Food Storage Porn: Hot or Not. Show us pics!

[warlock4u]

Let's see, where to start. OK. Having lived my whole life (41 years) in Southeast Louisiana I have always been prepared to various degrees for emergencies, mostly storm related.
I've always had lots "militia" gear but it's not really been ready to go on short notice. In the past 5 years or so I've kicked it up a notch and started getting myself and my spouse organized.
Most of my long term food was in the form of MRE's. Every once in a while we'd have MRE dinnernight and eat some of our stock. Finding the money to replace the MREs was sometimes difficult and stock was soon depleted. Hurricane Katrinia hit and suddenly I had MREs being given out at work and by nearly every relief agecy. As the few Katrina MREs I had gotten were starting to be depleted along came Gustav. Again I got civilian MREs handed out at work. I took mine and any that my coworkers didn't want. I also passed through National Guard Points Of Distribution (PODs) and got a few more cases of MREs. I stopped at the local City Hall for info about FEMA aid and ended up being given 2 cases of Heater Meals.

Ok, I am going to go off topic here, and, I am really going to try to not sound like a dick here but....

From what I gather from your post, and I hope I am totally off base here, but, from what I am gleaming from your post is, You took aide, presumably from those in need to stock your prep closet? The moral issue alone is enough to enrage me, not even counting the fact that _MY_ tax dollars (may have been) used to stock your prep room.

Please set me right, and tell me I am wrong.

[BigDaddyTX]

Let's see, where to start. OK. Having lived my whole life (41 years) in Southeast Louisiana I have always been prepared to various degrees for emergencies, mostly storm related.
I've always had lots "militia" gear but it's not really been ready to go on short notice. In the past 5 years or so I've kicked it up a notch and started getting myself and my spouse organized.
Most of my long term food was in the form of MRE's. Every once in a while we'd have MRE dinnernight and eat some of our stock. Finding the money to replace the MREs was sometimes difficult and stock was soon depleted. Hurricane Katrinia hit and suddenly I had MREs being given out at work and by nearly every relief agecy. As the few Katrina MREs I had gotten were starting to be depleted along came Gustav. Again I got civilian MREs handed out at work. I took mine and any that my coworkers didn't want. I also passed through National Guard Points Of Distribution (PODs) and got a few more cases of MREs. I stopped at the local City Hall for info about FEMA aid and ended up being given 2 cases of Heater Meals.

Ok, I am going to go off topic here, and, I am really going to try to not sound like a dick here but....

From what I gather from your post, and I hope I am totally off base here, but, from what I am gleaming from your post is, You took aide, presumably from those in need to stock your prep closet? The moral issue alone is enough to enrage me, not even counting the fact that _MY_ tax dollars (may have been) used to stock your prep room.

Please set me right, and tell me I am wrong.

Here's the issue.. they just throw those things away if they aren't used depending on how they store them. It's terrible. Even more unscrupulous people put them up for sale on ebay, at least he uses them for his personal preps. He was the people in need, everyone else did the exact same thing here in Houston.. it'll happen time and time again, better that someone who is using them for "good" get them than some asshat. It's not like I didn't know that some of the cases I own came from people who got them from Katrina.. should I not have bought them since you paid for them with YOUR tax dollars?

[mojavered]

sorry no pics yet but i thought i would mention a idea if it hasn't been brought up yet, on open shelves use string or fishing line stretched across the cans or jars to keep them in place in case of some seismic or human activity and on the thinner wooden shelves store the heaviest items on the ends and the lighter items in the middle so as not to strain the middle section, has any one used their wall stud space as storage ?

[whisk.e.rebellion]

sorry no pics yet but i thought i would mention a idea if it hasn't been brought up yet, on open shelves use string or fishing line stretched across the cans or jars to keep them in place in case of some seismic or human activity and on the thinner wooden shelves store the heaviest items on the ends and the lighter items in the middle so as not to strain the middle section, has any one used their wall stud space as storage ?

My wife asked me about doing that in our garage...our garage is insulated, I'd like like to keep it that way since it stays relatively temperature stable in there.

I really couldn't see storing food in between studs unless you *really* want to hide it from someone.

[airexurb]

meanstreak and Jakk....you two must adopt me and teach me the ways of the grocery ninja!!

[DropZedFred]

I really couldn't see storing food in between studs unless you *really* want to hide it from someone.

For INTERIOR walls (no insulation): http://www.pharaohsstorehouse.com/in_wall.asp
For Exterior walls (insulated): http://www.pharaohsstorehouse.com/on_wall.asp

This is what I have: http://shelfreliance.com/product/view/p107

I'll post pics here tonight.

[yale]

Here's the issue.. they just throw those things away if they aren't used depending on how they store them. It's terrible. Even more unscrupulous people put them up for sale on ebay, at least he uses them for his personal preps. He was the people in need, everyone else did the exact same thing here in Houston.. it'll happen time and time again, better that someone who is using them for "good" get them than some asshat. It's not like I didn't know that some of the cases I own came from people who got them from Katrina.. should I not have bought them since you paid for them with YOUR tax dollars?

