Brilliant uses for buckets

My, my…I can’t believe we are getting ready for school to start back. Seems as though it was just yesterday when the last school year ended. Take care and remember…I’ll be seeing you around…Agnes

A friend sent this to me and I thought it worth sharing:

Brilliant Uses for Buckets

1. Build a Rocket Stove – Large metal buckets are great for making rocket stoves. In case you don’t know, rocket stoves are cheap to make and incredibly efficient. They heat up food and water very quickly and run on small branches and twigs. If you’ve never built one before, you will need a metal 5 gallon bucket and Google for directions.

2. Build a Water Filter – A few buckets and some PVC pipe can be used to build a bio-sand filter. With these, the water filters through gravel, sand, and charcoal and comes out free of heavy metals, bacteria, and viruses. It only takes a few pounds of charcoal and lasts several months before you have to replace the charcoal. Google a PDF detailed instructions file for information on how to build.

3. Carry Water – If there is no running water, you might have the carry it from the nearest source. Buckets are the best thing for this. Even if you have a wagon or something, you’ll still need buckets. Jars and pails are usually too small. Another thought: If there is a flood, you can use large buckets to bail water.

4. Crush Your Trash – If garbage collection companies become unreliable or cease altogether, your trash will pile up quickly. To save space until you can properly dispose of it, use two 5-gallon buckets as a trash compacter. Simply put the trash in one bucket, then put the other bucket in the first one and push it down with your foot. This will halve the space taken up by your trash.

5. Fight Fire – If you don’t have a fire extinguisher, buckets are a good alternative. Use them to pour water or sand on a small fire. Obviously this won’t be enough if your whole house is ablaze, but if you keep a couple buckets near your grill and campfire, you can stop fires before they get too big.

6. Grow Food – People have been known to grow entire gardens in 5-gallon buckets. To make this even easier, you can build several Alaska Grow Buckets and connect them to a water reservoir that only needs to be refilled every week or two.

7. Harvest Rainwater – Put buckets at the bottom of your gutters and use the water to wash clothes or water your garden. You might be able to drink this water provided your roof isn’t too dirty and you filter the water.

8. Heat Up Water – Get two black 5-gallon buckets, put one inside the other, fill 2/3 of it with water, put the lid on, and place it in direct sunlight. After an hour or two (depending on the temperature outside), you will have a bucket of nice, hot water. It might even be a little too hot, in which case you can add some cold water (this is why I don’t recommend filling it all the way). Don’t drink this water or use it for cooking unless the buckets are food grade.

9. Make a Backpack – You can attach straps to a bucket to turn it into a backpack, or you can just purchase a bucket backpack like this one from Academy Sports. This would be very useful while gathering food or supplies.

10. Make a Toilet – Pour a few scoops of kitty litter into a 10 gallon trash bag and put it in a bucket, then sit down and do your business. The only problem is that you can’t exactly sit on a lidless bucket, and it’s difficult for some people to squat over one. The solution is a special toilet seat which was designed to fit on most buckets. It’s surprisingly comfortable.

11. Raise Chickens – If you have backyard chickens, you can use buckets as chicken feeders and waters. Just drill holes near the bottom edge, put the buckets in foil roasting pans, then fill the buckets with chicken feed or water. You can also turn buckets sideways, cut away 2/3 of the lid, and put straw in there to make some good chicken nesting boxes.

12. Store Dry Supplies – If you have supplies that need to stay dry (paper towels, toilet paper, kindling, fire starters, tinder, etc.) but you want to store them in the garage or attic or somewhere they could get wet, just seal them in air-tight buckets to keep out rainwater and humidity.

13. Store Water – A pallet of 5 gallon buckets (3 wide and stacked 3 high) full of drinking water would last the average family at least a month and wouldn’t take up much space. Just be sure to put the pallet on a concrete floor and make sure they are food grade buckets.

14. Take a Shower – There is a video that explains how you can make a camp shower using a 5 gallon bucket, some PVC, a PVC ball valve, and a nozzle. With a low-flow nozzle, it can last up to 8 minutes before you have to refill it. This is nice to have outside for the kids to bath off before tracking in the house.

15. Wash Clothes – Put your clothes in a bucket along with hot water and detergent and close it with a Gamma Seal Lid. Shake the bucket back and forth for a few minutes, drain the soapy water, wring out your clothes, and repeat the process with fresh water.

16. First Aid Kit for car and house. (Be sure and use a red one and keep it up-dated)

17. Store out of season Cloths – Pack out of season cloths, seal, and label for storage.

18. In Gardening – Can be used to gather produce. Drill bottom with multiple holes, wash and drain produce before taking to kitchen. If you get tired, turn upside down and sit on it.

As you can see, buckets are very valuable during a major disaster, camping, and just everyday living. I’ve heard that in third-world countries buckets are so valuable no one would dare throw them away.

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