solid piece of advice when it comes to food storage starts with getting yourself/family on a solid meal rotation plan. If you can establish, say, a one-month meal plan that you rotate through, you’ll know what to store, you know you’ll eat what you have, and you’ll also be consistently replenishing your food supply.
If you’re not sure where to start with this, consider joining 52 Weeks of Growing Your Food Storage. It’s a program where I send you an email every Sunday morning and tell you exactly what to add to your grocery list that week, for an entire year! After 52 weeks of me holding your hand through it, you’ll be amazed at how awesome and diverse your food storage is looking!
The best piece of advice I can give here is to look for items that serve multiple purposes. The less stuff you have to find space for, the better (and less cluttered) you’ll feel. Here are a few ideas:
There are a few more things to consider when prepping in an apartment.
While prepping in an apartment might have a unique set of challenges, it is possible to tackle emergency preparedness. In fact, most people don’t have one big space to dedicate to this. I don’t! Remember, look at the space you DO have and find ways to work with it.
If you’d like more great tips for small space storage, check out Jessica @thefaithfulpreppers on Instagram. I really love her method of:
There will always be things we don’t think about before we encounter an emergency. But, I’m here to help you think about some of the non-food storage items you might want to keep on hand for the next rainy day.
Why you should schedule an emergency preparedness weekend every 6 months, and what you should be doing, reviewing, rotating, and maintaining. Free printable checklist!
Berkey water filters are THE BEST water filters, not only for emergencies, but for everyday use. They are so good, they are classified as a water purifier, which is a step up from a filter!
