Where to store water, food and supplies in a small apartment

This is one of the questions I get most: "I live in an apartment. Where do I even put all this?" You'd be surprised how much fits once you start looking at your space like a boat. After years living on sailboats, I can tell you every inch can work for you.

Water

• Under the bed. Lift the bed with heavy-duty risers and slide stackable water bricks underneath. A queen bed hides 20+ gallons.
• Behind the couch or a long curtain. A row of 5-gallon cubes disappears.
• Collapsible jugs fold flat in a drawer. Fill them when a storm is coming.
• A bathtub water bladder stores 100 gallons in your tub before a storm, and folds up in a closet the rest of the year.
• Never on the balcony or in a hot car. Heat breaks down plastic. Keep water inside, cool and dark.

Food

• Fake furniture: stack a couple of food buckets, put a round board on top and cover it with a long tablecloth. Now it's an end table.
• Tops of kitchen cabinets for light things like pasta and paper goods.
• Inside your luggage. Suitcases sit empty most of the year. Fill them with canned food or supplies.
• Under the bed in rolling bins.
• A can rotation rack in a cabinet makes "first in, first out" automatic.
• Coat closet floor: a short shelf turns dead space into a pantry.

Supplies

• Over-the-door shoe organizers with clear pockets hold batteries, medicine, flashlights and first aid supplies where you can see them.
• Vacuum bags shrink sleeping bags and spare bedding to a third of their size.
• A slim rolling cart fits in the gap beside the fridge.
• One go-bag by the door or in the coat closet, so you can grab it in seconds.
• Choose things that do two jobs: a pot that's also a bowl, a bucket that's also a toilet.

Apartment rules to know

• Many leases and fire codes don't allow propane or gas cans indoors or on balconies. Check before you buy fuel. A portable power station is a safe indoor option.
• Know every stairwell and exit in your building. Elevators won't work in an outage.
• Get to know your neighbors. In a building, you're a small community.

Start with water under the bed this week. It's the biggest win for the space. Then build out with my Build my plan tool: pick "City & apartments" and it tailors your list.