Using Storage Lockers

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American Preppers Network has an article about a family in Chicago, living in an apartment, that have incorporated the use of a storage unit to increase the amount of food they can store. A couple of important points from the article:

We scanned storage listings in the Chicago area, looking for units that would fit our requirements: climate-controlled, 24-hour access, accessible even if other businesses in the area might be closed (say, during a blizzard). We wanted our own key to the unit as well as the overall storage facility; we didn’t want to have to rely on a guard to let us in.

Once we found what we wanted, it was time to start prepping. Our goal was to have three weeks of food and water stored in our home, and three months of food and water stored in the storage unit. We may be the only apartment on our block with jugs of water lined up underneath the master bed, but we managed to squeeze in enough food to keep our family of four well-provided for three weeks. Putting the rest of our food supply in the storage unit was no problem; we were able to stack it all up with room to spare.

Our family is taking prepping seriously, and that includes the idea that we need to regularly use and restock our food supply. My husband and I have both read Prepper’s Food Storage and taken the instructions to heart. We visit our storage unit each month and bring some food back home to eat, and then restock the unit with fresh supplies. Same goes with our apartment’s three-week supply of food; we eat some of it every week, restock with fresh cans and packages of food, and practice FIFO: first in, first out. That way, we know we always have recently-purchased food in our supply.

Good points for the urban or suburban prepper who is short on storage space.

Is it the ideal solution? No. But it is a workable solution, and I commend the author for taking the initiative to come up with a plan rather than deciding "oh well, we can't do it so why try.". The only thing I would add is that when using a storage locker or storage unit, OPSEC must be a priority--try to move things in and out when few people will be around, and, if possible, put smaller food containers in boxes that conceal the true nature of the contents while moving them in and out of storage (you can take the food containers out of the boxes once in the unit). Another thing I would look for is whether it is possible to access the unit if the power is out. I know that many of the storage yards in my area use electric gates, so it could be an issue.