An emergency clothing/gear chest on the porch? (land, apartment, homes)

[elnina]

Originally Posted by TamaraSavannah

Many a mornings, I go out on the porch in just my bed things, to marvel at the pre dawn sky, mentally write my poetry. I have my house keys around my neck on a lanyard. But in the back of my mind, I wonder about "what if" something failed and I was unable to get back thru the porch door.

So I have toying with the thought of "what if" to have a chest with basic emergency things like rain boots, jeans, shirt/sweater, hat, blanket........spare keys, phone, pistol, etc.. (these probably inside a lock box).

So, three things, at least.......but probably more down the road.

First, living alone on a ranch, what are the thoughts of someone making off on it...vs its potential use incase of a lock out?

Secondly, what should go in it?

Third, what about "insect" infestation? What might I be looking at, such as having a wood chest against the house, and other such things?

Just hide spare keys somewhere outside you home. It shouldn't be a problem since you're living in a ranch.
Any container left outside will be a problem - humidity would start mold, Texas heat will just deteriorate your stuff pretty quickly.

You're living alone in the boonies - you should be rather worried what happens if you just simply fall, break a hip or hit your head and are unable to reach your phone.
You should create a "support" system - either get medical alert, or someone checking on you daily (calling or visiting).
That's more important than a pair of spare boots and jeans.
If you want to have an outdoor chest to store house keys and a gun, you would have to lock it.
What happens if THAT key get lost too??

You should hide spare keys in your car and outdoors AND let a trusted friend (who will check on your well-being) know where they are.

[Nonesuch]

Originally Posted by TRex2

The more I think about it, the more I think: the way things are going, that pistol should be carried on her. (A spare box of ammo could be kept in a mini fridge.) I know a rancher who, on two occasions, was confronted by a stray Rottweiler, when he went out to feed his animals in the mornings. These days there are all sorts of "wild animals" loose in places where they ought not be.

(BTW: do you have any links to any studies about how sensitive various types of ammo are?)

This is one case where "milspec" can actually be meaningful, see for example the sealant around the primer pocket.

There's some data online, mostly from experiments with "accelerated aging" (centerfire ammo hasn't been around long enough for supplies to reach their project end-of-service-life naturally). Heat, moisture, and vibration are the enemy.

[elnina]

Basically anything but rimfire should be fine if you keep it under 150F

What temperature you expect inside of a container left on a porch during a scorching hot Texas Summer, when is 115F outside?

BTW: OP ALWAYS carry gun with her, so we are talking about a spare (in the box).

[TRex2]

Originally Posted by MechAndy

...
One thing we did this year (because of the affordable Amazon Black Friday sales) was get a nice security system upgrade and all our main entry door locks are now fingerprint, keypad and keyed .
Them locks even have an discreet fob thingy that looks nothing like a key or a car fob.
Love them bio-fingerprint door locks a lot.
They can give a person a temporary access when needed.
I think mine can hold 200 access codes and a dozen or so finger prints that I can modify anytime I want.
...

Just understand, electronic locks (like many other electronic things) are among the least reliable things ever invented.

(I made a living for 39 years, fixing that stuff.)

Originally Posted by Nonesuch

This is one case where "milspec" can actually be meaningful, see for example the sealant around the primer pocket.

There's some data online, mostly from experiments with "accelerated aging" (centerfire ammo hasn't been around long enough for supplies to reach their project end-of-service-life naturally). Heat, moisture, and vibration are the enemy.

OK, cool. I get all that. I was hoping you had a link handy, to some of that data, especially on rimfire. I'm kinda retiring from the analysis business, so it ain't all that important, I was just curious.

Originally Posted by elnina

What temperature you expect inside of a container left on a porch during a scorching hot Texas Summer, when is 115F outside?

East and north sides of the house, 115.
West or South side, 155. Or more, if it is in direct sunlight.

General Philip Henry Sheridan: “If I owned Texas and Hell, I would rent out Texas and live in Hell.”

BTW: OP ALWAYS carry gun with her, so we are talking about a spare (in the box).

Well, then, all she needs is a spare box of ammo. Kept in a mini-fridge, next to her rocking chair (or what ever else she has on that porch. Just remember: the location needs to be accessible, even while lying on the ground.

[Wile E. Coyote]

Originally Posted by elnina

You're living alone in the boonies - you should be rather worried what happens if you just simply fall, break a hip or hit your head and are unable to reach your phone.
You should create a "support" system - either get medical alert, or someone checking on you daily (calling or visiting).

I think this is a key point. I wonder if the better idea would be to have some kind of small cabin or something on the property that could be rented really cheap to a student. That way there would be another humanoid out there on the ranch.

[Hawk J]

Tamara, a Satellite Phone might work good on your Rancho.

Put a spare key on top of a low tree branch.

[E-Twist]

A crow might carry it off.

Does anything eat fire ants. Anteaters? Wouldn't that be a cool pet?!!

