Food and Water Survival Storage
August 19, 2011, Submitted by: Ken
Once you have acquired extra survival preparedness items, where is a good location to keep these things? More specifically, with regards to food and water, what are some ideas for storage locations?
Food Items Storage Locations
When it comes to food storage, it is very important to find locations that are ‘cool’.
High temperature is the worst enemy of food storage and will drastically reduce the shelf life expectancy. If you have a basement, and unless it is excessively damp, it will be an ideal place to store your extra food while keeping away from excessive heat. Excessive basement dampness though will rust your cans and will ruin foods that are not sealed, so, if necessary, one solution is to use a dehumidifier or find another location.
Find locations where the foods are not in the Sun’s rays at all during the day. Avoid attic spaces because they often get quite hot during summer months.
If space is hard to find, consider unconventional storage locations for your food items. One simple solution is to purchase plastic storage bins that are sized such that they will fit underneath a bed. You can fit a lot of canned food items (or other) that are in storage containers under your bed!
The variability in sizes of plastic storage containers will allow you to efficiently and neatly store foods in places like closets, under a table, corners, shelves, or inconspicuously stacked and perhaps covered or hidden with something decorative.
Another consideration is, ‘convenience’. Since successful food storage requires effective food rotation, keeping some or all of your food storage within easy access will help to maintain that practice. Food rotation shelving systems like those offered from Shelf Reliance.com, are a big help to a successful setup.
Water Storage Locations
Depending on where you live, and your risk of losing your drinking water supply for a time, you should consider storing some amount of drinking water. It’s simple to do. You can clean and use plastic ‘soda’ bottles, you could buy purpose-built water storage containers (they’re usually colored blue), or you could use food-grade buckets such as 5-gallon pails (Avoid using ‘used’ 5-gallon pails in this case).
Where should or could you store these water containers? Again, keep them away from heat sources. Soda bottles are perfect for shelves, but won’t hold a lot of water (they are convenient though).
I like stackable containers. Personally, I like to use 5-gallon pails (with the screw-top lids) because it’s about the maximum weight that one can handle when filled, and they can be stacked, and 5 gallons is a decent amount of water. You may consider water treatment first.
Keeping 50 gallons of drinking water for example, is very doable – stack two 5-gallon pails, five along a wall, and it will only take up about 5 feet of wall space by 2.5 feet tall. You could cover it with a decorative or non-descriptive blanket and it will fit right in to the room. You could even place a finished board across the top to hold other items.
Water storage locations could include the bottom of a closet, in the corner of a spare room, in the basement (ideal since it is cool there), or hidden in plain site.
The point is, if your living space is limited, by being creative you can still find ways to store extra food and water.
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Shelf Reliance Harvest-72 Review
June 20, 2011, Submitted by: Ken
Shelf Reliance, a quality company that makes ‘Food Rotation Systems’ offer wonderful solutions to organizing and managing quantities of canned foods.
At home, once you cross a threshold of filling your normal nooks and cupboards with a bit of extra food storage, you will begin to store your excess foods in all sorts of places – from bins, to bags, boxes, stacks, here-and-there… anywhere you can.
Unless you are very organized, quickly you will lose track of exactly what you have, where it is, and which items are older than others. There are a number of solutions to this problem, and no one solution is exactly the ‘right one’. However, the recommendation is to find a solution which will allow you to see what you have, store foods efficiently, and rotate foods from oldest-to-newest.
I have just finished a product assembly and review of their Harvest Food Rotation System By Shelf Reliance
I created the following video review of the Harvest-72, which I recommend that you watch if at all interested in an excellent method of storing canned foods.
The number-one takeaway from experiencing this product is this… ‘You get what you pay for’.
Your common sense tells you this, which you know to be true in most instances. When you pay a little for something, there is often a reason why it is so cheap. When you pay more for something, it is usually ‘better’. Sure, there are some exceptions, but usually this is true.
This shelving system is not cheap. However, it will last you a lifetime. No doubt.
The convenience of storing 350 – 400 cans of food in one place, and the efficiency of a first-in first-out system, will bring you to the next level when it comes to implementing the philosophy of ‘storing what you eat, and eating what you store’, a message I first heard a few years ago from Jack Spirko during one of his podcasts. If you abide by this simple rule, you will not waste your food storage supplies, while they simply sit and wait for a sufficient disaster…
What I like about the Shelf Reliance, Harvest-72
Heavy Duty framework and cross-member supports – will last a lifetime
Can-tracks which feed from top to bottom
Availability of various size can-tracks from #10 to smaller sizes
Adjustable width of can-tracks for various height cans
Having so many food cans in one place to see what you have
It encourages you to consume and rotate your food storage
Criticism
They recommend ‘no wheels’ on units taller than 42 inches, for safety (although they have not said so, it may be entirely due to the litigious nature of our society today). This unfortunately eliminates the ability to shift or move the unit once it becomes filled with cans, unless you improvise your own solution. Plan ahead for its final location. Be sure to plan and configure the can-track spacings first, while away from the wall and before you move it to its final location – this will allow you to attach the rear can-track straps before moving it against a wall.