True. I got some of my boxes the same way most of my neighbors did, we were handed them when we showed up at PODs along with ice, blue tarps and other items. When my neighbors didn't want their cases and were going to toss them in the trash I asked for them and got several boxes that way. The City Hall had bought the Heater Meals with emergency funds but by the time they arrived most people had power again and didn't want them. The Mayor didn't want to store them and gave them to anyone who asked. The Sure-Pack and A-Pack civilian MREs were bought and paid for by the hospital system I work for. They bought several dozen cases and, as I said in my original post, issued 3 MREs a day to each employee. When I found out a coworker didn't want his issue I asked for them and they gave the MREs to me. I grabbed a couple of empty boxes and put my MREs in them and added them to my stash. Many people, as was said, sold the cases of MREs they had. Others just ripped them open, took the candy out and threw the rest away. In fact, last month while working at the hospital one of our EVS workers gave me two heater meals she had. Her family had gotten a bunch of them from the Red Cross and she was opening them and taking the candy (peanut M&Ms) out and trashing the rest. I took those home and added them to my supplys.
I'm sorry if I offended you, Warlock4u. I see your point and agree with you for the most part. You are in no way a dick. Far from it. I just didn't do a clear enough job explaining things in my original post because I was trying to be brief. As Bigdaddytx pointed out, during many major emergencies the relief agencies pile aid on citizens and much of it is wasted. I justify it in small part by knowing that they are better off in my prep closet than in a landfill or on Craigslist.
Sorry for what has become a derail. Let's get back on topic and see more food storage porn.

[yale]

Wow... Do you have room for people and furniture at the house after all that?

That's nothing. Check out http://preparedldsfamily.blogspot.com/2 ... elves.html for some more photos and links to other sites with some really nice pantries.

[prepper7]

You dont need to join the Grocery game to save money on groceries. <snip>

Absolutely correct! You can use the FREE Coupon Mom site to find deals and match them with coupons. The site tells you what is on sale, in which week's paper the coupon appeared, and the percentage of saving, etc. A very cool feature is that you can search the site for a specific thing, such as bathroom tissue or dog food, to find out what coupons are in your files and what folder and coupon section they are in. To get the best out of this system, you'll need something to hold your coupons that has 12 dividers for the 12 months (that's how you locate the coupons you need for a given trip). a box with 12 file folders or pieces of cardboard cut-to-size will work just fine.

[prepper7]

Obligatory porn: the pantry we eat from

[What I think I'm seeing may be an optical illusion; if not...] You can address that bowing shelf (with the French's mustard) with a length of moulding cut to the length from the "floor" of the shelf below (if this shelf isn't the bottom one, you'll need to do the same thing to the shelf below, so that the weight is properly transferred to the base shelf which is fully supported on all sides) to the underside of the bowing shelf. Tap it into place (you may need temporally remove some items or get someone to hold the shelf up) so that the moulding rests flat against the back of that vertical piece of wood and it will support the free edge of the shelf. Hope that makes sense.

I had so many tins on my shelves that most of them looked like that and since the cupboard latches didn't align with the receivers mounted on the shelves, the doors wouldn't stay closed.

[JakkSchitt]

I use a binder with plastic baseball card holders. In the front I have a pencil case that holds a calculator, pencil, receipts and rainchecks.



I put each coupon in a slot, with like ones behind it. I organize it by category.. dairy, frozen, boxed, cans and bottles, cleaners, personal care, pet care, beverages and misc (batteries etc)

[Cavediver]

Thanks for the pictures folks!

Wow... Do you have room for people and furniture at the house after all that?

That's nothing. Check out http://preparedldsfamily.blogspot.com/2 ... elves.html for some more photos and links to other sites with some really nice pantries.

Great. Now I've got shelving envy.

My wife and I have a few months worth of food stocked into tubs and our normal pantry. Unfortunately, disorganization reigns... The tubs are dated, and everything in the tubs has been entered into the Food Storage Planner software that I downloaded, but that's about it. I've got to get on to organizing sometime soon...

I made a nice pull-out shelving unit for one of our deep pantries, hoping to keep things nice and neat. It's now crammed full of stuff and it's hard to find anything useful... Yet another area that needs to be fixed. Fortunately, I've built a new bank of cabinets for our dining room. They'll hold a bunch of the dishes and lesser-used cookware that have invaded the food areas of our pantry.

[BigDaddyTX]

Speaking of, and I'm sure it's here somewhere but I'm just going to ask since my search-fu is weak. What's the best Food Storage Planner software? There are a few when I google, so I don't want to use the crappy one.

[LtCmdLeia]

Speaking of, and I'm sure it's here somewhere but I'm just going to ask since my search-fu is weak. What's the best Food Storage Planner software? There are a few when I google, so I don't want to use the crappy one.

THis is the one I use. I think it's the best http://www.foodstorageplanner.com/

[Shogun]

Regarding the taking of the MRE's...

When you are in a Hurricane "hit zone" then you ARE the people in need. His tax dollars were also appropriated for that purpose. I don't advocate, lying / cheating / stealing BUT to take MRE's that are allocated to anyone who drives up, I don't have a problem with.

