The following is the suggested stockpile for a family of 3... Most of the things I can get dried (peas, beans, etc) and we can do without the things that can't (like corn) to save on space (smallish condo).

What are you suppose to store the grains in? I know that I absolutely freak out if I take a scoop of flour and it starts to move! How do you keep the creepy crawlies out of your supplies?

(Don't laugh... can we use this stuff and replace it as we use it, or it is stored for the 'time of need'? Is there a cookbook or something for the uses of them?)

Grains -lbs
Wheat 450
Flour 75
Corn Meal 75
Oats 75
Rice 150
Pasta 75
Total Grains 900 pounds!!! :yikes:

Fats and Oils
Shortening 12 lbs
Vegtable Oil 6 gal
Salad Dressing 3 qts
Peanut Butter 12 lbs

Legumes
Beans, dry 90 lbs
Split Peas 15 lbs
Lentils 15 lbs
Dry Soup Mix 15 lbs


Sugars
Honey 9 lbs
Sugar 120 lbs
Brown Sugar 9 lbs
Molasses 3 lbs
Corn Syrup 9 lbs
Jams 9 lbs
Fruit Drink, powdered 18 lbs
Flavored Gelatin 3 lbs

Milk
Dry Milk 180 lbs
Evaporated Milk 36 cans
Other 39 lbs (what is an 'other'?)

Cooking Essentials
Baking Powder 3 lbs
Baking Soda 3 lbs
Yeast 1.5 lbs
Salt 15 lbs
Vinegar 1.5 gal

Water
Water 42 gal
Bleach 3 gal

I put all my grain in 2 litre plastic sealed containers I get from the dollar store. I also put a layer of plastic wrap on top of it. I will always remember the time my mom scooped a live mouse out of our flour bin. LOL. Now I'm kind of extreme about sealing things.
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Krissy

To help with creepy crawlies, tossing things into a deepfreeze for a period of time helps. But there's a certain "allowance" for these things. So it can happen.

I've used 5 gallon pails(food grade), for storage. They stack nice.

Cans can be tucked under beds, the back of linen closets, behind the clothes int eh closet. The top shelves of closets that just collect junk.

Yes, you want to use it, and replace it. Otherwise everything will expire on you and you've just wasted your $$.

This is a site with ideas that may help. I dry pack can most of the rice, flour, oatmeal, white sugar type items. You can PM me if you want to more about where I go to dry pack.

http://providentliving.org/content/list/0,11664,7448-1,00.html

You can also add bay leaves to flour to keep out the bugs.

you can borrow dry pack canning equipment from the mormons. you can also go to thier canneries, with advance permission, and can flour, rice, sugar etc.

Holly crap batman all I can think is where are you going to put all that in a condo??? Wow! The only solution I can think of is put it in the freezer overnight when you first buy it. Put it in tight sealing food grade plastic drums. I would also periodically check and maybe have a rotation to maybe stick them back in the freezer every so often.

Could you affor a small deep freezer, or even save for one? Something like this:
http://www.frigidaire.com/products/freezers/chest_freezers/small/productlist.asp
You could use this just to store your grains, flours, beans, etc.
These are literally about the size of a good sized end table, so maybe you find find a spot for it?

I store all of mine in my freezer. Here in Florida we have the same problems with bugs. I even have to be super diligent with my spices, those little critters can go anywhere.:grrr:

I can't imagine storing what they recommend for my family. 1200 pounds of wheat? 320 pounds of applesauce? No way. I think I'll just keep tucking away extra rice and beans(good keepers) and dried fruit and nuts. I've got to balance fear with reality.

I'm glad I'm not the only one who thought that list was...unrealistic...for 3 people?? We would never use half that stuff, and then...only 42 gallons of water?

It's hard to store a years supply of water. Water will go bad. it can get moldy. Most people do not have the room to store that much water.

In times of need, you can use the liquid in canned veggies for cooking. Rain water for washing.

I think we're told to have at least a 2 week supply of water on hand.

I have 4-55gal drums for water. It does need to be rotated. This summer we'll be dumping all the water, cleaning out the containers and refilling.

Our water was off one moring before church. We used the water from our drums, heated to bathe.

I freeze my flour and cornmeal for at least 48 hours, then I store it in see through containers on my counter. The light and freezing hinders the creepie crawlers from multiplying.

I think this list is to last a year with nothing else added. yes, you need to be realistic. I like to have about a 3 month supply of food. Not 3 months of everything, but able to feed my family for 3 months. Pretty well the first month, Ok the second month, getting very creative and/or redundant the thrid month. I have a large house and could never store the amount they say to store for a family of 6.

If you make friends with someone in fast food services then you can get sealable 5gallon containers that work very well for storing items in.

Get your honey from a local farmer who can give you a HUGE deal on a 5 gallon ( 20 Quarts 40 Pints ) container of honey for $90 or so. ( if that ends up being to much honey for your family then you could always get simple canning jars and portion out honey into the jars and seal the lid down tight with a pretty peice of fabric or a bow of ribbon for christmas presents. Or you could sell off the extra in time of need for a little extra cash ) If the honey crystalizes do not panic just put some into a jar and put it into the microwave til all the crystals have disolved.