Food Storage...Where Do I Put It?

Photo courtesy of YourFoodStorage.com

This is one of the most asked questions about food storage!


One amusing answer comes from Harold B. Lee who was the eleventh president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (the LDS or "Mormon" church strongly encourages families to store a year's supply of food in the event of an emergency or difficult times to sustain the family). President Lee once said something to the effect that "If you knew what I know, you would put it in the middle of the floor, put a cloth over it, and walk around it."

Of course, this may not be so practical for you, especially if you live in a small space to begin with! Our two-bedroom home is teeny tiny, so we've had to get really creative for storing some of our items. I haven't gone to the extreme measure of storing everything in the middle of the floor (although that's certainly option if push comes to shove & there's nowhere else to put it! lol). But in the past I have cleaned out my cupboards and reorganized them (something that needs to be done again), and I've bought storage cabinets and installed them in the dining and bathrooms (I'm stockpiling personal items like toiletries, not just nonperishable food).

Some other suggestions that may work for your family's needs of where you can store your stockpile if space is tight:

• In everyone's closet. Make a "floor" of case boxes in the bottom of closets, or stack the boxes in a back corner or up on a high shelf.
• Behind regular supplies on kitchen shelves.
• Under beds, cribs, stairways, or wherever it will fit.
• Make a utility shelf with buckets and some boards.
• Make a bedside table with case boxes and a small piece of plywood, and put a decorative cloth over it.
• Behind couches, desks, room divider panels, curtained areas, or in spare rooms.
• Clean out some of your junk, and store food instead!

Essentially, the idea is to put your stockpile wherever you can find a spot. One word of caution: try not to put your food in the garage (this includes canned food). Wheat, salt and sugar will probably be the only ones that might survive the heat. The rest of your food really needs to be inside your home.

If you have your stock pile all over the place, try to keep an inventory list going so you can find it when you need it.

Coming up next, Shelf Life: How Long Is This Stuff Supposed To Last?