Urban Survival: Securing Your Space When Options Are Limited

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Ever wonder how to prep effectively when you're living in an apartment? The challenges of limited space, shared walls, and lack of storage don't have to mean limited preparation options.

Today we're diving deep into practical apartment prepping strategies that don't require a basement, garage, or dedicated storage room. I'm sharing straightforward solutions to three critical areas: securing your entry points, discreetly storing your supplies, and creating an effective bug-out strategy.

Your front door represents your primary security point in apartment living. Learn how to strengthen this crucial barrier with proper deadbolts, security bars, and early warning systems that buy you precious time during emergencies. I break down why most standard apartment locks fail and what specific upgrades make the biggest difference without breaking your budget or lease agreement.

Storage challenges require creative thinking. Discover how under-bed containers, strategically labeled and packed with decoy items, can hide your emergency supplies in plain sight. I share specific techniques for concealing food and gear using everyday furniture and household items that won't raise eyebrows when maintenance or visitors enter your space.

Perhaps most importantly, I address the urban bug-out strategy that many preppers get dangerously wrong. Find out why your tactical backpack might actually put you at risk during evacuations, and how blending in with ordinary-looking gear could save your life when leaving your apartment during emergencies. 

Whether you're new to prepping or adapting your preparedness strategy to apartment living, these practical tips will help you maximize your readiness without compromising your living space or announcing your preparations to the world. Ready to transform your apartment into a prepared, secure space without sacrificing comfort or style? Let's get started.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hey, all this is Keith and welcome back to the
Common Sense Practical Prepperpodcast.
This is your one-minutesurvival tip for August 13th
2025.
Coming to you for the last timethis week from our affiliate
office in Dallas, Texas.
First, I want to take a secondto thank everybody who has come
to the site in the last coupleweeks to listen to the podcast.

(00:22):
I've noticed a pretty bigincrease in traffic and I
appreciate those folks that haveleft a comment, that have liked
, that have followed and thathave shared the podcast with
other people.
I really do appreciate it.
Okay, let's talk about apartmentprepping or urban prepping, and

(00:44):
specifically we're going totalk about securing your door,
discreetly storing your suppliesand then having a bug out bag.
So living in an apartment doesnot mean that you can still not
prepare for certain situations,can still not prepare for

(01:09):
certain situations.
Now, in an apartment, you'rekind of in a unique situation
More than likely multiple peopleon the floor.
Some buildings might connectelevator stairs, so you have a
few challenges that folks wholive in condos or who live in a
single family dwelling do nothave.
Let's talk about securing yourfront door.
Now, this matters because thisis your primary entry and exit,

(01:34):
your primary egress and ingressto your particular apartment.
You can get a more robust orpretty beefy deadbolt $40, $50,
$60.
And what it comes down to witha deadbolt is how it is secured
into the frame or into the doorjamb itself.
Most of your deadbolts havevery short, not very robust

(02:01):
screws that go into the doorframe I'll just call it the door
frame from now on.
It depends on how your doorframe is put together.
If there's a lot of spacebetween where the dead bolt is
going in and then the door frame, that's wasted space, that's
not providing any security.
You can also get all sorts oflike security bars that go

(02:26):
across the door, that go at thebottom of the door, that keep it
from being kicked in.
And you also can get an alarm.
It's about the size of adoorstop and then the event that
the front door is breached, youget a very loud alarm.
So when you hear that alarm,there has been a breach at your

(02:48):
front door.
That's going to give you a fewseconds, a little bit of a head
start, to decide what you'regoing to do after that.
Let's talk about securing yoursupplies and trying to be
discreet because, again, in anapartment you have a finite area
, finite space, maybe only acouple of closets.

(03:11):
You don't have a garage, maybenot have an attic.
You may not have an extra roomthat is your dedicated pantry,
and maybe there's not a largeenough pantry in your kitchen
that will store your regular oldfood that you eat on a daily
basis and then your preppingsupplies.

(03:32):
One thing to consider is storingyour prepping food, your
prepping supplies, under yourbed.
You can get the totes, theRubbermaid totes that are either
opaque or kind of translucent,the heavy, dark plastic or the
light plastic that you can kindof see through.
What folks have done is put alabel on them winter clothes,

(03:57):
hoodies, blankets and if you cansee through or partially see
through the tubby, go ahead andput a blanket on the outside.
So in the event that someonehas entered your home and they
look under the bed, they'regoing to see a little tubby that
says winter clothes and they'regoing to see like a balled up

(04:17):
jacket or what looks like ajacket or a hoodie.
Okay, there's a chance they'regoing to leave it alone, they're
not going to pull it out andthey're not going to go through
it.
Same thing with the top, Ifthey were to take it out and
pull the top off.
What are they going to see?
A couple Afghans, a couplequilts, a couple blankets.
There's a chance that theywon't dig any deeper and then

(04:38):
just bypass it and go on tosomething else.
There are Ottomans that you canlift up the top and you can
store product in stores insidethere.
Now, I would assume that thepurpose of those is to put
blankets, pillows, extra storageso you don't have to keep the
blankets and pillows out in theopen, taking up room.

(05:01):
Go ahead and use that to youradvantage and put that stuff in
the ottoman.
They can also be stored intables.
Just be creative.
So there's plenty of places inan apartment.
Don't let the fact that youlive in a smaller dwelling, an
apartment, don't let thatdiscourage you from getting your

(05:21):
preps together.
Finally, let's talk about a gobag.
The go bag needs to be readilyavailable, almost at your
fingertips, near your front door.
Again, you don't have to spend$80 or $100 on a backpack.
What you can use for a go bagis very small If you're leaving
an apartment.
What you can use for a go bagis very small If you're leaving

(05:45):
an apartment.
Go ahead and pack for 24 to 36hours, Keep it light.
And when you look at adifferent backpack to purchase,
don't get the ones that tacticalbackpacks with the molly and
the stuff.
You can put stickers all overit, hang all sorts of gear from
it.
What you want to do when youleave your apartment, regardless

(06:06):
of the situation, you want toblend in.
You don't want to have thetactical backpack on your
shoulder going down the road inthe event there's an evacuation
or some type of emergency,because what people are going to
see?
They're going to see a tacticalbackpack and they're going to
say, uh-oh, that person knowswhat they're doing.
I bet they have at least a gun,a knife, I bet they're one of

(06:29):
those crazy preppers and they'regoing to have all the supplies
that we need.
So blend in, have somethingconspicuous, just you know, a
Nike bag or your favorite sportsteam or something just bland.
Don't make it bright pink orbright yellow, but just green,
black, blue, just your regularold backpack that you send your

(06:52):
kids to school with or that youcarried around in college.
That sort of thing Don't beflashy, Don't have you know all
sorts of stuff hanging off of it, because you're just making
yourself a potential target.
All right, folks, thanks forstopping by again, Thanks so
much for listening, Thanks forliking, Thanks for sending out a
review and thanks for sharingand, as always, be safe out

(07:17):
there, take care of one anotherand until next time.