Pantry-Eat what you store-Store what you eat..

[MissKitty]

WE are firm believers in the concept and are still in the learning process...Alot of the "list for a year for two folks"...recommending the quantity of food to store seems outrageous to me..There is no way we eat that much..so we are having to learn what we need...I am a weird eater...Don't take much to make me happy..
We are limited on space in our home and considering taking a extra shed...making a summer kitchen and a pantry...Very close to the house..But it is not heated or cooled..Do any of you deal with this situation???...Is your pantry separate from you mail living area and how do you control the temp...
Would love to hear ya'lls input...Thanks-MissKitty

[Kmac15]

I was an under the bed person until we became empty nesters. We turned the smallest bedroom into a walk in pantry and store room.

[mamamugsy]

Here in western Oregon we have a high water table so no basement for storage. My husband and I moved the computer and bookshelves out of the "office" which was the coolest room in the house already, blocked the heat register and put in storage shelving.

As for figuring out what to store, that is always evolving for us as our 5 children grow and tastes change. Sometimes I keep a notebook in the kitchen and track everything I OPEN for a few months. DH says why not just track what I buy, but how many of us don't buy too much of something and not enough of something else. Then I know what quantities I am actually using and can plan or adjust accordingly.

[MissKitty]

Sounds like good ideas...
At this moment we are using our spare bedroom...and we got Thanksgiving company a coming...Only got one bed in the house and underneath is already got things stored...
I have run out of room and it is running me crazy!!!..lol....
So no more room in the house, I am a looking at sheds...But worried about things getting too cold or too hot...Too much rock here in Ark. so no basement either....
Room...Room...We need room...
One web list of food recommends 52 cake mixes for 2 people for a year...Just don't think we need that many...MissKitty

[Jakk]

There are tons of storage options in even the smallest house if you look for them with a different eye.

Some people have used their boxsprings to store canned food, my valances are "fluffed" with rolls of toilet paper, top of closets and the back of closets on the sides or bottom can be stacked with things. There are plans on the internet to build a coffee table or a small kitchen island that will hold hundreds of cans. Are there any dead spots in your kitchen cabinets? Area's that are too incovenient or hard to reach are good for long term storage. Can you pull your books forward on a bookshelf and put a row of cans along the back? Or buy a few of those photo boxes that are made to sit on a bookshelf. They have a top and you can fill them with ziplock bags of rice/wheat/beans/pasta etc. I have a coat rack with a bench. The bottom holds scarves, gloves and hats. Under those items is a flat row of bagged beans. We are not big bean eaters so I estimate that I have a good 6-10 months worth stored out of the way, and out of sight. If you have a shed, you can put lighter weight non perishables in a hefty bag and hang them from the ceiling. An inexpensive three legged table with a decorative cloth thrown over can hide a large bucket of long term supplies. I also have a large variety of dried fruits and veggies displayed on the top of my kitchen cabinets (yup, way up top). They are in quart sized mason jars, tied with a pretty ribbon and crinkle cut cloth and they line the top of my cabinets. In between the jars are baskets. You can hide a lot of smaller things in baskets and they are high enough that no one can look inside.

If adding space is not an option, try creating it!

[Callieslamb]

I think it's best to store in several places. Just a safety thing. As for the lists - if that's ALL you had to eat, you might be amazed at how much wheat you would go through. Some of the lists were generated with that end in mind. And some of them are old enough to be from the era when people actually cooked for themselves. We count on 400 lbs of wheat per person - 100 lbs of rice. If we have a bit too much.... oh well. No, we don't either item at that rate now...but both are also things I can't produce for myself. We heavily weight those kinds of items in our storage.

[Charly]

I too have canned goods behind all my books on the shelves.

We have 55 gallon drums in the barn stuffed with tp, charcoal, sleeping blankets, etc. Things that won't be affected by the temperature changes.

[FyredUp]

52 cake mixes? For a year for 2 people? That is insane.

Here is my plan...opinions may vary.

1) You know how much you eat, plan for that with perhaps 10 or 20% cushion.

