Prudent Prepping: Second Helpings at the Prepping Buffet

The dust has settled and the First 72 Hours have passed. Follow along as I build a long term plan via Prudent 
Prepping. 

It's refill time at the Good News Buffet!

I'm in a Big Box home improvement store 5 days a week, so many of the posts are focused on deals or products I see in my wanderings up and down the aisles. Here is another!

Food Safe Buckets
Yup, you read that correctly, I found food-grade 5 gallon pails in the Paint Dept. at Home Depot! The pails seem to be in stock in all the Home Depot stores in my area, but this might vary. With 2,200+ stores, I've seen products only be available regionally, so do some checking.

Labeled Food Safe

From the Home Depot website:

• Durable plastic construction great for use at home or work
• Carry handle helps you cart water, paint or food
• Made with FDA-approved material for safe food transport

Why do you need food grade pails? Just think of the ways they can be used and not just for storing food. I expect to use several to carry water, both before and after filtering, and at least one will be set aside with the Sawyer Filter and spout adapter I wrote about here. I'm buying several more and encouraging my prepping group/friends to buy several and start setting aside dried goods in them.

I don't have my own garage now, so the 30 gallon metal garbage can I used for non-perishable gear was passed on to a friend and the smaller items will now be stored in these buckets. Even if I use several for bulky gear storage, they're still Food Grade Pails! The only downside is I haven't been able to see if any of the lids in stock (there are several) are Food Grade.

Sawyer SP 181
Here's my write-up of the steps involved to wake a pail ready to use as a base-camp water filter.

https://amzn.to/2HKinmo

 Some of the info on the Sawyer SP 181:

• Made in the USA
• Complete water filtration system designed for emergency preparedness, groups in the backcountry, and mission trips
• Highest level of filtration on market -- removes greater than 99.99999% of all bacteria and 99.9999% of all protozoa
• Bucket and faucet adapters provide high-volume clean, potable water from any fresh water source; easily field maintainable
• Filter with built-in and removable push/pull cap; comes with one 32-ounce, BPA-free collapsible pouch for personal hydration
• Backed by manufacturer's lifetime limited warranty (Independent Testing Laboratory Hydreion, LLC.; Microbiological Report S05-03)

I'm really happy with my various Sawyer filters and others have written about them here and here, with Chaplin Tim's post being a very thorough report on long-term use (and possibly abuse) of the filter system. Read up, compare and make a choice that fits your needs.


The Takeaway

• 5 gallon food-grade pails can be found in the craziest places! I will keep looking for prepping gear wherever I go.

The Recap

• Nothing was purchased this week, but these pails from Home Depot for $4.48 are a real bargain.
• I still recommend Sawyer filters, with the SP181 as a good choice for a base camp $59.49 from Amazon with Prime.

Just a reminder: if you plan on buying anything through Amazon, please consider using our referral link. When you do, a portion of the sale comes back here to help keep this site running!

If you have comments, suggestions or corrections, please post them so we all can learn. And remember, Some Is Always Better Than None!

NOTE: All items tested were purchased by me. No products have been loaned in exchange for a favorable review. Any items sent to me for T&E will be listed as such. Suck it Feds.