Food Storage-General Info

by **ReadyMom** Sun Aug 12, 2018 4:13 pm

Prepping: Getting Started-Storage Solutions
Photo by Tim Patterson;
Flicker-http://www.flickr.com/photos/timpatterson/2578530680/sizes/s/

If You are reading this, you are probably considering on preparing your home for more than next’s week’s dinner. Most likely you are going to start with two-weeks of EXTRA food in your pantry (that means IN ADDITION to what you usually have on hand for your family!) Once you begin to store MORE than two weeks, you are going to start to need more space than your usual kitchen cabinets and pantry.

Some people have set aside a spare room to use as a large emergency pantry such as this:

Food Storage-General Info Emergency_Pantry

Food Storage-General Info Emergency_Pantry

Photo Source:GetPandemicReady.org-www.getpandemicready

Others are using spare closets, space under their beds. :caution: Warning: A little ‘Spring Cleaning’ may be needed to prepare your storage space! Clearing out and Cleaning up will offer space that is currently filled with things you rarely, if ever use. Donate those items to charity or hold a yard sale and use the new cash for food or storage or other ‘prepping’ supplies.

Living in a small space such as an apartment or mobile home will offer its own challenges. Getting creative is going to be a pass-time in home emergency storage! Three simple ideas include:

Photo:www.apartmenttherapy.com

A lot more ideas and information on storage in small spaces can be found at Apartments & Other Small Living Areas. Storage Suggestions(EmergencyHomePreparation.org)

There are yet other folks who are prepping on a larger scale. These people are prepping for many months to a year or more. Then there are those who are preparing a second 'bug-out-location' (a second place where they will flee, to live during a serious, extended emergency/disaster). These folks may be storing some basic supply items at their primary residence and additional items at that secondary residence.

No amount of preparations is the 'right' way or the 'wrong' way. You prepare to the extent that it fits for your family, your beliefs, your expectations of anticipated needs and your own financial ability. The important thing is that you do put preparations in place and are aware that those preparations will include additional emergency supplies that most likely will require the need for adjusted or additional storage solutions in your everyday household storage.

Again, not wanting to ‘reinvent the wheel’, here are some guidelines From Food: Getting Started (GetPandemicReady.org) site:

Guidelines when storing food products will help you avoid many potential problems.

• Do not put exposed food on shelves. Place it in containers with tight fitting lids (plastic bags are not adequate).

• Regularly clean shelves, bins and all other locations where there is any possibility of flour or other food particles accumulating. Certain pests need only small amounts of food to live and breed. Soap and water is great for cleaning flat areas, and vacuuming with a crevice attachment will help clean cracks, edges, and corners.

• Do not mix old and new lots of foodstuffs. If the old material is infested, the pest will quickly invade the new.

• Clean old containers before filling them with fresh food. They may be contaminated and cause a new infestation.

• Do not purchase broken or damaged packages of food materials. They are more likely to become infested.

• Construct storage units so that they are tight and can be cleaned easily.

• Store bulk materials, such as pet foods, in containers with tight fitting lids.

• Keep storage unites dry. This is important because moisture favors the development of pantry pests; dryness discourages them.

• Some pantry insects breed in the nests of rodents and insects and may migrate from these (nests) into homes. Eliminate any nests found in or near the home.

• Pantry pests can also breed in rodent baits. Be sure to frequently check and discard infested baits.

Some further suggestions from Live Ready; , ReadyMoms Alliance include:

• Food packaged for storage lasts longest in a dark, cool, dry place with good air circulation. Avoid storage areas that experience wide temperature swings or dampness.

• Store shelf-stable food for the long term in food grade buckets and mylar bags, using oxygen absorbers.

• Store items that aren’t temperature sensitive, such as paper products and trash bags, in closed bins in the garage

Remember, the key to good food storage is Container, Storage Location, Temperature, and Dryness. (Don’t forget creativity! Wink

by Cinnamon Tue Aug 21, 2018 10:44 am

One of the key things to remember about storage - when you have no place to store things - think UP.

Walls and closets can have shelves attached above or to the sides of existing walls. Cabinets can be put in places one doesn't normally see.

I have cabinets above the doors of my bathrooms and above one lighting fixture, painted the same color as the rest of the room. They "disappear" and can be used to store items not in general use. I use both cabinets to store toilet paper, and spare first aid supplies.

I also placed a shelf above the guest room closet and shelves are inside the closet, too. There are 2 shelves above the clothing rack, and several shelves to the sides inside. The inside shelves store all our spare blankets, quilts, sleeping bags, and bed linens. The upper shelves store smaller extra packaged food items.

by **ReadyMom** Tue Aug 21, 2018 12:09 pm

I went up too! Up BETWEEN the exposed 2x4's in my basement ... to store TP! You'd be surprised how much TP you can store between those beams!

by rick1 Mon Sep 24, 2018 6:09 pm

I took all my #10 cans (I order by the case) of freeze dried/dehydrated vegetables, fruits, meats and TVP cases and put them on those mover dollies. I have them stacked 6 or 7 cases high, these are kept in the garage, against the wall facing north. If for some reason I need to move them, I just wheel them to another location. This can also be used if you have a basement.