2) Store food you and those you expect to feed will actually eat. I buy canned soups, spaghettios, ravioli, roast beef hash, canned vegetables, canned fruit, tuna, spam, pasta, different tomato and spaghetti sauces, rice, pre-packaged pasta and rice dishes, cake and brownie mixes, frosting, olive oil, Pam, sugar, flour, salt, vanilla, spices, and and more. But always in mind that if we won't eat it now,why would we want to make ourselves eat it then? Variety is the key.

3) Rotate your stock. A years worth of out of date food is as useful as no food at all.

4) KEEP YOUR MOUTH SHUT ABOUT YOUR FOOD PREPPING. This truly is a case of loose lips sink ships. You blab and if the SHTF where do you think people will turn?

Have fun with it...it doesn't have to be drudgery.

[Zipporah]

The way I make my list for my family. I sit down and make a menu for a month for three meals and a snack.Now figure up everything it takes to make those dishes,everything.How many cups of flours,spices,etc...etc... times it by twelve and you have a years worth of food.Then I add special dishes like birthdays and holidays as extra.

I have stuff stored under the bed,in the closet and on top of cabinets in the kitchen.I'm having dh make me a narrow shelf for behind the sofa to store stuff to put against the wall.I have shelves over the door in the laundry room and and on doors. Plus I am going to have hanging pan rack put in my kitchen to free up cabinet space.

[Ohio dreamer]

Originally Posted by MissKitty

One web list of food recommends 52 cake mixes for 2 people for a year...Just don't think we need that many...MissKitty

I see your problem with some of the lists! Our family of 4 uses only maybe 1 or 2 cake mixes a year.

Being I'm in Ohio I'm not too sure of your weather...but here we do not store any food outside. Temps vary too much. In our shed we keep camping equipment and other such items that we don't use daily and things that can handle extreme temp variations (from summer 90's to winter -0). What non-food items can you store outside? Every item that goes out will give you more space inside for food.

[Pam6]

We are in the process of making two of these that will be 6'x8' and be behind a King size quilt that will be a wall hanging.
http://kidsandcanningjars.blogspot.c...-idea-out.html

[unregistered29228]

Originally Posted by Ohio dreamer

I see your problem with some of the lists! Our family of 4 uses only maybe 1 or 2 cake mixes a year.

We use one cake mix per person in the family each year. I can't imagine a cake a week! I do make apple cobbler, banana bread, bread pudding, etc. but only about once a month. This might increase in an EOTW scenario just for morale purposes, but I still can't see storing 52 cake mixes!

We don't have a basement or cellar, so we've given over our garage for food storage. It's climate controlled, but it would have to be defended. We've been planning for some time to do a couple of food caches. I have a couple of closets in the house full of medication, toiletries, etc. But none of our stuff is "hidden in plain sight" except a few guns. Great idea with the wall hanging!

[jwal10]

Our cabin is 396 sq ft. There are 2 of us. I built in a lot of storage, as has been said, there is room everywhere, just use it. I have a small dry, well insulated shed for storage, it does not freeze. A springhouse for cool storage and a root cellar that I use for home canned food storage too. We eat so plain that we don't store premixed stuff, no cake mixes, pancake mixes, etc. I know I can eat for 2 years from what I have but would supplement as I go along. I gleann almost everyday, even in winter. God provides well. We don't miss anything, we just eat a good mix of what we have....James

[SurvivalBus]

Here is a posting I wrote of for my blog, It more related at what I do,

As most of use are, money is tight and the thought of having months or even years of supplies is a "yea if I won the lottery" though. But there are ways to stash food and household goods, using very small amounts at a time. I have broke down a technique I use when shopping
BUYING

1. Spent $10-$20 a week when doing your grocery shopping, after a year you will spend $540-$1080.
2. If you use cash instead of card, don't spend the coin change and save it and use it for you preparedness supplies.

