The best products to own are ones with multiple uses, like the bucket your long-term food comes in. Unfortunately, many people don’t realize when they purchase long-term emergency food packaged in food-grade buckets that the buckets themselves are worth their weight in gold.
Let’s say you face some sort of disaster where you have to break into your long-term emergency food. Once the food is gone, don’t throw out the bucket – it can be used over and over again in a variety of ways, some of which may even help you survive extreme situations.
Not All Food Buckets Are Created Equal, So Choose Wisely
It is important to keep in mind that we are specifically talking about food-grade buckets. You can get a five-gallon bucket with a lid at your local hardware store, but that doesn’t mean it is safe for food or water storage.
Buckets are made using different dyes and molds, some of which may not be safe for food. Since you want a multiuse product, you want to stick with food-grade (even if you don’t plan to use it for food).
That’s not the only difference. While there are many food-grade buckets available, they are not all designed the same way.
The Benefits of My Patriot Long-Term Food Buckets
My Patriot Supply food buckets measure 15 ½’ high, 11 ¾’ deep, 9 ¾” wide, and are designed for easy, long-term storage. Unlike their circular counterparts, our square-spaced buckets fit storage areas without wasting any space and have very minimal overhang when shelved.
The thick, durable walls of the buckets are made of a plastic called polypropylene. According to Healthline, “Of the commercial plastics on the market today, polypropylene is considered one of the safest. It’s FDA-approved for food contact […] Polypropylene, which is derived from petroleum, is considered by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to be a safer choice than some other types of plastics.”
It is also BPA-free.
In addition, the thick material is chemical-proof and water-resistant, heat-resistant, sun-proof, and rodent-proof. This is important, as many companies will package long-term emergency food in either just mylar bags (which are not rodent-proof) or pack them in totes (which aren’t waterproof). If you have food stored in either of these ways, you will need to put it in a bucket to protect it.
When the bucket is sealed, it keeps out air and moisture. This is a must for long-term food storage.
Below are 27 ways you can use My Patriot Supply’s Long-Term Emergency Food Buckets in the event of an emergency. Keep in mind that these tips below apply specifically to our food buckets and may not work for other five-gallon buckets.
#1 Store Food
If you eat your current stash of emergency food, you can use the bucket to store additional emergency food. Just remember that once the bucket seal is broken, it is no longer as water-resistant.
#2 Make Food
You can use your food bucket for pickling, brining, or mixing up foods.
#3 Grow Food
Many people have had good luck turning their food buckets into planters and growing vegetables in them.
#4 Brew Beer
You can use your empty food bucket to brew beer or wine. Indestructibles has directions to building a brew bucket and recipes.
#5 Store Water
Water is critical during an emergency. You can safely store clean water in your empty food bucket.
#6 Collect Rainwater
Place the empty food bucket outside to collect rainwater to use for a variety of cleaning tasks around the home.
#7 Build a Water Filtration System
Should you find yourself without clean water, simply fill your bucket with gravel, sand, and charcoal to create a water filtration system.
#8 Carry Water
The handle on the bucket makes it easy to carry water to and from a safe water source.
#9 Heat Up Water
The black color of the My Patriot Supply works well for heating water. Fill the bucket halfway with water and place it in the sun for a few hours to warm up.
#10 Collect Trash
An empty bucket makes a great, simple trash receptacle. With the close of the lid, it’s also rodent-proof.
#11 Compact Trash
Our food buckets are designed to stack. Take the bucket containing trash (make sure the lid is off) and stack a second bucket directly on the trash. Step or push on the top of the second bucket to compact the trash to half the size.
#12 Emergency Toilet
A bucket can become an emergency toilet when needed. People have even found ways to DIY five-gallon buckets for toilets for camping and road trips by putting a trash bag liner inside, securing the trash bag, and making the seat more comfortable with pool noodles.
#13 Hold Dry Sanitary Supplies
Use an empty bucket to store dry sanitary products. The lid will help keep toilet paper dry.
#14 Store and Hide Guns and Ammo
Most robbers won’t look for guns and ammo inside a food bucket, which makes it a good hiding place and keeps your gear out of sight from children.
#15 For Seating
When flipped upside down, food buckets work well as stools for seating.
#16 Wash Clothes and Dishes
You can use the bucket as a means for doing laundry and the dishes. As long as you have water and cleaning supplies, a bucket works as a sink.
#17 Hide Valuables
The durability of My Patriot Supply’s buckets means it can even be buried. If you have valuables, you can place them within the bucket and bury them in the backyard.
#18 Makeshift Cooler
Add ice to your bucket, close the lid, and you have a makeshift cooler.
#19 For Fishing
Empty buckets are the fisherman’s go-to. Not only can they hold fishing supplies, but they can also be used as stools while fishing or for carrying what you caught.
#20 Store First Aid Supplies
Storing your first aid supplies within a bucket is good because you can grab the handle and quickly run to where first aid is needed.
#21 Fight Fire
Many people keep a bucket by their grill or campfire filled with sand or water to put out fires.
#22 Store Fire Starters
On the opposite side of things, you can also store fire starters, such as charcoal, inside an empty food bucket with a lid.
#23 Use as An Anchor
In an emergency on the water, fill your bucket with weighted items, such as rocks, and tie a rope to the handle to create an anchor.
#24 Make DIY Products
Whether you are using baking soda or vinegar to make cleaners, you can use your bucket as your mixing pot. You can also mix baking soda and water in your bucket for a foot bath.
#25 Create a Dumbwaiter
Use rope around the handle of your bucket to create a dumbwaiter to haul items up to different floors. Or, when in the great outdoors, protect food from animals using the same type of pulley system with tree branches to keep food off the ground.
#26 Build an Emergency Shower
There are numerous ways to use food buckets to bathe. One method is to poke holes in the bottom of the bucket, fill with water, and hold it above the person’s head. Another way is to cut one hole in the side of the bucket and affix a showerhead valve to the hole. You can see the build in action in this YouTube video.
#27 Emergency Go-Bucket
We’ve talked about Grab and Go Emergency Evacuation Must-Haves before. Typically, people put these items in a duffle bag, but you could just as easily put them in an empty food bucket.
Find a new use for your old food buckets, friends!
I'm sure you know of more uses. Please share them below.
In liberty,
Elizabeth Anderson
Preparedness Advisor, My Patriot Supply