[Parnassia]

I suspect some people get so far down the emergency prep rabbit trail they just can't stop. More is better, but there's never enough for every eventuality. Is it because the sense of being at risk lives in their head, not in what surrounds them in life? Probably some paranoia and OCD aspects to it.

Prep/stage the house (er, excuse me the fortress).
Prep/stage the porch as a backup for the house.
Prep/stage some cache on the property as backup for the porch which in turn is backup for the house.
Prep/stage the vehicle as backup for the cache which is backup for the porch which is backup for the house.
Eventually, emergency caches hidden along access routes leading to the property may pop up. On and on and on in ever-expanding pond ripples of prep.

Meanwhile that sense of vulnerability is still living in their head. As long as it does, they may never actually feel adequately prepared.

[TamaraSavannah]

Originally Posted by elnina

Just hide spare keys somewhere outside you home. It shouldn't be a problem since you're living in a ranch.
Any container left outside will be a problem - humidity would start mold, Texas heat will just deteriorate your stuff pretty quickly.

You're living alone in the boonies - you should be rather worried what happens if you just simply fall, break a hip or hit your head and are unable to reach your phone.
You should create a "support" system - either get medical alert, or someone checking on you daily (calling or visiting).
That's more important than a pair of spare boots and jeans.
If you want to have an outdoor chest to store house keys and a gun, you would have to lock it.
What happens if THAT key get lost too??

You should hide spare keys in your car and outdoors AND let a trusted friend (who will check on your well-being) know where they are.

I can't address a lot of this directly because of violations to internal security but there is a lot in this that I do already. For example, those that I often mention in my posts, "my minders" that I constantly check in with. Ie, for example, what I have said about "Landing Signal" in posts.

Originally Posted by E-Twist

A crow might carry it off.

Does anything eat fire ants. Anteaters? Wouldn't that be a cool pet?!!

I don't know for I thought the same about Armadillos. but whatever comes on to the ranch has to get here naturally.

One thing about fire ants, though, is that they are an anti flea measure. I think they eat the eggs.

Originally Posted by Parnassia

I suspect some people get so far down the emergency prep rabbit trail they just can't stop. More is better, but there's never enough for every eventuality. Is it because the sense of being at risk lives in their head, not in what surrounds them in life? Probably some paranoia and OCD aspects to it.

Prep/stage the house (er, excuse me the fortress).
Prep/stage the porch as a backup for the house.
Prep/stage some cache on the property as backup for the porch which in turn is backup for the house.
Prep/stage the vehicle as backup for the cache which is backup for the porch which is backup for the house.
Eventually, emergency caches hidden along access routes leading to the property may pop up. On and on and on in ever-expanding pond ripples of prep.

Meanwhile that sense of vulnerability is still living in their head. As long as it does, they may never actually feel adequately prepared.

The amount of cash that one has is a rather big limiter.

You might have a point but there is a rationality to that point. The project to double the storage capacity of the well was just completed.....in the 4 digits. Perhaps in reaction to the fear caused by that hot, arid summer. What's next? Maybe a way to keep my water from freezing in its storage tanks or maybe another solar grid to keep my critical systems going should the power go out.

BUT, that does cost CASH, and it won't be contracted out just right now and probably not for a while. In comparison, the porch question is rather cheap, even if a satellite phone is included (and that's a rather good idea).

Long story short and this applies to many problems, we are constantly thinking of what could go wrong and how we can do it better.

[elnina]

Originally Posted by TamaraSavannah

I can't address a lot of this directly because of violations to internal security but there is a lot in this that I do already. For example, those that I often mention in my posts, "my minders" that I constantly check in with. Ie, for example, what I have said about "Landing Signal" in posts.

Oh, boy - there we go again...

Long story short and this applies to many problems, we are constantly thinking of what could go wrong and how we can do it better.

Constantly thinking and worrying about what possibly can go wrong - most of it just imaginary or from fantasy movies you watch on TV, isn't productive or good for mental health.

Sure we all have a Plan B, but you're approaching Plan Z already.

Back to your initial question - just have a spare key hidden outside the house.

My friend who also lives far out in the boonies has a tall pole with American flag on it. The flag goes up at 8AM, and down at 8PM. If the flag is not up the next day after 8AM, his nearest neighbor who can see it from his property is doing a welfare check. That's his "support system" and it works well for him.
Find yours, whatever would work for you. Your box on the porch or gun at your hip aren't going to help you when you're injured or unconscious laying on the ground.
That should be your priority.

Why would you need a spare pair of jeans and boots in a chest if you're locked out of your house?
If you can't get into your car (keys inside the house). It doesn't make any sense.

Just make sure you have your phone with you, so you can call for help.
Perhaps you just need to have a burner phone hidden somewhere...

Also make sure that you CAN go back into your house. That the door doesn't lock by itself. You already have the key dangling on your neck. What could go wrong?
If you can't manage that, then maybe you shouldn't live alone in the boonies.