Prepping with 5-gallon buckets

The Bucket Sling

5 Gallon Bucket + Gamma Lid

Plastic Bucket Lid with Pouring Spout

3 Food Grade 5-gallon Buckets

Encore 5 Gallon Eco Bucket

Happy Hen Treats Nest Box Bucket Kit

The Incredible Egg Washer

Video for storage bucket

Plastic seat for bucket

Ceramic Water Filter Kit by Just Water

Gold Sifting Pan (fits 5gal. bucket)

Tote-able Toilet Seat and Lid

Soda Making Equipment Kit

Bucket Buddy

Frabill Sit-N-Fish Bucket

50 Biohazard Waste Bags

Bucekt Toilet Seat Cover

Portable toilet set

Long-grain Brown Rice

Advanced Hand Wash System

Rolled Oats

Bucket Opener

Oxy-Sorb 100-Pack

Augason Farms Cornmeal

Freeze Dried Fruit Bucket

----------------------------------------- Revised 02/18/2021
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Freeze Dried Blueberries

What's on your bucket list?
Clever preppers, homesteaders and survivalists will find dozens of
emergency preparedness uses for a five-gallon bucket. They are
useful indeed. Be sure to use only white food grade buckets for
your food, water, animal feed, and planting purposes. Reserve
black, orange or green buckets for compositing, sanitation,
chemicals and the like.

Happy endings...
There's no limit to the prepper things possible with a five-gallon
bucket. Open a five gallon bucket and open a world of
possibilities.

Related articles...

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Prepare to live happily ever after with us at happypreppers.com - the emergency
preparedness Web site of prepping, survival, homesteading, and self-reliance.

#16: Buy dog or cat food in bulk and save!
Save money on dog and cat food by buying it in bulk and storing
the contents of the heavy bag into a couple of food grade
buckets. Pet food in a food grade bucket will be impervious to
rodents and vermin. Throw in a mesh bag with oxygen
absorbers to preserve the freshness.

#17: Set up an off-grid hand washing station (camp
sink).
Transform your bucket into an outdoor sink for washing hands.
Ideal for after the hunt. With hands-free operation, and a built-
in soap holder, the Advanced Hand Wash System by Tye Works,
uses a foot operated pump to provide water to a copper spigot
easily slipped over the rim of most buckets. A brass and
stainless steel inlet strainer helps keep the water flowing.

Here's the tutorial for building your own camp sink.

#18: Assemble an Earthquake Survival kit.
An earthquake survival kit holds the essentials to help you get
through a couple of days without food and water. You can grab
it and go, but it Suggestions for your earthquake survival kit:

Datrex food bars (non-thirst provoking);
Dust masks (Niosh approved respirators).
Emergency shut off valve for the gas lines.
Emergency crank and solar radio;
First aid kit;'
Flashlights, glow sticks, emergency candles;
Firestarters and waterproof matches;
Mylar survival blankets;
Toiletries, sanitation bags, and a toilet lid.
Work gloves and a utility knife
Water purification tablets and water pouches;
Use a gamma seal lid for easy retrieval of your wares.

See our earthquake preparedness page.

#19: Stash your pandemic supplies.
Gather up the necessities for your family:

Steramine tablets, bleach, lysol, antibacterial soaps,
sanitizers and antiseptics,
Niosh masks, goggles, T yvec suits, gloves, bouffant caps
Anti-diarrheals, and disposable thermometers.
Toilet paper, tissues, emesis bags, adult diapers, and
biohazard bags.
Probiotic supplements, Vitamin D, Thieves Oil, and
Elderberry Extract.
Duct tape and plastic drop cloth sheeting.
Portable radio

Learn more about how to prepare for a pandemic.

#20: Marinate large quantities of meat.
After the hunt, you may find yourself marinating large
quantities of meat and there's no better way than in five gallon
bucket. You'll find five-gallon bucket liners to keep your buckets
clean. No need to wash out your buckets after marinading, and
brining your meat - just throw the liner away! These liners are
strong enough to hold boiling water!

#21: Grow potatoes or plant tomatoes.