WHAT TO BUY

1. Food - 1st rule BUY WHAT YOU EAT. Buy food that will last at least a year or more, I check expiration dates and if they are 2 years out that is a good item for me, stuff like canned food, pasta, dried beans, rice, and cooking ingredients like sugar, flour, salt and others.
2. Household Goods -I like getting the oil lamps, wicks and oil, there cheap and last a long time. Items like baking soda has multiple purposes. there are many lists out there you can go off of. But sitting down and making your own for your needs is best after you have looked at others.
3. Medical Supplies - not much to say here but start your own pharmacy, study alternative medicine, many illnesses can be cured with very common things. I like lots of Alcohol, Peroxide, Iodine, & bandage items. If you have medications stock pile it, and rotate it. If you get a new bottle of piles, swap it with the oldest bottle in you stock, maybe get a extra bottle every 2-3 months.

STORING

1. I use the small moving boxes from Home Depot there small and easy to move when paced with canned food, there heavy duty so they last and I have had them stacked 6 high with no problems.
2. Store your supplies in a cool dark place but it should be dry. I use my basement, but there are many places to store it. When I lived in a apartment I filled open areas in closets, under beds, under tables etc. If there is unused area that no traffic with bother something can be stored there.
3. Remember as you are boxing food up to mark the boxes with dates filled, dates expired, whats in the box, that way after you get alot of boxes you can have a wall of food and you can just read on the side of the box what it is.

ROTATING

1. Rotation, Rotation, Rotation. Anyone that has worked in the food industry knows rotation. When buying food to store it should be the same that you eat so you can rotate it. When you buy a can of soup you get home and swap that can for the oldest can of soup in your storage, so if you keep doing that you will keep your stock fresh and never have expired food.
2. The easy way to do this is by, after 6 months of stocking up, you should have about 24 boxes of food. Know start every month take the oldest box of food you have and put it on the shelf to eat. This plan is only good for a couple years before it starts getting expired items, but is good for a starter. but you could always modify the plan to make it work for you.


There are many ways to prepare for a disaster and even on a budget, all it takes is a plan, if you do this with everything you do like buying gas, hardware store trips, auto parts store, and things like that you can do alot.

EXAMPLE - every time you fill up your car, you have a 1 gallon can in your trunk that you fill up and when you get home you have 4x 5 Gallon cans that you poor the gas in to, then the cans are full you dump the oldest can into your car, using the rotation plan you will always have 15-20 gallons on hand.

Another idea is to store some of your supplies in another location like a Bug Out Location, if you have a large yard or acreage bury some, this is a good idea for lamp oils and other flammable or non rotated items.

I hope this give you some ideas to prepare for a survival situation or natural disaster
Posted at SurvivalBus.com

[SquashNut]

We used a pound of sugar a year till we started prepping. Now we use it 2-3 times a week. You have people that say they don't use flour, But at this point they are buying bread.
Those cake mixes if bought on sale right now, are a cheap snack.
I tryed making a cake from scratch and i won't do that again.
White or yellow cake mixes are good with what ever fruit you have on hand over them. This adds extra calories to your diet.
I know as the economy gets worse, dh and I are working harder. Those quick easy deserts are becoming manditory comfort foods.

[7thswan]

My pantry was a laundry room, the floor is cement and the outside wall is stone. The door is solid wood,. The vent thing for the dryer lets in cold air(stuffed with steel wool) it goes under a deck on the N side of the house. It is full, mostly with home canned foods. There are potatoes in boxes on the floor,onions hanging, squash ect. It has gotten too small and was just asking dh if he could get me a shipping container, (course he thought I was stone crazy) so I could have it buried for my potatoes and all that stuff. We do not eat sweets, sugar and salt is manly used as preservatives, tho I have alot of Honey canned in Qt. jars. Every item I buy in a box or plastic bag/container including dog treats, immediately goes into glass storage, some food safe plastic. All my regular cooking stuff is in Blue canning jars along the back of the counter and in the cubords. Center Island has more foods. A cabnit, for like a TV, and an antique Oak Icebox, more storage. The new laundry room has all the canning jar boxes up on shelves, stacked. now I think about, wounder how well 55 gal drums fill with goods would be as a heat sink in the Greenhouse instead of filled with water?? Dog food maybe?

[mnn2501]

Originally Posted by MissKitty

One web list of food recommends 52 cake mixes for 2 people for a year...Just don't think we need that many

I haven't used 52 cake mixes in my life - and I'm 54

Now ice cream.... that's a much different matter