Ice Blocks

Blocks of ice can last a shocking long time if stored correctly. In the 19th century, Fredric Tutor made his fortune shipping ice from frozen American ponds all the way to Cuba.

With the convenience of electricity, we don’t need to harvest ice from ponds anymore. But sometimes electricity stops working, such as during Hurricane Sandy. To prepare for such a scenario where business as usual comes to a sudden grind, you may want to make an emergency bucket, full of supplies that can come in handy during such circumstances.

These bucket-shaped ice blocks were made by the National Aquarium in Washington DC in preparation for Hurricane Sandy. If they had lost power these would be instrumental in regulating water temperatures for their aquariums.

5 gallon bucket ice

If any readers know how long this ice would stay frozen, please share in the comments!

Graduated Cylinder

graduated cylinder five gallon bucket

It’s not terribly precise, but it’s easy to mark the side of a bucket with gallon or liter measurements. You can see the liquid level right through the bucket. Having volume levels on your pail is useful for brewing, soap making, soil mixing, or any other application that uses ingredients that need to be measured.

You could also mark a bucket off with inches or centimetres to gauge rainfall where you live, but I would use a lid with a hole drilled in it to prevent evaporation if you hope to measure rainfall over an extended period of time.