Thursday, July 5, 2012

Organized Chaos - Keeping Track of Extra Supplies and Gear


Keeping things organized is important. You don’t need to spend extra time looking for something when a need for that item arises. If you use a rotation system for your gear items, you can usually manage to keep things organized and ready for use when needed.

Sooner or later, you will reach a stage in your preparations where you will have extra items on hand. These extras can be used to replace those items which have been depleted by use, may have broken or simply been misplaced or that merely needs to be upgraded to a better quality of gear item. This is where simple storage containers can come in handy. Using small storage containers to keep track of your extras makes rotation a lot easier and allows the transport of important extras if necessary.

The manner in which you designate how your additional items are stored is more a matter of personal preference than anything else. The important thing is for the system you decide on to be easy to use and maintain. As an example, let’s consider the need for additional medical and first aid supplies. First aid supplies will get used up in everyday situations as well as emergencies. Having a separate and designated supply for re-stocking your first aid kits will make proper rotation a lot simpler and easier to maintain.  You can also re-stock your extra storage items when specials or other similar deals become available.

Keep the containers small. This makes them a lot easier to transport and also helps to avoid building up excessive stocks of supplies that may not be entirely necessary or that could go bad before they are actually needed.

You may also want to have separate containers for specific items such as cordage, batteries, knives or other miscellaneous gear. Use whatever works best in your own situation. Just remember to keep it organized and it will be a lot easier to find those extra items when needed.

Got organized chaos?

Staying above the water line!

Riverwalker

8 comments:

idahobob said...

More chaos than organized.

Heh.

Bob
III

millenniumfly said...

And if you buy small clear containers it makes figuring out what you have even easier or, at least, jogs your memory.

Anonymous said...

Same answer as Idahobob - I have some items so hidden, I don't think I could find them without a major spring cleaning event. Even the clear containers need to be kept small, or else the items in center are hidden from view. Keeping common items together really helps with that.

Thank you Riverwalker.

Survival Food Supplies said...

You may need a computer to maintain the inventory of the supplies, or else you'll be all confused, and there would be utter chaos.

riverwalker said...

To: idahobob

It's way too easy to neglect keeping your gear organized. It really doesn't take that much time to get things organized once you have developed a system and learn to use it.

Thanks Bob.

RW

riverwalker said...

To: milleniumfly

Even if you don't use a clear container, a simple label will work just as well. Whether it's extra band-aids or batteries, flashlights or firestarters, being a little more organized can't hurt.

Thanks.

RW

riverwalker said...

To: anonymous 12:24

Don't feel like the Lone Ranger. I lose track of stuff all the time and I'm always trying to find a better way to keep track of things.

I've usually found that placing items with similar uses together works best.

Thanks anon.

RW

riverwalker said...

To: Survival Food

My levels of extra gear haven't reached the level where I have to track them on a computer.

In fact, I can pretty much tell you what kind and how many of certain gear items I have in stock from memory, it's finding them when needed that can sometimes be a problem.

I know I have the equipment I need but sometimes locating it in a timely manner can be a problem.

Thanks.

RW

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