Water Storage Without Going Full Doomsday
You don’t need a bunker. You just need to not be thirsty.
Most people don’t think about water storage. And that’s fair! You probably have 24/7 running water, a grocery store nearby, and no desire to be the neighbor with five rain barrels and a tactical shovel. It’s a normal thing to not really think about how water works, at least in the US.
But here’s the thing: it doesn’t take the apocalypse to mess with your water. A boil advisory, a frozen pipe, a surprise outage because someone hit a main – suddenly, your very normal life feels very annoying. You can’t make coffee, brush your teeth, or flush without negotiating like it’s a hostage situation.
The good news? You don’t need to go full doomsday to be ready. You just need a little planning, some spare bottles, and a mild tolerance for tap water.
How much water do you actually need?
The classic emergency guidance says: 1 gallon per person per day.
That covers drinking and basic hygiene — enough to not be gross or dehydrated.
Sooooo:
One person = 3 gallons for a 3-day stretch
Family of four? 12 gallons
Got a dog? Add another half-gallon per day. unless you want to share a Nalgene.
You’re not stocking a bunker. You’re just covering the basics for short-term nonsense.
How to stash water like a non-weirdo
You don’t need to buy fancy gear or stack pallets in your garage. Try this instead:
- Reuse soda/juice bottles. Wash them out, fill with tap water, and store somewhere out of the way. Label them if you’re worried about mystery liquids later.
- Buy a case or two of bottled water when it’s on sale. Stick it in the back of the pantry. Rotate it like any other pantry staple. Boom, you’re “prepared.”
- Freeze some water bottles. They’ll keep your freezer colder in a power outage and give you extra drinkable water once they thaw. Plus, bonus ice packs.
- Grab a water jug or camping container if you have space and want a no-brainer grab-and-go option. They’re cheap, portable, and useful for other stuff too.
If all else fails: the bathtub and bleach plan
Sometimes you forget. Sometimes you didn’t think this would ever happen. If the water’s still running: fill your bathtub. You’ve got about 40 gallons of backup right there.
Feeling extra fancy? Get a waterBOB – it’s a big-ass liner that turns your tub into a giant water bladder without the weird residue. Full disclosure: we haven’t tested these out first-hand at the time of writing this post but we’ve heard good things. We’ll come back and update it if we mess with one and probably do a separate product review on it, too.
If the water’s already out: you can purify water using a few drops of unscented bleach per gallon. It’s not tasty, but it works. Follow actual guidelines, please – this isn’t a cocktail recipe.
And importantly: know where the fuck your shutoff valve is. In a contamination situation, being able to shut off your supply can save your pipes and your sanity.
You’re not stockpiling. You’re just not panicking.
This isn’t about paranoia. It’s about comfort. It’s about your kid asking for a glass of water and you not spiraling. It’s about brushing your teeth, making coffee, or even just flushing a toilet without having to solve a puzzle first.
Water is life. But it can also just be convenience. And storing a bit in advance means you get to stay a little bit more chill when things go sideways.
3 Takeaways
1. Fill two clean bottles with tap water and stash them somewhere low-key.
2. Add a case of bottled water to your next grocery run. That’s it.
3. Find your water shutoff valve and give yourself a gold star for knowing where it is.
Feature image courtesy Steve Johnson/Pexels.
