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Food Storage
Preppers food storage is one of those things you need to plan and organise.
I want to walk you through the basics so you can start getting prepared now.
Important tip
Keep you extra supplies in a separate place, cool, dry and dark is the best. Remember this is your own personal shop. Not everyone has a large basement or a spare room. You may live in an apartment, where space is limited or in a small house.
I would never store items in the attic, as it would get very hot up there, remember heat rises.
Garages are ok, again they can get very hot in the warmer months, unless you have it insulated and maybe cooled or ventilated. If you have a under stair cupboard full of junk, try sorting it out and use that space. (Put the junk in the attic). There are lots of spaces in your home to store items.
Possible locations in your home
Before you start buying food, you need to consider where you will store it. This is very important on how much you’re able to store. If you have a small house or apartment with limited space, you may need to get creative.
Here are some features to look for in a food storage space:
No direct sunlight. (No conservatories).
Good ventilation.
Adjustable temperature - Would needs to be below 26 degrees C (21 degrees C or lower would be ideal as it would make your food last a lot longer).
Dry - Away from water moisture. Example: Bathroom/shower rooms
Pests come in all shapes and sizes, make sure your storage area is free of this.
Where to store your extra food
You probably already have some locations in mind. If not, here’s a list of places that could make suitable food storage areas.
Basement/cellar.
Spare room or bedroom.
Food cupboard or walk in storage area.
Spare draw in bottom of wardrobe or use a sealable container in the bottom of the wardrobe.
Linen closets. (Only if there is no water heater tank in there).
Under the stairs.
Covered bookcases.
On top of your fridge in a sealed container.
Hallway cupboard.
In suitcases. (There would normally be empty, might as well use the space).
Behind the sofa. (In small containers, make sure it's not next to a radiator).
Under the bed or in you bed storage draws.
Insulated garage.
Where To Hide Your Food
You don’t want your food supplies on show for everyone to see. If major problems arise and you cannot get to the stores or the store have limited or no supplies. It would be a while for aid to get to your area, if at all.
People are going to remember all those containers of food you had stacked in your living room or kitchen.
If lots of people know about your food, they will come knocking at your door, you’ll either have to share it (which means it won’t last very long) or you’ll have to turn them away (which means they could become a big problem to you and your family, they could also become threatening towards you).
Your food supplies should be kept out of sight and only discussed with your immediate family.
If you start telling everyone about what you are doing, when severe problems happen, you may start to get knocks at your door.
Keeping your food away from prying eyes should be good enough. As long as you don't tell everyone what you are doing.
But if something happens and your supplies are stolen, it is best not to have it all stored in one place. So think of some alternative places if possible to put some extra aside.
There are some places that are not a good idea to store your food.
Garages that are not insulated, depending on where you live, they could get very hot or freezing. In turn your food would spoil, then it's money wasted. Bathrooms and laundry room, as the humidity could get too high, again spoiled food.
The same with attics and outside sheds. Cool and dry are the best, so planning is important.
So, you have found a few places to store your extra supplies. What will you store it in or on?
Airtight containers are the best, depends on the size and the area you put it in. Never store items directly on the floor, just in case. Pests could get in also flooding or leaks. Metal shelving would be the best idea, or solid wood shelving as they can hold the weight, plastic would eventually fail, the last thing you want to see is all your hard work splattered on the floor.
Also shelving will help you rotate your food supplies, remember F.I.F.O method.
If storing in containers in other places, make it easy to get to, otherwise you may forget and the food will spoil.
I find keeping a basic list of where and what helps, even putting a note in you phones calendar with an alarm can help.