A few Food Storage questions....

[WiseOwl]

Ok folks, this will be the first time for me and the wife are Mylar'n and o2'n stuff into the buckets (acquired for free from our not so local target)

I don't want to sound naive or Newbie McNooberson, but I seriously don't know what stores which way and how...



For instance....

I have 50 1 gallon bags coming with 50 300cc o2s. I believe I read 300cc per gallon correct? And from Elittle's videos I believe I have that "process of packing" covered. (thanks again sir)
Also, Once the lid is on the bucket, (lid with the rubber seal) it is protected other than a mouse with a dewault getting crazy correct?

Here are some items that I have going in the first couple, I will just list them and yall can give me your expertise and thoughts on how I should go about storing them......

(In no particular order)
Salt (in the Mortons "cans")
Brown Sugar
Yeast
Herbs and Spices
Rice-White
Rice- Brown
Spaghetti Noodles and Pasta (assuming to break them in half and fit into bag?)
Mac N Cheese boxes
Boxes of Rice
Bags O Beans
Toilet Paper
Napkins
Plastic Cups
Plastic "Silver"ware
Hard Candy
Canned "goods" (includes all in the good categories)
Bathroom stuff (Toothpaste,etc)
Jello


I think this is it for now. You can obviously see where I am going. I want to make each bucket contain a few days worth of meals and supplies to accompany them.
Also, I am a labeling freak so they will be labeled almost down to the molecule.

I haven't got into freeze dried or dehydrated stuff at this time because of costs. Hope the MIL gets me a dehydrator for Christmas this year.
I look at that Emergency Essentials catalog every month and just drool...wish I could order a couple of those big packages and get straight at one time. But, this process is going to be "evolutionary" for me until the wife graduates from college and starts bringing in some dang paychecks! (Next fall YAY!)

Like I said, I don't want to sound too naive or ask too dumb a question here but food storage, other than just having stuff in cabinet, is very new to me. I guess I have just worried about short term storage up until the board really got me thinking.
I have mainly worried about skills and gear over food.

We have 30 gallons of water and ways to purify if need be from local sources. I add to that daily, as noted in one of my earlier posts about re-using 20oz water bottles and milk jugs.



Any advice would be mostly appreciated and I give I-net High 5's to all of you for your posts and sharing of knowledge and ideas.

Oh yeah, I have put all of my seeds in a 1 gallon zip loc bag, is that a safe way to store them if it is air tight?


Ok, I will quit.............................................. ...........for now :)

AHO

Wise Owl

[miked2345]

Here's what I've put up in mylar bags.... And I used the 1 gallon bags too.

White rice (Brown rice has a short shelf life due to the fat in the shell going rancid)
Wheat (yes, you'll need a flour grinder, but the wheat has a long shelf life)
Pinto beans
kidney beans
blk eye peas
blk beans
macaroni
dried mash potato flakes
dried non-fat powdered milk (Not for drinking, but to use for cooking.)
sugar ( NO O2 'sorbers, it will make the sugar a hard brick)
salt (Don't really need it in a mylar.)
Brown sugar
Oats (Quaker Oats or generic brand)

We also have a pantry stocked with canned veggies, & fruits, canned meats and stew, canned soup, etc.
All the canned products have "Best Used By" date stamps at least 2 years out, but from everything I've read,
canned products usually are good much longer than the date stamped on them.

Don't forget water storage too. And a stock of good multi-vitamins - you might not be getting enough from your
meals when the SHTF.

[Lowdown3]

I noticed you said "in the morton's cans"


IN GENERAL- it's always best to get food out of it's original packaging before packing it for LTS.

Cardboard, paper, even plastic wrappers can and usually do disintegrate over the LONG TERM (no usually not a couple years).

Also, they often harbor MOISTURE, GERMS, etc.

If you feel you need cooking directions, etc. off the package, write it in the bucket.

Yeast your going to have to rotate within a couple years IME.

Pack the more perishable/rotation needed stuff separately, leave that at the top of the bucket for ease of rotation later.

