Water storage, hands down. I spent so many years focusing on food (canning, dehydrating, what have you), but sort of assumed the water would just “work itself out”—big mistake. When we had a nasty cold snap a few winters back and the pipes froze, it really drove home how fast you can run out, even just trying to cook or keep clean. Now I keep multiple 5-gallon jugs around, rotate them, and even have a couple of those big blue barrels in the basement. Add in a few good filters and now it feels like a weight off my shoulders.
It’s funny, because gathering water seems so basic, but doing it right actually takes more planning than I thought. Even my grandkids know not to touch “grandma’s water stash” unless I say so. Anyone else here ever get pushback from family about storing “too much” water? My daughter jokes I’m preparing for a tidal wave, but she doesn’t complain when I send her home with a case after a boil order!
