Small flat prepping

[alwayscross]

Well naturally I didn't fully mean what I said, as its just a saying. I more or less there are large advantages to having a small space, loads of advantages. Such as it will be a less targeted spot, easier to clean and maintain, so on and so on. Naturally being a fat office worker has little advantage

[prepperP3]

I also live in a small one-bed London flat.

I have a three-seater corner sofa which has a massive 'secret' storage compartment under one of the seats, where I store two large bug-out bags and two sleeping bags.

I store 10x 5L water bottles under my bed.

I also have a smaller sofa where I cut out the under-side to see what was underneath and found there was a huge empty space. I now store 10x 5L water bottles under my small sofa.

On top of the kitchen cupboards I store 12 gas cannisters and 2 portable gas stoves to use in the event of a powercut.

[Vespa]

If you've already stored as much water as you practically can then as has been posted before check out possible local sources of water but also have the ability to treat any water you might be able to get.

Steritabs can be bought from a number of websites, a 500ml bottle of Milton fluid can be used to sanitise 2000 litres of water, lifesaver bottles are quiet expensive but can filter 6000 litres of drinking water.

[piglet]

I am three stories up

I cannot wait until I get a shed and will really be able to play and plan though!!

You must have one hellova window box

[jansman]

I also live in a small one-bed London flat.

I have a three-seater corner sofa which has a massive 'secret' storage compartment under one of the seats, where I store two large bug-out bags and two sleeping bags.

I store 10x 5L water bottles under my bed.

I also have a smaller sofa where I cut out the under-side to see what was underneath and found there was a huge empty space. I now store 10x 5L water bottles under my small sofa.

On top of the kitchen cupboards I store 12 gas cannisters and 2 portable gas stoves to use in the event of a powercut.

Please go to the New member section and introduce yourself. You will not be able to post unless you do, it is the rule. Thankyou.

[pitchshifter]

I too live in a city centre flat at the moment, although we are looking to move into a house as soon as our current mortgage contract comes to an end. I have no outside space and no way of attaching window boxes. However I grow lettuce (butterhead lettuce so you can harvest just the outer leaves and eat it all year round), short carrots, alpine strawberries, spearmint, basil and coriander, all in deep troughs or plant pots on my window ledges. I'd really recommend doing this if you have the room, I love making salad with my own lettuce and herbs!

[Hamradioop]

A millbank bag with a sawyer mini filter and some oasis tablets should sort your long term water needs.

I can recommend this guy for Millbank bags good price and well made. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Millbank-Bag- ... 4897.l4275 no affiliation but a satisfied customer.

HOW DO YOU USE IT?

Simple:

Soak the bag thoroughly by squeezing it under water
Fill the bag to the top with ‘dirty’ water
Hang the bag up and allow water to run as waste until the water reaches the fill line

Place a collecting vessel under the bag to collect the pre- filtered water Boil the collected water or use a chemical treatment or purification system to purify it

Raise your glass and say cheers!

The sawyer mini filter has one of the best lifes of any of the small water filters at 100,000 gallons which is dam good in my book and filters down to 0.1 microns a review can be found here http://www.outdoorgearlab.com/Backpacki ... awyer-Mini. Prices start at around £20.00 from amazon

the oasis tablets or a rolling boil for 5 minutes will kill any viruses left in the water

[CynicalSurvival]

Assuming you have stored enough drinking water for a couple of days, I'd agree with the other posters who suggested mapping your local water supplies, as well as stocking up on some water purification options (which tend to be inexpensive and small).

I wonder if you have come across John Yeoman's 'Self Reliance' (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Self-Reliance-R ... 1856230155) - he talks about growing almost all of his own food within a flat (!) as well as foraging and 'farming' local wastelands.

[greyman]

Looking at the millbank bags,could you not make one out of an old pair of Jean legs,you'd get at least 2 if not 4 out of an old pair of jeans and a quick run up with the sewing machine.

[Arzosah]

Just re-reading this thread after its bumped up by CynicalSurvival's input. Mapping sounds like a great idea - I have several streams near me, and I've also taken note of which *way* they flow, access, and who else might be doing the same thing and what problems they might cause - plenty of people just don't care about fouling things up for other people (round here, there's a football pitch laid out on the rec. ground, and the players regularly have to spend half an hour cleaning it of rubbish thats just been thrown there, when there are bins all round it).

The other things you can do now are collect knowledge and practise some skills - growing your own herbs, sprouting seeds and beans, practising knot tying (if you're going to go wild camping, that really will be useful!), plant recognition (since you're in London, you could visit Chelsea Physic Garden and learn about plant recognition!). That sort of stuff, thinking outside the box.