Where Do I Store My Food Storage?

[Northmountain]

Everyone wishes they had more room for food and emergency storage.

The Self-Reliant Sisters Blog addresses the issue with six real-world solutions in the homes of various family dwelling sizes and configurations. See the videos at:

http://selfreliantsisters.blogspot.c...of-season.html

[Angela]

These are some really good ideas! Sometimes finding space for your food requires giving up a bit of vanity--as in using the ledges for food instead of decorations. Neat how each house and family had its own unique spaces where they chose to put their food. When we started storing food we lived in a tiny 2 bedroom 850 sf house with two kids and the food storage. Food was literally everywhere. Under and behind the furniture, in every closet and corner. Sometimes it just sat stacked in the living room because I couldn't figure out any other place for it. I'm okay with that. Lack of space is really not an excuse for not storing food.

[Carinslp]

The following comes from http://amatterofpreparedness.blogspo...torage%20Space

Sunday, July 19, 2009

It's a matter of...... storage space




No, this is not a "Where's Waldo?" picture, but it could be. What is "different about this picture?" Are you not sure? Look closer....






Can you see it now? I recently went to help my sister move into a new home. They do not have a basement or attic to put their food and due to the climate, the garage is not a great place for year-round storage either. So, this was my sisters brilliant idea...






These are Bed Risers (that were purchased from Wal-mart for just under $9.00 for a set of 4). You can see that they elevate the bed high enough to put #10 cans and cases under the bed! We all have heard that you "could" put Food Storage under your bed, but I personally pictured the bed made from Food Storage in the movie "R.M.". As you can see, this is nothing like that "food storage" bed.





How many cans can be stored under a queen-sized bed? Let's see:








The head of the bed is to the right in this picture. After counting, we were able to store 104 number 10 cans under this queen-sized bed. If you are worried about "how it looks" after you are finished, you need to elongate your bed ruffle to mask the storage. The bed is not that much higher as I easily got in and out of another bed that she had on risers.....and I am short!



The next logical question may be....."Won't you forget what you have under there?" The answer is "no". Why, you ask, because you create a log/map of what and how much you have under the bed. See the photo below:






This isn't rocket-science. A piece of line paper does the trick.


So, when you think you don't have room to store your Food Storage, consider this option. It really works!

[InDy]

When my husband was going through school we had to be very creative as to where to store our food storage due to the lack of space. EVERY single one of our beds (we had a few kids by the time he finished) was laying on buckets of food (and anywhere else we could stuff it).....and unless you looked really close, you couldn't even tell. I always got a good night's sleep knowing that I was literally sleeping on a bit of security for my family. Better then money in the bank..........

[prepgirl]

I would recommend not storing food under your bed. It is difficult to get to and therefore will probably not be rotated as it should be. Instead try storing the items from your linen closet and extra blankets and pillows under the bed. Store food in the former linen closet where you can see it, easily inventory it and rotate it. Also take your small appliances which are rarely used and large cooking pans and place them in the garage. The heat will not harm them and now you can store food in your kitchen cabinets.

[Rizzo]

I don't really have much choice in the matter...every storage option is filled, including the enclosed porch we built specifically for food storage. All of our beds are on top of food storage. My solution to the rotation problem is to store only the extremely long term items like wheat and only one type under the bed. I know whats under there, and it lasts for 30 years at the worst case scenario.

[TexasMochi]

I am new to long term food storage practices, and the blog you posted was bookmarked - so much good information there. Thank you.

[drissel]

I have a pantry underneath my stairs and a 3rd bedroom converted to a Man Cave/ bucket storage...did store alot of dried stuff in the garage but this way the temps are not at extremes. Used to store under bed when room was tight, and will if I need to again...but then only 2 of us, not as much is needed as when there was 4 of us.