Grow potatoes: You can grow potatoes in the ground, but
it's much easier to harvest them from a bucket. Get started
with a five-gallon bucket, two inches of compost, good soil
and some seed potatoes.

Here is the tutorial for growing potatoes in a five-
gallon bucket.

Grow tomatoes: Why grow tomatoes in a five-gallon
bucket? Because you can grow tomatoes whether there's a
draught or extra rainy weather! Just move your plant to the
sunshine and water it to take advantage of the best
weather conditions for your plant.

Here's how to pot a tomato plant in a five-gallon
bucket.
Here's the tutorial for growing tomatoes upside d own.

#22: Brew Beer or Make Soda.
A slightly modified food grade bucket becomes the perfect
container for brewing your own beer or making soda pop! Left,
the Soda Making Equipment Kit includes everything you need to
make and bottle your own homemade sodas. Can use empty
two liter soda bottles, or 500ml P.E.T. bottles, as glass bottles
run the risk of exploding under pressure. Soda Making
Equipment Kit Includes: A 6.5 gallon bottling bucket A 24"
stirring spoon 4 feet of tubing A bottle filler And complete
instructions

#23: Make an Air Conditioner (Swamp Cooler).
Keep cooler in summer with a swamp cooler you make yourself.

Here's how to make a solar powered air conditioner.
Here is the tutorial for making an air condition from a five-
gallon bucket.

#24. Pan for gold.
Have fun prospecting! Pictured right is a gold sifter that fits on
a five-gallon bucket helps sift rocks and roots from the dirt to
ultimately help you find gold in "them thar hills." It's a quality
sifter that will last you a lifetime.

#25: Set up a water filtration system.
If you can't afford a Big Berkey Water filter, or if you simply
enjoy do-it-yourself prepper projects, then it pays to stock up
on food grade buckets to create a water filtration system.
(Remember, to use only food-grade buckets as any other kind
will leach unnecessary chemicals into your water supply making
your entire filtration scheme and efforts absolutely worthless.)
Pictured right are just the tools you need to get the job done.

Rocks, charcoal and sand filtration system: You can also
make your own water filtration system with rocks, charcoal,
and sand, (Be sure to use your own home-made charcoal,
rather than a charcoal briquette which has chemicals
added.)

#26: Protect your plants from vermin.
Protect your food from rabbits and insects (you'll have to have
other methods for the gophers.

Here is the five-gallon bucket plant protector tutorial, which is
well worth a minute and half of your time.

#27: Build a bike panniers.
Bugout by bike with buckets in this do-it-yourself project of bike
panniers. It will cost you less than $20. See the picture at the
bottom of the page. Using two square buckets, jere's the
tutorial for making bike panniers.

Visit blessthismessplease.com for more wonderful ideas for the
homestead.

#13: Make and store home-made organic chicken
feed.
There is nothing more satisfying than saving money and
spoiling your girls with healthy feed simultaneously. Make your
own organic chicken feed and store your feed in food-grade
buckets with gamma lids. Ingredients include whole corn,
barley, oat groats, sunflower seeds, lentils, sesame seeds,
and loads of other tasty bits, but you can make your own mix
using all or some of the ingredients! Flock to this site and
you'll find the recipe for an organic chicken feed.

#14: Create a composting bin.
Line a 5-gallon bucket with newspaper and you have the start
of a composting bucket.

Composting bin bucket. Here's a great tutorial on the
very simple process of composting in a five gallon bucket.
A gamma seal lid will make it easier for you to keep your
stinky composting material tidy until you're ready to take
it out to the larger

#15: Build an inexpensive Chicken nesting box.
RaisingChickens.org shows how they built a cozy and
inexpensive nesting box for a chicken using a five-gallon
bucket. To keep things steady you'll need to screw it into your
location and provide a perch.

The Nest Box Bucket Kit by Happy Hen Treats, also pictured
right, is a durable, easy to clean lid that fits most 5 gallon
buckets. (Bucket not included).

#8: Have the best seat in the bunker!
Transform a five-gallon bucket into a useful tool for storage and
comfortable seat with a special attachment. Pictured immediate left
is a black seat cover that molds to your body, so your tush is cushy.
Hunters, fishermen, mechanics, and picnickers all appreciate the
best seat in the bunker.

