A Survival Cache is essentially a hidden storage for important survival gear/supplies that you can go to in the event that your home has been destroyed or you’re unable to get home for whatever reason. Caching your supplies is a highly recommended action for several reasons. Just as squirrels bury their nuts before winter to provide food in spring, you too can learn something from nature. Here are a few good reasons for caching:
- If the disaster has destroyed your home and has damaged your main supplies, you’ll have a back up to keep you going.
- If for any reason your house is looted and ransacked, you can dig up a cache.
- If you’re forced to leave your home (either by looters or natural disaster), you can live on by digging up a few caches.
If the crisis persists for a long period of time, you’re likely to have looters and raiders going from house to house, demanding your supplies or your life. Historically they’ll only kill you if you put up a fight and really you should just give them what they want (unless you’re prepared to take them on). Another alternative to protecting your self from looters is to just hide your supplies in your own home. Don’t bother storing your food in the obvious places (like the kitchen) it will be the first place they look. If they can’t find it, they’ll just go to the next house.
The best way to hide your food is to bury it. You’ll need airtight containers, I suggest 5 gallon buckets and you’ll need to plan ahead. Bury your supplies at night so nobody will see you, and bury your supplies next to memorable object (not in the middle of a field). You could make a map to remember where you hid everything but it’s recommended you just remember the information and keep it in your head (it’s much safer there). Bury your caches next to signs or next to other memorable object so you don’t lose them. It goes without saying but try to get the ground to look normal after you’ve buried the supplies.
A safe trick is to keep a small amount of food in the kitchen or some obvious place, so that if and when the looters come by they can just take what they want and be on their way. If you want to make sure they don’t come back… poison the food! You’ve got to be creative. Hide your food in the walls, the floors, and odd locations around the house. Try not to advertise your supplies and don’t make a point of telling people that you have a year supply of food. Word gets around fast so don’t be surprised if get a lot of knocking on the door when shit hits the fan. You’ll be better off telling people you have nothing.