[Food] Preservation, Organization

RonMN · Posted: Sat Jun 21, 2008 8:00 am Post subject: [Food] Preservation, Organization

{Title messed with by Pops}

My food prep's we very disorganized, mostly on shelves in the basement, not much light & I couldn't view it very well to assess what i have/need.

So I drop by menards yesterday & pick up some large, heavy duty plastic shelves & set them up in my second bedroom. It took about 5 minutes to assemble them & I began moving my prep's to this new location.

WOW! What a difference!!! I should have done this a long time ago!

I can now easily see the entire stock pile. At a glance I can see that I'm well stocked in rice, beans, crackers, etc...But I'm less than impressed with my canned goods. I saw that all my peanutbutter is expired & ALL the fruit I have is 2 cans of peaches & 1 pound of raisens.

I can't tell you how glad I am that I did this. I strongly suggest everybody do this (if you haven't already). It's giving me absolute clarity on the strengths & weaknesses of my prep's & what changes need to be made.
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Leanan · News Editor Joined: May 20, 2004 Posts: 4567

You definitely want to rotate your stock. Even canned goods can "expire." Particularly acidic foods like fruit and tomatoes. It will eventually just eat right through the can.

Yes, this is the voice of experience speaking. On the fun side, if you don't notice that big can of tomatoes leaking in the back of the cupboard, it will eventually turn into a black, sticky, tar-like mess. Make your own oil! Wink

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RonMN · Posted: Sat Jun 21, 2008 8:22 am Post subject: Re: Organization

Yup, rotation was aslo starting to become a problem. Luckily most is not yet past the expiration date (but getting close) so these shelves/location will help with that problem as well. Most canned goods last well beyond the expiration date, but you don't want to take that chance with survival prep's.
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allenwrench · Intermediate Crude Joined: Apr 23, 2008 Posts: 893

I use a sharpie marker to date my stuff so it can be rotated.

If any of you have little space for gardening, you need to put more effort in your pantry and eating from there.

Check out:

The can opener gourmet
by Karr, Laura

Pantry Cooking : quick and easy food storage recipes
by Robins, Laura

And you supplement your pantry with your garden the best you can. You can also forage for wild foods and animals if available.

Start keeping a daily log of your usage and extrapolate what a years supply of that item would look like. Then go from there to lay in some proper supplies.

And...hoarding food is not the same as being able to produce food. Growing food is essential to living in a post carbon world. So I would suggest anyone interested in survival seriously learn to grow and raise their own food as well as be master foragers if your local is conducive for foraging.

Ferretlover · Posted: Sat Jun 21, 2008 8:30 am Post subject: Re: Organization

Great minds.....
Today, my DH is putting together purchased shelves (and reinforcing them) so that our stash can be organized. I bought some perma markers and label each can, etc., with the month and year of 'best if used by' date in big numbers (trying to find that itty-bitty writing is such a pain!!) for rotation. Do it like they do in retail=always put the newest stuff in the back.
I am excited-this is my DH's first active participation in my preps! Yea!! Step by step.....
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dinopello · Posted: Sat Jun 21, 2008 8:34 am Post subject: Re: Organization

Damn, I was just down in my basement thinking this exact same thing! I am really unorganized with tools, food, and whatever. It's very good advice. I was hoping to find a life partner with these skills. My ex was worse than me!

We use these at work

There are heavy duty commercial ones and lesser ones. I have one of the lesser ones for clean laundry.

RonMN · Posted: Sat Jun 21, 2008 1:37 pm Post subject: Re: Organization

It's kinda funny/stupid how excited I am about this Smile

Rarely does a project give me such an overwhelming sense of satisfaction (let alone a small project like this).

But MAN, I can't describe the difference this has made. It's amazing. Every time I pass the 2nd bedroom now i get this huge sense of relief (and a big gee on my face) Smile

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Pops · Posted: Fri Jun 27, 2008 2:17 pm Post subject: Re: Organization

I wanted to bump this up because I have a plan somewhere I made for a pantry that opens in the kitchen for use and opens at the back (in whatever room) for filling.

The kitchen side looks just like a regular cupboard, the shelves are slightly inclined so when you stock the shelves from the back all the new stuff rolls to the front - just like the soda cans at the Quick Stop.

I made the plan for our last house and was amazed at just how much stuff could be accommodated - about a case per can isle with 18in on the kitchen side and 24" on the back side the "Shelf Space" of each rack is the size of one can on it's side.

Wouldn't work for mason jars but for store bought it would be great.
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FLFireman · Posted: Sun Jun 29, 2008 8:11 pm Post subject: Keeping up with Inventory?

Hello all!

I was wondering if some of you would mind sharing how you keep up with your inventory of supplies? Just a list posted in a cabinet somewhere? Spreadsheet on computer?

What is in your inventory, (and why if it applies)? I am hoping to learn from what experienced preppers are doing, I know my list is small, and I am missing many items, and hope to add to my list by seeing what and why others are stocking. It will also be interesting to see what items can be used for a different/multiple uses, when the SHTF, than used pre SHTF.
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VMarcHart · Posted: Sun Jun 29, 2008 9:49 pm Post subject: Re: Keeping up with Inventory?

Cupboards and cabinets. Nothing fancy. For food, most can be eaten uncooked and/or cold. For medicine, just the basics.

kublikhan · Posted: Sun Jun 29, 2008 10:57 pm Post subject: Storage Space

It seems most people who are PO aware advocate small square footage homes. But they also advocate stocking up. Don't those contradict? Don't you need somewhere to store your goods? I would think a shed would be too easy to steal from. So if you are one of those advocating stocking up and getting a small home, where are you stashing your stuff?
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skyemoor · Posted: Mon Jun 30, 2008 4:55 am Post subject: Re: Storage Space

Basements are the coolest part of the house and stored goods will last longer there.
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Ronin · Posted: Mon Jun 30, 2008 5:27 am Post subject: Re: Storage Space

You'd be surprised the amount of space you can get around the home after you move and loose some stuff.

Store things everywhere under beds, behind toilet etc Smile

MyOldTDiIsStillGoing · Posted: Mon Jun 30, 2008 5:52 am Post subject: Re: Storage Space

Think vertically as well. Most people think square footage, but neglect to think cubic footage. I have done numerous tricks to use the wasted space up to the ceiling. And it gives a lot more "floor" space".

Examples, in the kitchen, are your cabinets open on top or do they have bulkheads. By tear out the bulkheads, you get all that space on top and the cabinet top serves a free shelving. There are other kitchen tricks, but the big one, clear stuff off the counter top. You need working space and stuff on the counter tops interfere with the all the cooking and canning we will need to do.

For the kids room, turn it into a loft/bunk bed system. You can put more storage and desk under the bed and such. Besides, kid love it, they create their forts and such.

In my garage, above both end I built 4' storage above the garage doors. All free space. I installed a copula on the garage to vent the heat out, very important.

Just did a trick at the office that dawned on me one day as we were fighting for space. The way it was done was total use of overhead vertical space in a walkway area to another room. Cost $50 in material and gave us 36" x 84" x 24" of added storage. Of course, need a 4' ladder to get stuff, but Lowes $28...
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Ludi · Posted: Mon Jun 30, 2008 6:21 am Post subject: Re: Storage Space

We have an extra walk-in closet in our 1500 sq ft home. Also clearing out a closet under the stairs.
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