My garage is heated in the winter (wood burner), I have a dehumidifier and an air conditioner in the garage. The temperature never gets above 70 degrees in the summer and about 65 degrees in the winter. bounce

by **ReadyMom** Wed Nov 14, 2018 9:56 pm

Published by Utah State University, this HUGE publication is full of information. 120 page PDF File ... get your printer ready!

A Guide to Food Storage for Emergencies
https://extension.usu.edu/foodstorage/ou-files/Food_Storage_Booklet2.pdf

Includes:

by **ReadyMom** Wed Nov 14, 2018 10:44 pm

Building and stocking your pantry
http://www.backwoodshome.com/articles2/clay125.html

By Jackie Clay

At the turn of the 19th century, most country homes had a walk-in pantry, as well as a root cellar for keeping vegetables and fruits. This pantry contained the essentials for daily meals. Today we have walk-in closets to hang all our clothes, but no pantry. How times have changed!

Everyone should have a pantry containing a good supply of the foods they use most frequently. A well-stocked pantry is not only the foundation for a good kitchen, but it is essential to a family's well-being, should some unforeseen calamity pop up. I have two years' worth of food stashed away in my basement pantry. All that food sure came in handy the first year we were here on our new homestead. Not only did my small garden freeze out on July 27th, but suddenly Mom and Dad came to live with us in "camping" conditions, doubling our food consumption when we were all broke.

Convenience is another very good reason to keep a well-stocked pantry. I seldom need to run to the store to buy an ingredient for a meal. Everything I need is already handy at home. Just think of all the gas and time I save. ---CONTINUED---

Includes:

by **ReadyMom** Wed Nov 14, 2018 11:01 pm

The Survival Guide To Long Term Food Storage: Part 5
http://hallicino.hubpages.com/hub/The-Survival-Guide-To-Long-Term-Food-Storage-Part-5

It would be many times better to build some kind of underground room to store your long term food stash than to actually bury your buckets. Many buckets would permit small amounts of moisture into the bucket over many months or years. It actually wouldn't take a lot of moisture to make your dry packed food unusable.

Some folks ... ---CONTINUED---

by **ReadyMom** Wed Nov 14, 2018 11:23 pm

What is the best way to store food?
http://eatingfoodstorage.blogspot.com/2010/09/what-is-best-way-to-store-food.html

There are, in the world, basically 2 ideas about storing food for a year. One, the "old fashioned" way with #10 cans of whole foods like wheat, beans, rice, etc. The other is commonly called "storing what you eat" meaning storing regular grocery foods that you use everyday.

Both methods have their pros and cons and I don't think we can say either one is the "right" way because any way you store up food is going to bless your family, but I think we should consider carefully before we choose what is right for our own families. I am no expert but I have, obviously, chosen to store whole foods and I will tell you why. ---CONTINUED---

by jimLE Sun Jan 13, 2019 9:57 am

Begginers might want to look things over before they start stocking up on foods and other preps.resaon i suggest that.is because i quickly started to run out of shelve space for my store bought canned and dry foods.i ended up having to go into town and bought some 1x2's and 1x6's.each one is a 6 footer.in which i built a L shaped 6 foot tall set of shelves.that was a few years ago.and yes.their still in use.I've moved since then.now i need to refigure how to store my food and water preps.so thinking and planning ahead.might help out before stocking up on items

by **ReadyMom** Wed Mar 06, 2019 11:03 am

SHELF LIVES: TIME, TEMPERATURE, MOISTURE, OXYGEN AND LIGHT
Alan's Stuff: Prudent Food Storage
http://www.terrapsych.com/Prudent%20food%20storage%20FAQ.pdf

(Page 7)

Is your food insurance up to date?

We create food storage programs with the idea that the food which has been put by will be available later should there come a time of need. The quality of the food at that time necessarily depends on its quality when it was stocked and the conditions in which it was stored. It cannot be any better than what it was when it went in, but it can certainly be worse when it comes out. In the fullness of time, all stored foods will degrade in nutrients and palatability until they reach the inevitable end where they cannot be eaten at all. It's because of this eventuality that every article, book, and teacher concerned with putting food by gives the same advice:

Date all food containers and rotate, Rotate, ROTATE.

The first food in should be the first food out. This concept is often shortened to FIFO.

