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  • Question on food storage

    I am storing smaller quantities of food in 5 gallon buckets with 2 gallon mylar bags. I am going to store a variety of beans, rice,sugar, salt and flour etc. possibly for cache or maybe just convenience.
    The question is do I need to remove the plastic bags they come in to store them in the 2gl mylar bags or can I leave them for extra protection?
    Really gotta get better at articulating stuff. My buddy read it and asked are all those items going into one bucket and the answer is yes. Our original thought was if something happened to someone we wanted to help say after a natural disaster I wouldnt want to show up with just 5 gallons of rice. I would want a variety of stuff to restart them.
    Last edited by Matt In Oklahoma; 08-21-2010, 08:37 PM. Reason: Cause I'm a dummy
    Knowledge is Power, Practiced Knowledge is Strength, Tested Knowledge is Confidence

  • #2
    Packing many smaller mylars with many differnent items- is that what you mean?

    No problem, just packing cost and labor time being the biggest issues.
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    • #3
      Originally posted by Matt In Oklahoma View Post
      I am storing smaller quantities of food in 5 gallon buckets with 2 gallon mylar bags. I am going to store a variety of beans, rice,sugar, salt and flour etc. possibly for cache or maybe just convenience.
      The question is do I need to remove the plastic bags they come in to store them in the 2gl mylar bags or can I leave them for extra protection?
      Really gotta get better at articulating stuff. My buddy read it and asked are all those items going into one bucket and the answer is yes. Our original thought was if something happened to someone we wanted to help say after a natural disaster I wouldnt want to show up with just 5 gallons of rice. I would want a variety of stuff to restart them.
      if you're going to just store the items in pails for protection from rodents ect.in the package they came in, you really won't need any mylar bags either. you could freeze everything for a couple weeks to kill any weevils,bugs that may be hitch hiking, then take them out of the freezer for 30 days and refreeze them again for a week or so to kill any bugs that may have hatched.. then put the stuff in pails stored in a cool dry place and you should be good for at least ten yrs like that. real long term, you should use sealed mylar bags with oxy absorbers then pails.

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      • #4
        In general it's always a good idea to take products out of their original packaging.

        Mold spores, general dirt and dust are one concern. Humidity's affect on cardboard, paper packaging is another. Even some of the plastic used in like the 1 and 2 lb. baggies of rice, beans, etc. will break down over time.

        I can't think of anything that worked out good that I kept in the original packaging LONG TERM.
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        "Don't be too proud of this technological terror you've constructed..."

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        • #5
          Potential problem mixing short and long term storage items in the same bucket. Doesn't flour have a relatively short storage lifespan? Like 5 years or less?

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          • #6
            I've thrown out so much flour (probably 500+ lbs.) over the years I stopped stocking it for LTS in the mid 90's.

            Whole wheat stores better, is more versatile, is generally cheaper and is better for you.
            www.homesteadingandsurvival.com

            www.survivalreportpodcast.com

            "Don't be too proud of this technological terror you've constructed..."

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            • #7
              Originally posted by GAGLOCK View Post
              Potential problem mixing short and long term storage items in the same bucket. Doesn't flour have a relatively short storage lifespan? Like 5 years or less?
              flour is about six months and in many cases less time depending on the temp and humidity unless stored in a freezer . wheat stored in mylar bags with oxey absorbers and in plastic pails should be good for 30 yrs.

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              • #8
                Lowdown says:
                I can't think of anything that worked out good that I kept in the original packaging LONG TERM.
                Now I'm worried. I packed a lot of food stuff like pasta and beans in their original package. My reasoning was to be able to just take a small package at a time out of the bucket.

                My method is to first poke a hole in the original package, then I vacuum pack it in the FoodSaver, then put the individual packages in mylar with Oxygen absorbers, then put it inside a bucket.

                Is is necessary to take them out of my storage and start over?

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                • #9
                  monkeybird, you should be eating a survival meal once a month. This has two benefits. 1) rotates out your oldest stockpile to make room for fresher items 2) tells you if your current storage methods are adequate for storage long term. So break out some rice (or whatever), cook it, and enjoy it for dinner. You are the only one to be able to answer if your current storage method is working.

                  Retail packages are food grade, but are the thinnest possible to do the job. To save the industry money obviously. Plastics have two major enemies: LIGHT & HEAT. It is why your storage should be in a dark & cool pantry/basement.

                  Hope this helps...

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                  • #10
                    I store only stuff that will last greater than 20 years. It's my philosophy that if I spending the money, I want to have it as long as possible. I know there are different philosophies about store what you eat and eat what you store. It's not one I want to follow.