Rating
I give this system an overall score of 4.5 of 5 stars, only because there is not an included method of moving the unit once it becomes filled with canned goods. I entirely endorse and recommend the product if it is something that suits your needs.
UPDATE: Although their installation manual includes a statement of no wheels on FRS units over 42″ tall, Shelf Reliance has just assured me that their current solution, Harvest Casters, is fine for the Harvest-72. They clarified that this solution is valid up to a 78″ height. Looks like they need an update for their installation manual 
UPDATE: from Shelf Reliance,
The warning about not putting wheels on our shelving systems is outdated and is being removed from the instructions. It was written back when we sold individual wheels that attached to each of the four corners of the system. the Harvest Casters are one, solid unit that attaches to the bottom of the system and they are much more stable. They are approved for use on our 72″ models.
UPDATE: Given the new information regarding the caster solution, I know rate this unit 5 stars!
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Food Storage and Food Rotation Challenges
April 1, 2011, Submitted by: Ken
It’s one thing to go out and buy extra food to have and keep as part of your emergency preparedness inventory, but it is quite another thing to keep it organized and to rotate it in such a way that is practical and to ensure no waste.
I’m sure that most everyone who has built up a supply of food storage has had this problem, and most probably still do! If you are lucky enough to live in a large home with plenty of storage space or huge pantries, don’t stop reading just yet… you may get an idea.
Store what you eat
First of all, I hope that your food storage inventory consists of the foods you normally eat, or would eat. Sure, it’s not a bad idea to properly fill up x-number of 5-gallon buckets with rice, beans, wheat, etc… to be stored away in a cool corner – not intended to be used unless life as we know it degrades to the point of having to dip into it. But for your primary food storage, lets say your 3 month storage, it should REALLY consist of the things you eat today – or things that you know would be easy to deal with and eat.
Canned foods
A very common food storage item are canned foods. You can get just about anything in a can today. Whatever is inside will be pre-cooked, or sterilized such that you could theoretically eat it out of the can without cooking it. That in itself is a big deal because who’s to say that you will always have the ability to cook during a time of disaster. (There are many alternative means of cooking, but that’s another post…)
So, staying with the notion of having a majority, or a decent portion of your 3 month food storage inventory in the form of canned items, a few issues remain.
Where to store it all?
Where will you store all those cans? Will they be scattered about haphazardly in various cupboards, drawers, pantry shelves, boxes, etc..? I’ll bet a-lot of folks have their canned foods jumbled about the kitchen, pantry, basement, or other nooks and cranny’s around the house – and I’ll bet that a-lot of folks don’t know all of what they have!
Forgotten foods
A result of ‘less than optimum’ organization is that a high number of items will be somewhat forgotten while their expiration date is ticking every closer. Granted, canned foods will typically fare well beyond the typed expiration date or ‘best used by’ date, but, if you had a system that would enable you to use your inventory such that what goes in first will be used first, ‘first in – first out’, you will eliminate this issue.
Another issue is that since many folks have their food scattered all over, and not in one place or general area, it makes it nearly impossible to know how much you have left of any one thing, or to know the overall picture of the size of your inventory. Sure, it is good not to have all your eggs in one basket, so-to-speak, but I’ll bet most of us could do better at organizing our food inventory.
Solutions
A solution to the problem of canned food organization is often a painful one, in that it may likely require a complete re-do of your storage areas. And in fact, you may not have enough of the right type of space to accomplish the organization the way you would like. That’s okay, we do the best we can with shelf space and storage bins…
The best solution I have ever seen for organizing and proper food rotation for canned foods, comes from a company named ‘Shelf Reliance‘. I’m not saying that just because they are one of Modern Survival Blog’s sponsors, I would say it regardless…
They have quite a number of professional and heavy duty food rotation systems that could be used in one area or in multiple areas around the home. I particularly like the large free-standing systems because they will hold quite a-lot, do not require pre-existing shelf space, they will adjust to any size cans, and they will always rotate first-in, first-out.
You get what you pay for, and these systems will serve you well – and look to last a lifetime. Worth every penny in my opinion. Have a look for yourself at ShelfReliance.com. There are a-lot of options to browse through, different sizes and shapes, and I’ll bet there’s something that will work for you.