The reason for this emphasis on stock rotation is because nearly all foods have a limited shelf life or, more correctly, it should be said that nearly all foods have shelf lives. There are really two we are concerned with here – the length of time a food retains substantial important nutrients and the length of time a food remains palatable. ---CONTINUED---

by **ReadyMom** Wed Mar 06, 2019 11:59 am

Inventory Management for Survival Supplies
https://readynutrition.com/resources/inventory-management-for-survival-supplies_15022010/

A successful prepper knows the importance of managing their survival supplies and keeping everything organized. Many businesses use an inventory management system to store their products because they know the importance of rotating products in a timely manner. Without having a proper organizational system, items will not be found, misplaced and expire past their shelf lives. --- Continued at link, above ---

Includes:
How To Organize Survival Supplies
Managing Your Inventory

Guidelines for Food Storage:
Use within 6 months:
Use Within 1 year:
May Be Stored Indefinitely (in proper containers and conditions): ---CONTINUED---

by **ReadyMom** Thu Aug 01, 2019 11:12 am

Food Storage: The Prepper’s Three Layer Plan
https://www.theorganicprepper.com/three-layer-food-storage/

Food Storage-General Info ?u=https%3A%2F%2Ftheolivebranchreport.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2018%2F08%2Fprepping-threee-layer-food-storage

Food Storage-General Info ?u=https%3A%2F%2Ftheolivebranchreport.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2018%2F08%2Fprepping-threee-layer-food-storage

Three is the luckiest number when it comes to prepping. There’s the old saying, “One is none, two is one, three is better.” There’s the Survival Rule of Three which is that you can hang on for “3 minutes without air, 3 days without water, and 3 weeks without food.” And then there’s the approach that in all things survival, you need a layer of three, including food storage.

(SNIP) ... The same is true with food. Every prepared family should have multiple layers in their food storage. Let’s take a look at the three layers of food storage. (Don’t forget to take your family’s dietary restrictions into account when building your supply.) ---CONTINUED---

by Dave58 Mon Sep 23, 2019 1:17 pm

The 3 important things that I have learned over the years is

Don't panic

Always rotate your stock

If they can put it into a can or jar and sell it at the store you can probably grow it and can it yourself..

by dmwalsh568 Tue Sep 24, 2019 7:56 am

Dave58 wrote:The 3 important things that I have learned over the years is

Don't panic

Always rotate your stock

If they can put it into a can or jar and sell it at the store you can probably grow it and can it yourself..

Agree 100% on stock rotation.

But be careful of generalizations, since home canning certain items is very dangerous. Dairy and oily foods can allow botulism spores to survive canning with deadly results. Decent article about that and other risks at:

https://www.thereadystore.com/diy/7213/10-foods-you-should-never-can-at-home/

by Dave58 Tue Sep 24, 2019 8:52 am

dmwalsh568 wrote:
Dave58 wrote:The 3 important things that I have learned over the years is

Don't panic

Always rotate your stock

If they can put it into a can or jar and sell it at the store you can probably grow it and can it yourself..

Agree 100% on stock rotation.

But be careful of generalizations, since home canning certain items is very dangerous. Dairy and oily foods can allow botulism spores to survive canning with deadly results. Decent article about that and other risks at:

https://www.thereadystore.com/diy/7213/10-foods-you-should-never-can-at-home/

I agree.. I am by no means an expert so pls if your canning anything do your research. We have even went so far as to call the Ball canning folks and ask their opinion on some things.. Some things need to be preserved different ways. We also Dehydrate and vacum seal a lot of things.

If there is ever any doubt I always go to the ball canning book.

Once again I am not an expert do your research pls.

by **ReadyMom** Fri May 08, 2020 9:19 pm

Food Storage Packing - Do-it-yourself Facts & Myths
http://learntoprepare.com/food-storage-packing-do-it-yourself-facts-myths/

Food Storage-General Info Pack-your-own-2

Food Storage-General Info Pack-your-own-2

The purpose of this article is to present specific details and recommendations for food storage packing of your own shelf stable foods for food storage, including what works and what doesn’t in creating an oxygen free atmosphere for long term food storage, and the common misconceptions of how to do your own packing will be covered. While there are many different types of dried foods that can be stored for extended periods of time, most folks are interested in how best to store grain and bean products. ---CONTINUED---

by **ReadyMom** Sat Jan 23, 2021 10:19 am

How To Get the Most Out of Your Emergency Food Storage
https://www.thereadystore.com/food-storage/249/most-out-of-food-storage/

Food Storage-General Info 1550276654428

(SNIP) ... Previous studies have shown that many fewer people are prepared with a long-term emergency food storage. And, among those, even fewer are properly cycling and updating that long-term food supply. So, what’s the difference between short-term and long-term food storage? And how can you get the most value from your emergency food storage? ---CONTINUED---

by Violet Tue Mar 08, 2022 9:20 am

Food storage myths
https://thesurvivalmom.com/food-storage-myths/

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