How to build a food storage pantry? As an emergency preparedness expert, I understand the importance of being fully ready for any situation. It’s not just about having a well-stocked pantry in your home, but also ensuring you have at least three days’ worth of non-perishable food available at all times.
That way, if disaster strikes and you lose power or access to stores for even just a few days—or worse yet, weeks
you’ll still have everything needed to survive until help arrives (or until we reach post-apocalyptic life).
How to build a food storage pantry
Start with a plan.
When you’re preparing for a disaster, the first step is to develop a plan. By devising a sound food storage plan, you will secure an ample supply of sustenance for your loved ones, irrespective of the duration, thereby preparing you for any circumstance that may arise.In order to build this reliable pantry, consider these questions:
- What types of disasters do I think could happen?
- How many people am I planning on feeding?
- How much time do we have before we need to leave our home or shelter?
Buy what you eat.
The first rule of food storage is to buy what your family likes and uses regularly. You won’t save money by stocking up on items that nobody will eat or that expire before they are consumed.
You also need to keep in mind how much space your pantry has available for storage (and whether it’s enough). Don’t buy more than you can store comfortably-
if there’s no room for a case of bottled water or dry beans, then don’t buy them! If the shelf space in your basement is already occupied by cans of tuna fish from last year’s crop sale at church, it’s not advisable to add another five dozen jars of pickled beets just because they’re on sale this week.
Store in a cool, dry place.
Store in a cool, dry place. Heat and moisture are food’s enemies. The best places to store your food storage pantry include:
- A basement or cellar (that’s what I use).
- An attic space that gets little sunlight, like the top of a garage or barn.
- A walk-in closet with no windows (and is not connected to the rest of the house)
The attic or top of a garage, which doesn’t receive much sunlight and is separate from the rest of the house, serves as an ideal location for your food storage pantry.
Rotate your food storage regularly.
As you’ve probably noticed, food storage is a topic that comes up often in the survivalist community. Everyone talks about it and everyone has their own opinion on how to go about building a pantry. But there’s one thing that most of us agree on: it’s important to rotate your food storage regularly so that you’re always eating fresh products instead of old ones.
To rotate your food storage, simply move items from the back of your cupboard to the front, ensuring they are used first and avoiding any instances of expiration or neglect.
To ensure the realization of this objective, maintain meticulous records of the items’ placements, seamlessly leading us to our subsequent focal point… Building a dependable food storage pantry becomes remarkably straightforward when you adhere to these invaluable tips!
Build a reliable food storage
If your aim is to construct a reliable food storage pantry, follow these steps:
- Ensure that the storage area maintains a cool and dry environment. This objective can be accomplished by employing an air conditioning unit or a dehumidifier, as required.
- Buy lots of dried goods (e.g., beans, rice, pasta) that are lightweight and easy to store in large quantities–and don’t forget about spices! Your pantry should include things like salt, pepper and garlic powder so that you’ll always have access to flavor enhancers when cooking meals from scratch rather than just opening up cans or bags at random times during the week without knowing what ingredients are actually inside them.
- Preventing spoilage is important as most canned goods tend to lose quality once opened, which is not ideal when aiming to save money and maintain a healthy diet.
Purge the kitchen..
It’s time to get rid of the old, expired food in your pantry and cupboards. If you haven’t used it in a while, chances are that you never will. It’s best to toss anything with an expiration date within the last year or two; after that point, it may have been sitting on a shelf too long and lost its freshness (and therefore nutritional value).
Moreover, contemplate bestowing any unutilized or undesirable possessions, such as those bygone flaxseed delicacies intended for slimming a decade ago, which regrettably failed to fulfill their pledge, to a philanthropic institution provided they retain their edible suitability.
You can also use up any remaining contents from cans or packages by adding them into soups and stews instead of throwing them away!
Keep the inventory current.
To uphold the integrity of your food storage, the paramount action to undertake is to ensure the regularity of your inventory.
Failing to do so increases the likelihood of spoilage before consumption, and even if that is not the case, employing outdated products may compromise their nutritional value and flavor.
To maintain a current inventory, conscientiously inspect it at regular intervals (at a minimum of once every six months) and replenish as required.
To ensure the currency of your inventory, regularly assess its status (at least once every six months) and restock when required.
The frequency of inspection relies upon the available storage capacity and the durability of each item; for instance, canned fruits and vegetables have a longer shelf life compared to dried beans due to the high-temperature processing involved in canning. To know when an item needs restocking, follow these guidelines:
Organize containers with the same food together.
You can also organize your food storage by keeping like items together. For instance, consider storing dry pasta in a dedicated container, while boxed macaroni and cheese can be kept separately.. Or perhaps you’ll want to keep all of your grains together so they are easy to find when it comes time to make dinner or bake some treats.
You should also consider separating different types of foods from each other as well. It’s important that we keep our fresh fruits separate from things like chips or crackers because these items will go stale much faster than others (and we don’t want moldy oranges!).
When storing canned goods, label them with their contents so that everyone knows what they need when they’re making dinner. Whenever feasible, retain food items within their original packaging to prevent potential damage during transportation.
Alternatively, tightly wrap them with plastic wrap before stowing them in Tupperware containers, offering additional safeguarding against moisture loss over time, which may occur due to evaporation through air gaps between layers within cardboard boxes that house multiple items concurrently (imagine stacked canned tomatoes).
Store things in their appropriate cabinets and drawers.
Storing things in their appropriate cabinets and drawers is the first step to organizing your food storage.
- Keep like items together: If you have a lot of canned goods, keep them all together in one cabinet or drawer. This way, when you need one type of item for cooking or baking, it’s easier to find because all the cans are right there together in one place.
- Organize your pantry by arranging items according to their frequency of usage. For instance, if you use spices more often compared to flour or sugar (which should be stored in airtight containers), consider designating a separate section within your pantry for easy access during meal preparation.
Keep frequently used items on shelves within easy reach.
- Keep frequently used items on shelves within easy reach.
- Place items that are used infrequently in higher cabinets or on lower shelves.
- Use the vertical space in your pantry to store items that are not used often (such as spices, canned goods, and dried herbs).
Rotate Food Regularly,
The best way to prevent food from going bad is by rotating your stock. This means keeping track of what you have and using it before the expiration date. It is advisable to store perishable edibles such as meats and dairy products in the refrigerator or freezer, whereas non-perishable items like grains can be appropriately placed in your pantry.
If you’re not sure how long something will last, check the “Best if Used By” date on its packaging–this indicates when these products are still at peak quality (but not necessarily safe). After that date passes, use these guidelines.
Creating a reliable, well-organized pantry
You can save money and make your food last longer by keeping everything organized.
- You’ll be able to find what you need when the time comes.
- You can use up ingredients before they go bad, which helps save money in the long run.
- Purchasing storage items such as jars, bags, and cans in bulk presents an excellent opportunity to save money. However, meticulous organization is crucial for the effectiveness of these savings!
Conclusion
Hopefully, this article has bestowed upon you some ideas regarding the construction of your very own food storage pantry. Remember, crafting one need not incur exorbitant expenses or complications rather, all you require are the appropriate tools and a modicum of time!. For more articles please visit here
