Preparedness Group Website

STORAGE IDEAS

WHERE DO I STORE MY FOOD STORAGE?

So I have all of this food storage now, where do I put it?

SMALL SPACES- STORAGE SOLUTIONS

At the Food Storage Made easy website, they asked their readers to share ideas for storing food and other items in small spaces. Go here to see where to store things by rooms in your home.

4,000 lb SHELVING UNITS

We have found these great 4,000 lb shelving units which store 180, #10 cans, or 36, #10 cans per shelf! We bought ours at Home Depot and here is the link.

2,000 lb SHELVING UNITS

We have found these 2,000 lb shelving units which are great for storing cases of pressure-canned meat! We bought ours at Home Depot and here is the link.

NOTE: We recently found that the wood used for the shelves in this unit aren't very sturdy. We cut new pieces of wood using the 6-layered pine you can purchase at Home Depot.

PANTRY SHELVES

Go here to see the pantry shelves we installed to help us rotate our food storage!

FOOD GRADE BUCKETS

We store our bulk items like: flour, wheat, sugar, etc., in "food grade" buckets. You can purchase these on-line at Emergency Essentials, go here. There is also a new local place called Honeyville where you can purchase these buckets- go here for their website. The Honeyville retail store is located on 56th street and Chandler Blvd. We store these buckets in towers (4 buckets high) in our laundry room, closets, or where you find some space.

NOTE: All grain items stored in buckets need to be "degerminated" first! Place the grain in a deep freeze for 4 days to kill any "weavel eggs" that may be present in the grain. After 4 days, take the grain out of the freezer, bring back to room temperature and then place in the bucket for "long term" storage. We have "never" had any issues with bugs getting into the grain when we "degerminate." Some people also like to add oxygen absorbers to their buckets as an "added protection" measure to prevent bugs from getting in. This isn't necessary, if you "degerminate." If you would like to add oxygen absorbers as well, put 4-5 absorbers in each bucket after filling with bulk item.

MYLAR BAGS- DO I NEED TO USE THEM?

Advice from Walton Feed Co.: Whether the use of these bags is necessary for your home packaged storage foods depends on how oxygen sensitive the food item is and how long you want it to stay fresh. If the container is made of a gas impervious material such as metal or glass then a second gas barrier inside is not needed. If it is HDPE or a plastic with similar properties and you want to get the very longest possible storage life (say 10+ yrs for grain) then Mylar is a good idea. If you're going to rotate that grain in four to five years or less then it is not needed. Provided the oxygen has been purged from the container in the first place, either with a proper flushing technique, or by absorption, there will not have been sufficient O2 infiltration to seriously impact the food. Particularly oxygen sensitive foods such as dry milk powders that are to be kept in plastic containers for more than two years would benefit from the use of Mylar. Naturally, storage temperature and moisture content is going to play a major role as well.

From my experience: If you are using a "Food grade", thick-walled bucket with an air-tight seal (like a gamma seal), the chance for air to get into your bucket is greatly reduced if not eliminated. In my opinion, the need for mylar bags has been eliminated with these "high quality" buckets. The need for oxygen absorbers can also be eliminated if the grain is "degerminated first" before placing into the bucket for long-term storage. We have had wheat and pinto beans in 6.5 gallon buckets for 10+ years with no bugs getting in or any adverse affects on the quality of the food product. It's all a matter of "preference" if you want to use the added step and expense of Mylar bags.

STORAGE SOLUTION IDEAS!

We put cases of #10 cans (6 cans per case) under our kids bunk beds. You can also use these as a base for coffee tables, night stands or a bed frame with a piece of wood covering the boxes. There are many great "storage solution ideas" out there. Go here to view some of these "storage solution ideas."

CANNING JARS

We pressure-can our meats in the "wide mouth" pint jars. These jars hold approximately 1 lb of meat, and they are easier to load when you use these type of jars. You can find these jars in your local supermarket or Walmart store.