QUite frankly, I never saw the pods go empty. I saw them run out of ice, but not go empty. That is the funny thing about America, we would rather give MONEY than TIME, so a LOT of relief flows into those areas in regards to supplies. Often times more than was needed.

I just bought some of these (pictured below) that might be an idea for some of you. It looks a touch more presentable.



http://www5.jcpenney.com/jcp/X6.aspx?De ... 9EB0912815

http://www5.jcpenney.com/jcp/x5.aspx?De ... 9EB0912815

[Cuffo]

I'm loving everyone's ones photos. I wish I was that well stocked and organized.

Just a reminder that tomorrow Saturday May 9th is the USPS Stamp out hunger food drive. Think about rotating some preps to the hungry, by putting some cans in your mail box.

[CB4]

I know I saw it somewhere here before, but does anyone have a list of food types and their max shelf life?

[airexurb]

Regarding the taking of the MRE's...

When you are in a Hurricane "hit zone" then you ARE the people in need. His tax dollars were also appropriated for that purpose. I don't advocate, lying / cheating / stealing BUT to take MRE's that are allocated to anyone who drives up, I don't have a problem with.

QUite frankly, I never saw the pods go empty. I saw them run out of ice, but not go empty. That is the funny thing about America, we would rather give MONEY than TIME, so a LOT of relief flows into those areas in regards to supplies. Often times more than was needed.

I just bought some of these (pictured below) that might be an idea for some of you. It looks a touch more presentable.



http://www5.jcpenney.com/jcp/X6.aspx?De ... 9EB0912815

http://www5.jcpenney.com/jcp/x5.aspx?De ... 9EB0912815

I've been thinking about one of those for the kitchen. Then the munchkin could have her own little pantry. She'd probably fill it with goldfish and animal crackers though.


I too am loving this thread, especially from the more prepared individuals. Giving me all sorts of ideas....

[nyiangelo]

I use a binder with plastic baseball card holders. In the front I have a pencil case that holds a calculator, pencil, receipts and rainchecks.



I put each coupon in a slot, with like ones behind it. I organize it by category.. dairy, frozen, boxed, cans and bottles, cleaners, personal care, pet care, beverages and misc (batteries etc)

wow

[LtCmdLeia]

I use a binder too. I use mostly photo pocket pages though because they're bigger and I organize mine alphabetically. I used to teach a class on couponing. One of these days I'll post my coupon binder method over here.

[brandys0524]

WOW, That's impressive ya'll. I love the grocery game, and i'm a big coupon freak too. But as for food storage........

Sorry , we don't have nothing but a few dented cans of peas and a pk of noodles. I am trusting our goverment to take care of us in our time of need like a good girl. No need to come around here looking for food, cause we don't have any. I don't want any more food then a few days worth , I wouldn't want anyone to think I was hording food.

[Bluito23]

WOW, That's impressive ya'll. I love the grocery game, and i'm a big coupon freak too. But as for food storage........

Sorry , we don't have nothing but a few dented cans of peas and a pk of noodles. I am trusting our goverment to take care of us in our time of need like a good girl. No need to come around here looking for food, cause we don't have any. I don't want any more food then a few days worth , I wouldn't want anyone to think I was hording food.

Brandy,

That is a bad idea. FEMA, and other Emergency Operation Centers all over the US, mandate that every person stock up for at least a minimum of 3 days.

I live in hurricane alley, and Florida started to get it right after Hurricane Andrew. Because we where out of power for 11 days for Hurricane Wilma- I am planning for at least 11 to 20 days with no running water, power and food for that time.

I had power when I had fuel for my generator. I eventually got more fuel cans as time went along, and I will probably stock up on more fuel cans. Same with water cans.

I bought a single stove that uses sterno cans for heating-used it the other day to heat a can of chunky soup-took about 10 minutes to boil in a can, and tasted good. I also have 2 Coleman propane stoves as well.

I prefer to be as prepared as possible.

There are not many days left until June 1st.

The less I rely on Uncle Sugar the better off I will be.

My mother did the POD dance to get ice, but we had plenty of food, as we cooked what was frozen off the charcoal grill and made do, with what we had.

My generator did get a work out so I had power, when I had fuel. I eventually picked up battery operated fans as my sister's kids will get cranky when it gets hot.

Prepare or face the consequences of not preparing. Not trying to be mean, but those that do not prepare, or ones most likely to come knocking on my door, accusing me of hoarding food.

Invaders will be repelled.

Mark

[sheddi]

WOW, That's impressive ya'll. I love the grocery game, and i'm a big coupon freak too. But as for food storage........

Sorry , we don't have nothing but a few dented cans of peas and a pk of noodles. I am trusting our goverment to take care of us in our time of need like a good girl. No need to come around here looking for food, cause we don't have any. I don't want any more food then a few days worth , I wouldn't want anyone to think I was hording food.

Brandy,
That is a bad idea.

I get the feeling Brandy is messing with you

[BigDaddyTX]

Here's to hoping..