Making geocaches on a (tight) budget

[+zodiac73]

Has anyone got any tips or sources for making caches for the least money, that will actually last?

 

By the time you buy a top branded sandwich tub or similar, then vinyl "Official Geocache" sticker, then a log, seen laminated stash cards for sale on ebay etc etc it can add up and I'd like to maybe set a few. Keeping the cost per cache down would really help.

 

Also, travel bugs and geocoins seem to be quite expensive! Any cheap sources for items that can be registered on GC?

 

Any ideas, some for each size/class of cache would be great

 

Might have some cash spare to put some gifts in them which is nice if people take the kids to find them!

 

z.

[+kunarion]

Keeping the cost per cache down would really help.

When you can get real Lock&Locks at JC Penneys on sale, it's a better deal than using a knock-off dollar store version which needs to be replaced soon. But you can try whatever cheap ones you can find. They seal & work pretty well. Plastic will warp and get brittle outdoors eventually. Use a few sheets of notebook paper for a log, and write the GC code and cache name on that. Print a stash card for the size container you're using, you don't need to laminate it. Use a sharpie and write the GC code on the container, no sticker needed. If you're at all artistic, you can personalize it and make it an interesting container with little expense.

 

You can get a real nice waterproof match tube for $1 at walmart. Army surplus stores sell "regular-sized" ammo cans starting at about $5, or you can find deals at gun shows if you're lucky (but there's sometimes a fee to get in).

 

Just get a couple of Travel Bugs, and clip them to something you won't miss. An inexpensive alternative is to make an item (laminated card or whatever) with the request to email you when it's moved or discovered. It's real tough to track that way, but the only expense is the materials.

Edited May 21, 2011 by kunarion

[+StarBrand]

I can get a real lock-n-lock for about $2.90 each bought in a set online from Amazon. Add a 24 cent spiral notebook (24 for $5.70 at Sam's) and a 3 cent pencil. Use a sharpie to write "Geocache" on it - add 2 - 50 cent items from the dollar store and your set for less than $5. Add a little flat green spray paint for another 50 cents or so.

 

Solid - nice cache. - small size.

[+KBfamily]

I buy all of my cache containers at a store called Savers....it is the same as a Goodwill or Salvation Army store....I paid .69 cents for a GREAT lock and lock last week...plus, I have found numerous other things I have made containers out of....large plastic owl, rubber snake, bird houses, etc.

[+TL&MinBHIL]

You can look through the Cool Cache Containers thread and maybe find some inspiration. Cool Cache Containers (CCC's)

[+kunarion]

I buy all of my cache containers at a store called Savers....it is the same as a Goodwill or Salvation Army store....I paid .69 cents for a GREAT lock and lock last week...plus, I have found numerous other things I have made containers out of....large plastic owl, rubber snake, bird houses, etc.

Sheltering a less-than-perfect container inside something like a birdhouse, is a good idea. If the container doesn't directly get rained on, the contents can stay much drier.

 

I bought a 2-gallon plastic double-walled drink cooler at Goodwill for 25 cents. I don't know how well it might hold up in the wild, but maybe pretty well. I was thinking of hanging it by rope in a tree.

[+Ambient_Skater]

As long as you have a good, waterproof container none of the other stuff has to be "official" geocaching merchandise. Any spiral notepad can be used for the logbook and you can write "Official Geocache" on the container with a Sharpie.

[+E = Mc2]

Wal-Mart has a ten-pack of locking Sterlite containers for $10 (Perhaps it was $20. i can't find them now). I've put out six of them in December and they're still watertight despite having been snowed and rained on quite a bit. One of them ended up under water and is still going. I get the packs of 'quarto' memo pads and use them for logs. A couple of items from the 'dollar' store for trade items and a couple of cheap pens and you're set.

 

I used to camouflage my containers, but these are all plain plastic with 'Geocache' written inside the lid so it's readable from outside.

Edited May 22, 2011 by E = Mc2

[+E = Mc2]

Addendum to my previous: I have used the two quart (and gallon) thermos jugs for caches in the past, but they invariably end up wet inside no matter how well the spout is sealed. Admittedly, they are cheap, as most thrift stores sell them for something like .25

[+zodiac73]

You can look through the Cool Cache Containers thread and maybe find some inspiration. Cool Cache Containers (CCC's)

 

I'm a few pages into that 92-pge thread already LOL some really cool ideas in there gotta say

 

Thanks for al the replies guys, much appreciated. The ideas are very helpful but the sources aren't as like an idiot I forgot to mention I'm in the UK !! Walmart has bought out our ASDA supermarket chain here but still they don't have the non-food product range that you guys get

 

z.