Bucket List?

The humble 5-gallon bucket. Perhaps best known for industrial quantities of paint – or perhaps pickles – the 5-gallon bucket has been a mainstay of food storage for preppers everywhere. In fact, I find 8 will fit on each shelf of a standard 2’x4’ industrial shelf. That is a lot of storage. I also found last time I moved that they pack and carry very nicely in the back of a pick-up truck.

But today I want to review 3 very special buckets which play a key role in meeting basic human needs. First, access to drinking water is a key planning need. If you are not able to store adequate quantities of drinking water, you will need some means to filter or clean other sources. Running water through a basic cloth filter (bandanna) prior to boiling is generally considered the best option. However, you may not want to use up your fuel source to keep boiling the water. You can choose chemical treatments and the related taste issues, or consider some type of high level filter that traps micron level bacteria.

Here is where our first 2 buckets take a starring role today as a 2-bucket water filter. By acquiring a relatively inexpensive kit you can take 2 5-gallon buckets, drill a few holes, then screw in a spigot and filter. Instant inexpensive Berkey Water Filter replacement. You can put the whole unit together for less than $50 – unless you are a real die-hard Berkey fan and decide to install their black filters!

All kits I have seen come with a ceramic filter element which can be cleaned with a scotchbrite pad and is good for thousands of gallons. One unit should get your family through more disasters than they deserve to experience. Some of the filter units have a charcoal center. The charcoal is primarily to improve flavor. This part of the filter will wear out first but you will still be able to enjoy safe drinking water, perhaps with a bit more flavor?

If your filter does not come with a pre-filter (will look like a sock or perhaps a vacuum cleaner bag), make one with any kind of clean cloth – such as the bandanna mentioned earlier. In fact, make a coupe as these are easy to pull off to clean and will greatly extend the functional life of your ceramic filter. You should expect these filters to produce at least a gallon of fresh water each hour.

OK, that is 1 basic human need and 2 buckets. Our 3rd bucket is going to take care of the most neglected human need in most family survival plans: going to the bathroom!

Controlling human waste is critical for your family’s safety and hygiene. How long is your family going to survive by digging holes in the back yard each time they need to go to the bathroom – and what about security concerns with neighbors and others watching? Yes you could just sit on a bucket but there is no need to be that primitive!

Luggable Loo makes a decent toilet seat which fits right on the top of 5-gallon buckets. Not only is it relatively comfortable, it also has a lid to help control odors. The Luggable Loo only costs somewhere around $20. That is a good investment.

As long as we are being so civilized, go ahead and pick up some heavy plastic bags and BioGel. Make sure you are getting BioGel and not one of the similar sounding products sold for RV toilets. The BioGel actually takes urine and forms it into a gel so it does not slosh around. This keeps everything in place if you need to move the bucket and greatly helps control odors. The RV products are designed to control odors but keeps everything very liquid for flushing – a whole different purpose.

The Luggable Loo bucket is the perfect place to store several rolls of toilet paper and some hand cleaner along with your supply of waste bags and BioGel. So in one simple bucket you have everything stored away to address your family’s core hygiene needs.

FYI – prepping is not just for disasters. I found the Luggable Loo quite functional when the only toilet in my home needed a visit from a plumber who was not going to arrive soon enough. I recently heard another individual used his Luggable Loo after the pipes froze in his mountain cabin so there was no water to flush the toilet.

One last thought: people often say they don’t have storage space for prepping or can’t afford to prepare. These three buckets and all of the supplies stack nicely into a space just about 2’ high and 14” wide.  Certainly you can find a corner some place to stack these! Total cost for the entire water and waste combo is less than $100.

Perhaps a second “one last thought”: As long as you have found a corner to stash these three buckets, get a few more buckets with lids and start acquiring food that can be stored in them, or tools and lights, or blankets and jackets. Damn these buckets are convenient!