Good luck with it! You need help or run into a snag, holler.

[claymore]

Hello Wise Owl,enjoy reading your comments. When I wash out a plastic jug its hot soapy water, and then rinse several times, then strong clorox solution which I leave set for awhile, then rinse several times more. FEMA advises not to use milk containers or fruit juice cont. because you can't get all the milk protein or fruit sugars out. I tried those nice half gal. gatorade jugs b4 and cant get the smell out, (never tried milk jugs). I reuse 2 lt. pop bottles. I have yet to use mylar(got the bags and O2) just not the nerve. I've bought stuff from a place in Utah (you mentioned it and yes its high !!). Keep us informed on your progress, good luck !

[nutnhere]

Hello Wiseowl: Being a newbie to this forum , I have been storing for awhile . On the brown rice. I keep mine in the freezer due to the fact Brown rice has a tenacy to go rancid. I store Long grain white rice in Mylar bags and Co2 obsorbers. for a 5 gallon bucket I use 3000 cc obsorber lined with a mylar. . Always start with what your family Will eat. Dont store what may sit there forever and not be eaten. . always date, and rotate your storage. if you have to use some of your storage. Always replace it. that way you have it on hand. I do use a foodsaver vacuum sealer , food Dehydrator. , Pressure canner and a waterbath canner. Learn all you can to preserve your bounty. I buy Wheat berries and grind my own flour. The berries have a much longer storage life. You can store flour. if you vacuum seal flour it has a shelf life of 5 years. maybe longer. ... I always freeze my flour is 5 lb bags for 24 hours before storing it that way it kills any micro bugs.. that may exist. then I store it you tube has alot of videos on canning, storing etc. . To obtain Buckets. and the lids with the rubber gaskets. Check bakerys , resturants they use pickle buckets and toss them usually you can get those for free. To rid the pickle smell. I use baking soda and bleach water, fill bucket let sit in the sun for a bit. the smell comes right out.. Check the web, there is loads of info out there. Good luck. Your on a good start..

[610Alpha]

Double check on using Milk Jugs for water storage.....I don't think they are recommended. I got some decent priced water storage cans from K-Mart, light blue 6 gal. cap. mfg by Midwest Can Co.

Good Job and keep up the good work!! Slow and steady wins the race every time. At least the tortoise does every time I read the book :)

[runlikehell]

Thank you lowdown--you just answered a major question of mine---whether to store things in their origional containers or take them out and store it out of the container in mylar bags--thanks brother

[Lowdown3]

In the long long ago I used to use milk jugs to store water. Then I had 100 lbs. of rice get ruined from a couple jugs failing.

They are designed to bio degrade

[WiseOwl]

So I should take the Mac N Cheese out of the box and take the noodles out of their boxes and just fit them in mylars and seal em? Sounds simple enough.

How do I LTS onions?

And should I take the salt out of the "morton cans" and put them in mylar as well?

[goatlady]

I would suggest you put the Mac & cheese packet in a Zip-lock bag first then in Mylar as dried pasta had a tendancy to poke holes in the first bag they are put in. Salt is fine sitting on the shelf DRY. It will eventually become one solid block, but you can then just chip off what you need. same with sugar. No need to Mylar those. About onions, I'm assuming you are talking abut dehydrated or freeze dried? Bag in the Zip-locks in portions that will be used in a month or so. That way you are not breaking the Mylar seal on a year's worth of produce that may deteriorate in that amount of time.

[WiseOwl]

I thought about that on the mac and cheese.....
And as for the onions, I mean straight outta the ground.....

They have dried out and I know by stuffing them in panty hose and hanging them in the closet they will be good for a few months....but I want some LTS if possible

[goatlady]

for fresh onions, depending on your storage conditions, the best would be about 6-8 months at best. LTS to me means at least a year and preferably longer so you would have to dry them onions for that length of time. But consider you would only have to be using the dried ones until the new crop comes in. OR you can can those onions for use in soups and stews and even creamed onions for a veggie or carmalized ones also. Yummy that way.