                    Why? First of all a rarely eat out of a can. I was raised on fresh food and that's what I cook. I have some can goods for a short term emergency. My long term stuff like corn, wheat, rice, pasta and beans I pack myself with mylar, O2 absorbers and buckets. You have misread my original post. I package the store bought pasta and beans in their original package. The rest is purchased in #10 freeze dried commercially processed. I have honey, sugar and salt as well.

                    You see, I know that I would be lazy and not rotate it. I have over a years worth of food for 4 people, spending a specific amount of money each month. I made the investment and I know what I've bought will be good whenever I need it. If I break it open it will be the REAL SHTF.

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                    • #11
                      Originally posted by crossbow View Post
                      flour is about six months and in many cases less time depending on the temp and humidity unless stored in a freezer . wheat stored in mylar bags with oxey absorbers and in plastic pails should be good for 30 yrs.
                      Yeah unprotected flour has a very short lifespan, after 6mo it gets pretty stale. I have some flour in #10 cans w/o2 absorbers with a 5 year storage lifespan. We rotate thru those pretty regularly so I doubt they've ever been more than 2yo when used but they're always fresh when opened.

                      Here's part of an article on storage food lifespans from Walton Feeds

                      http://waltonfeed.com/blog/show/article_id/162

                      Flours and Other Products
                      Made From Cracked/ground Seed

                      All Purpose Flour
                      Bakers Flour
                      Unbleached Flour
                      White Flour
                      Whole Wheat Flour
                      Cornmeal
                      Mixes
                      Refried Beans
                      Cracked wheat
                      Germade
                      Gluten
                      Wheat flakes


                      After seeds are broken open their outer shells can no
                      longer protect the seed contents and seed nutrients
                      start to degrade. Don't try to store unprotected
                      flours longer than a year. Hermetically sealed in the
                      absence of oxygen, plan on a storage life of 5-10 years at
                      a stable temperature of 65 degrees F. They should keep
                      proportionately longer if stored at cooler temperatures.
                      Note: Granola is not a long storing food because of the nuts. They contain high concentrations of oil which go rancid over the short term. Expect granola to last about 6-9 months.

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                      • #12
                        Originally posted by monkeybird View Post
                        I store only stuff that will last greater than 20 years. It's my philosophy that if I spending the money, I want to have it as long as possible. I know there are different philosophies about store what you eat and eat what you store. It's not one I want to follow.

                        Why? First of all a rarely eat out of a can. I was raised on fresh food and that's what I cook. I have some can goods for a short term emergency. My long term stuff like corn, wheat, rice, pasta and beans I pack myself with mylar, O2 absorbers and buckets. You have misread my original post. I package the store bought pasta and beans in their original package. The rest is purchased in #10 freeze dried commercially processed. I have honey, sugar and salt as well.

                        You see, I know that I would be lazy and not rotate it. I have over a years worth of food for 4 people, spending a specific amount of money each month. I made the investment and I know what I've bought will be good whenever I need it. If I break it open it will be the REAL SHTF.
                        My method is to first poke a hole in the original package, then I vacuum pack it in the FoodSaver, then put the individual packages in mylar with Oxygen absorbers, then put it inside a bucket.

                        Is is necessary to take them out of my storage and start over? No your supplies should be alright long as they're vacuumed packed and sealed from moisture and light. All of my pastas are stored in mason jars and in the boxes the jars came in.

                        I also don't store what i eat, I eat shrimp,steaks,pulled purk, salmon, baked potatos,fresh fruit and vegtables. We do cook and eat the stuff we store, grind our wheat,oats,ect, we use the dutch oven outside weekly and mix our preps with good food every day ect. But to live on a full bland diet of the preps will have to wait til it's absolutly neccessary.I ate enough of that stuff in the 40s,early 50s.
                        Last edited by crossbow; 08-23-2010, 11:16 AM.

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                        • #13
                          Originally posted by monkeybird View Post
                          Lowdown says:


                          Now I'm worried. I packed a lot of food stuff like pasta and beans in their original package. My reasoning was to be able to just take a small package at a time out of the bucket.

                          My method is to first poke a hole in the original package, then I vacuum pack it in the FoodSaver, then put the individual packages in mylar with Oxygen absorbers, then put it inside a bucket.

                          Is is necessary to take them out of my storage and start over?
                          I would check on them if they are more than a few years old. It might just have been how I was storing them, but some of the little plastic baggies turned to goo on me. YUCK!!!
                          www.homesteadingandsurvival.com

                          www.survivalreportpodcast.com

                          "Don't be too proud of this technological terror you've constructed..."

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