#9: Dump your copper pennies into the bucket.
Sort and stash all your copper pennies. Copper pennies are worth
more than a penny. In fact, the worth of a copper penny (1909-
1982) is about 2.5 cents (melt value)! Just stashing them will be an
instant savings plan, and you may even find a valuable penny for
collectors. You can always barter copper as it is not a worthless
currency.

Learn more about the value of copper to preppers.

#10: Plant a hanging strawberry garden.
Forged from a five-gallon bucket, PVC pipe, some small chain, and
silicon caulking, instructables shows you how to create a hanging
strawberry garden.

#11: Build a self-watering container for plants.
While www.motherearthliving.com, features flowers in the self-
watering container made from two five-gallon buckets, immediate
left, you could plant herbs or other food bearing plants.

Here is the tu torial for self watering container planting.

#12: Make a Chicken Feeder.
For a simple chicken feeder, drill holes at the bottom of your
bucket, so the contents spill out onto a tray. You can use an
aluminum foil tray or a terra cotta planter. Blessthismessplease
shows how to make a chicken feeder from a five gallon bucket.#8:
Have the best seat in the bunker!
Transform a five-gallon bucket into a useful tool for storage and
comfortable seat with a special attachment. Pictured immediate left
is a black seat cover that molds to your body, so your tush is cushy.
Hunters, fishermen, mechanics, and picnickers all appreciate the
best seat in the bunker.

#9: Dump your copper pennies into the bucket.
Sort and stash all your copper pennies. Copper pennies are worth
more than a penny. In fact, the worth of a copper penny (1909-
1982) is about 2.5 cents (melt value)! Just stashing them will be an
instant savings plan, and you may even find a valuable penny for
collectors. You can always barter copper as it is not a worthless
currency.

Learn more about the value of copper to preppers.

Here is the tu torial for self watering container planting.

Prepper Deal Alerts Check
our daily deals for prepping
gear and food storage.

To make a five-gallon bucket (use a colored bucket, so you don't
mix it up with your food grade buckets) and line your bucket with
appropriate bags, chemicals or Borax to keep down the stench, and
of course, toilet paper and a plastic toilet seat lid and you have a
grid-down emergency solution! This portable potty is also an ideal
solution for camping, hunting, and having an adventure in your RV.

#5: Use your noodle and stockpile the macaroni!
Preppers don't often think of storing macaroni in food grade
buckets, but it will keep you from eating your emergency stash on
an everyday basis. You can fit 25-lbs or more of elbow noodles in a
six-gallon bucket. Next time it goes on sale, use your noodle and
stock up on versatile elbow macaroni or your favorite pasta.

Remove the pasta from the plastic bags and insert them into mylar
bags with oxygen absorbers to enhance their shelf life. Include the
boiling instructions on the inside of lid of the bucket. To make
retrieval easier, get a gamma seal lid. Be sure to use a food-grade
bucket or the plastics will leach into your macaroni or other pasta.
Be sure also to store your macaroni inside your home, and not in a
basement or attic, which has heat fluctuations. Be sure to store
enough water to boil your noodles!

#6: Sugar up your food storage!
Sugar lasts indefinitely and is another easy prep for a food grade
bucket. Sugar doesn't need. Head to Costco for pure cane sugar,
preferably organic, which has a hint of brown color. Get a gamma
lid for easy retrieval of your food storage. Don't stop your food
storage projects with sugar or macaroni. Buy in bulk to save and
stockpile:

whole wheat
rice and beans
popcorn
bulk cereals and granola
oats
salt
s ugar

Be sure to have a bucket lid opener or a Gamma Seal lid.

#7: Build a better mouse trap!
Featured on Doomsday Castle, the concept of a five-gallon bucket
rat trap at first seemed a little far fetched, but it worked! Here's a
how to build a better mousetrap!

Above, Grant Thompson, of the King of Random, illustrates one of the most
popular things to do with a five gallon bucket. See #4 on our list of 27 uses
for a five gallon bucket below with more ideas to enhance your potty bucket.

