A Well Stocked Pantry/Stockpile tips

[Natalia]

One way to get large food grade containers on the cheap is at a place like Bulk Barn. They sell the karge, white, handled ones for $1
They are food grade. I don't buy massive quantities of items but its where i keep my large, opened bags of basmati and long grain rice, etc. i have empty glass huge pickle jars upstairs and leave the balance downstairs. You can combine some nonsmelly, equal hardness items in one large foodsafe continer in their respective bags.

You can also get these cintainers at grocery stores in the bakery etc but they can suck to clean.. Think of cleaning an enourmous pail that contained frosting! At the bulk store the pails are clean. Mine had maraschinos, and mincemeat. You can typically get two sizes too, a smaller one, and the size a contracter would buy paint in..i stack mine beside my storage shelf dh made that would hold a water buffalo. He used scrap wood.

[Anna43]

My shelving is a hysterical combination that dh and I've built, salvaged, remuddled etc. but it is all sturdy, heavy duty and the cheap metal shelving is still useful for things like tp and paper towels.

Our new freezer has an alarm if the temp drops below a certain level. It worked when we were loading it from the old freezer and had the lid open too long. I'm not sure I'd hear it upstairs, but we're up and down everyday so I'm confident we'd hear it before it was a disaster. We also have insurance to cover loss of freezer contents. We have a natural gas generator that kicks on when the power goes off so hopefully we're covered.

Sugar will store virtually forever if its kept dry. Flour will get old tasting after 2 years. Baking powder will lose its power so I've quit buying it and instead use combination of baking soda and cream of tartar. Buying them separately and mixing only when ready to use makes baking powder that is always fresh. I've never had white rice or pasta get old tasting and some of my storage is old.

I love the tin popcorn containers that everyone gives at Christmas time for storage. They are 100% rodent proof. Makes for cheerful looking storage shelves too. I pick them up at garage sales for 25¢ and 50¢. I leave products in original store packaging and put them into the tins or buckets. I write what's in the container on a slip of paper and put it over the edge of the container as I put on the lid so the label can be read without opening the container.

My favorite shelving my dh rescued from the local grocery store's discards during a remodel. They are large square units that take up a lot of space but also hold a lot of home canned goods. He had to do some major repairs and I had him add a lip to the edge of the shelves so things won't slide off. I can put 9 pints or 8 quarts in each row. There were three shelves but dh has added another shelf so all in all it holds a tremendous amount of food.

Its really important to make sure your shelving is sturdy. Nothing would be worse than having a year's home canned food collapse into a broken glass mess. Also, rickety shelves loaded heavily could be dangerous if they collapsed. Lower shelves should be used for heaviest items as that adds stability to the shelves.

My water storage is completely separate from food storage. Laundry supplies are not in with food. Health and beauty are in their own separate area. I'm fortunate because we have a ranch house with a full basement so even tho half is dh's workshop the other half is all MINE.

[sue s]

Put flour in freezer for 3 days or so. Will kill bug eggs and the flour keeps longer

[greekislandgirl]

Fantastic tips on this thread - mine are:

Keep a price notebook so you always know what your price point for any item you use is. It's also a good idea to note down the date that any item goes on sale so you can see approximately how far apart the sales are timed (i.e., apple juice goes on sale every 4 months, sugar goes on sale every 8 months, pasta goes on sale every 5 weeks).

It's important to take into consideration how many people you need to plan for. Is it just the people who live in your household, or would you like to be able to give food and supplies to adult children or in-laws or neighbors? Stockpile for pets also!!!

I stockpile spices. Yes, they do eventually lose their power, but they don't go bad and as long as you are storing them in a dark, dry place that doesn't get too hot, they'll last longer. I use small spice containers that I keep conveniently near my stove because the cabinet there is the most appropriate for them, but all my spice stockpile is kept far from the stove in a cabinet, so that they don't get hot. The heat from the stove makes spices lose their flavor much more quickly. If you have spices that you use very rarely, keep them away from the stove too. (And ideally keep all your spices away from the stove if you can arrange your kitchen that way.)

I prefer to stockpile basic ingredients rather than more prepared foods, but this is personal preference. I feel better having dried beans on hand than having canned baked beans, for example, because with the dried beans I can make a much larger variety of dishes, whereas the baked beans have a specific flavor and use and are quite limited. For the same reason I don't stockpile pancake or muffin mixes, or even cake flour or self-rising flour. Anna's tip about mixing fresh baking powder is an excellent idea. I would do that too but for some reason a tiny bottle of cream of tartar is €3.40 here so it's actually cheaper for me to just replace the baking powder if it goes bad.

Sometimes I find I have to be strict with myself about using the stuff I stockpile and not eating salads for weeks. Sometimes I get onto a fresh food kick, and while it's very healthy, it's also very expensive. For this reason, I stockpile healthy foods like whole grain rice, whole wheat pasta, dried beans, and dried, frozen, and canned vegetables.

[Anna43]

I bought 26 oz. of cream of tarter for $15.80 at a wholesale restaurant supply place near where I work. I think it will easily outlast my lifetime! I buy most of my spices there in the larger containers and then refill small containers to keep in the kitchen. The larger containers stay in the basement pantry where it is both cool and dark. Prices for spices in the small containers at the grocery stores are ridiculous.