If you’re not ready to invest in this type of system – that’s okay too. Hopefully you will give some thought to re-organizing your storage so that you will know what you have and are able to regularly consume ‘like’ foods in the order they were purchased. Lots of ways to do this, they just require lots of flat surfaces!
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FOOD STORAGE 101, Inventory
January 29, 2011, Submitted by: Lauren (Mrs. MSB)
Do I need to inventory my food storage? This is a decision you ultimately need to make for yourself, but my question to you is, “why would you want to make more work for yourself”?
FOOD STORAGE ORGANIZATION
The way I look at it, organization is the key. If you have everything stored by ‘like things’ or ‘groups’ then you should really have no need to inventory each item. Many of these suggestions/systems you need to try for yourself and see what works for you. Initially, Ken and I both thought we needed to have an inventory.
Well, first of all, let me tell you what a project it was actually going through our storage and listing each type of item as well as the numbers of all of these items. When it was finally all done, we thought ‘great’. Ken had put it all on an Excel spreadsheet and we thought we were on our way.
Then I started to take items out of the storage as always. He would ask, “Did you subtract that from the inventory?” My response would be something like “No, you’re always on the computer.” or “No, I forgot.” The bottom line here is that for us, an inventory system just wasn’t user friendly, yet somehow I wanted to keep track of what we did have in our food storage. It was time to redesign our storage.
FOOD STORAGE BINS
Along with having some of our storage on shelves that roll out, we decided to put items in plastic bins. Putting ‘like’ items in the same bin makes for an easy ‘at a glance’ inventory. For example, all green beans are in one bin. Diced tomatoes, whole tomatoes are in another bin.
Let’s say a bin holds 50 cans. When I open a bin and notice it’s got some room, the next time I see that item on sale, I buy 20 cans to restock the bin. The new items are dated and stocked to the back of the bin, so rotation is always happening.
So, my inventory, is simply having bins or shelves filled with particular items. This way, at a glance, I can tell when I am getting low on something. Our bins are numbered and a small sheet of paper taped to the wall indicates the bin # and what that bin contains.
FOOD STORAGE GROUPS
Again, going back to organization being the key factor, storing your items by ‘like’ kinds will help with your inventory. For example, in my pantry, soups are side by side with broth, bullion cubes etc. All of the baking items are stored together. Pasta is stored with sauces and canned tomatoes.
As one of our readers, Gone With the Wind, commented, you need to be the master of your storage. Don’t let it control or overwhelm you!
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FOOD STORAGE 101, Rotating and Dating
January 26, 2011, Submitted by: Lauren (Mrs. MSB)
ROTATING your food storage
One of the easiest ways to make your food storage a success is to practice good rotation. Organization and rotation are the key to not losing your storage to spoilage. For us, being organized means we rotate without having to consciously think about doing so. Let me explain what I’m mean.
A well rounded food storage will include canned goods, bulk items, MREs all of which have a shelf life of 2 to 12 years, some even longer. The only items you should really have to concern yourself with would be primarily boxed goods, oils, baking powder etc. as these tend to have a shorter shelf life. ‘Variety’ is a key to helping you maintain a good storage.
Here’s the way our storage works. In our ‘pantry’ the shelves are not deep so we store items left to right. For example, if I needed a can of beans, I would take the one on the right of other cans. When I restock, I stock from the left, pushing the remaining green beans to the right. This technique always ensures that the can on the right is the oldest can. So, you see, you are ‘rotating’ without having to think about it as long as you follow the ‘take from the right rule’ every time.
It’s similar to the way a grocery store stocks their shelves. In the store (provided they are stocking correctly), the oldest items are on the front of the shelves where customers will pull from first. The shelves are restocked placing the new items towards the back on the shelves.
This is the way our ‘main food storage’ works. The shelves are deeper here so we take from the front and stock from the back of the shelves. Again, this will always ensure proper rotation. The items are then brought into the ‘pantry’ to restock those shelves.
So however you store your food, ‘left to right’ or ‘back to front’, if you always follow your same system, you’ll always be rotating. It’s easy!
DATING your food storage
When I am restocking, the first thing I do is date the top of the can/box using a black magic marker with the month and year it was purchased. This allows me to know how long the item has been stored.
Some of our food storage supplies are on deep shelves with rollers. When I pull out one of the shelves, I can tell, at a glance, how long the items have been stored. If you notice an item has been stored for a few years, then you may want to check it’s shelf life or may sure you use that item next.
Knowing that many of the food storage items have a shelf life of a few years, using what you store and rotating what you store should greatly reduce any spoilage you may have.
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