IMPORTANT: For prepping, please select food grade
buckets for most of these projects. Many projects listed here
are for storing or processing food and water for consumption.
Beware that if you don't use a BPA-free food grade bucket, the
toxins will leach into your water and food, even if your food or
water is packaged neatly in individual mylar pouches. Food
grade buckets are intentionally white so the colors don't stain
the contents and leach toxins into your food, but it's important
to note that not all white buckets are food grade. You may
like to choose a colored bucket for such things as sanitation or
bio-hazzard. An orange is not for food storage!

Dozens of Do-it-yourself Prepper Projects with Buckets
Here's our bucket list of dozens of projects you can do yourself if
you have a food-grade 5-gallon or 6-gallon bucket:

#1: Assemble and off-grid laundry station.
Include a Rapidwasher mobile washer agitator, which is much
better than a plunger because it has slots for the water. Also it
uses minimal water and less soap (because of the agitation
motion). Fill your bucket with your favorite laundry soap, borax,
baking soda, and stain remover, along with a clothesline,
clothespins, and rubber gloves. Right, Prepare My Life has
assembled everything for you in a kit with a gamma seal lid.

#2: Fuel up at Costco with Charcoal.
This is an easy do-it-yourself prepper project: charcoal storage.
Preppers must stock a variety of fuel and charcoal is ready to go!
The problem is that the bags are messy and are not moisture
proof. At Costco, you'll find Kingston Charcoal: it's around $20 for
two huge bags. Grab them, then stash your charcoal treasure into a
couple five- or six-gallon buckets. Having charcoal in a bucket
provides the added security of a weather tight capsule.

Why hoard charcoal? Charcoal is highly combustible and
paired with a lighter is an easy source of fuel. Charcoal has an
indefinite shelf life when the product is stored in a cool, dry
place. Use charcoal after you exhaust your supplies of
propane, kerosene and other liquid fuels.

Is commercial charcoal good for composting? No! Kingston
Charcoal and other briquettes won't aid in the breakdown of
organic matter, because they contain other ingredients to
make them light faster. You'll need to dump your commercial
charcoal in an area separate from your composting.

Learn to make your own charco al.

#3: Tackle this one: create a bucket for your fishing
gear.
Go fishing for tackle supplies and make a tackle bucket. Pictured
right is a tackle organizer. There are organizers for inside and
outside of your bucket. Complete your tackle bucket with a
comfortable seat lid. Makes a great gift.

Fishing Bucket Organizer. The Wild River Tackle organizer,
right, is a five-gallon bucket organizer that fits most 5 gallon
buckets. It's a single solution soft tackle bag with an
integrated flexible neck LED light system that allows you to
see into the bag or the bucket when natural light gets scarce.
This is a clip on LED light that can be moved to illuminate any
area of low light. It also features a zippered pocket ready for
your aerator to keep your bait lively. The rigger has storage
areas for two 3500-series trays and extra pocket to hold a
third reel or fishing line. A fisherman’s dream, this organizer
features a removable self-retracting steel cable lanyard for
clippers or small tools. It has clear internal pockets to keep
maps and fishing license dry but visible. The exterior mesh
pockets will allow you to carry popular tools and easily view
contents.

Sit-n-fish. Frabill is the Sit-N-Fish bucket. It's the perfect
fishing bucket for on the ice or during open water season! This
bucket is the "real McCoy"! Keep your bait inside during both
seasons, and sit comfortably on its padded seat whenever
you're out. 6-gallon outer plastic pail; Removable 8-quart
insulated foam bait bucket; Keeps bait alive and frisky without
freeze-up; Comfortable snap on / off padded seat lid is
included.

#4: Make an emergency toilet.
Pictured right is a port a potty you can actually port... You can
make your own! Here are the lids:

27 Uses for a Five-Gallon Bucket
Do-it-yourself prepping projects with a five gallon bucket

Prepper project ideas for a five-gallon bucket.
Texans may have their five-gallon hats, but the rest of us
preppers have our five-gallon buckets! Grab some a five gallon
bucket or two, because there are dozens of do-it-yourself
projects you could be starting.

If you're looking for an easy prepper project, take note, because
we have 27 uses for a five gallon bucket.

Consider this your prepper "bucket list"...

Bucket kit